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.