Professor Levinton discusses oysters and water quality in Jamaica Bay

1. Nitrogen input and historical
variation of water quality
Jeffrey Levinton
Ecology and Evolution Dept.
Stony Brook University
jeffrey.levinton@stonybrook.edu

2. Three sections
1 Seasonal variation of food supply and access
of restored oysters to Jamaica Bay primary
production by season
2 Historical changes in water quality since 1990
as compared to nitrogen input
3 Fine time-scale spatial correlation of water
quality at sites across Jamaica Bay, summer
2015

4. Access of restored oysters to Jamaica Bay primary
production

5. Water is vertically mixed – little or
no stratification
1 m depth
5 m depth
9/2017

6. STN JBC

7. Oyster Clearance Rate
Conclude: oysters don’t have access to the
winter-spring bloom

8. Part 2
• Historical changes in water quality since 1990
as compared to nitrogen input

9. Nitrogen input and historical
variation of water quality
Jeffrey Levinton
Ecology and Evolution Dept.
Stony Brook University
FromNixon 1992
Peconic Bay
Great South
Bay
Jamaica
Bay
Peconic Bay, Bruno, 1983
GSB, Schubel et al. 1991
JB, Wallace, 2012

10. History of N Input – Jamaica Bay
Courtesy John McLoughlan

11. Analysis of stations sampled since 1990
N9A
J1A
J5

12. East – West Water Quality Gradient

13. From Benotti et al. 2009 after data from Hydroqual

14. Analysis of stations sampled since 1990
N9A
J1A
J5

15. N9A
J1A
J5
N9A
J1A
J5

16. N9A
J1A
J5
N9A
J1A
J5

17. N9A
J5
J1A
N9A
J1A
J5

18. Analysis of Covariance – Time Significant, Interaction of Time x Location NS

20. Fine scale spatial correlation of water
quality at sites across Jamaica Bay,
summer 2015

21. Summer 2015

22. Four sensors, summer 2015
Thanks to Jim Browne for Inwood, Chris Gobler for JFK, Riis Landing, NYC for Broad Channel

24. END
THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?
Thanks: Support from Hudson River Foundation, U.S. National Parks Service, DO Fund

25. Oysters have no feeding access to
winter-spring bloom