Predicting System-Scale Impacts of Oyster Clearance on Phytoplankton Productivity in a Small Subtropical Estuary

Oyster populations in south Florida estuaries have declined in part through altered salinity driven by anthropogenic changes in freshwater inputs. In particular, the St. Lucie Estuary (SLE) in southeastern Florida has suffered widespread loss of oyster habitat. With efforts underway to improve water...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental modeling & assessment 2013-04, Vol.18 (2), p.185-198
Main Authors: Buzzelli, Christopher, Parker, Melanie, Geiger, Stephen, Wan, Yongshan, Doering, Peter, Haunert, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Algal blooms
anthropogenic activities
Anthropogenic factors
Applications of Mathematics
Aquatic ecosystems
Biomass
biomass production
Brackish
Conservation biology
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecological restoration
Ecosystem assessment
Ecosystems
Environment
Environmental restoration
Estuaries
Estuarine environments
Eutrophication
Fresh water
Freshwater
habitat conservation
Habitats
Marine
Math. Appl. in Environmental Science
Mathematical Modeling and Industrial Mathematics
Mathematical models
Operations Research/Decision Theory
Oysters
Phytoplankton
Plankton
prediction
Salinity
spring
Studies
Temperature
Total suspended solids
Turnover time
Water quality
Watershed management
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Summary:Oyster populations in south Florida estuaries have declined in part through altered salinity driven by anthropogenic changes in freshwater inputs. In particular, the St. Lucie Estuary (SLE) in southeastern Florida has suffered widespread loss of oyster habitat. With efforts underway to improve water quality and oyster habitat in the SLE, the goal of this study was to develop a model to assess ecosystem level impacts of oyster restoration. Phytoplankton and oyster biomass modeling targets were established from observational data collected from 2005 to 2009. Modeled oyster biomass production and filtration fluctuated with temperature, salinity, and total suspended solids from a combination of observational and predicted input functions in 10-year simulations (1998–2007). Model estimates of oyster biomass fluctuated with salinity from near zero after extreme freshwater discharge in 2002–2003 and 2004–2005 to maximum values near 150.0 and 200.0 g C m⁻² in spring 1999 and fall 2006. There was potential for algal blooms as turnover time for the phytoplankton standing stock (15.6 days) was faster than water mass turnover (21.0 days). While >1,000 days were required for 50 ha of oyster habitat to filter the entire volume of the estuarine segment, filter time reduced to
ISSN:1420-2026
1573-2967
DOI:10.1007/s10666-012-9338-y