Part II: Increasing resilience of wild and farmed oysters before, during, and after an oil spill

This three-part online-only series will be available as a Zoom webinar and via Facebook Live. The format each event will be three individual presentations followed by a live question and answer session with all three speakers. Scroll down for details.

Oysters perform many essential roles to help maintain a healthy Gulf. Life as an oyster has many challenges. This webinar series will discuss the importance of oysters, a variety of threats to the oysters, how responds efforts affect them, and how farmers, resources managers and scientists are working to help resilience.

Part I: The role of oysters in our estuarine ecosystem and the threats facing them – June 25, 10:30-11:30 am central. 

• Ms. Sara Pace, University of Southern Mississippi, Oysters 101- Overview of oyster life cycle and importance to ecosystems and humans; vulnerabilities at multiple life stages
  
• Dr. Sean Powers, University of South Alabama,  How fresh water/salinity from spillway release/management actions impact oysters

Part II: Increasing resilience of wild and farmed oysters before, during, and after an oil spill – July 27, 2020, 1 pm CST/2 pm EST. Registration now open.

• Dr. Bill Walton, Auburn University, Strategies to improve the resilience of wild and farmed oysters before and after an oil spill
  
• Jason Herrmann, Alabama Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, How natural resource managers prepare for and respond to oil spills
• Dr. Joe Fox, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Texas oyster mariculture development

Part III: How spill response decisions affect oysters – Coming in August.