Cited by 3Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture StudiesCoastal Fisheries and Human ImpactsMarine and fisheries research

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 59 of the 67 references it cites were found in a registry or an index, and 8 are not checked yet; 3 of the 63 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Collapse of the oyster population in Apalachicola Bay: cascading social impacts from an ecologically and culturally significant species

Open access

Abstract

Historically fishery-dependent communities can have significant economic, social, and cultural ties to key species, the loss of which can cause cascading impacts throughout the community, extending beyond fishers. Understanding the different ways communities depend on a species, and how the species’ loss may reverberate through the community, is key for holistic ecosystem management approaches. We propose that species that possess significant importance to the economic, cultural, social, and nutritional structuring of a human community be considered “multidimensional foundation species.” This study examines the multi-faceted impacts of oyster population collapse within the Apalachicola Bay region of Florida. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a variety of local community members, exploring the varying types of connections to oysters and how the oyster population collapse impacted community members individually and collectively. Individuals described economic, ecological, cultural, and nutritional impacts within their lives. Economic impacts were most common, but impacts differed substantially for individuals with different connections to oysters. We also documented broader collective changes, particularly loss of cultural ecosystem services tied to oysters, including negative shifts in community identity, individual identities of community members, and social well-being. We found a greater de-coupling between tourism and the fishery than hypothesized, with tourism reported to have increased despite the collapse in oysters, demonstrating the challenges of predicting impacts from the decline of a multidimensional foundation species. This work highlights the need to understand how harvestable foundation species may not only form the base of ecological systems, but also influence the economic, cultural, and social dimensions of human systems. In the face of continual global fishery declines, implementing management actions that consider the far-reaching ecological and social importance of fisheries species will be crucial for promoting community well-being and resilience.

Verified 2026-11-11 · 8 references not checked yet

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Semi-structured interviews in Apalachicola Bay show that oyster population collapse produced economic, cultural, nutritional, and ecological impacts across community members, with effects varying by connection to oysters. The authors propose oysters as a “multidimensional foundation species” and find tourism increased despite the fishery collapse, contrary to their hypothesis.

Key findings

  • Economic impacts were the most commonly reported individual impacts (57%, n = 16), including loss of employment (18%, n = 5) and other employment impacts (14%, n = 4); oyster fishers and the oyster supply chain group reported economic impacts most or solely.
  • Loss of oysters as a food source was mentioned by 29% of interviewees (n = 8) across three of four connection groups; only the non-oyster seafood industry group reported ecological impacts, including reduced reef-associated species and changed fishing locations.
  • Collective cultural ecosystem service changes were mentioned by 100% of participants (n = 28); community identity was the most common cultural impact (54%), followed by social well-being, with brand and individual identity tied third. Supporting services were mentioned by 68% (n = 19), regulating by 46% (n = 13), provisioning by 43% (n = 12), and additional collective economic impacts by 79% (n = 22).
  • Contrary to the hypothesis that tourism would decline, only 3 participants thought tourism was lower, while 17 reported tourism had grown immensely, attributed to the region being “discovered,” COVID-19, and beach/recreational fishing rather than oysters.

Methods

  • Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2023–2024 with 28 participants: 27 local community members who had lived or worked in the Apalachicola Bay region and one former oyster farmer from nearby Oyster Bay who sold oysters in the region. Recruitment used community events, local newspaper publicity, a county commission meeting, and snowball sampling.
  • Participants were categorized post hoc into four connection groups based on their job at the 2013 federal fishery disaster declaration: oyster fishers (25%, n = 7), oyster supply chain (18%, n = 5), non-oyster seafood industry and businesses (29%, n = 8), and community members (29%, n = 8).
  • Thematic analysis combined a priori and inductive coding; individual and collective impacts were coded into cultural, ecological, economic, and nutritional themes and ecosystem service categories from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and IPBES assessments, then analyzed by connection group.

