Soniat TMBrody MSEstuaries2010-02-152010-02-151988http://hdl.handle.net/1969.3/2308087-95A habitat suitability index (HSI) model, developed for the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica , along the Gulf of Mexico, was field tested on 38 0.1-ha reef and nonreef sites in Galveston Bay, Texas. The HSI depends upon six (HSI1) or, optionally, eight (HSI2) variables. The six variables are percent of bottom covered with suitable cultch (V sub(1)), mean summer water salinity (V sub(2)), mean abundance of living oysters (V sub(3)) (a gregarious settling factor), historic mean water salinity (V sub(4)), frequency of killing floods (V sub(5)), and substrate firmness (V sub(6)). The optional variables are the abundance of the southern oyster drill Thais haemostoma) (V sub(7)), and the intensity of the oyster pathogen Perkinsus marinus) (V sub(8)). The HSI values were lowest at high and low salinity sites and highest at intermediate-salinity sitesabundanceASW,Galveston BayCrassostreaCrassostrea virginicaD 04003 Modeling,mathematics,computer applicationsD 04658 Molluscsenvironmental factorsFishery oceanographyFloodsGalveston BayGulf of MexicohabitatHabitat selectionhabitat suitability indexHabitat utilizationmodelsO 5020 FISHERIES,FISHERY BIOLOGY,FISHINGoyster fisheriesOystersPerkinsus marinusQ1 01567 Fishery oceanography and limnologyQ3 01583 Shellfish cultureSalinityTexasThais haemostomaUSAUSA,Texas,Galveston BaywaterWater salinityJournal