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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
If You Build It, Will They Come? Assessing Habitat Quality For Marsh Birds At Created Marshes In Southeastern Louisiana, Katherine Aylett Lipford
If You Build It, Will They Come? Assessing Habitat Quality For Marsh Birds At Created Marshes In Southeastern Louisiana, Katherine Aylett Lipford
LSU Master's Theses
Wetland loss occurs at an alarming pace globally, with extremely high rates along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana loses a football field of wetland every 100 minutes: that is 77,000 m2 of wetland bird habitat lost daily. In Louisiana, marsh creation projects combat wetland loss, and while wildlife habitat is often used as a justification for restoration, wildlife receives little to no consideration during and after construction. Habitat characteristics such as site-specific hydrology, vegetation composition, and habitat structure affect the abundance of wetland birds and understanding these features is crucial to creating habitat that will benefit birds. My …
Site-Specific Habitat And Landscape Associations Of Rusty Blackbirds Wintering In Louisiana, Sinead Mary Borchert
Site-Specific Habitat And Landscape Associations Of Rusty Blackbirds Wintering In Louisiana, Sinead Mary Borchert
LSU Master's Theses
The Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) has gained notoriety in recent years as one of the fastest declining North American bird species, with a global population loss of as much as 95%. Causes of the decline are not completely understood, but the high rate of forested wetland change in the southeastern United States suggests that wintering habitat degradation may be a primary driver. To better inform management on critical wintering grounds, I surveyed 68 sites in Louisiana where Rusty Blackbirds had been known to occur to address how occupancy changes with habitat type and colonization and extinction rates vary with ground …
Does Reproductive Potential Of Red Snapper In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Differ Among Natural And Artificial Habitats?, Hilary Day Glenn
Does Reproductive Potential Of Red Snapper In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Differ Among Natural And Artificial Habitats?, Hilary Day Glenn
LSU Master's Theses
This study compares the reproductive potential of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) at artificial and natural habitats. Natural habitats are areas of vertical relief created from biogenic/geologic processes that are thought to be the historical centers of abundance for red snapper in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Red snapper were collected from 2011 to 2013 at three natural habitat sites and two artificial habitat oil and gas platform sites. The mean gonadosomatic indices (GSI), maturity at size and age, spawning indicators, batch fecundity, spawning frequency, and annual fecundity for red snapper at each habitat were analyzed to examine reproductive potential among …
Impacts Of Artificial Reef Addition On The Nekton Community Of Louisiana Marsh Ponds: A Before-After-Control-Impact Analysis, Kari Elizabeth Klotzbach
Impacts Of Artificial Reef Addition On The Nekton Community Of Louisiana Marsh Ponds: A Before-After-Control-Impact Analysis, Kari Elizabeth Klotzbach
LSU Master's Theses
Louisiana’s coastal estuaries are dynamic, highly variable environments that provide nursery areas for numerous recreationally and commercially important species. Louisiana’s coastline is constantly changing due to natural and anthropogenic processes, and it is important to know how nektonic species are impacted by such changes. This study sought to assess the effects of introducing a hard substrate artificial reef on the nekton community of a Louisiana estuary. A before-after-control-impact (BACI) design was used to assess the impacts of artificial reef addition on nektonic fishes and crustaceans in four shallow marsh ponds near Empire, Louisiana. Marsh ponds were sampled by purse seine …
Ecology Of Rusty Blackbirds Wintering In Louisiana: Seasonal Trends, Flock Composition And Habitat Associations, Emma Elizabeth Deleon
Ecology Of Rusty Blackbirds Wintering In Louisiana: Seasonal Trends, Flock Composition And Habitat Associations, Emma Elizabeth Deleon
LSU Master's Theses
