Date of Award

5-2016

Thesis Date

5-2016

Degree Type

Honors Thesis-Unrestricted

Degree Name

B.S.

Department

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Degree Program

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Director

Martin O'Connell

Abstract

The Blackmouth Shiner (Notropis melanostomus) is a small North American cyprinid that is listed as a Species of Concern due its relatively small range, occurring at only a few sites in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Due to limited data and the small number of actual samples of N. melanostomus, the true characteristics of viable habitat and distribution remain unknown.

The objective of my research was to utilize remote sensing data to gain a better understanding of the habitat characteristics where the N. melanostomus has been collected and use this information to identify other areas were populations are likely to occur during future sampling efforts. In particular, Landsat data were used to map the spatial and temporal extent of water inundation over a 20-year time-series within floodplain water bodies surrounding the Pascagoula River to determine the effects on the presence or absence of Blackmouth Shiners at historic collection sites. These characteristics could be used to inform future site selections within the Pascagoula River drainage as well as identify other river systems that have similar inundation patterns and morphology within and proximal to the known range.

Rights

The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this honors thesis in whole or part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the honors thesis.

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