Marine Soundscapes And EDNA For Assessing Biodiversity And Functioning Of Re-establishing European Flat Oyster Reefs, Ostrea Edulis

Europe’s native flat oyster reefs were fished to near-extinction by the early 1900s, and the few survivors are now protected as a threatened habitat. This project will record the underwater soundscapes of restored European flat oyster reefs for the first time, pairing those audio signatures with environmental DNA (eDNA) samples to measure the biodiversity that returns when oysters re-establish. The problem is that restoration projects currently lack a fast, reliable way to assess whether a reef is thriving. Counting species visually in murky, tidal waters is slow and expensive. Sound and eDNA offer a quicker snapshot: different animals produce distinct noises and shed genetic material into the water, so a single recording and water sample could reveal the full community present. If the tool works, oyster restoration teams across Europe could monitor reef health in hours rather than weeks, scaling up efforts to bring back these habitats. The student will also test whether playing reef sounds can encourage oyster larvae to settle, potentially boosting restoration success. This is applied conservation science—the immediate goal is a practical monitoring tool, not fundamental discovery, but the soundscape recordings themselves will open a new window into a habitat that has been silent in scientific literature for over a century.