1 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,580 Jane: This is But Why, A Podcast for Curious Kids, from Vermont 2 00:00:23,580 --> 00:00:26,985 Public. I'm Jane Lindholm. On this show, we take questions 3 00:00:26,985 --> 00:00:30,285 from curious kids all over the world, and we go out and find 4 00:00:30,285 --> 00:00:36,045 answers. This fall, on an exceptionally rainy afternoon, 5 00:00:36,045 --> 00:00:40,485 the But Why team drove over to New York City to visit a place 6 00:00:40,485 --> 00:00:46,710 called Governor's Island. We had to take a ferry to get there. We 7 00:00:46,710 --> 00:00:50,490 went all the way to Governor's Island in the rain because we 8 00:00:50,490 --> 00:00:54,210 wanted to learn about a very specific project and a very 9 00:00:54,210 --> 00:00:59,370 specific animal. See if you can guess what it is! These animals 10 00:00:59,370 --> 00:01:03,570 live in salt water. They're pretty small. Most species could 11 00:01:03,570 --> 00:01:06,690 fit in the palm of your hand. When they're an adult, they 12 00:01:06,690 --> 00:01:11,895 filter as much as 50 gallons of water per day per animal, 13 00:01:12,075 --> 00:01:15,075 straining out pollutants and cleaning the environment around 14 00:01:15,075 --> 00:01:19,215 them. They have no brains and no eyes, but they do have a heart. 15 00:01:19,395 --> 00:01:24,255 And they're famous for making pearls. That last fact might 16 00:01:24,255 --> 00:01:28,095 have given it away. We're learning about oysters today. 17 00:01:28,095 --> 00:01:32,295 When you think about New York City, oysters probably aren't 18 00:01:32,295 --> 00:01:36,000 the first thing that springs to mind. But over a hundred years 19 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,560 ago, New York was known as the oyster capital of the world. You 20 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,460 could buy oysters from carts all across the city, and oyster 21 00:01:44,460 --> 00:01:48,000 shells were used in building construction. The oysters 22 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,740 themselves helped keep New York Harbor clean. Over time, though, 23 00:01:52,740 --> 00:01:57,105 the oyster population declined, a result of over harvesting and 24 00:01:57,105 --> 00:02:01,005 water pollution. And when New York Harbor lost its oyster 25 00:02:01,005 --> 00:02:05,985 reefs, it also lost a lot of biodiversity--the wide variety 26 00:02:05,985 --> 00:02:10,005 of plant and animal species that make a healthy ecosystem--and 27 00:02:10,545 --> 00:02:14,745 that underwater environment became more bare, less full of 28 00:02:14,805 --> 00:02:18,870 crags and reefs and different kinds of textures, which made it 29 00:02:18,870 --> 00:02:22,590 less resilient and less able to absorb floods and erosion. 30 00:02:22,590 --> 00:02:26,790 But a group of young people, scientists and teachers have 31 00:02:26,790 --> 00:02:30,990 been working for the last decade to restore oysters to the harbor 32 00:02:31,290 --> 00:02:34,710 in the hopes of reversing some of those negative consequences. 33 00:02:35,430 --> 00:02:39,210 The project is called the Billion Oyster Project, and it's 34 00:02:39,210 --> 00:02:42,090 headquartered on Governor's Island, which is why we were 35 00:02:42,135 --> 00:02:45,795 there. When we got off the ferry, we weren't sure exactly 36 00:02:45,795 --> 00:02:49,335 where we were supposed to go, but then we saw a tall man drive 37 00:02:49,335 --> 00:02:51,135 up in a golf cart and wave at us. 38 00:02:51,135 --> 00:02:52,935 Okay, tell me who you are. 39 00:02:52,995 --> 00:02:54,975 Mike McCann: My name is Mike McCann. I'm Director of Science 40 00:02:54,975 --> 00:02:56,835 and Research at the Billion Oyster Project. 41 00:02:56,955 --> 00:02:59,715 Jane: We piled into Mike's golf cart, and he drove us to the 42 00:02:59,715 --> 00:03:04,035 other side of the island, where there was a giant pile of empty 43 00:03:04,095 --> 00:03:04,875 shells. 44 00:03:04,875 --> 00:03:07,860 Describe these shells, because I'm looking at them and some of 45 00:03:07,860 --> 00:03:10,140 these shells are really big. Some of these shells are really 46 00:03:10,140 --> 00:03:14,160 small. Some of them are kind of purpley. This one is huge 47 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,580 compared to the other one. So what are all these shells? 48 00:03:17,700 --> 00:03:20,580 Mike McCann: So 99% of the shells here are from oysters. So 49 00:03:20,580 --> 00:03:22,500 we should back up and say, what's an oyster, right? An 50 00:03:22,500 --> 00:03:25,620 oyster is an animal. It's a mollusk. 51 00:03:25,620 --> 00:03:27,840 Jane: What's a mollusk? 52 00:03:27,180 --> 00:03:30,360 Mike McCann: An animal that has a shell, that makes its own 53 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:35,880 shell. Among the mollusks you probably know: snails and slugs, 54 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:41,340 but octopus and abalone? All these things are mollusks. And 55 00:03:41,340 --> 00:03:44,640 there's a branch of the mollusk called the bivalves, and that's 56 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:49,200 where oysters live. So that's mussels and scallops and clams 57 00:03:49,380 --> 00:03:53,685 and oysters. So they have bi, valve--two. That's what that 58 00:03:53,685 --> 00:03:56,865 root bi means, and valve like these two shells, which you can 59 00:03:56,865 --> 00:03:58,305 maybe hear me clicking together. 