Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Breeding Ecology Of Mottled Ducks In Southwestern Louisiana, Elizabeth Sophia Bonczek

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Mottled ducks are a resident species found in the southern United States that rely on coastal marsh and associated habitat to fulfill the needs of the entirety of their annual cycle. Population monitoring has revealed declines in western Gulf Coast (WGC) mottled ducks since 2008. Mottled duck populations are influenced by survival and recruitment, and changes in these factors may contribute to population declines. The overarching goal of this project was to identify the mechanisms potentially limiting WGC mottled ducks.

I captured adult female mottled ducks during molt on Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge and adjacent lands in southwestern Louisiana from 2017–2019. …

Free-Floating Invasive Fern Affects Freshwater Marsh Ecosystem Structure: Changes To Water Quality And Chemistry, Aquatic Vegetation, Fish, And Invertebrates, Charles Wahl

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Aquatic invertebrates are important to the function freshwater marshes. They are vital to the transfer of energy from primary producers and organic matter to higher trophic levels. The structure of macroinvertebrate communities is directly associated with aquatic macrophyte diversity and abundance. Submerged macrophytes produce oxygen, are a food source, and provide physical habitat, which allows numerous aquatic organisms to exist. Introduction of the invasive free-floating aquatic fern giant salvinia, Salvinia molesta Mitchell, poses a risk to freshwater ecosystems through limited light penetration, decreased submerged macrophyte abundance, altered water quality and, changes in macroinvertebrate community structure and energy transfer. The objective …