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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Legacy Habitat Suitability Of Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea Virginica) In Louisiana: A Prelude To Mississippi River Delta Freshwater Diversions, Tasia Mv Denapolis Dec 2018

Legacy Habitat Suitability Of Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea Virginica) In Louisiana: A Prelude To Mississippi River Delta Freshwater Diversions, Tasia Mv Denapolis

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Louisiana oyster industry is greatly impacted by freshwater and sediment diversions that are part of the effort to restore the state’s coastline. A habitat suitability index (HSI) proposes species-habitat relationships that can be instrumental in creating impact assessments and suitability predictions for management as new diversions are implemented. An oyster (Crassostrea virginica) HSI was developed using three variables crucial to oyster sustainability: average annual salinity, minimum monthly salinity, and average salinity during the spawning season. These Legacy HSI visualizations show annual fluctuations in the distribution of zones suitable for oyster cultivation prior to proposed diversions in Pontchartrain …


Habitat Suitability Modeling For The Mississippi Sandhill Crane, Grus Canadensis Pulla, Linda C. Salande Aug 2016

Habitat Suitability Modeling For The Mississippi Sandhill Crane, Grus Canadensis Pulla, Linda C. Salande

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I modeled the suitability of habitat on the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge for the federally endangered Mississippi Sandhill Crane (Grus Canadensis pulla). Habitat type and suitability changed over time due to seasonality of vegetation and succession in the absence of burning. Cranes used highly suitable habitat more in the non-growing than in the growing season, and may have been more constrained by resource availability during winter months. Cranes used some less-suitable areas including cypress drains, which provide roosting sites, and supplemental food plots. The mismatch between predicted quality and crane use suggests that …