Limitations

  • The paper states that interviewees represent only a small portion of the region’s population; several individuals declined to participate, citing frustration over the fishery closure, and a greater sample size would have provided more insight. The authors also state they could not connect with commercial fishermen of oyster reef-reliant species such as crabs and shrimp, and had only one oyster farmer.
  • Evident from the text: snowball sampling and self-selection may bias the perspectives captured, and the study relies on retrospective, self-reported accounts rather than quantitative ecological or economic measurements.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.5751/es-15989-300137

Cites

59 of 67 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Figures

Fig. 1 Connection group framework. Connection to oysters, and impacts felt from the population collapse and fishery closure, were hypothesized to vary among interview respondents. Interviewees were categorized by their relationship to oysters; see Table 1 for descriptions of each connection group.
Fig. 1 Connection group framework. Connection to oysters, and impacts felt from the population collapse and fishery closure, were hypothesized to vary among interview respondents. Interviewees were categorized by their relationship to oysters; see Table 1 for descriptions of each connection group.CC-BY · From the PDF
Fig. 2 Number of responses of individual experiences, by connection group. Individual impact responses were coded within four broad thematic categories.
Fig. 2 Number of responses of individual experiences, by connection group. Individual impact responses were coded within four broad thematic categories.CC-BY · From the PDF
Fig. 3 Cultural ecosystem service impacts. Number of participants who mentioned a collective social or cultural impact due to the oyster population collapse. Every interview participant mentioned at least one change in cultural services during the interviews, and the number of responses ranged from one to seven observations of change.
Fig. 3 Cultural ecosystem service impacts. Number of participants who mentioned a collective social or cultural impact due to the oyster population collapse. Every interview participant mentioned at least one change in cultural services during the interviews, and the number of responses ranged from one to seven observations of change.CC-BY · From the PDF

Verification

Claims the paper makes

78 Own result · 20 Not checked yet · 19 Own interpretation · 12 Sources not found · 10 Own method · 6 No basis given · 2 No full text of the sources · 1 Partly supported · accuracy not yet measured

Verify all 20 references — free account

Show all 53 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 51
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 63
95 of 95
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The oyster population collapse and subsequent fishery closure caused the reported social, cultural, and economic impacts, rather than other concurrent factors.

    “This study examines the multi-faceted impacts of oyster population collapse within the Apalachicola Bay region of Florida.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Participants' retrospective self-reports accurately reflect their experiences and the community-level impacts they describe.

    “We conducted semi-structured interviews with a variety of local community members, exploring the varying types of connections to oysters and how the oyster population collapse impacted community members individually and collectively.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The 28 interviews are sufficient to represent the range of relevant community perspectives in Apalachicola Bay.

    “We conducted 28 interviews, 27 with local community members who have at one time lived or worked in the Apalachicola Bay region, and one interview with a former oyster farmer who worked in Oyster Bay located nearby and sold oysters within the Apalachicola Bay region.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The post hoc four connection groups based on job at the time of the 2013 disaster declaration adequately capture participants' connections to oysters and their resulting impacts.

    “In order to illustrate the extent of impacts and connections within the community, we categorized respondents post hoc into four connection groups for our analysis based on each participant's job and stated connection to oysters, with relatively even representation of each group (Fig. 1, Table 1).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Farmed oysters from the region have filled some of the market gap from reduction in wild harvest.

    “as farmed oysters from the region have filled some of the market gap from reduction in wild harvest.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The region is branded as the Oyster Capital.

