Project Director: Bryan Piazza

Funding Organization: National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine: Gulf Research Program

Funding Cycles: Healthy Ecosystems 4

Description: Oysters and their reefs perform vital functions in the Gulf of Mexico – from filtering water and providing habitat, to supporting one of the last viable oyster fisheries in the world. But no tools exist to assess how the health of GOM oysters is affected by the quantity and timing of river flows. Without these tools, it is impossible to develop integrated river-management plans, make wise investments in oyster restoration, or facilitate climate adaptation for Gulf oysters and the communities they support. This project will address this need by developing OysterFlows – a decision support tool that models how climate change, upstream water use, and water management decisions made far upstream from the coast are likely to affect oyster resources in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico coast.