Warming to Oysters
Cait Cleaver’s research will help determine the viability of oyster restoration in Maine’s changing coastal environment
Cait Cleaver ’06, assistant professor of environmental studies, describes herself as an “interdisciplinary social-ecological systems researcher.”
That means she balances data-driven research with the human dimension in her work to help communities threatened by warming and rising waters associated with climate change.
“I am really interested in how our coastal communities, both the natural and human communities, are responding to climate change, and I am super focused on Maine,” said Cleaver, who lives in Brunswick and is married to a lobsterman.
As part of her scientific work at Colby, Cleaver is tackling projects that involve ecological research, social science, and the potential for policy outcomes related to the future of coastal restoration, aquaculture, and fisheries in Maine. With funding from the Maine Community Foundation, Cleaver is working with local oyster producers, the Nature Conservancy, the conservation nonprofits Midcoast Conservancy and Manomet, colleagues from Bowdoin College and the University of Maine, community members, and aquaculture startups to monitor two ongoing oyster restoration sites that are part of the Basin Oyster Project in Phippsburg’s Basin Preserve.
Over a period of several years, Cleaver and her students are exploring if Maine’s warming ocean waters will enhance oyster growth and production, as well as some of the social-ecological factors involved.
They are monitoring changes in environmental conditions, the health of the oysters, and whether oyster settlement is happening on those sites in Phippsburg. If so, they will probe whether those locations also support higher levels of marine biodiversity. At the same time, Cleaver is talking with local fishermen, shellfish harvesters, and other stakeholders about their perspectives, ideas, and concerns related to siting oyster restoration projects and the changing environment.
“We’re working to understand the bigger picture of our oyster reefs and the implications for everyone involved,” Cleaver said. “It’s quite possible that oyster reefs will be more prevalent in the coming years in the New Meadows, Sheepscot, and Damariscotta rivers based on whether or not the adult oysters are reproducing, if their larvae are settling, and if those settlers are surviving.”
Her research will help answer those questions.
