Project Updates

November 2022
Estuarine Monitoring Stations
Continuous monitoring of oyster-growing field sites began in September 2022, with the first LO-SPAT water quality monitoring stations deployed in Eloi Bay, Calcasieu Lake, and Oyster Bay. At each station, continuous YSI sensors (EXO 3) are recording salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and total algae at 15-minute intervals. In Eloi Bay, passive acoustic monitors are recording the sounds of the oyster habitat to help build models for what a healthy habitat sounds like. Alongside the stations, the team is taking monthly water samples to analyze for algal community composition, including potentially harmful algae, and other factors that influence how much food is available to oysters. LO-SPAT monitoring efforts will increase our understanding of estuarine conditions, as well as how often these oyster-growing sites are faced with water quality conditions that stress the oysters. Real-time data for public access from sites will be available soon on the Resources page. Check back soon, or email LOSPAT@louisiana.edu if you’d like access to the data.
Monitoring station attached to moorings in Oyster Bay, LA.
Discrete water sampling and unit deployment in Eloi Bay, LA.

July 2022
Salinity Challenge Experiments Underway

A little over 2,000 from Louisiana estuaries are currently undergoing a salinity "stress test" with our partners in the La Peyre lab at LSU AgCenter. This experiment is testing the survival of oysters at low salinity and elevated temperature. Results from it form the foundation for reaching the project goals of breeding low salinity tolerant oysters. 

May 2022
Broodstock Facility Progress

The LO-SPAT Broodstock Facility, located at the UL Lafayette Ecology Center, is nearly complete in buildout! Team members Emma Weiser, Andre Daugereaux, and Schalk de Waal have been working hard to design, troubleshoot, and successfully run the recirculating tank systems. In its completion (est. June 2022), the Broodstock Facility will be able to run 1800 gallons of recirculating artificial seawater and hold up to 1600 adult oysters at maximum capacity. Ultimately, the Broodstock Facility will be used to build and hold a low salinity tolerant broodstock population - selected using cutting edge genomic approaches - for use in large scale production.
Emma feeding initial system oysters by hand (February 2022).
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​"Then" - Summer 2021
Progress - February 2022
"Now" - April 2022