60 00:03:58,605 --> 00:04:00,585 Jane: What kind of oyster shells are you holding? 61 00:04:00,660 --> 00:04:05,340 Mike McCann: So from the Gulf all the way up to Maine, up into 62 00:04:05,340 --> 00:04:09,960 Nova Scotia, we have one single species of oyster. Scientists 63 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:14,100 call it Crassostrea virginica, the common name, Atlantic 64 00:04:14,100 --> 00:04:19,560 oyster, or Eastern oyster. So most of this pile is of the 65 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:20,580 Eastern oyster. 66 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,525 Benjamin: Hi, but why? My name is Benjamin. I am eight years 67 00:04:24,525 --> 00:04:29,265 old, and I from Long Beach, California, and I want to know, 68 00:04:29,625 --> 00:04:33,465 how do oysters make their shells? 69 00:04:33,525 --> 00:04:37,365 Mike McCann: Yeah. So oysters are really special. Like all 70 00:04:37,365 --> 00:04:40,125 these bivalves, they produce their own shells. So you might 71 00:04:40,125 --> 00:04:43,605 be familiar with a hermit crab, but a hermit crab doesn't make 72 00:04:43,605 --> 00:04:46,125 its own shell. It actually stole--it's a crab that stole it 73 00:04:46,125 --> 00:04:52,590 from from a snail. So oysters have this very special tissue 74 00:04:52,590 --> 00:04:56,250 called their mantle. And it's sort of a very thin tissue 75 00:04:56,250 --> 00:04:59,790 that's at the edge of their body. And they can take minerals 76 00:04:59,790 --> 00:05:03,630 that are in the water, primarily calcium, which is, you know, in 77 00:05:03,630 --> 00:05:06,870 our teeth and in our bones. So they're taking calcium, 78 00:05:06,870 --> 00:05:10,110 extracting it from the water, which there's plenty of calcium 79 00:05:10,155 --> 00:05:13,935 in sea water, and they mix it with protein. And then they can 80 00:05:13,995 --> 00:05:17,955 secrete--layer by layer, that mantle tissue can sort of build 81 00:05:18,135 --> 00:05:21,555 more and more layers of shell. So as their body's growing, 82 00:05:21,735 --> 00:05:23,415 their shell can grow around it, 83 00:05:24,075 --> 00:05:26,475 Jane: And does their shell grow for their entire life? 84 00:05:26,895 --> 00:05:29,415 Mike McCann: Yeah, that's right, they have a shell when they're a 85 00:05:29,415 --> 00:05:32,640 baby, swimming free, swimming in the water for those two to three 86 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:36,120 weeks, and then that shell is with them for life. So unlike a 87 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:41,400 crab, who you may know that a crab can molt its exoskeleton, 88 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:46,020 where they basically climb outside of their hard shell. An 89 00:05:46,020 --> 00:05:48,660 oyster never does that. It never molts. It never sheds that 90 00:05:48,660 --> 00:05:50,040 shell. It has it for life. 91 00:05:50,220 --> 00:05:53,400 Bennett: My name is Bennett. I'm seven years old, and I live in 92 00:05:53,580 --> 00:05:57,225 Grafton, Massachusetts. How long can oysters live? 93 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,300 Mike McCann: In New York City, many of our oysters, we've 94 00:06:00,300 --> 00:06:03,300 restored reefs, and they might be seven or eight years old on 95 00:06:03,300 --> 00:06:07,320 those reefs. Occasionally 10, 12. I think we've heard from 96 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:11,400 other harbors, other estuaries, 20 years old. 97 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:13,920 Jane: 20 years old. So you can have an oyster that's 20 years 98 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:14,100 old. 99 00:06:14,100 --> 00:06:14,520 Mike McCann: Yes. 100 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:15,780 Jane: Old enough to go to college. 101 00:06:15,780 --> 00:06:16,680 Mike McCann: That's right. 102 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:22,425 Jane: So if I look at one of these shells here, I can see 103 00:06:22,425 --> 00:06:25,605 kind of rings on the shells. Does that tell me anything about 104 00:06:25,605 --> 00:06:26,985 how old the oyster is? 105 00:06:27,105 --> 00:06:30,465 Mike McCann: Not precisely. You can get a general feel when you 106 00:06:30,465 --> 00:06:33,765 see those sort of ridges and breaks that there was probably a 107 00:06:33,765 --> 00:06:38,985 period of rapid growth. But it's hard to infer. Like it's not as 108 00:06:38,985 --> 00:06:42,165 precise as a tree ring, if you're familiar, so you can sort 109 00:06:42,165 --> 00:06:46,470 of tell when summers and winters are if you slice a tree trunk in 110 00:06:46,470 --> 00:06:49,350 cross section. An oyster shell, it's a little bit less precise. 111 00:06:50,430 --> 00:06:53,490 Jane: I was trying to concentrate on Mike's answers 112 00:06:53,490 --> 00:06:57,810 about what oysters are and how long they live, but the giant 113 00:06:57,810 --> 00:07:01,770 pile of shells in front of me was really distracting. It was 114 00:07:01,770 --> 00:07:06,750 just so big. If I had climbed up on it, I bet I could have seen 115 00:07:06,795 --> 00:07:08,055 all of Governor's Island. 