    “because of the branding of the region as the Oyster Capital”
6 of 6

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

2 of 2

Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 19

  1. Coen, L. D., M. W. Luckenbach, and D. L. Breitburg. 1999. The role of oyster reefs as essential fish habitat: a review of current knowledge and some new perspectives. American Fisheries Society Symposium 22:438-454.
  2. Cristancho, S., and J. Vining. 2004. Culturally defined keystone species. Human Ecology Review 11:153-164.
  3. Dayton, P. K. 1972. Toward an understanding of community resilience and the potential effects of enrichments to the benthos at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. In B. C. Parker, editor. Proceedings of the Colloquium on Conservation Problems in Antarctica.
  4. Drakopulos, L., and M. Poe. 2023. Facing change: individual and institutional adaptation pathways in West Coast fishing communities. Marine Policy 147:105363. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.marpol.2022.105363 · DOI
  5. Holland, D. S., J. K. Abbott, and K. E. Norman. 2020. Fishing to live or living to fish: job satisfaction and identity of West Coast fishermen. Ambio 49(2):628-639. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s13280-019-01206-w · DOI
  6. Jacob, S., F. Farmer, M. Jepson, and C. Adams. 2001. Landing a definition of fishing dependent communities: potential social science contributions to meeting National Standard 8. Fisheries 26:16-22. https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8446(2001)026%3C0016: LADOFD%3E2.0.CO;2 · DOI
  7. Kimbu, A. N., I. Booyens, and A. Winchenbach. 2022. Livelihood diversification through tourism: identity, well-being, and potential in rural coastal communities. Tourism Review International 26:25-40. https://doi.org/10.3727/154427221X162 45632411854 · DOI
  8. ch23 · DOI
  9. Ounanian, K. 2016. In place of fishing: coastal communities in transition. Dissertation. University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA.
  10. Ryan, G. W., and H. R. Bernard. 2003. Techniques to identify themes. Field Methods 15:85-109. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525 · DOI
  11. Smith, C., and R. McKelvey. 1986. Specialist and generalist: roles for coping with variability. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 6:88-99. https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(1986) 6%3C88:SAG%3E2.0.CO;2 · DOI
  12. Springer, Y. P., C. G. Hays, M. H. Carr, and M. R. Mackey. 2010. Toward ecosystem-based management of marine macroalgae - the Bull Kelp, Nereocystis Luetkeana. Oceanography and Marine Biology 48:1-41.
  13. Steneck, R. S., T. P. Hughes, J. E. Cinner, W. N. Adger, S. N. Arnold, F. Berkes, S. A. Boudreau, K. Brown, C. Folke, L. Gunderson, P. Olsson, M. Scheffer, E. Stephenson, B. Walker, J. Wilson, and B. Worm. 2011. Creation of a gilded trap by the high economic value of the Maine lobster fishery. Conservation Biology 5:904-912. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01717. · DOI
  14. Berg, P.O., Sevón, G., 2014. Food-branding places -A sensory perspective. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 10, 289-304. https://doi.org/10.1057/pb.2014. · DOI
  15. Burrell, V., Manzi, J., O'Rourke, C., 1991. Assessment of mechanical transplanting as a means of rehabilitating intertidal oyster beds, in: Proceedings of the 40th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute.
  16. Doran, E., 1965. Shell roads in Texas. Geographical review 55, 223-240.
  17. Tallis, H., Pagiola, S., Zhang, W., Shaikh, S., Nelson, E., Stanton, C., Shyamsundar, P., 2011. Poverty and the distribution of ecosystem services. Natural capital: theory and practice of mapping ecosystem services. Oxford University Press, Oxford 278-293.
  18. Urquhart, J., Acott, T., 2014. A Sense of Place in Cultural Ecosystem Services: The Case of Cornish Fishing Communities. Society & Natural Resources 27, 3-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2013.820811 · DOI
  19. Waterton, E., Watson, S., 2015. The Palgrave Handbook of Contemporary Heritage Research, 1st ed. Palgrave Macmillan London.

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Metadata

Authors
Mansfield, E., Lester, S., Rassweiler, A., & Brooke, S.
Affiliations
Florida State University (US)
Venue
Ecology and Society
Published
2025
Volume
30
Issue
1
ISSN
1708-3087 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4408867406
Cited by
3
References
59
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 1
FWCI
1.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • Ecology and Society (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Florida State University
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Coastal Fisheries and Human Impacts
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Aquatic Science › Marine and fisheries research
Keywords
Apalachicola Bay, cultural ecosystem services, community identity, social well-being, community resilience, ecosystem-based management

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