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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Response Of Fishes To Restoration Projects In Bayou St. John Located Within The City Of New Orleans, Louisiana, Including Hydrological Characterization And Hydrodynamic Modelling, Patrick W. Smith Dec 2015

Response Of Fishes To Restoration Projects In Bayou St. John Located Within The City Of New Orleans, Louisiana, Including Hydrological Characterization And Hydrodynamic Modelling, Patrick W. Smith

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Quantifying the impacts of restoration on coastal waterways is crucial to understanding their effectiveness. Here, I look at the impacts of multiple restoration projects on urban waterways within the city limits of New Orleans, LA, with an emphasis on the response of fishes. First I report the effects of two projects designed to improve exchange down estuary on the hydrologic characteristics of Bayou St. John (BSJ). Within BSJ, flow is dominated by subtidal wind driven processes. Removal of an outdated flood control structure did not appear to alter exchange in BSJ, but removal combined with sector gate openings did. I …


The Shifting Importance Of Competition And Facilitation Along Diversity, Environmental Severity, And Plant Ontogenetic Gradients, Alexandra Wright May 2013

The Shifting Importance Of Competition And Facilitation Along Diversity, Environmental Severity, And Plant Ontogenetic Gradients, Alexandra Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Ecological theory and empirical studies have focused heavily on the importance of competition in plant communities. Competition can help explain species coexistence, the maintenance of species diversity, and biological invasions. Competition for resources appears to be ubiquitous among coexisting organisms. This overwhelming focus on competition over the past one hundred years may have overshadowed the importance of positive interactions (facilitation). Growing near your neighbors involves competition for resources, but it also involves alteration of a shared microclimate. Neighboring plants have the capacity to increase shade, decrease air temperatures, increase humidity, and increase shallow soil moisture in their local environment. In …