scholarly journals Shorebird Use of Coastal Wetland and Barrier Island Habitat in the Gulf of Mexico

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 514-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Withers
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Coastal Wetland ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Barrier Island ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Sandy Beaches ◽  
Temporary Ponds ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Island Habitats

The Gulf Coast contains some of the most important shorebird habitats in North America. This area encompasses a diverse mixture of estuarine and barrier island habitats with varying amounts of freshwater swamps and marshes, bottomland hardwood forests, and coastal prairie that has been largely altered for rice and crawfish production, temporary ponds, and river floodplain habitat. For the purposes of this review, discussion is confined to general patterns of shorebird abundance, distribution, and macro- and microhabitat use in natural coastal, estuarine, and barrier island habitats on the Gulf of Mexico Coast. The following geographic regions are considered: Northwestern Gulf (Rio Grande to Louisiana-Mississippi border), Northeastern Gulf (Mississippi to Florida Keys), and Mexico (Rio Grande to Cabo Catoche [Yucatan Strait]).Wintering and migrating shorebirds are most abundant along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Tamaulipas, particularly the Laguna Madre ecosystem. Other important areas are the Southwest Coast region of Florida and the area between Laguna Terminos and Puerto Progresso in Mexico. In general, relative abundances of shorebirds increase from north to south, and decrease south of the Tropic of Cancer (23° 27’ N). Based on bimonthly maximum counts within 5° latitudinal bands, the region between 25–30° N is used most heavily by wintering and spring migrating birds.Non-vegetated coastal wetland habitats associated with bays, inlets and lagoons, particularly tidal flats, and sandy beaches are the habitats that appear to be favored by wintering and migrating shorebirds. In general, these habitats tend to occur as habitat complexes that allow for movement between them in relation to tidal flooding of bay-shore habitats. This relationship is particularly important to Piping Plover and may be important to others.Although vegetated habitats are used by some species, they do not appear to attract large numbers of birds. This habitat is most widespread between the Texas-Louisiana border and the Florida Panhandle region, but it has not been studied extensively. Shorebird abundance and habitat use in this area need to be addressed.

Restoring barrier habitat in Louisiana to compensate for natural resource injuries: Shell Island and Chenier Ronquille Barrier Restoration Projects

Shore & Beach ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 65-71
Author(s):  
Whitney Thompson ◽  
Christopher Paul ◽  
John Darnall
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Natural Resource ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Barrier Island ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Restoration Project ◽  
Island Restoration ◽  
Barataria Basin ◽  
Outer Coast

Coastal Louisiana received significant funds tied to BP penalties as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident. As it is widely considered that the State of Louisiana sustained most of the damage due to this incident, there has been a firm push to waste no time in implementing habitat restoration projects. Sustaining the land on the coast of Louisiana is vital to our nation’s economy, as several of the nation’s largest ports are located on the Gulf coast in Louisiana. In addition, the ecosystems making up the Louisiana coast are important to sustain some of the largest and most valuable fisheries in the nation. Funded by BP Phase 3 Early Restoration, the goals of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Outer Coast Restoration Project are to restore beach, dune, and marsh habitats to help compensate spill-related injuries to habitats and species, specifically brown pelicans, terns, skimmers, and gulls. Four island components in Louisiana were funded under this project; Shell Island Barrier Restoration, Chenier Ronquille Barrier Island Restoration, Caillou Lake Headlands Barrier Island Restoration, and North Breton Island Restoration (https://www. gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/louisiana-outer-coast-restoration, NOAA 2018). Shell Island and Chenier Ronquille are critical pieces of barrier shoreline within the Barataria Basin in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. These large-scale restoration projects were completed in the years following the Deepwater Horizon incident, creating new habitat and reinforcing Louisiana’s Gulf of Mexico shoreline. The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) finished construction of the Shell Island NRDA Restoration Project in 2017, which restored two barrier islands in Plaquemines Parish utilizing sand hydraulically dredged from the Mississippi River and pumped via pipeline over 20 miles over levees and through towns, marinas, and marshes to the coastline. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) also completed the Plaquemines Parish barrier island restoration at Chenier Ronquille in 2017 utilizing nearshore Gulf of Mexico sediment, restoring wetland, coastal, and nearshore habitat in the Barataria Basin. A design and construction overview is provided herein.

