A global review of the ecosystem services provided by bivalve aquaculture

Abstract

Bivalve shellfish aquaculture provides many benefits to society, beyond their traditional market value. This study collates the evidence available on the provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services provided by the bivalve species commonly used in aquaculture. For the first time, it synthesises this evidence to provide a global assessment of the potential market and non‐market economic value of bivalve aquaculture. Bivalves are filter feeders, filtering water and particulates, creating substrates which provide habitat to act as nursery grounds for other species. Goods from provisioning services include meat, worth an estimated $23.9 billion as well as, pearls, shell and poultry grit, with oyster shell being the most important, with a global potential worth of $5.2 billion. The most important regulating services are nutrient remediation. Cultivated bivalves remove 49,000 tonnes of nitrogen and 6,000 tonnes of phosphorus, worth a potential $1.20 billion. Currently, there is little evidence on the cultural services per year of bivalve aquaculture, but we argue that these cultural values are broad ranging, although difficult to quantify. Our assessment indicates that the global, non‐food bivalve aquaculture services are worth $6.47 billion ($2.95 billion–9.99 billion) per annum. However, this is likely to be an underestimate of the true value of bivalve aquaculture as there are significant gaps in evidence of the value for a number of key services. The analysis presented here can be used to indicate the likely scale of payments for ecosystem services provided by bivalve aquaculture, prior to more detailed assessments.

Visualizing the invisible: class excursions to ignite children’s enthusiasm for microbes

“…In addition to providing a potentially sustainable source of protein, bivalves are important ecosystem engineers. For example, they help to ameliorate eutrophication directly by taking up nitrogen and phosphorus for shell and tissue growth and indirectly by creating anoxic sites that encourage denitrifying bacteria that convert soluble nitrate to nitrogen gas (van der Schatte Olivier et al , 2018). B. Nodules housing nitrogen‐fixing bacteria on the roots of southern pea, also known as cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata ), an important food crop in the semiarid tropics.…”

Missing the full story: First estimates of carbon deposition rates for the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis

“…Kellogg et al, 2014; Newell, 1988; zu Ermgassen et al, 2020). This undermines the valuation of restoration work by creating uncertainty in the estimate of ESs and doubt over claims of positive environmental and socio‐economic outcomes (Barbier et al, 2011; Beck et al, 2011; Coen et al, 2007; Herr, von Unger, Laffoley, & McGivern, 2017; van der Schatte Olivier et al, 2020; zu Ermgassen et al, 2020). A lack of direct evidence and understanding of ESs also impedes the formation of policy and best practice regarding the protection and enhancement of marine habitats and the promotion of ‘climate resilience’ (Bates et al, 2019; Herr et al, 2017; Scottish Natural Heritage, 2019; Siikamäki, Sanchirico, Jardine, McLaughlin, & Morris, 2013).…”

“…Their diminished status has resulted in a recent escalation in the number of projects to restore degraded bivalve populations, including the Billion Oyster project in the USA (Burmester & McCann, 2019), the Shellfish Reef Restoration Network in Australia (Gillies, Creighton, & McLeod, 2015), the NORA consortium in Europe (Pogoda et al, 2019), and the Dornoch Environmental Enhancement Project in Scotland (Fariñas‐Franco et al, 2018). For the European flat oyster ( Ostrea edulis ), however, quantification of ESs remains poorly understood; as such, this is a research priority with regard to habitat restoration and integration of ESs into marine policy (van der Schatte Olivier et al, 2020; zu Ermgassen et al, 2020).…”

Diversity and Function of the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Microbiome

“…They are considered ecosystem engineers due to their ability to form reefs that serve a variety of beneficial functions, including protecting shorelines from storm-related damage and providing habitat for other marine organisms [1,2]. Other important environmental functions provided by both wild and farmed oysters include biological remediation, sequestering of carbon through calcium carbonate shell productions, and alteration of biogeochemical cycles (such as the promotion of microbially mediated denitrification process) through their filter feeding lifestyle that involves deposition of feces and pseudofeces into the sediments [3,4]. For these reasons, efforts have been made to restore oyster populations around the United States.…”