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Little Sea Creature Could Play Big Part in Saving Coastal Land

时间:2022-10-05 22:59:14

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Little Sea Creature Could Play Big Part in Saving Coastal1 Land

Government agencies and volunteer groups in many places are using sea creatures to protect coastal areas from storms and rising sea levels.

The idea is that large groups of oysters3, known as colonies, can help reduce the power of waves. Powerful waves can damage lands along the edge of ocean waters.

Denise Vaccaro's home was destroyed 10 years ago in Superstorm Sandy, a big storm that affected4 the U.S. Northeast coast. The beach she loved is also gone, claimed by rising seas that are damaging the shoreline.

"It's so sad that this little community has lost its beach," Vaccaro said. "People are losing their property. My home was totally destroyed. It's a way of life that's being lost."

Many people around the world have had similar experiences. Once beautiful beach communities are washing away, and the people living there are having problems dealing5 with the changes.

Oysters may play an important part in dealing with the problem.

Oysters are central to a project that is taking place near Vaccaro's rebuilt house. The project is being carried out by the American Littoral6 Society. It received $1 million from the New Jersey7 Department of Environmental Protection. The group has been building steel wire containers, filling them with rocks and whelk shells and positioning them along the shoreline of Barnegat Bay.

Tiny baby oysters, called spat8, are attached to whelk shells and placed in the bay near the existing cages to further stabilize9 the shoreline.

The shoreline in Vaccaro's neighborhood has lost 46 meters of beach since 1995, the Littoral Society says.

The oysters appear to be doing their job. One recent day, a strong east wind blew across the bay. But between the oysters and the shoreline, the water was much calmer, and waves gently went onto the shoreline instead of hitting it with force.

As an added benefit, the oysters help improve water quality in the bay. The Associated Press reports that a single oyster2 can filter up to 190 liters of water a day.

A few kilometers south, a group called ReClam the Bay is building an oyster reef to protect the shoreline of Mordecai Island. People do not live on the island, but it protects the shoreline of Beach Haven10, a town on Long Beach Island.

Volunteers fill bags with 16 kilograms of whelk shells, to which millions of baby oysters have been attached. Then volunteers move them out to the reef a few hundred yards into the ocean. They have placed 10,000 bags of oysters and whelk shells there since 2015.

"In the last 100 years, Mordecai Island has lost 35 percent of its size," said Jack11 Duggan, a longtime volunteer with the group. "If we do nothing, in 40 years the island will be gone — just washed over. This island protects Beach Haven from taking the force of all that wave action."

Governments and volunteers in other places are taking similar steps.

In New York, city, state and federal agencies are building "living shorelines" along the southwestern end of Long Island. They use oysters, shells and native plants.

A similar project in Delaware used 1,300 bags of shells to extend shoreline protection near Lewes CanalFront Park.

The Oyster Recovery Partnership12 in Maryland has placed billions of oysters on shells in Chesapeake Bay in a project set to run through 2025. In Florida, volunteers and researchers established oyster colonies along parts of the Peace River in Punta Gorda.

In Argyll, Scotland, a group called Seawilding began restoring in 2020 a place near a coastal area that had been damaged. They restored more than 300,000 oysters there. Also in Scotland, a project aims to restore 30,000 oysters near Edinburgh.

Vaccaro said her New Jersey home may well depend on the success of many small oysters.

"If we don't do anything, we're not going to have any of these houses," Vaccaro said. She added, "I saw what happened and I see what can happen again."

Words in This Story

beach – n. an area covered with sand or small rocks that is next to an ocean

whelk – n. large snail13 that lives in the ocean

cage – n. a box made of wire or metal bars in which people keep animals or birds

stabilize – v. to make (something) less easily moved

benefit – n. a good or helpful result or effect

restore – v. to put or bring (something) back into existence or use; to bring (someone) back to an earlier and better condition — usually + to


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1 coastal WWiyh     
adj.海岸的,沿海的,沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
  • This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
2 oyster w44z6     
n.牡蛎;沉默寡言的人
参考例句:
  • I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎,它味道真美。
  • I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时,我发现我相当喜欢吃。
3 oysters 713202a391facaf27aab568d95bdc68f     
牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
  • She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。
4 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
5 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
6 littoral J0vx5     
adj.海岸的;湖岸的;n.沿(海)岸地区
参考例句:
  • We should produce the littoral advantage well.我们应该把海滨的优势很好地发挥出来。
  • The reservoir sandstone was believed to have been deposited in a littoral environment.储集层砂岩就被认为是近海环境的沉积。
7 jersey Lp5zzo     
n.运动衫
参考例句:
  • He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
  • They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致,都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
8 spat pFdzJ     
n.口角,掌击;v.发出呼噜呼噜声
参考例句:
  • Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
  • There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。
9 stabilize PvuwZ     
vt.(使)稳定,使稳固,使稳定平衡;vi.稳定
参考例句:
  • They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
  • His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。
10 haven 8dhzp     
n.安全的地方,避难所,庇护所
参考例句:
  • It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后,这真是一个安乐窝。
  • The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。
11 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
12 partnership NmfzPy     
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
参考例句:
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
13 snail 8xcwS     
n.蜗牛
参考例句:
  • Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
  • Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

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