Bringing Back Oysters

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Across
  1. 2. Digests algae caught in the gills
  2. 3. Holds the two halves of the oyster’s shell together
  3. 10. Over time, pollution, overharvesting, and habitat loss decimated the oyster population.
  4. 12. Sorts and transfers food from the gills to the digestive tract
  5. 13. Hard outer covering made of the mineral calcium carbonate that protects the oyster
  6. 14. Today, oysters are considered a delicacy. But the shellfish were once so common in New York City that even street carts served them.
  7. 19. The reefs help reduce erosion by blocking waves that can wash away sand and soil.
  8. 20. Fully underwater
  9. 21. An oyster is a bivalve mollusk whose shell is made up of two halves connected by a hinge
  10. 22. tools called calipers to measure the growth of the mollusks.
  11. 23. ecosystem—a community of organisms interacting with their nonliving environment
  12. 24. Species Oysters are a keystone species. That means they’re vital to their ecosystem
Down
  1. 1. According to The Nature Conservancy, 85 percent of the world’s oyster reefs have disappeared. “That makes them one of the most imperiled habitats on our planet,”
  2. 3. the oyster’s blood
  3. 4. In the wild, the animals grow on top of one another to form reefs.
  4. 5. hoisting up a cage that had been submerged in the harbor.
  5. 6. These filter feeders pump water through their bodies, filtering out algae and bacteria to eat
  6. 7. Over time, pollution, overharvesting, and habitat loss decimated the oyster population.
  7. 8. Skin-like covering that protects the oyster’s organs
  8. 9. The tiny, immature oyster larvae
  9. 11. Filter oxygen, algae, and particles from the water
  10. 15. Rising water hat is pushed onto land causing flooding
  11. 16. Oysters live in shallow waters around the world but now, these reefs have all but vanished.
  12. 17. Muscle Opens and closes the shell
  13. 18. habitat loss decimated the oyster population