Oyster populations are primarily composed of which age class?

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In population ecology, the age structure of a species is shaped by how many survive each life stage and how long they live. For oysters, the early life stages experience high mortality—the planktonic larvae and newly settled juveniles lose many individuals to predation, predation, and environmental stress. Those that do survive reach adulthood and typically live for many years. Because adults persist for a long time and continue to reproduce, they accumulate in the population, making up the largest portion at any given time. That’s why the oyster population is primarily composed of adults.