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Short abstract

The powerful dualisms of nature/cultures run deep within invasion ecology. Queer ecofeminism and ecology have long since grappled with these power structures. Drawing on the example of ecological history of (in part invasive) oysters in the Wadden Sea, this paper proposes to read them together.

Long abstract

The powerful dualisms of nature/cultures run deep within invasion ecology, with most definitions of invasive species heavily relying on essentializing ideas of good nature against bad. In the following paper, I sketch out a way to a more nuanced understanding of ecology and nature by presenting the ecological history of oysters on the shores of Sylt, Germany.

In the 19th century a decline in European oyster stocks due to overfishing in Germany, and Sylt in particular, prompted scientific inquiries resulting in one of the first precursors of ecological relationality. Although regulations were put in place, the oyster went extinct around Sylt and in the 1980s Pacific oysters were introduced as an economic replacement. By 2001, the wild oyster population had built up over 100,000 tons of biomass and was labelled invasive in 2013. However, the major concerns regarding the oyster did not come to pass. Oyster reefs around Sylt now contribute a stable habitat for many new species, although some of them are labelled invasive. The long-term impact on the ecosystem remains uncertain, but some have called for accepting the oyster as a legitimate part of the Wadden Sea.

Drawing on the work of queer ecofeminists and queer ecologists Greta Gaard, Donna Haraway, and Catriona Sandilands, this paper shows the entangled becoming of the science of (invasion) ecology and oysters. The insights of these scholars can help us in facing invasives differently, because they grapple with the powerful co-productions of ecology and nature foundational to the issues of invasive species.