Monitoring Oyster Reefs in Maryland Sanctuaries The State of Maryland has undertaken an ambitious effort to restore oysters in many areas throughout the Maryland portion of Chesapeake Bay. The reefs will be created in a variety of forms and using a variety of methods. Monitoring of the reefs, to determine how successful they are in attaining their ecological goals, will be important. The purpose of the monitoring plan is to compare various configurations as they relate not only to oyster abundance, growth, mortality, and disease prevalence, but also to other ecological parameters such as benthic community development and finfish abundance as well. In fact, many monitoring parameters may be relevant to the restoration goals of any or all of the restoration projects and may include the following: Oysters: abundance (density) size mortality disease recruitment Water Quality: temperature salinity dissolved oxygen secchi depth Community: fouling organisms associated fauna (worms, crabs, etc.) Finfish: Demersal fish: abundance diversity Pelagic fish: abundance diversity trophic guild Sedimentation We have been monitoring various restoration efforts for several years. Most of the video clips on the Video Page have been taken at restoration sites. Annual reports submitted to the sponsoring agencies are posted on the Lab Publications page as PDF files.