116 00:07:08,055 --> 00:07:09,555 Mike McCann: These are some good ones. 117 00:07:09,555 --> 00:07:15,255 Jane: Okay. How many shell pieces do you think there are? A 118 00:07:15,255 --> 00:07:15,735 billion? 119 00:07:15,795 --> 00:07:18,315 Mike McCann: Oh, boy, that's a tough question. We have 120 00:07:18,315 --> 00:07:24,675 collected 3 million pounds of oyster shells from New York City 121 00:07:24,675 --> 00:07:28,695 restaurants since our program's been around. And you can imagine 122 00:07:28,755 --> 00:07:34,260 each pound probably has a few hundred or a hundred, so we 123 00:07:34,260 --> 00:07:36,120 could do some math, 3 billion. 124 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:37,740 Jane: Yeah, well over a billion. 125 00:07:37,740 --> 00:07:38,100 Mike McCann: Yeah. 126 00:07:38,100 --> 00:07:41,520 Jane: But wait, it's called the Billion Oyster Project, not the 127 00:07:41,520 --> 00:07:45,720 3 Billion Oyster SHELL Project. So what's going on with all 128 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:49,320 these shells, and where do the billion oysters come in? Stay 129 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:49,680 tuned. 130 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:51,540 BREAK: BREAK 131 00:07:51,540 --> 00:07:54,060 Jane: This is But Why. I'm Jane Lindholm, and today we're 132 00:07:54,105 --> 00:07:57,405 learning about oysters from Billion Oyster Project's Mike 133 00:07:57,405 --> 00:08:01,485 McCann on Governor's Island in New York City. When we visited, 134 00:08:01,485 --> 00:08:04,185 Mike had driven us across the island from the ferry dock in 135 00:08:04,185 --> 00:08:08,085 his golf cart to gaze in amazement at a pile of about 3 136 00:08:08,085 --> 00:08:12,465 billion oyster shells. These shells, which also included some 137 00:08:12,465 --> 00:08:15,690 clam and scallop and other mollusk shells, come from 138 00:08:15,690 --> 00:08:19,530 restaurants all over New York City. After people are done 139 00:08:19,530 --> 00:08:22,830 eating their shellfish dinners, the restaurants give the shells 140 00:08:22,830 --> 00:08:26,370 to Mike and his team, and the shells wind up on that pile. 141 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:28,760 Mike McCann: This is sort of the raw materials, the building 142 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:33,800 blocks, for an restored oyster reef, or created oyster reef, 143 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:37,640 where humans get involved. So we've got tens of thousands of 144 00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:40,940 pounds of oyster shell. It's been collected from restaurants 145 00:08:40,940 --> 00:08:42,020 all over New York City. 146 00:08:42,500 --> 00:08:45,200 Jane: Those are all oyster shells. I'm on a pile. I could 147 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:49,745 climb up this, and I would be, you know, queen of the mountain 148 00:08:49,745 --> 00:08:50,705 if I climbed it. 149 00:08:51,305 --> 00:08:53,525 Mike McCann: And so these are going to spend about a year 150 00:08:53,525 --> 00:08:56,885 outside curing. So there's probably, you know, little 151 00:08:56,885 --> 00:09:00,065 specks of oyster tissue and other things on it. So we leave 152 00:09:00,065 --> 00:09:02,525 them out here, expose the elements, so they get really 153 00:09:02,525 --> 00:09:06,065 nice and clean. Then we clean them up, we crush them up, and 154 00:09:06,065 --> 00:09:10,445 we combine them with eco concrete, and we build what are 155 00:09:10,445 --> 00:09:11,705 called reef balls. 156 00:09:11,765 --> 00:09:14,630 Jane: It turned out those reef balls were actually right behind 157 00:09:14,630 --> 00:09:17,330 us, so we turned around and walked over to them. 158 00:09:18,350 --> 00:09:23,330 Mike McCann: So they look like sort of concrete domes with 159 00:09:23,450 --> 00:09:27,290 holes maybe the size of volleyballs in it, and so that's 160 00:09:27,290 --> 00:09:31,370 made of oyster shell, eco concrete, which is special blend 161 00:09:31,370 --> 00:09:34,910 of concrete that oysters and other marine life really likes. 162 00:09:35,330 --> 00:09:38,135 And this will be the sort of base of the reef. 163 00:09:39,035 --> 00:09:42,815 Jane: If you were to look at one of these, it looks kind of like 164 00:09:42,815 --> 00:09:47,075 a very, very large plant pot, but the way they're stored here, 165 00:09:47,075 --> 00:09:50,495 upside down. And it's got holes in it. So it's a little bit like 166 00:09:50,495 --> 00:09:55,115 maybe if you use a colander to clean your raspberries or to 167 00:09:55,115 --> 00:09:58,475 drain your pasta, it's kind of like a colander for a giant. 168 00:09:58,835 --> 00:10:02,120 Mike McCann: And it weighs about 500 pounds, so definitely a 169 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:03,500 giant-size colander. 170 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:07,460 Jane: Okay, so this is made up of eco concrete and oyster 171 00:10:07,460 --> 00:10:08,060 shells? 