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Museum of Oysters

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Oysters

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Note: Virtual museums were first introduced by educators at Keith Valley Middle School in Horsham, Pennsylvania. This template was designed by Lindsey Warneka under the direction of Dr. Christy Keeler during a Teaching American History grant module. View the Educational Virtual Museums website for more information on this instructional technique.

This is Tavius, Miguel, Jaime, and Jorge. We all have one thing in common and that is getting our work done. Everyone put a lot of effort .

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History

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Eco- System

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Salinity

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Life Cycle

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The eastern oyster is one of the most famous and recognizable aquatic species in the Chesapeake Bay. While not everyone enjoys eating this peculiar-looking bivalve, we can all appreciate the vital functions oysters serve in the Bay's ecosystem, as well as their cultural and economic importance to the region.

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By the 1750 oysters were being transported to Philadelphia and New York. In 1770 Peter Kalm was traveling in North America for new food ideas for oysters. By the 1780s oyster began harvested from the Delaware Bay intitically.

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Early in the 19th century oystermen 1800s began to harvest in the Delaware Bay oysters using iron dredges that were dragged across the bay bottom sloops and schooners. This harvest method was more efficient and faster than the more traditional tonging method.

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MSX first appeared causing severe mortalities of oysters. MSX first appeared causing severe mortalities of oysters. The oysters in the bay developed some natural resistance to the disease and the resource. A second disease called Dermo came and caused severe oyster mortalities.

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Oysters eat mostly plankton and algae that lives on the surface of the ocean. Oysters are filter feeders (also known as suspension feeders) that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water. Evidence shows that their capacity to filter water can improve the quality of water, making them valuable for coastal regions in which water quality is poor. Because of their filtering abilities, they are used in some coastal regions to help control water pollutants

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The is found along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of North America. Oysters form reefs, which are a dominant feature of many coastal estuaries. Oysters are often considered a "keystone species," providing valuable shelter and habitat for many other estuarine organisms, improving water quality, and reducing bank erosion.

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Oysters are important to the Delaware bay because they filter the water. One oyster is able to clean one gallon every hour. So if there weren't any oysters in the Delaware bay the bay would be all dirty. This is why the oyster is important to the Delaware bay.

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Salinity is the amount of salt in the water. If there isn't enough salinity in the water oysters would die. The same thing counts if there is to much salinity. The point is that there has to be salinity in the water.

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There are 3 beds of oysters. How they get formed is by harvesting and then put them on the boat. There is Arnolds, New Beds, and Shell Rock. These beds are the ones that hold oysters the most in the Delaware Bay.

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There are 2 diseases that can be in the salinity. These are 2 things that can harm the oysters. The 2 diseases are Dermo and MSX. They were both found around the 1950’s. They are still finding a way to take the diseases away from the bay.

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When conditions are right, male oysters release sperm and females release unfertilized eggs  into the bay.  Fertilization takes place in the water column as sperm and egg unite.  As the fertilized egg develops the cells divide and the  embryo grows.

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 With further development we see the growth of hair-like cilia and the embryo becomes a free-swimming larva known as a trocophore.  Next, the larva begins to develop a shell and foot. In this stage, the larva is called a veliger. The larval shell of the of the umbonate veliger has the characteristic shape of the oyster.

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The last phase of the veliger stage is called the pediveliger (ped = foot) stage.  This is the final stage prior to settlement and eventual metamorphosis to juveniles.  Pediveligers have a well-developed foot that extends from the shell.

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