Skip to main content

Dataset: Measuring Nitrogen Removal Rates from an Oyster Aquaculture Experiment in Massachusetts

Cover Image

About the Project

A 2017 - 2020 collaborative research project team established an experiment to quantify nitrogen removal rates from three commonly used shellfish aquaculture methods: floating bags of oysters, oyster condos suspended in midwater, and bottom cages of oysters. All gear was deployed in the same environmental setting (Waquoit Bay, Falmouth, MA) and maintained by the Town of Falmouth in a manner that a commercial grower would follow. The growing systems were maintained for two full growing seasons (2018 and 2019) and compared to a nearby control site.

About the Data

The project generated five related datasets which have been archived in two different ways. The dataset description provides additional information on the study design and data collection methods.

  1. Microbial community structure data using an iTag Amplicon library
  2. Microbial processes data generated through RNA-Seq Metatranscriptomic sequences
  3. Bottom water, porewater, and sediment chemistry data
  4. Gene expression (RT-qPCR) and nitrogen flux measurements taken from sediment cores placed in flux chambers
  5. Oyster weight data from all of the aquaculture installation used in this experiment

Data access

Genetic datasets, including Amplicon and RNA-Seq sequences, from this project have been archived with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and can be accessed online: NCBI SRA BioProject # PRJNA679576 under accessions SRR13101311-SRR13101212 and SRR13101827-SRR13101797.

Biogeochemistry and oyster data have been archived with the NERRS Centralized Data Management Office. Use the "Request Data" button in upper right corner of this page. After completing the data request form, users will receive an email with a link to download the data.

Additional information, including some of the referenced data, is available in this open access journal article and the supplemental information: Mara et al. 2021. Comparison of Oyster Aquaculture Methods and Their Potential to Q12 Enhance Microbial Nitrogen Removal From Coastal Ecosystems. Frontiers in Marine Science 8:633314. Doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.633314.

Contact for this data

Dan Rogers, Stonehill College, drogers2@stonehill.edu