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Video by Jared Eastman, Jared Eastman, Spc. David Jackson

ERDC partners with the University of Southern Mississippi to Maximize Gulf Oyster Habitat Restoration

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center

Jan. 4, 2021 | 6:17

Dr. Safra Altman, a research ecologist with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory and the technical lead for the project, Dr. Read Hendon, director of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and the University of Southern Mississippi's project lead, and Dr. Todd Slack, an ERDC Environmental Laboratory fisheries biologist who will be investigating Gulf sturgeon, provide commentary regarding a three-year research collaboration between ERDC and the University of Southern Mississippi to create oyster reef habitat in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The primary objectives of the project are to investigate methods for optimizing oyster habitat restoration in the area ― which would ultimately lead to oyster population recovery — and enhancement of ecosystem services in coastal waters; a secondary objective is to evaluate whether the oyster reefs have any impacts on the use of critical habitat by Gulf sturgeon, a federally protected species.