Figures & data
Figure 1. The Pensacola Bay System (PBS; arrow on the inset map) as described for the HSI analysis. The study area is the PBS as designated by the area North of the thick black line on the main figure at the mouth of the system.
Figure 2. Detail from PBS from map dated 1883, United States Fish Commission. Mid-water clumps represent natural beds (i.e., oyster reef) and shaded areas indicate scattered natural beds.
Figure 3. Mapped factors as scored for the HSI including the two informational factors (aquaculture and shellfish leases, and coastal maintained channels). These maps illustrate the scored factors prior to transforming into raster format.
Table 1. The 22 biological, physical, chemical and management factors considered for HSI development. References for the datasets used in HSI scoring are provided for the factors included in the HSI whether as ranked factors or for informational purposes only.
Table 2. The seven biological, physical and chemical factors selected for inclusion in the HSI plus the two preexisting human use avoidance factors. The data scale and scoring methods are provided for the scored factors.
Figure 4. Oyster HSI Model results. Scores are standardized to range between 0 and 1. The lightest shades are the most suitable.
Figure 5. Distribution of Oyster HSI scores. Scores are ranked (lowest to highest) using the natural breaks (Jenks) method of binning results. The lightest shades are the most suitable.
Figure 6. Oyster fisher identified oyster reef areas overlaid on the PBS HSI. Eighty-seven percent of independently verified oyster reef areas fall within HSI areas rated with medium to high suitability (i.e., scores of 0.55 or greater).
Figure 7. Blackwater Bay (BWB) original HSI (far left), side-scan sonar bottom mapping (Middle), updated HSI using high resolution mapping (far right). The newly available side scan imagery was used to adapt the suitability information for this area. The highest suitability areas in BWB (those with buried shell bottom type) are now clearly discernable and may prove capable of supporting oyster reef with additional attention to substrate placement and type especially as climate change effects such as sea level rise progress. No exposed reef or oyster reef structure was found in BWB.
