UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

Browse

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    DEVELOPING SPATIALLY-EXPLICIT ASSESSMENT TOOLS FOR EASTERN OYSTER IN CHESAPEAKE BAY
    (2011) Livings, Maude Elizabeth; Wilberg, Michael J; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Decreasing abundance of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica in Chesapeake Bay is of concern because of its ecological, economic, and cultural importance. The objective of my study was to develop methods for conducting stock assessments of eastern oysters in Maryland waters of Chesapeake Bay that estimate abundance, recruitment, and fishing mortality at regional scales. First, I evaluated how spatial patterns in autocorrelation of recruitment and adult relativity density varied over time by fitting semivariogram models to survey data for each year. This information was then used to determine appropriate scales for my second objective which was to develop a stage-based model for the lower Potomac River using data from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources fall dredge survey and fishery data from the Potomac River Fisheries Commission. Estimated abundance declined to approximately 39% of that in 1990. The analyses will provide a platform for regional management of eastern oysters.