tile experiment

Lab technician Ryan Coker (who normally works in salt marshes) was drafted into oyster duty, on which he encountered deep mud and larger animals than you’d find on an oyster reef.

As the David Kimbro lab deploys a spat (young oyster) tile experiment in Apalachicola Bay to monitor the health of its beleaguered reefs, Dr. Randall Hughes explains how these experiments have become a key tool in her and David’s oyster research.

Using ordinary paving tiles from Home Depot, the Hughes and Kimbro labs have created their most important tool in measuring the health of oyster reefs. At one site, lab technician Meagan Murdock discovers unexpected competition for young spat trying to get established on the reef.

Oysters make choices. Oysters can be scared. Dr. David Kimbro and Dr. Randall Hughes explain why an oyster’s fear can affect a reef.