172 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,580 Mike McCann: And that's not enough to get a reef right. We 173 00:10:10,580 --> 00:10:13,040 could put these in the harbor, and, you know, some fish would 174 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:16,520 be interested in maybe start building a home around it, but 175 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:21,380 we need to introduce living oysters. So also on Governor's 176 00:10:21,380 --> 00:10:24,845 Island, we have what we call our remote setting facility. And 177 00:10:24,845 --> 00:10:30,185 these are giant shipping containers, big steel cubes that 178 00:10:30,185 --> 00:10:34,865 we've retrofitted to hold the reef balls. And then we 179 00:10:34,865 --> 00:10:39,185 introduce baby oysters. We can buy them from professional 180 00:10:39,185 --> 00:10:44,930 hatcheries, where we'll import 70 million oysters at a time, 70 181 00:10:44,930 --> 00:10:48,410 million, and we'll add those to these shipping containers with 182 00:10:48,410 --> 00:10:51,350 about 40 reef balls. And then those oysters, we're basically 183 00:10:51,350 --> 00:10:53,930 going to recreate that process that they'd be doing out there 184 00:10:53,930 --> 00:10:58,070 in the harbor, where they'd spend a couple of days, find 185 00:10:58,070 --> 00:11:01,370 their home on the reef balls. And then that can be the mobile 186 00:11:01,370 --> 00:11:04,670 unit that we can then deploy wherever we want, into New York 187 00:11:04,670 --> 00:11:05,150 Harbor. 188 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,780 Jane: Let's recap. The Billion Oyster Project takes billions of 189 00:11:08,780 --> 00:11:12,320 shells from people who've been eating shellfish for dinner. It 190 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:15,980 grinds them up and mixes them with eco concrete, and then 191 00:11:15,980 --> 00:11:18,980 turns those shells and the concrete into these structures, 192 00:11:18,980 --> 00:11:23,480 these reef balls, that they then can drop into New York Harbor to 193 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:28,460 start forming the infrastructure for oyster reefs. They add 194 00:11:28,460 --> 00:11:33,065 millions of baby oysters to the reefs, and those tiny oysters 195 00:11:33,065 --> 00:11:36,665 swim around and latch onto the reef balls and start building 196 00:11:36,665 --> 00:11:40,265 their shells out of the calcium in the structures. As the 197 00:11:40,265 --> 00:11:43,265 oysters get older and bigger, they stay latched onto the 198 00:11:43,265 --> 00:11:47,705 reefs, and other animals begin using those big, open structures 199 00:11:47,705 --> 00:11:49,265 for safe habitat as well. 200 00:11:49,445 --> 00:11:53,390 Cecily: Hi, my name is Cecily. I'm 10 years old. I live in 201 00:11:53,390 --> 00:11:57,170 Winnipeg, Manitoba, and my question is, what do oysters 202 00:11:57,170 --> 00:11:57,650 eat? 203 00:11:57,890 --> 00:12:02,270 Mike McCann: Oysters eat algae, so they don't eat the big leafy 204 00:12:02,270 --> 00:12:06,410 green seaweed kind of algae that you might be familiar with. But 205 00:12:06,410 --> 00:12:10,730 in our harbor and in most harbors, there's lots and lots 206 00:12:10,730 --> 00:12:14,555 of microscopic algae called phytoplankton. So these are 207 00:12:14,555 --> 00:12:19,175 single celled algae that are really abundant in huge numbers, 208 00:12:19,415 --> 00:12:24,035 and the oysters filter those micro algae out of the water. 209 00:12:24,635 --> 00:12:27,275 Jane: They eat algae, and that helps filter the water. But how 210 00:12:27,275 --> 00:12:28,295 are they actually doing that? 211 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:32,320 Mike McCann: Yeah, it's an amazing process. Inside their 212 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,760 body, between the two shells, is a special tissue called the 213 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:38,320 ctenidium, and it-- 214 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:39,160 Jane: Can you spell that? 215 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:45,880 Mike McCann: C, t, e, n, i, d, i, u, m. It's hard to spell out 216 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:46,240 loud. 217 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:48,220 Jane: I did not think it was gonna start with a C! 218 00:12:48,220 --> 00:12:50,260 Mike McCann: Yeah, it's a tricky word. It comes from a Greek word 219 00:12:50,260 --> 00:12:53,665 for comb, and it looks like a tiny little comb. There's all 220 00:12:53,665 --> 00:12:56,725 these sort of branches like you would for the comb you use in 221 00:12:56,725 --> 00:12:59,965 your hair, but they're covered in cilia. And these are these 222 00:12:59,965 --> 00:13:05,305 really tiny sort of hair-like cells, and those cilia just are 223 00:13:05,305 --> 00:13:10,525 constantly beating, pulling the water in. And this organ is 224 00:13:10,525 --> 00:13:14,485 amazing, because the oyster can actually choose the particles 225 00:13:14,485 --> 00:13:18,190 that it wants to eat and choose the particles that says, "Nah, 226 00:13:18,190 --> 00:13:21,190 that's not food. I don't want to eat that." And so on this 227 00:13:21,190 --> 00:13:24,310 cone-like structure, there's all these sort of conveyor belts, 228 00:13:24,490 --> 00:13:29,530 and they can actually move individual microscopic algae 229 00:13:29,530 --> 00:13:31,870 cell and move it to their mouth. And then, if there's, you know, 230 00:13:31,870 --> 00:13:34,690 say, a piece of plastic, they might say, "Ugh, let me get rid 231 00:13:34,690 --> 00:13:37,630 of that." And they they bind it up with some mucus, and it comes 232 00:13:37,630 --> 00:13:39,235 out as pseudo feces. 