Researchers Find Oysters and Mussels May Hold the Holy Grail of the Bay’s Restoration

VIMS and University of Maryland researchers have determined the presence of oyster reefs removes ten times the nitrogen than areas without the reefs. Oysters and mussels are found to convert reactive nitrogen into its pure gaseous form that has almost no contribution to algae blooms that create dead zones in the Bay. The researchers found 47% of the nitrogen conversion is placed into the shells of the animals and that this almost permanantly removes the nitrogen especially if the shells are buried. VIMS calls this process the holy grail of restoration science and has produced an article on the study. For complete details, please read the study.