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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Effects Of Freshwater Inflow On Nekton Assemblages And Blue Crab Populations In Southeastern Louisiana, Caleb Benjamin Taylor
Effects Of Freshwater Inflow On Nekton Assemblages And Blue Crab Populations In Southeastern Louisiana, Caleb Benjamin Taylor
LSU Master's Theses
Estuaries along the northern Gulf of Mexico represent some of the most productive ecosystems in the world, providing vital habitat for many recreationally and commercially valuable species, including the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. The mixing of fresh river and saline ocean water in coastal estuaries contribute to this productivity. Dominated by large river influences and consisting of multiple estuaries, Louisiana contributes the largest commercial fishery in the Gulf of Mexico, and remains, on average, the largest supplier of blue crabs in the nation. However, across southeast Louisiana, freshwater flow is largely dependent on Mississippi River discharge, which is highly …
Factors Affecting Nest Success Of Colonial Nesting Waterbirds In Southwest Louisiana, Karis A. Ritenour
Factors Affecting Nest Success Of Colonial Nesting Waterbirds In Southwest Louisiana, Karis A. Ritenour
LSU Master's Theses
As the coastline of Louisiana shifts with global climate change, subsidence, and accelerated sea level rise, important breeding islands for colonial nesting waterbirds are disappearing. In many recent studies flooding has been a leading cause of nest failure for a variety of species, especially those that nest on the ground. I examined the nest success of four species of colonial nesting waterbirds with various nesting strategies on Rabbit Island in southwestern Louisiana during 2017 and2018 by determining nest and fledging success. I monitored 855 nests, including 457 Brown Pelicans nests with an estimated hatch probability of 70%, 270 Forster’s Terns …