Oyster spawn season aided by science - al.com

Oyster spawn season aided by science - al.com: "It's springtime and love is in the water. Wait. Water? You read right. With the longer, warmer days, oysters in Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound are ripening up and getting ready to spawn, releasing their gametes into the salty water by the millions. At first glance, it may not sound particularly romantic, but these oceanic mollusks are nothing if not devoted to the act of reproduction.

It is, of course, complicated. Most oysters begin life as males, but develop into fe males as they age. You can't tell from looking at the oyster's shell whether it's male or female at any given time, but regardless of the oyster's sex this is the time of year when the oyster is 'ripening up,' meaning the gonads are filling with maturing sperm or eggs. It's not unusual that more than three-quarters of a ripe oyster's mass consists of gonad."