233 00:13:40,015 --> 00:13:44,035 Jane: Pseudo means fake. Feces means poop. So it's fake poop? 234 00:13:44,035 --> 00:13:47,095 Mike McCann: It never went through their body, but it kind 235 00:13:47,095 --> 00:13:49,195 of looks and feels a lot like poop. 236 00:13:50,275 --> 00:13:53,995 Jane: So if they're filtering bad stuff out and then putting 237 00:13:53,995 --> 00:13:57,475 it back into the water, how is that cleaning the harbor? 238 00:13:57,900 --> 00:14:00,420 Mike McCann: Right. So there's two ways that they can either 239 00:14:00,420 --> 00:14:05,220 bind up or transform pollutants. So in that process of creating 240 00:14:05,220 --> 00:14:07,860 pseudo feces, what they're doing is sort of taking it from the 241 00:14:07,860 --> 00:14:12,240 water and depositing it and burying it into the sediment. So 242 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,860 it stays there, in many cases, and that's a good thing. But for 243 00:14:16,860 --> 00:14:19,920 some of the pollutants, they can actually get rid of it entirely. 244 00:14:20,025 --> 00:14:24,225 So in many estuaries, too much nitrogen is one of the biggest 245 00:14:24,225 --> 00:14:28,005 pollutants. 70% of the air we breathe is nitrogen. But too 246 00:14:28,005 --> 00:14:31,065 much nitrogen in the water is actually a really bad thing. It 247 00:14:31,065 --> 00:14:34,485 can cause algae blooms and all these other problems in an 248 00:14:34,485 --> 00:14:39,345 estuary. But the microbial community that lives in and 249 00:14:39,345 --> 00:14:42,225 around all those nooks and crannies on the oyster reef 250 00:14:42,285 --> 00:14:46,290 actually take that nitrogen that's dissolved in the water 251 00:14:46,410 --> 00:14:49,410 and convert it into nitrogen gas, which then goes into the 252 00:14:49,410 --> 00:14:52,650 atmosphere, where it's perfectly fine for nitrogen gas to be. So 253 00:14:52,650 --> 00:14:55,770 they're transforming and removing nitrogen, one of the 254 00:14:55,770 --> 00:15:00,030 biggest estuarine pollutants. So an individual oyster can filter 255 00:15:00,150 --> 00:15:03,870 tens of gallons, maybe up to 50 gallons of water a day. That's 256 00:15:03,870 --> 00:15:07,755 just one big, full grown oyster can really just move a lot of 257 00:15:07,755 --> 00:15:10,215 water through its body and clean it up. 258 00:15:10,515 --> 00:15:12,315 Jane: So what would a billion oysters do? 259 00:15:12,315 --> 00:15:14,955 Mike McCann: A billion oysters could filter, you know, a good 260 00:15:14,955 --> 00:15:16,995 chunk of New York Harbor in a few days. 261 00:15:17,655 --> 00:15:21,795 Jane: That's pretty awesome. And you plan, or hope, to be able to 262 00:15:21,915 --> 00:15:24,915 put a billion oysters into New York Harbor by... 263 00:15:24,975 --> 00:15:25,755 Mike McCann: 2030. 264 00:15:25,875 --> 00:15:28,455 Jane: 2030. Whoa. Okay, so you've got five years. 265 00:15:28,455 --> 00:15:29,655 Mike McCann: We're feeling optimistic. 266 00:15:30,195 --> 00:15:31,500 Jane: How many are you doing a year? 267 00:15:31,540 --> 00:15:37,840 Mike McCann: So, so far, we have returned 150 million oysters. So 268 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:42,100 we're currently doing about 25 million a year. But in the next 269 00:15:42,100 --> 00:15:49,163 year, our facility is going to expand to do about 100 million a 270 00:15:49,163 --> 00:15:49,219 year. 271 00:15:49,219 --> 00:15:49,721 Jane: Good, because you're gonna have to get speedier. 272 00:15:49,721 --> 00:15:50,000 Mike McCann: Gotta get moving. Yeah. 273 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,300 Aurora: My name is Aurora. I'm five years old. I'm from 274 00:15:53,300 --> 00:15:58,340 Brownsville, Texas. Why do oyster live in the ocean, but 275 00:15:58,340 --> 00:15:59,480 not in the lake? 276 00:15:59,900 --> 00:16:02,960 Mike McCann: Oysters live in oceans because that's where 277 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:08,360 their mom and dads lived. So that's where most mollusk 278 00:16:08,360 --> 00:16:12,800 species originated. So if you go back tens of thousands, hundreds 279 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,325 of thousands of years ago, when mollusks originated, it was in 280 00:16:16,325 --> 00:16:21,005 the oceans. And we know some mollusks, like snails and slugs, 281 00:16:21,005 --> 00:16:23,705 have made it onto land. Some have made it into freshwater 282 00:16:23,705 --> 00:16:28,505 ponds, but the majority of mollusks live in the ocean, and 283 00:16:28,505 --> 00:16:34,565 it's a really tricky thing to live both in the ocean and in 284 00:16:34,565 --> 00:16:38,450 the fresh water, because all of your cells in your body need to 285 00:16:38,450 --> 00:16:42,950 be able to osmoregulate, which is basically balance salt and 286 00:16:42,950 --> 00:16:46,790 water. And so you could really, for most organisms, only 287 00:16:46,790 --> 00:16:50,150 specialize in one place, because the way your cells are trying to 288 00:16:50,150 --> 00:16:53,030 balance, they're saying, "Hey, I need to get rid of excess salt." 289 00:16:53,150 --> 00:16:56,270 Or "I need to get rid of excess water." Most species have 290 00:16:56,270 --> 00:16:59,052 adapted to just one of those environments, and not both. 291 00:16:59,052 --> 00:17:01,775 There are a few exceptions, you know, some fish species can span 292 00:17:01,955 --> 00:17:05,675 fresh water and salt water, but it's a really hard task to do. 293 00:17:05,879 --> 00:17:10,139 Caden: My name is Caden. I'm four years old, and I live in 294 00:17:10,139 --> 00:17:15,659 Rockland, Massachusetts. Where do oysters go in the winter? 