Happy #MolluscMonday! Olympia #oysters (Ostrea lurida) are native to the West Coast of N. America. Native oysters provide shoreline protection, #habitat and food for other animals, accumulate sediment and filter water to benefit of aquatic vegetation. 1/
2/ Once abundant in SF Bay, their numbers were greatly reduced by overharvesting and sedimentation during the Gold Rush. Current threats include non-native predators and climate change. #climatechange#SanFranciscoBay#nativespecies#ecosystemservices