Yuki Nakamura works on bivalve hatchery production — oysters, clams, and increasingly scallops. A hatchery takes broodstock, spawns them, and raises larvae through a period of a few weeks during which almost anything can go wrong. Survival of a few percent is normal. Survival of zero happens, and when it does the cause is often not obvious.
A substantial part of the research is on intake water chemistry, in collaboration with Hana Vasquez. Hatcheries in the region have had crop failures that correlate with periods of low pH in the water they draw from, and the operational question — when to buffer, when to close the intake and wait — is one nobody had good guidance on.
The other strand is selective breeding for tolerance. It is slower work, it raises questions about genetic diversity in wild populations that Nakamura takes seriously, and it is probably the durable answer.
She teaches AQUA 210 Principles of Aquaculture, AQUA 300 Shellfish Culture and AQUA 430 Sustainable Aquaculture Systems. She runs the partnership with the regional hatchery that places two students on placement each summer. She joined the faculty in 2021.