Biobox Sampling and Monitoring

Indian River Lagoon Aquatic Preserve (IRLAP) staff, under the direction of Emily Surmont, conducted biobox monitoring in the Indian River Lagoon as part of an on-going collaborative research project with the University of Florida, Florida Oceanographic Society and Smithsonian Marine Institute. This was an opportunity to better understand how aging man-made oyster reefs compare to natural reefs in ecological function in the southern Indian River Lagoon and St Lucie Estuary. Bioboxes are plastic trays lined with plastic mesh that are buried into oyster reef substrate. After two months in the field, IRLAP staff collected bioboxes to enumerate and classify the mobile invertebrates and small fish found inside. Statistical analysis will be used to determine if there is any difference in species diversity and abundance between man-made intertidal oyster reefs and naturally occurring intertidal oyster reefs in the region. In total, IRLAP staff collected and sorted 36 bioboxes from 12 reef sites across two counties!