295 00:17:16,140 --> 00:17:19,740 Mike McCann: So oysters, except for when they're a baby, can't 296 00:17:19,740 --> 00:17:24,360 move, so they are staying cemented in place on that reef 297 00:17:24,540 --> 00:17:28,800 that they chose when they were just two or three weeks old. So 298 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:31,920 what that means in a place like New York City, where it gets 299 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:36,120 really cold in the winter, the water goes down to 33 degrees 300 00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:39,465 Fahrenheit, that means they're staying in place and they are 301 00:17:40,065 --> 00:17:42,945 basically slowing their metabolic rate, and they're 302 00:17:42,945 --> 00:17:46,845 living off all the food they ate all summer and all of those 303 00:17:46,845 --> 00:17:50,625 reserve energy stores so an oyster can survive. And you 304 00:17:50,625 --> 00:17:52,305 know, ice cold water. 305 00:17:52,305 --> 00:17:53,685 Jane: For 20 years! 306 00:17:53,685 --> 00:17:56,925 Mike McCann: For, well, you know, one winter at a time, for 307 00:17:56,925 --> 00:17:57,885 20 years, yes. 308 00:17:58,125 --> 00:18:00,885 Bennett: My name is Bennett. I'm seven years old, and I live in 309 00:18:00,885 --> 00:18:06,390 Grafton, Massachusetts. My question is, what animals eat 310 00:18:06,390 --> 00:18:07,290 oysters? 311 00:18:07,660 --> 00:18:10,540 Mike McCann: So oysters are food for other animals, and that's a 312 00:18:10,540 --> 00:18:14,980 pretty natural and normal thing. So there are crabs that'll eat 313 00:18:14,980 --> 00:18:21,460 oysters, like blue crabs and mud crabs. There are fish, like the 314 00:18:21,460 --> 00:18:24,400 oyster toadfish, it's got special crunching teeth that can 315 00:18:24,820 --> 00:18:26,860 break through shell. There's snails... 316 00:18:26,980 --> 00:18:29,620 Jane: Can you just pause on the oyster toadfish? Because first 317 00:18:29,620 --> 00:18:33,325 of all, it has a fantastic name, but also it is a weird-looking 318 00:18:33,325 --> 00:18:33,865 fish. 319 00:18:33,865 --> 00:18:38,365 Mike McCann: It looks kind of grumpy. It sounds like a toad. 320 00:18:38,425 --> 00:18:41,485 That's how they communicate with each other, and it loves to live 321 00:18:41,485 --> 00:18:45,385 on oyster reefs. It's one of the reef residents. It sort of makes 322 00:18:45,385 --> 00:18:49,945 their home on these reefs. More predators, oyster predators: so 323 00:18:49,945 --> 00:18:54,490 we said crabs, we said fish. Also snails, like the oyster 324 00:18:54,490 --> 00:18:59,170 drill, which is a snail that's smaller than a quarter, but it's 325 00:18:59,170 --> 00:19:02,590 got a special mouth part that can drill holes into oysters, 326 00:19:02,590 --> 00:19:04,210 and then they slurp out the insides. 327 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:07,180 Jane: So even though it's a fellow bivalve, it isn't like, 328 00:19:07,420 --> 00:19:08,140 "Ah, you're cool." 329 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,540 Mike McCann: There's no loyalties from the oyster drill. 330 00:19:10,540 --> 00:19:14,200 And then sponges. There's a sponge called a boring sponge, 331 00:19:14,380 --> 00:19:17,320 boring not because it's uninteresting, but boring 332 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:21,580 because it bores holes into the oyster shell. So if we look 333 00:19:21,580 --> 00:19:23,740 through that pile, we could probably find some oyster shells 334 00:19:23,740 --> 00:19:26,980 that have had some boring sponge, looks like Swiss cheese. 335 00:19:27,445 --> 00:19:29,785 Jane: Oh, I think I saw one of those. And then, of course, 336 00:19:29,785 --> 00:19:31,345 humans eat oysters. 337 00:19:31,465 --> 00:19:35,005 Mike McCann: Yeah, that's right. Oysters are, I think, famous 338 00:19:35,305 --> 00:19:37,765 because of the fact that they're really delicious, and many 339 00:19:37,765 --> 00:19:40,285 people love to eat them. And that's the source of these 340 00:19:40,285 --> 00:19:42,685 oysters shells that we have here at the shell pile. These all 341 00:19:42,685 --> 00:19:46,285 came from New York City restaurants where diners enjoyed 342 00:19:46,345 --> 00:19:49,645 a dozen oysters on a night out on the town, and then they end 343 00:19:49,645 --> 00:19:53,050 up here to be restored back to New York Harbor. New York City 344 00:19:53,050 --> 00:19:56,290 was, you know, once the oyster capital of the world in terms of 345 00:19:56,290 --> 00:19:59,590 how many oysters were grown and produced and harvested here and 346 00:19:59,590 --> 00:20:03,070 shipped. Across the United States, over to Europe. Most 347 00:20:03,070 --> 00:20:05,650 oysters at one point in time were coming from these waters in 348 00:20:05,650 --> 00:20:08,710 the 1800s but it's been 100 years since we've had that. 349 00:20:08,950 --> 00:20:12,370 We're not trying to restore a population of oysters in New 350 00:20:12,370 --> 00:20:15,955 York City to eat anytime soon, our water is still much too 351 00:20:15,955 --> 00:20:16,795 dirty for that. 352 00:20:17,035 --> 00:20:19,015 Jane: So that's one thing that you should be aware of when 353 00:20:19,015 --> 00:20:21,295 you're thinking about eating oysters, is that they are 354 00:20:21,655 --> 00:20:25,075 incredible filterers. So you want to make sure you're eating 355 00:20:25,075 --> 00:20:28,255 oysters from clean water, not plucking one out of polluted 356 00:20:28,255 --> 00:20:28,615 water. 