Reducing uncertainty surrounding the biological responses of degraded habitat is key to providing confidence and efficiency in its restoration. Many coastal habitats are so extensively degraded that organismal responses to restoration interventions are entirely unknown. Among the most degraded coastal ecosystems are oyster reefs, whose restoration typically occurs where oysters are degraded to the point of functional extinction. This loss creates uncertainty on the fundamental processes for reef recovery; the timing of oyster recruitment and their preferred substratum for settlement. Such knowledge can inform restoration strategies to accelerate habitat recovery. Near the site of Australia's largest restoration of native oyster reef, we quantified temporal variability in recruitment of the native flat oyster (Ostrea angasi) and assessed their preference between the settlement substrata deployed for the reef restoration. Combining half a decade of environmental data with oyster recruitment data, we provide a model that identified distinct peaks in oyster recruitment which correlate with food availability and seawater temperature. In addition, oysters preferentially settled on oyster shell relative to other materials used in local restoration. In combination, these results suggest that there are opportunities to augment recruitment through addition of shell substratum synced with recruitment peaks. Our recruitment model likely represents a minor investment with large returns, providing opportunities to capture peak recruitment and greater confidence in utilizing natural recruitment as a restoration resource.

中文翻译：

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用贝壳和岩石吸引牡蛎：对定时礁恢复的意义

减少围绕退化栖息地的生物反应的不确定性是为其恢复提供信心和效率的关键。许多沿海生境严重退化，以至于对恢复干预措施的机体反应完全未知。牡蛎礁是退化最严重的沿海生态系统之一，其恢复通常发生在牡蛎退化到功能灭绝点的地方。这种损失给珊瑚礁恢复的基本过程带来了不确定性；牡蛎招募的时间以及他们首选的定居基础。这些知识可以为恢复策略提供参考，以加快生境的恢复。在澳大利亚最大的原生牡蛎礁修复基地附近，我们量化了原生牡蛎（Ostrea angasi）招募的时间变异性），并评估了它们在为恢复礁石而部署的沉降层之间的偏好。将十年的环境数据与牡蛎募集数据相结合，我们提供了一个模型，该模型可以识别出牡蛎募集中与食物供应量和海水温度相关的不同峰值。另外，相对于用于局部修复的其他材料，牡蛎优先沉积在牡蛎壳上。结合起来，这些结果表明，有机会通过添加与募集高峰同步的壳层来增加募集。我们的招聘模式可能代表一笔小投资，回报丰厚，为抓住高峰招聘机会提供了更多机会，并增强了将自然招聘用作恢复资源的信心。