With an estimated population loss of at least 5% annually and a 100-year history of decline, Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) are one of the fastest declining bird species in North America. Determining cause of decline is important, both for conserving the species and for identifying threats to the wooded wetland ecosystems they use on their boreal breeding-grounds and their wintering-grounds in the southeastern United States. One hypothesis is that loss of wintering ground habitat, possibly in conjunction with competition or disease, is causing Rusty Blackbird decline. To determine contribution of wintering ground conditions, it is important to understand the behaviors …
Habitat- And Region-Specific Reproductive Biology Of Female Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) In The Gulf Of Mexico, Dannielle Helen Kulaw
Habitat- And Region-Specific Reproductive Biology Of Female Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) In The Gulf Of Mexico, Dannielle Helen Kulaw
LSU Master's Theses
This study compares reproductive biology estimates of female red snapper among three habitat types (natural shelf-edge banks, standing petroleum platforms and toppled petroleum platforms) and among six regions in the Gulf of Mexico (central Florida, northwest Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, north Texas and south Texas). In both studies, batch fecundity and spawning frequency increased with length, weight and age, and batch fecundity was best correlated with maternal length. Gulf-wide, 75% maturity was achieved by age-3 and 100% maturity was reached by age-8. Sizes- and ages-at-maturity differed among habitat types and regions. Females from natural habitat reached 50% maturity the slowest (age-5, …
Modeling Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus Polyphemus) Habitat In A Fire-Dependnent Ecosystem In North Florida, Christina Legleu
Modeling Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus Polyphemus) Habitat In A Fire-Dependnent Ecosystem In North Florida, Christina Legleu
LSU Master's Theses
Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) populations have declined with longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystems across their historic range. The influence of gopher tortoise burrows on co-inhabiting plants and animals necessitates an understanding of how landscape features and management practices influence gopher tortoise presence, absence, and abandonment. In this study, naïve gopher tortoise burrow encounter rates from a line transect distance sampling (LTDS) pilot study were used for two methods of modeling gopher tortoise habitat. In Chapter 1, naïve encounter rates were tested for a linear correlation to a HSI model created from three ranked geographic information system (GIS) landscape variables. Initial …
Variability In Red Snapper Otolith Microchemistry Among Gulf Of Mexico Regions, Michelle Zapp Sluis
Variability In Red Snapper Otolith Microchemistry Among Gulf Of Mexico Regions, Michelle Zapp Sluis
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, has been an economically important reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) for over 150 years and is currently overfished. Catch statistics and demographic differences have lead to the population being categorized into eastern and western substocks divided by the Mississippi River, but data is recombined to set a Gulf-wide annual catch limit. The two objectives of this study were to apply otolith nursery chemical signatures to estimate red snapper mixing dynamics in the western Gulf, and to determine if signatures based upon trace metals associated with oil and gas platforms could discriminate between region …
Influences Of Landscape Characteristics On The Nesting Ecology Of Female Wild Turkeys And Behavior Of Raccoons, Michael E. Byrne
Influences Of Landscape Characteristics On The Nesting Ecology Of Female Wild Turkeys And Behavior Of Raccoons, Michael E. Byrne
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Nest predation is the principle source of reproductive failure in many bird species. Understanding nest predation requires knowledge of interactions between landscape characteristics, and the ecology and behavior of birds and local nest predators. I studied nesting ecology and multi-scale habitat selection of female wild turkeys and the habitat selection and searching behaviors of raccoons, an important nest predator, in a bottomland hardwood forest in Louisiana. My objective was to evaluate the relationships between habitat, wild turkey nest site selection, and raccoon foraging behavior. I used first-passage time (FPT) analysis on nightly foraging tracks of raccoons during the turkey nesting …
Effects Of Habitat Structural Complexity On Nekton Assemblages: Lab And Field Observations In Southern Louisiana, Austin T. Humphries
Effects Of Habitat Structural Complexity On Nekton Assemblages: Lab And Field Observations In Southern Louisiana, Austin T. Humphries
