Date of Award
Fall 12-2013
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Program
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Department
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Major Professor
O'Connell, Martin
Second Advisor
Bourgeois-Calvin, Andrea
Third Advisor
Georgiou, Ioannis
Abstract
The creation of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) in 1963 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) represents one of the most catastrophic, anthropogenic stressors ever to impact the Lake Pontchartrain estuary in southeastern Louisiana, USA. The artificial tidal pass provided a direct route from the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans. It allowed for high saline waters to enter Lake Pontchartrain, resulting in detrimental changes to the biotic community of the Lake and surrounding wetland areas. In July 2009, the USACE closed the MRGO in hopes of restoring natural ecosystems. This study assesses changes in the adult, juvenile, and larval fish assemblages in the Lake from data taken before and after the closure. Water quality data were also examined for shifts related to the MRGO closure. Significant decreases in salinity were found following the closure, however no significant differences were found in adult or larval fish assemblages.
Recommended Citation
Cope, Rebecca Weatherall, "Assessing the Responses of Adult, Juvenile, and Larval Fish Assemblages to the Closure of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, an Artificial Tidal Pass in Southeastern Louisiana" (2013). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1730.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1730
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.