Professor Matt Gray on the filtration capabilities of oysters
Oysters are filter feeders that can help clean up the Chesapeake Bay, right? Many have seen the various web videos showing a dozen or so bivalves clearing a murky fish tank in just an hour. But are they such ecological superheroes that each one can siphon 50 gallons of water in a day? Is it true? Well, yes, but not so much in the real world, according to Matthew Gray, a scientist at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory.
Oysters are filter feeders that can help clean up the Chesapeake Bay, right? Many have seen the various web videos showing a dozen or so bivalves clearing a murky fish tank in just an hour. But are they such ecological superheroes that each one can siphon 50 gallons of water in a day? Is it true? Well, yes, but not so much in the real world, according to Matthew Gray, a scientist at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s Horn Point Laboratory. Check out this recent interview Matt did with the Chesapeake Bay Journal (opens in a new tab).
Pumped-up performance: Oysters’ filtering feat overstated (opens in a new tab)
