City Nature Challenge: Delectable Oysters Quest April 27-30

Join the City Nature Challenge Delectable Oyster Quest on iNaturalistMIT Sea Grant worked with iNaturalist to develop the City Nature Challenge Delectable Oyster Data Quest. From April 27-30 participants will explore the marine biome along the Greater Boston Coast, counting oysters to help determine whether our native Eastern oyster is holding its own, or whether the exotic European oysters truly are taking over. We need to know the relative abundance of both species and compare their population density across various habitats and substrates to determine the extent of the non-native spread and its potential effects in this biome.Oysters play several important ecosystem roles: they provide habitat for marine organisms, they filter the water in our harbor, and they are an important food source. Due to their influential ecosystem role, these oysters are considered bioindicators. Studying their abundance and distribution in relation to urban and less urban habitats will give us important information on the health and pollutants of our marine ecosystems.Read More About the QuestDo the quest yourself with the Data Collection PacketOR participate in a guided quest:MIT Sea Grant is hosting a City Nature Quest at Constitution BeachHost: MIT Sea Grant coastal ecologists Carolina Bastidas, Juliet SimpsonWhen: Sunday April 29, 2018 4 pmWhere: Constitution Beach in East Boston (or Orient Heights Beach) which is close to the T station with the same name. Meeting towards the skating rink end of the beach.We will be doing the Delectable Oysters Data quest and recording biodiversity along our way. Be prepared for some wind and sun and bring shoes that can get wet. Other quests can be found here: List of guided Delectable Oyster Data Quests