ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3154-6949

Date of Award

8-2026

Degree Type

Thesis-Restricted

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Program

Earth & Environmental Science

Department

Earth and Environmental Sciences

Major Professor

O'Connell, Martin

Second Advisor

Kulp, Mark

Third Advisor

Schexnayder, Mark

Abstract

Living shorelines are an increasingly popular restoration approach for reducing erosion while improving habitat quality. The Bucktown Living Shoreline Project is a large-scale restoration effort along the southern shore of Lake Pontchartrain aimed at enhancing coastal resilience and restoring historic marsh habitat. This thesis evaluated early fish assemblage response to the Bucktown Living Shoreline Project over one year and placed those assemblages within the broader historical context of Lake Pontchartrain. Monthly sampling was conducted at the living shoreline and an adjacent riprap control site using seines, cast nets, and minnow traps. Fish assemblage structure was not significantly different between sites. Early site differences were most apparent at the species level, particularly among forage-associated taxa. Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) was the strongest contributor to between-site dissimilarity and showed significant monthly standard-length differences between sites. Historical comparisons revealed that the living shoreline and control site did not relate to Lake Pontchartrain historic survey sites in the same way. The living shoreline overlapped with one historical site assemblage while the control site remained distinct from all three historical survey sites. Together, these findings provide an early baseline for the Bucktown Living Shoreline Project but do not define its long-term performance. Furthermore, long-term monitoring can help clarify how living shorelines function in heavily altered estuaries and guide future restoration design, monitoring, and adaptive management throughout Lake Pontchartrain.

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.

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