Apalachicola Bay

The lagoon has been designated as a National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Apalachicola River is the largest source of freshwater to the estuary.

[6] According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, changes in flow rate affect the physiological processes of mussels in the Apalachicola Bay.

The growth and maintenance of oyster reefs depends on water circulation, salinity, temperature, sedimentation, food web dynamics, commercial harvesting and weather.

In oysters, low salinity is known to cause hindrances in gametogenesis, gonad disintegration, delays in spawning, post-settlement mortality, and declining larval and adult filtration rates.

The Army Corps of Engineers have issued Exceptional Drought Operations that allow for 16% lower flow into the Apalachicola River.

Climate models in the Apalachicola River basin have allowed researchers to project increases in extreme rainfall intensity and frequency.

[14] It has been projected that extreme weather events, a consequence of climate change, will have a significant impact on the Apalachicola Bay.

[15] The migration, reproduction and distribution of organisms in the Apalachicola Bay is sensitive to salinity and total suspended solid levels.