LSU Master's Theses
Greater structural complexity is often associated with more diverse and abundant species assemblages. Biogenic reefs formed by the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) are structurally complex in nature and have been recognized for their potential habitat value in estuarine systems along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. To determine how the structural complexity of newly created oyster reefs may influence the abundance and distribution of species, three objectives were established. First, to examine spatial and temporal patterns of nekton use at newly created oyster reefs, as well as the impact of wave exposure, six paired oyster reef and mud-bottom treatments …
Introgression, Health, And Condition Of Florida, Northern, And Fx Hybrid Largemouth Bass In Louisiana Water Bodies, Melissa Ann Fries
Introgression, Health, And Condition Of Florida, Northern, And Fx Hybrid Largemouth Bass In Louisiana Water Bodies, Melissa Ann Fries
LSU Master's Theses
Since 1982, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has stocked Florida-strain largemouth bass (FLMB; Micropterus salmoides floridanus) to incorporate Florida alleles into native populations (NLMB; M. s. salmoides) and enhance recreational fishing opportunities. I collected habitat data and largemouth bass samples from 12 LDWF stocked reservoirs and disconnected oxbow lakes to examine the relationships between reservoir characteristics, genetic identity, relative weight (Wr), liver somatic index (LSI), parasite loads, and back-calculated length-at-age. I examined the relationships between water body and genetic identity with Wr, LSI, and back-calculated length-at-age by ANOVA. Parasite loads were analyzed with ordinal regression. Principle component …
The Effects Of Trawling And Habitat Use On Red Snapper And The Associated Community, Robert Joseph David Wells
The Effects Of Trawling And Habitat Use On Red Snapper And The Associated Community, Robert Joseph David Wells
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
The primary impediment to the recovery of Gulf of Mexico (GOM) red snapper is believed to be high levels of bycatch of age 0 and age 1 individuals in shrimp trawls. Thus, conservation of GOM red snapper involves evaluating both habitat-specific function and effects of shrimp trawls on red snapper and the associated benthic ecosystem. The two goals of this study were to evaluate the effects commercial shrimp trawls have on juvenile red snapper life history parameters, on associated fish and invertebrate communities and their habitat, and to identify essential fish habitat (EFH) for red snapper by applying all four …
Nest Success And Nest Site Selection Of Shorebirds In North Dakota, Darren Kirk Wiens
Nest Success And Nest Site Selection Of Shorebirds In North Dakota, Darren Kirk Wiens
LSU Master's Theses
I compared nest success estimates for both shorebirds and Sharp-tailed Grouse between controls and 36 square-mile blocks that were trapped for intermediate mammalian predators. I also investigated shorebird nest site selection by comparing vegetation visual obstruction and species composition between nest sites and the surrounding field. Nest success (Mayfield estimate ± SE) was not different between trapped and control blocks for shorebirds (trap: 50.8% ± 6.3%; control: 69.1% ± 17.5%) or Sharp-tailed Grouse (trap: 61.3% ± 8.3%; control: 48.7% ± 10.0%). This indicates that trapping intermediate mammalian predators is not an efficient method of increasing shorebird or Sharp-tailed Grouse nest …
Habitat Use By Nekton In A Saltmarsh Estuary Along A Stream-Order Gradient In Northeastern Barataria Bay, Louisiana, Pablo Granados-Dieseldorff
Habitat Use By Nekton In A Saltmarsh Estuary Along A Stream-Order Gradient In Northeastern Barataria Bay, Louisiana, Pablo Granados-Dieseldorff
LSU Master's Theses
Mesohaline estuarine regions in Louisiana play an important role in coastal ecosystems. To begin to understand how nektonic species and communities respond to environmental variables before habitat modification, I examined patterns of habitat use by fishes and decapod crustaceans in a seemingly pristine mesohaline system that drains into Bay Batiste, southeastern Louisiana. The study area was focused on a relatively unaltered core saltmarsh complex drained by intertidal and subtidal streams and it was representative of a larger surrounding system in terms of nekton community structure and associated environmental variables. Stratified monthly sampling (February – November 2004) along a stream-order gradient …