![]() Samples collected from the wild will be transported live to USP Marine School Laboratory to be identified morphologically using cladistics analysis described by littlewood (1994). After morphological and morphometric examination DNA barcoding of 35 samples of each morphologically distinct group will be conducted. Craftsmen grind down the outer shell, leaving only the layers of nacre.To clarify species identity, the morphology and DNA barcoding of adult oysters will be undertaken. Humans have used mother-of-pearl for generations in manufacturing everything from buttons to furniture. This creates the beautiful and lustrous substance known as mother-of-pearl. Nacre also coats the inside of oyster shells. Other shell-based living creatures like conch, clams, and mussels are also capable of producing pearls. Few naturally form the well known, perfectly round sphere with exceptional color and luster. Contrary to what you might see in stores, most pearls are irregular in shape and color. The longer the pearl stays in the oyster, the bigger the pearl. As long as the object remains inside the shell, the oyster will continue to coat in layers the nacre. This protects the rest of the oyster’s body. This sac starts releasing a calcium carbonate substance called “nacre” which coats the foreign object. The oyster’s body recognizes the foreign material and surrounds it with cells until they form a pillow called a “pearl sac”. The pearl is the result of an irritant which gets stuck inside the oyster’s soft tissue. Whether naturally grown or cultured, an oyster does not need or want to create a pearl in the first place. While we value pearls world-wide, we still don’t know much about why oysters produce them. The Eastern oyster, which dominates the US, doesn’t produce pearls. The luminous and beautiful gems we call pearls are calcium carbonate spheres produced by some species of oyster. Because of oysters' ability to clean water, it’s one of the only forms of farming that leaves the surrounding area cleaner than it would be otherwise. Whichever method the farmers use, oyster farming is very good for the environment. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. There are many forms of off-bottom culturing, some of which include cage culturing, rack and bag culturing, and tray culturing. This is a safer environment for the oysters to develop. Off-bottom culture involves growing oysters in controlled environments that float in the open water. Bottom culture leaves oysters more exposed and often not all survive. This may be due to minerals on the sea bed or a natural adaptation to a more hostile environment. Bottom culture often produces oysters with stronger shells. Bottom culture better simulates a natural oyster environment. Bottom culture uses the natural sea floor as the base for oyster farms. There are two main methods to farming oysters: bottom culture and the off-bottom culture. The young oysters, called spat, cement themselves to it. Farmers provide platforms of ground shell, called clutch. After a few weeks they will be ready to attach to whatever surface they can find. Once oysters breed, the fertilized eggs will become free-swimming larvae. These tanks and manipulating the temperature and amount of food, causing oysters to spawn. Farmers stimulate oysters to breed by placing oyster in special tanks. As in other kinds of farming, farmers breed for traits like disease resistance, fast growth, and shape. Farming will often begin with selecting the appropriate adult oysters for breeding. The methods vary depending on geographic region and the preferences of the farmers. The process of farming oysters is quite involved. Now, most commercial oysters you eat at restaurants come from farms. Generations of aggressive oyster harvesting decimated wild oyster populations. When humans first encountered oysters, they seemed limitless.
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