Date of Award
5-2010
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Program
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Department
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Major Professor
O'Connell, Martin T.
Second Advisor
Georgiou, Ioannis
Third Advisor
Thomas, Glenn
Abstract
Bayou St. John is a degraded water-body located within the City of New Orleans and is the focus of restoration efforts. I tested the ability of reintroduced red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) to survive in this system and assessed their habitat use and behavior. I tracked 29 red drum fitted with external acoustic radio transmitters to determine if they could survive the degraded habitats and determine their general dispersion within the Bayou. All 29 tagged red drum exhibited post-stocking movement (i.e., survival) and occurred primarily in the northern section of the Bayou (nearest Lake Pontchartrain). To assess habitat use and behavior on a finer scale, a second group of 19 red drum were internally tagged with VEMCO transmitters and movements monitored by four remote receivers. These fish exhibited behavior similar to red drum in natural habitats. Monthly movements changed as temperatures changed but were not influenced by diurnal differences, salinity, or conductivity.
Recommended Citation
Brogan, Sunny, "Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) Habitat Use in an Urban System; Behavior of Reintroduced Fish in Bayou St. John, New Orleans" (2010). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1185.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1185
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.