About the Project

Through an iterative process with Tijuana River NERR and other users, this project co-developed a biosensor system that uses shellfish (oysters and mussels) as biosentinels. Alongside land managers and other wetland and aquaculture professionals, the team designed an open-source electronic sensor that attaches to shellfish and monitors gaping behavior and heart rate. The resulting data provides a direct metric of biotic stress. The team deployed this technology in three field locations in San Diego. The biosentinels provided real-time data streams associated with a variety of changing water quality conditions, including frequent salinity and oxygen fluctuations in Tijuana River Estuary and mouth closure events in Los Peñasquitos Lagoon.

About this Resource

Project Lead Luke Miller gives a short introduction to "Habitat Heartbeats: Incorporating Bivalve Biosensors into Estuary Monitoring Infrastructure," a collaborative research project funded in 2021 by the NERRS Science Collaborative.