Collapsing oyster populations threaten persistence of dependent fisheries and ecosystem service provision. In Florida’s Big Bend, 66% of existing reef area has been lost over 29 years. Although reefs are the best-known oyster growth morphology, they can also aggregate as clumps, oysters cemented together in discrete units, and in beds, noncontiguous arrangements of clumps. As live oysters are lost from healthy reefs, runaway degradation converts the reef into bare substrate, with beds and clumps potentially representing transitional states. Existing research has shown that freshwater discharge, wave energy, and harvest all play a role in oyster reef conversion, but little is known about the degree to which these drivers force transitions between oyster habitat morphologies, and whether these morphologies represent stable states. This project will document the structure of Gulf coast oyster habitats across gradients of harvest, wave energy, and freshwater discharge to identify potential transition thresholds between morphologies. Combining field and remote sensing techniques will capture variation in oyster habitat structure, providing needed information about changing oyster habitats and potential restoration and management response. Results will inform management strategies by revealing restoration priorities (e.g., encouraging specific transitions) and/or the need for analysis of additional drivers of oyster degradation.