Geologic Controls on Regional and Local Erosion Rates of Three Northern Gulf of Mexico Barrier-Island Systems

2013 ◽  
Vol 63 ◽  
pp. 32-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Twichell ◽  
James G. Flocks ◽  
Elizabeth A. Pendleton ◽  
Wayne E. Baldwin
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Barrier Island ◽  
Northern Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Local Erosion ◽  
Geologic Controls

Revision of Paraeupolymnia, and redescription of Nicolea uspiana comb. nov. (Terebellidae: Polychaeta)

Zootaxa ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1117 (1) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIO H. LONDOÑO-MESA
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Dorsal Surface ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
Lesser Antilles

Paraeupolymnia Young & Kritzler, 1987 is redefined and its type species, P. carus Young & Kritzler, 1987, is redescribed. It is easily recognized by the presence of two pairs of branchiae on segments two and three, and one pair of lateral lappets on segments two/three; its distribution is expanded to include localities in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Lesser Antilles and Venezuela. Paraeupolymnia garciagomezi sp. nov. is described from the Florida Keys; it differs from its congeners by the presence of a region with many tubercles on the thoracic dorsal surface, and a rounded emergent papillae between the notoand neuropodia. Finally, P. uspiana Nogueira, 2003, is transferred to Nicolea Malmgren, 1866, because of the lack of lateral lappets, and variation in the number of thoracic chaetigers.

Historical Changes in Large River Fish Assemblages of the Americas

2005 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
North America ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Rio Grande ◽  
Large River ◽  
Freshwater Species ◽  
The World ◽  
Native Fishes

<em>Abstract.</em>—The Rio Grande is the fourth longest river in North America and the 22nd longest in the world. It begins as a cold headwater stream in Colorado, flows through New Mexico and Texas, where it becomes warm and turbid and finally empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The diversity of native fishes is high in the Rio Grande ranging from freshwater salmonids in its upper reaches to coastal forms in the lower reaches. Historically, about 40 primary freshwater species inhabited the waters of the Rio Grande. Like many rivers throughout North America, the native fish fauna of this river has been irrevocably altered. Species once present are now extinct, others are threatened or endangered, and the majority of the remaining native fishes are declining in both range and numbers. Today, 17 of the 40 primary native freshwater fishes have been either extirpated in part or throughout the Rio Grande drainage. This chapter examines the river, its fauna, and its current plight.

Shark Nursery Grounds of the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast Waters of the United States

2007 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Shark Species ◽  
Carcharhinus Plumbeus ◽  
Nursery Areas ◽  
Pesticide Metabolites

<em>Abstract.</em>—Because of their tendency to accumulate in estuaries and coastal regions, organochlorine (OC) contaminants such as pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) represent potential threats to the quality of essential fish habitat for many shark species. These compounds pose special risks to immature sharks in particular because of their ability to impair growth and sexual maturation in juvenile fish at environmentally relevant levels of exposure. In order to assess the extent of these risks in shark populations on the East Coast of the United States, the present study examined concentrations of 30 OC pesticides/pesticide metabolites and total PCBs in juvenile sandbar <em>Carcharhinus plumbeus </em>and blacktip <em>C. limbatus </em>sharks from seven major nursery areas in the western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Gulf of Mexico. Quantifiable levels of PCBs and 13 OC pesticides/ pesticide metabolites were detected via gas chromatography and mass spectrometry in liver of 25 young-of-the-year blacktip sharks from the southeastern U.S. Atlantic coast and three regions on Florida’s gulf coast: Cedar Key, Tampa Bay, and Charlotte Harbor. Similarly, quantifiable levels of PCBs and 14 OC pesticides/metabolites were detected in 23 juvenile <em>C. plumbeus </em>from three sites on the northeastern U.S. coast: middle Delaware Bay, lower Chesapeake Bay, and Virginia’s eastern shore. Liver OC concentrations in Atlantic sandbar and blacktip sharks were higher than expected and, in some cases, comparable with elevated levels observed in deep-sea and pelagic sharks. Although significantly lower than those observed in Atlantic sharks, pesticide and PCB levels in Florida blacktip sharks were similar to, if not greater than, OC concentrations reported in adults of other coastal shark species. Based on these data, OC contamination appears to pose significant threats to habitat quality in sandbar and blacktip shark nursery areas on the U.S. Atlantic coast.

scholarly journals Modeling Barrier Island Habitats Using Landscape Position Information

