Oyster

This note is about oysters, their ecosystems and the reefs they form.

Species and Places

Southern Australia

Once widespread across eastern and southern Australia, the Oyster Reef Ecosystem has declined severely over the past two centuries and is now listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Gillies, Chris L., Sarah A. Castine, Heidi K. Alleway, Christine Crawford, James A. Fitzsimons, Boze Hancock, Paul Koch, Dominic McAfee, Ian M. McLeod, and Philine S. E. zu Ermgassen. “Conservation Status of the Oyster Reef Ecosystem of Southern and Eastern Australia.” Global Ecology and Conservation 22 (June 2020): e00988. https://doi.org/10/gn5mx8.

Australian Native oOster, Ostrea angasi of Flat Oyster

Gillies, Chris L., Christine Crawford, and Boze Hancock. “Restoring Angasi Oyster Reefs: What Is the Endpoint Ecosystem We Are Aiming for and How Do We Get There?” Ecological Management & Restoration 18, no. 3 (2017): 214–22. https://doi.org/10/gbzkc3.

"Victoria has lost vast areas (>95%) of native flat oyster (Ostrea angasi, Sowerby 1871) and blue mussel (Mytilus edulis galloprovinicialis, Lamarck 1819) reefs from estuarine and coastal waters since European settlement."

Ford, John R., and Paul Hamer. “The Forgotten Shellfish Reefs of Coastal Victoria: Documenting the Loss of a Marine Ecosystem over 200 Years since European Settlement.” Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 128, no. 1 (2016): 87–105. https://doi.org/10/g96cfq.

Gillies, Chris L., Ian M. McLeod, Heidi K. Alleway, Peter Cook, Christine Crawford, Colin Creighton, Ben Diggles, et al. “Australian Shellfish Ecosystems: Past Distribution, Current Status and Future Direction.” PLOS One 13, no. 2 (2018): e0190914. https://doi.org/10/gczhn9.

Bayraktarov, Elisa, Vera Rullens, Brenten Sandry, Fiona Valesini, James A. Fitzsimons, Simon Branigan, Paul Hamer, et al. “Assessing the Ecological Recovery of Shellfish Reefs Following Restoration in Southern Australia.” Restoration Ecology 33, no. 7 (2025): e70115. https://doi.org/10/g96cgg.

Martin, Brad, Charlie Huveneers, Simon Reeves, and Ryan Baring. “Reviving Shellfish Reef Socio-Ecological Histories for Modern Management and Restoration.” Ocean & Coastal Management 261 (2025): 107540. https://doi.org/10/g96cgp.

Hamer, Paul, Bob Pearce, and Ross Winstanley. wo. Melbourne: Department of Environment and Primary Industries, 2013.

Ecological Roles

Rodriguez, Antonio B., F. Joel Fodrie, Justin T. Ridge, Niels L. Lindquist, Ethan J. Theuerkauf, Sara E. Coleman, Jonathan H. Grabowski, et al. “Oyster Reefs Can Outpace Sea-Level Rise.” Nature Climate Change 4, no. 6 (2014): 493–97. https://doi.org/10/gfvdjb.

Monitoring and Geometrical Description

Approaches:

Photographs, structure from photos, photogrammetry, drones, LIDAR provide data for geometrical description of oyster reefs and for monitoring changes over time.
eDNA

Ridge, Justin T., Alexandra E. DiGiacomo, Antonio B. Rodriguez, Joshua D. Himmelstein, and David W. Johnston. “Comparison of 3D Structural Metrics on Oyster Reefs Using Unoccupied Aircraft Photogrammetry and Terrestrial LiDAR across a Tidal Elevation Gradient.” Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation 9, no. 4 (2023): 501–11. https://doi.org/10/g93r9k.

Espriella, Michael C., Vincent Lecours, Edward V. Camp, H. Andrew Lassiter, Benjamin Wilkinson, Peter C. Frederick, and Simon J. Pittman. “Drone Lidar-Derived Surface Complexity Metrics as Indicators of Intertidal Oyster Reef Condition.” Ecological Indicators 150 (2023): 110190. https://doi.org/10/gr4nns.

Restoration

Benefits of restoration:

biodiversity (fish, including beyond the reef edge)
indicator species (canary of the estuaries)
coastal protection
water filtration
carbon sequestration
cultural values
fisheries

Howie, Alice H., and Melanie J. Bishop. “Contemporary Oyster Reef Restoration: Responding to a Changing World.” Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9 (2021): 689915. https://doi.org/10/gs3g8g.

