Graduate Students Monitor Newly Built and In-progress Oyster Sanctuaries in Pamlico Sound

NC State master’s student Rebecca Ruiz, Ph.D. student John Brooks, and master’s student Jess Izaguirre (pictured left to right), are working on a project to monitor newly built and in-progress oyster sanctuaries in Pamlico Sound. Ruiz’s portion of the work focuses on characterizing fish assemblages on the reefs using ARIS sonar data, which is complimented by Brooks’ work, investigating the fish soundscape on the reefs. Izaguirre’s work is focusing on oyster demographics such as oyster settlement, growth and survival. This work will help determine if the restored reefs are meeting ecological performance goals.