357 00:20:28,735 --> 00:20:31,135 Mike McCann: Yeah, that's right. Oysters really reflect the water 358 00:20:31,135 --> 00:20:34,255 that they're in. So you know, there are many places in New 359 00:20:34,255 --> 00:20:37,375 York, not in New York City, if you go out in Long Island, where 360 00:20:37,660 --> 00:20:40,960 the state has said these waters are clean and you can grow and 361 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,240 harvest and farm oysters here. 362 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:49,180 Lucy: My name is Lucy. I'm six years old. I live in Guelph, 363 00:20:49,180 --> 00:20:55,240 Ontario. Why is it safe to eat oysters without cooking them? 364 00:20:55,300 --> 00:20:58,240 Mike McCann: Yeah, so it's only safe to eat oysters if they've 365 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:02,305 come from clean water. And any oyster you see in a store, in a 366 00:21:02,305 --> 00:21:05,845 grocery store, a fish market, a restaurant, has come from waters 367 00:21:05,845 --> 00:21:11,905 that have been designated safe for harvest, so oysters that 368 00:21:11,905 --> 00:21:15,385 have been harvested from clean water and have been kept cold 369 00:21:15,385 --> 00:21:16,525 are going to be safe to eat. 370 00:21:17,725 --> 00:21:20,605 Jane: So you should always check with your adult and maybe check 371 00:21:20,605 --> 00:21:22,157 where you're buying the oysters from. 372 00:21:22,157 --> 00:21:22,577 And don't harvest them from New York City. 373 00:21:22,577 --> 00:21:23,590 Also, because we want the oysters to stay here, because 374 00:21:23,590 --> 00:21:28,450 they're doing important work. 375 00:21:28,450 --> 00:21:29,110 Mike McCann: That's right. 376 00:21:29,290 --> 00:21:32,590 Sarah: My name is Sarah. I'm from Portland, Oregon, and I'm 377 00:21:32,590 --> 00:21:35,890 eight years old. How do oysters make pearls? 378 00:21:36,250 --> 00:21:39,190 Jane: Do you know what a pearl is? You might have seen pearls 379 00:21:39,190 --> 00:21:42,610 on someone's earrings or a necklace. When you see them on a 380 00:21:42,610 --> 00:21:45,790 piece of jewelry, pearls are typically round and a lot of 381 00:21:45,790 --> 00:21:50,350 them look milky white and shiny, but some pearls are other colors 382 00:21:50,350 --> 00:21:54,835 too, like yellow or pink or shimmery black. Pearls are 383 00:21:54,835 --> 00:21:58,075 produced by mollusks, like oysters and clams. 384 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,360 Mike McCann: So we can talk about how oysters form their 385 00:22:01,360 --> 00:22:05,260 shells first, right? So all mollusks, for the most part, are 386 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:09,340 taking minerals like calcium from the water, mixing them with 387 00:22:09,340 --> 00:22:12,460 protein, and building their own shells. And then their body sort 388 00:22:12,460 --> 00:22:17,020 of grows and the shell grows around them. And so that shell 389 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:21,445 typically has multiple layers. There's a sort of harder layer 390 00:22:21,445 --> 00:22:24,145 on the outside and a smoother layer on the inside. It's called 391 00:22:24,145 --> 00:22:29,545 nacre, N A, C, R, E, or it's kind of a mother of pearl, is 392 00:22:29,545 --> 00:22:32,425 another way to describe it. It looks shiny and pearlescent. 393 00:22:32,344 --> 00:22:34,639 Jane: And it's really smooth when you touch it. 394 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:37,880 Mike McCann: Any mollusk that makes a shell can make this 395 00:22:37,940 --> 00:22:41,540 nacre or mother of pearl layer, and so even oysters that you see 396 00:22:41,540 --> 00:22:45,860 here, like the Crassostrea virginica of New York City, has 397 00:22:45,860 --> 00:22:50,540 that nacre layer. But only some species of bivalves, and 398 00:22:50,540 --> 00:22:53,540 unfortunately, this species, doesn't make the really round 399 00:22:53,540 --> 00:22:57,005 and beautiful pearls. There's only a few species that are, you 400 00:22:57,005 --> 00:22:59,945 know, often cultured, which means humans really get 401 00:22:59,945 --> 00:23:05,465 involved. Sometimes they'll even plant a little seed to start the 402 00:23:05,465 --> 00:23:08,885 process. So what's happening is, anytime there's an irritant, a 403 00:23:08,885 --> 00:23:12,485 grain of sand, an infection, the animal is basically 404 00:23:12,485 --> 00:23:18,590 encapsulating or growing a layer of nacre around that object. So 405 00:23:18,590 --> 00:23:20,870 if you were to find a pearl in an oyster, it would be probably 406 00:23:20,870 --> 00:23:24,230 really weird-shaped and irregular. It wouldn't look like 407 00:23:24,230 --> 00:23:29,390 a perfect sphere. Most of those come from species in places like 408 00:23:29,450 --> 00:23:33,530 Australia and the Pacific, and they're completely different 409 00:23:33,530 --> 00:23:35,510 species, and they are cultured pearls. 