Maria’s research is helping to find answers.Ĭhanges in recruitment, which describes the number of young oysters that settle in an area, may indicate if oil deters larvae from their usual sites, causing a decline in population density. After the oil spill, she had many of the same questions as locals about impacts on oyster reproduction and growth and on marine life living in oyster reefs. While oysters are generally tolerant, Maria explains that oil could compromise their long-term health and sustainability and decrease reef functions. They support a large industry and provide marine habitat, filter water and stabilize shorelines.

Oysters are important to Louisiana’s economy and environment. Maria Vozzo traveled each of the four Barataria Bay study sites – Hackberry Bay, Bay Jimmy, Grand Isle, and Grand Terre – during each field day. “But now, here I am in Louisiana a few years later working on the project I became so interested in two years ago.” “I tried so hard to find opportunities down here, and it didn’t work out,” recalls Maria. Brown and his team had just applied for the CWC grant, and he needed a student. Ken Brown after a friend recommended looking into LSU. When Maria began exploring graduate schools, she found her way back to oil spill research. After graduating from the University of North Carolina (UNC) – Chapel Hill, she assisted a large oyster restoration project at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences, sparking her interest in oyster research. She searched for ways to get involved, even as a volunteer, but found nothing. When the Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred, Maria knew that the impacts could be huge. As a child, she attended science-oriented camps as a way to get outside and then moved on to field ecology courses in college. The great outdoors sparked Maria’s interest in science. Maria is a master’s student in Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University (LSU) and a GoMRI Scholar with Coastal Waters Consortium (CWC). Maria’s creative adaptation of commercial oyster equipment for her research may also improve them for fisherman’s use. Her work has a wide scope, from the oyster’s environmental conditions to their cellular responses. Maria Vozzo’s strong interest in Deepwater Horizon research led her from North Carolina to Louisiana to study the oil’s effects on local oysters. Two weeks later, Maria counted the spat that had grown on the tiles and placed the tiles in predator exclusion cages in the field. Here, she filters out smaller, younger larvae and collects larger ones ready to settle into spat. Oyster larvae are added to the water and “set” or attach to the shell.Maria Vozzo grades oyster larvae at the LA Sea Grant oyster hatchery. He said they want the students to feel connected to the environment, so they can apply what they have learned throughout their life.īy the end of the school year, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation will have served about 40,000 students through its Online Watershed Learning program.įoundation spokesperson AJ Metcalf said once the shells are dropped off CBF will take them to the Maryland Oyster Restoration Center in Shady Side, where any remaining debris will be removed and the shells will be placed in large tanks of water. They also ask them to come up with an extra superpower, other than filtering water, that an oyster might have.

Hesse said they show the kids the different types of animals that live on oyster reefs through a video.

They are also launching a unit on archaeology, during which they can discuss potential careers related to the field or relatives of the discipline such as paleontology, the study of dinosaurs.ĭuring the virtual field trip on April 15, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Nathan Hesse taught the students how oysters filter the water, create reefs where other animals live and contribute to Maryland’s legacy as a seafood destination.

Students oyster spat