Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Saltwater Intrusion From The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal On The Benthos Of Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, Jane A. Junot, Michael A. Poirrier, Thomas M. Soniat

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A study of the benthos of southern Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, was conducted from July 1976 to July 1978. Seven offshore stations and three stations in the New Orleans Marina complex were sampled seasonally. Offshore stations formed a transect from the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (I.H.N.C.). A west to east gradient of increasing salinity and salinity stratification was evident.

Faunal differences among stations were assessed using indices of diversity, biological dominance, pollution, and station homogeneity. The fauna of the marina stations had a low species diversity and was dominated by annelids, indicative of a stressed environment. …

Community Structure Of Diatoms Epiphytic On Pneumatophores Of The Black Mangrove, Avicennia Germinans, In A Louisiana Salt Marsh, Robert S. Maples

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The taxonomy, diversity, and similarity of diatom assemblages epiphytic on pneumatophores of black mangrove, Avicennia germinans (L.) L., in southeastern Louisiana were investigated. A total of 109 taxa representing 27 genera were identified in samples from five sites. The most abundant taxa were Nitzschia brittonii Hagelstein, Nitz. frustulum (Kutz.) Grun., Navicula diserta Hust., Denticula subtilis Grun., and Amphora tenuissima Hust. Comparisons with previous studies indicate that the diatom flora epiphytic on A. germinans in this study is much more characteristic of temperate salt marshes than of subtropical mangrove communities.