OYSTER  RESTORATION  PROJECT     

   The students in Marine Biology raise 4,000 each year for the Oyster Reef Keepers of Virginia.  The spat, young oysters, arrive in September and spend the fall, winter and spring in Chisman Creek.  Twice a month students travel to the site and complete water quality tests.   Dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, temperature and turbidity are measured and recorded.  The oysters are taken from the confines of their Taylor Raft and are cleaned and monitored.  A hundred oysters are measured and students determine the average length of the oysters.  The data from each field trip is then compared to the previous trip for growth and mortality rates.

        Student takes the pH of the estuarine waters of Chisman Creek.  The normal pH is 8 and on this trip the pH was 7.9      The slightly alkaline water is due to the high content of dissolved calcium carbonate.