410 00:23:35,930 --> 00:23:39,470 Jane: Basically anytime you see a pearl, you can think of it as 411 00:23:39,470 --> 00:23:43,115 something that really annoyed that animal, that what they made 412 00:23:43,115 --> 00:23:45,455 was something to put around something that was annoying. 413 00:23:45,455 --> 00:23:47,555 Mike McCann: That's a great way to look at it. Absolutely. It's 414 00:23:47,555 --> 00:23:51,215 a way to get rid of that pest, but it stays with you forever. 415 00:23:51,875 --> 00:23:53,855 Jane: Yes, much like our siblings, sometimes. 416 00:23:53,855 --> 00:23:58,175 One of the coolest things about the Billion Oyster Project is 417 00:23:58,175 --> 00:24:01,955 how many young people are involved in it. There's a high 418 00:24:01,955 --> 00:24:05,495 school on Governor's Island, and the students there are deeply 419 00:24:05,540 --> 00:24:07,040 involved with this project. 420 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:10,220 Mike McCann: We really believe that restoration is not just the 421 00:24:10,220 --> 00:24:15,260 job of adults, and we think that young people and kids and 422 00:24:15,260 --> 00:24:19,400 students are the next--they're the leaders of what the harbor 423 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,860 is going to look like in the future. So what a lot of what we 424 00:24:21,860 --> 00:24:24,800 do is work with students and young people and give them 425 00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:29,165 opportunities to--high schoolers at the New York Harbor School 426 00:24:29,165 --> 00:24:32,405 work with us to drive boats and learn how to operate boats 427 00:24:32,405 --> 00:24:36,305 safely. They learn how to scuba dive and monitor oyster reefs. 428 00:24:36,485 --> 00:24:39,725 They learn how to weld and fabricate some of the structures 429 00:24:39,725 --> 00:24:42,845 that get used in restoration. These are real hands-on learning 430 00:24:42,845 --> 00:24:46,445 opportunities for kids, for young people, because they're 431 00:24:46,445 --> 00:24:49,825 the ones who are going to be taking care of New York Harbor 432 00:24:49,825 --> 00:24:49,987 in the future. 433 00:24:49,987 --> 00:24:52,970 Jane: The day we were visiting was actually a holiday, so none 434 00:24:52,970 --> 00:24:56,150 of the kids were at school, but normally they'd be doing all 435 00:24:56,150 --> 00:24:59,510 kinds of work helping to restore New York Harbor and racing to 436 00:24:59,510 --> 00:25:03,110 accomplish the goal of getting a billion oysters restored into 437 00:25:03,110 --> 00:25:06,890 New York Harbor. I wish I could have done that kind of project 438 00:25:06,890 --> 00:25:10,970 when I was in school. Maybe you have some projects near you that 439 00:25:10,970 --> 00:25:14,255 you could get involved with. Maybe not as big as the Billion 440 00:25:14,255 --> 00:25:17,435 Oyster Project, but there are lots of science research 441 00:25:17,435 --> 00:25:22,055 centers, museums and animal care facilities or universities that 442 00:25:22,055 --> 00:25:26,375 encourage citizen science and help young people get involved. 443 00:25:26,915 --> 00:25:30,095 Ask your adults to help you find one if you're feeling inspired. 444 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,780 Back on Governor's Island, it was getting really, really 445 00:25:33,780 --> 00:25:37,320 rainy, and the last ferry back to the city was about to depart, 446 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:43,380 so we had to go! [FERRY HONKING] That's it for this episode. 447 00:25:43,740 --> 00:25:46,560 Thanks to Mike McCann for teaching us about oysters and 448 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,260 sharing the work the Billion Oyster Project is doing to 449 00:25:49,260 --> 00:25:53,580 restore oysters and oyster habitat in New York Harbor. As 450 00:25:53,580 --> 00:25:56,085 always, if you have a question--about anything--have 451 00:25:56,085 --> 00:25:59,685 an adult record you asking it by using a smartphone. You can use 452 00:25:59,685 --> 00:26:02,685 an app like voice memos, and then have your adult email the 453 00:26:02,685 --> 00:26:06,585 file to questions@butwhykids.org. Our 454 00:26:06,585 --> 00:26:09,825 show is produced by Melody Bodette, Sarah Baik and me, Jane 455 00:26:09,825 --> 00:26:14,385 Lindholm, at Vermont Public and distributed by PRX. Our video 456 00:26:14,385 --> 00:26:17,310 producer is Joey Palumbo, and our theme music is by Luke 457 00:26:17,310 --> 00:26:20,850 Reynolds. If you like our show, please have your adults help you 458 00:26:20,850 --> 00:26:24,990 give us a thumbs up or a review on whatever podcast platform you 459 00:26:24,990 --> 00:26:28,770 use to listen to us; it helps other kids and families find us. 460 00:26:29,850 --> 00:26:34,170 We will be back in two weeks with an all new episode. Until 461 00:26:34,170 --> 00:26:36,330 then, stay curious!