A survey assessment of perspectives on geohistorical data among oyster restoration professionals in the United States

Durham, Stephen; Dietl, Gregory

A survey assessment of perspectives on geohistorical data among oyster restoration professionals in the United States

dc.contributor.author	Durham, Stephen
dc.contributor.author	Dietl, Gregory
dc.date.accessioned	2015-01-15T14:16:28Z
dc.date.available	2015-01-15T14:16:28Z
dc.date.issued	2013-07
dc.description.abstract	Conservation paleobiology aims to apply data from geohistorical records, such as fossils and their associated sediments, to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Integrating geohistorical data into conservation/restoration practice, however, has proved difficult. In order to better understand how geohistorical data can be more effectively integrated into the conservation/restoration of an ecologically, economically, and culturally important group—oysters—a web-based survey was conducted to assess the awareness and understanding of geohistorical data, and perspectives on their use in restoration, among oyster researchers and restoration practitioners in the United States. The 97 survey responses demonstrate overall willingness to use geohistorical data in oyster restoration, but also highlight knowledge gaps. For instance, although many respondents understood some uses for geohistorical data, e.g. providing baseline information, few respondents mentioned others, such as reconstructing historical ranges of variation of ecosystem attributes. Respondents were also generally unaware of the full range of restoration metrics that can be measured from geohistorical records. The responses further suggested how geohistorical information might both reinforce and expand the information currently available to oyster restoration professionals. For instance, only half of respondents indicated that their baseline information pre-dates the 20th century, but geohistorical records of oysters can provide data on timescales ranging from decades to millennia. Finally, it is argued that to raise awareness of this underutilized information and address respondents’ doubts about geohistorical data’s completeness, precision/accuracy, and relevance in a rapidly changing, human-dominated world, increased collaboration between conservation paleobiologists and conservation/restoration scientists is needed.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1813/39030
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.relation.isreferencedby	Durham S. R., Dietl G. P., 2015. Perspectives on geohistorical data among oyster restoration professionals in the United States. Journal of Shellfish Research 34(2): 227-239. http://dx.doi.org/10.2983/035.034.0204.
dc.relation.isreferencedbyuri	http://dx.doi.org/10.2983/035.034.0204
dc.rights	Attribution 4.0 International	*
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	*
dc.title	A survey assessment of perspectives on geohistorical data among oyster restoration professionals in the United States	en_US
dc.type	dataset	en_US