Louisiana Marsh Management Plan 1995

We sampled experimental research areas in the Barataria Basin of Louisiana during March and May, 1995, to examine the effects of structural marsh management on habitat use by small nekton (100 mm total length TL or carapace width CW). The research areas consisted of two control (unmanaged) marshes and two impounded (managed) marshes managed areas were surrounded by levees with water-control structures constructed by the U.S. Department of Interior, National Biological Survey. We conclude that the restricted water exchange in marshes under structural marsh management diminishes recruitment and standing stocks of species that must migrate from coastal spawning sites to marsh nurseries. Even when water-control structures were open, the densities of these transient species were low inside managed areas. In contrast to the negative effect of management on transient species, the resident fish and crustacean populations seemed to flourish in the managed areas when a drawdown was not in effect. Following two months of a drawdown, however, the populations of residents appeared similar inside and outside managed areas. Increases in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) within ponds occurred outside the managed areas during the study period, but not inside managed areas. Because many resident species were closely associated with the SAV, the effect of management on SAV may have been responsible for the distribution patterns of resident species.

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of structural marsh management on habitat use by fishery species and other nekton before and after a spring drawdown of managed areas.

Management effects on habitat selection by nekton in the Barataria Basin system of coastal Louisiana: 1995. LMMP 1995 study

Location Of The Main Office Of The South East Fisheries Science Center

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Data set is not for use in litigation. While efforts have been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages or misrepresentations caused by inaccuracies in these data, or as a result of these data being used on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does distribution constitute any such warranty

pc files

Data were entered into spreadsheets and checked against the raw data sheet to avoid entry errors

Each sample was assigned a unique identification code. Field collected samples were tagged redundantly (e.g. one label inside of the collection vessel and a matching label attached to the outside of the vessel). The identifier and its associated information (e.g. date, location, habitat) was recorded on field data sheets. Once a sample arrived at the laboratory, the label remained with the sample throughout the various stages of sample processing. After data were entered into an Excel spreadsheet or similar database file, the information was printed out and compared against the field data sheets by two biologists. Corrections were made at this time and saved. The electronic file was also sorted and examined by the Lab Supervisor or other project personnel in a variety of ways to look for outliers, missing data, and other potential errors.

This data is currently wavered under the current NOAA guidelines for relational databases.

The archival process is currently under development.

The data resides on a secure government network requiring multi-factor authentication for network access.