Smith, Rachel S., and Jessica L. Pruett. “Oyster Restoration to Recover Ecosystem Services.” Annual Review of Marine Science 17, no. 2025 (2025): 83–113. https://doi.org/10/g93r9m.

McAfee, Dominic, Lachlan D. McLeod, Sandy Carruthers, and Sean D. Connell. “Reversing Functional Extinction: Successful Restoration of Eradicated Oyster Reefs.” Restoration Ecology 32, no. 5 (2024): e14169. https://doi.org/10/g96cgj.

Materials

Ceramics, including clay
concrete 1
stone
recycled shells
3D printed materials, including biodegradable

Design Approaches and Considerations

Matus, Ilse Valenzuela, Jorge Lino Alves, Joaquim Góis, Paulo Vaz-Pires, and Augusto Barata da Rocha. “Artificial Reefs through Additive Manufacturing: A Review of Their Design, Purposes and Fabrication Process for Marine Restoration and Management.” Rapid Prototyping Journal 30, no. 11 (2024): 87–122. https://doi.org/10/gtt3s5.

Korniejenko, Kinga, Kacper Oliwa, Szymon Gądek, Piotr Dynowski, Anna Źróbek, and Wei-Ting Lin. “A Review of Additive Manufacturing Techniques in Artificial Reef Construction: Materials, Processes, and Ecological Impact.” Applied Sciences 15, no. 8 (2025): 4216. https://doi.org/10/g93r9w.

Loan, Pham Thi. “Comparison between Two Models of 3D Printed Artificial Coral.” Journal of Materials & Construction 15, no. 01 (2025): 19-Page 26. https://doi.org/10/g93sbg.

Lanham, Brendan S., Andrew W. M. Pomeroy, Stephen E. Swearer, Ivan Marusic, Javane Javaherchian, and Rebecca L. Morris. “Substrate-Mediated Alterations to Hydrodynamic Conditions Enhances Shellfish Larval Settlement: Implications for Artificial Reef Restoration.” Ecological Engineering 212 (2025): 107474. https://doi.org/10/g96chv.

Organisations, Projects and Companies

References

Fitzsimons, James A., Simon Branigan, Chris L. Gillies, Robert D. Brumbaugh, Jun Cheng, Bryan M. DeAngelis, Laura Geselbracht, et al. “Restoring Shellfish Reefs: Global Guidelines for Practitioners and Scientists.” Conservation Science and Practice 2, no. 6 (2020): e198. https://doi.org/10/gwbcz9.

Morris, Rebecca L., Donna M. Bilkovic, Maura K. Boswell, David Bushek, Just Cebrian, Joshua Goff, Kelly M. Kibler, et al. “The Application of Oyster Reefs in Shoreline Protection: Are We over-Engineering for an Ecosystem Engineer?” Journal of Applied Ecology 56, no. 7 (2019): 1703–11. https://doi.org/10/gv78ms.

Saunders, Megan I., Toni Cannard, Mibu Fischer, Marian Sheppard, Alice Twomey, Rebecca Morris, Melanie J. Bishop, et al. “A Roadmap to Coastal and Marine Ecological Restoration in Australia.” Environmental Science & Policy 159 (2024): 103808. https://doi.org/10/gt6v9q.

Strain, Elisabeth M. A., Rebecca Morris, Ross Coleman, Will Figueira, Peter Steinberg, Emma Johnston, and Melanie Bishop. “Increasing Microhabitat Complexity on Seawalls Can Reduce Fish Predation on Native Oysters.” Ecological Engineering 120 (2018): 637–44. https://doi.org/10/gjjk9q.

Wellman, Emory H., Christopher J. Baillie, Brandon J. Puckett, Sarah E. Donaher, Stacy N. Trackenberg, and Rachel K. Gittman. “Reef Design and Site Hydrodynamics Mediate Oyster Restoration and Marsh Stabilization Outcomes.” Ecological Applications 32, no. 2 (2022): e2506. https://doi.org/10/gwc54f.

Footnotes

Rupasinghe, Madhuwanthi, Rackel San Nicolas, Brendan S. Lanham, and Rebecca L. Morris. “Sustainable Oyster Shell Incorporated Artificial Reef Concrete for Living Shorelines.” Construction and Building Materials 410 (2024): 134217. https://doi.org/10/g96cf3.˄