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 976
Author(s):  
Nicholas M. Enwright ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Hongqing Wang ◽  
Michael J. Osland ◽  
Laura C. Feher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Random Forest ◽  
Nearest Neighbor ◽  
Learning Algorithms ◽  
Barrier Island ◽  
Barrier Islands ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Landscape Position ◽  
K Nearest Neighbor ◽  
Island Habitats

Barrier islands are dynamic environments because of their position along the marine–estuarine interface. Geomorphology influences habitat distribution on barrier islands by regulating exposure to harsh abiotic conditions. Researchers have identified linkages between habitat and landscape position, such as elevation and distance from shore, yet these linkages have not been fully leveraged to develop predictive models. Our aim was to evaluate the performance of commonly used machine learning algorithms, including K-nearest neighbor, support vector machine, and random forest, for predicting barrier island habitats using landscape position for Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA. Landscape position predictors were extracted from topobathymetric data. Models were developed for three tidal zones: subtidal, intertidal, and supratidal/upland. We used a contemporary habitat map to identify landscape position linkages for habitats, such as beach, dune, woody vegetation, and marsh. Deterministic accuracy, fuzzy accuracy, and hindcasting were used for validation. The random forest algorithm performed best for intertidal and supratidal/upland habitats, while the K-nearest neighbor algorithm performed best for subtidal habitats. A posteriori application of expert rules based on theoretical understanding of barrier island habitats enhanced model results. For the contemporary model, deterministic overall accuracy was nearly 70%, and fuzzy overall accuracy was over 80%. For the hindcast model, deterministic overall accuracy was nearly 80%, and fuzzy overall accuracy was over 90%. We found machine learning algorithms were well-suited for predicting barrier island habitats using landscape position. Our model framework could be coupled with hydrodynamic geomorphologic models for forecasting habitats with accelerated sea-level rise, simulated storms, and restoration actions.

scholarly journals Deepwater Horizon oil spill impacts on Alabama beaches

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 3639-3649 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Hayworth ◽  
T. P. Clement ◽  
J. F. Valentine
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Sandy Beaches ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Ecological State ◽  
Current State ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Long Term Consequences

Abstract. From mid June 2010 to early August 2010, the white sandy beaches along Alabama's Gulf coast were inundated with crude oil discharged from the Deepwater Horizon well. The long-term consequences of this environmental catastrophe are still unfolding. Although BP has attempted to clean up some of these beaches, there still exist many unanswered questions regarding the physical, chemical, and ecological state of the oil contaminated beach system. In this paper, we present our understanding of what is known and known to be unknown with regard to the current state of Alabama's beaches in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Motivated by our observations of the evolving distribution of oil in Alabama's beaches and BP's clean-up activities, we offer our thoughts on the lessons learned from this oil spill disaster.

Phages Infecting Vibrio vulnificus Are Abundant and Diverse in Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) Collected from the Gulf of Mexico

1998 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 346-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo DePaola ◽  
Miles L. Motes ◽  
Amy M. Chan ◽  
Curtis A. Suttle
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Crassostrea Virginica ◽  
Vibrio Vulnificus ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Morphological Evidence ◽  
Broad Host Range ◽  
Oyster Tissue ◽  
Mobile Bay ◽  
Apalachicola Bay ◽  
Transmission Electron

ABSTRACT Phages infecting Vibrio vulnificus were abundant (>104 phages g of oyster tissue−1) throughout the year in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) collected from estuaries adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico (Apalachicola Bay, Fla.; Mobile Bay, Ala.; and Black Bay, La.). Estimates of abundance ranged from 101 to 105 phages g of oyster tissue−1 and were dependent on the bacterial strain used to assay the sample. V. vulnificus was near or below detection limits (<0.3 cell g−1) from January through March and was most abundant (103 to 104 cells g−1) during the summer and fall, when phage abundances also tended to be greatest. The phages isolated were specific to strains of V. vulnificus, except for one isolate that caused lysis in a few strains of V. parahaemolyticus. Based on morphological evidence obtained by transmission electron microscopy, the isolates belonged to the Podoviridae,Styloviridae, and Myoviridae, three families of double-stranded DNA phages. One newly described morphotype belonging to the Podoviridae appears to be ubiquitous in Gulf Coast oysters. Isolates of this morphotype have an elongated capsid (mean, 258 nm; standard deviation, 4 nm; n = 35), with some isolates having a relatively broad host range among strains of V. vulnificus. Results from this study indicate that a morphologically diverse group of phages which infect V. vulnificus is abundant and widely distributed in oysters from estuaries bordering the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

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