Estuaries

USGS is collaborating with partners to assess past and current CyanoHABs for the development of a predictive model and forecasting system for Lake Pontchartrain Estuary. This technology can be beneficial for informing future planning of water resource development projects, and the water management of the estuary.

USGS researchers are a developing a modeling framework to assess climate warming impacts on hypoxia-related stress to commercially and recreationally important Gulf species.

Dauphin Island, Alabama, is the only barrier island providing protection to much of Alabama's coastal natural resources. Severely impacted by repeated extreme events, like Hurricane Katrina and Deepwater Horizon oil spill, USGS and partners are conducting a joint study to evaluate the feasibility of certain alternatives to increase resiliency and sustainability of the island.

In response to declining populations, researchers at WARC are collecting data on demographics, movement patterns and habitat use, ecological niche and foraging ecology, and nesting ecology of diamondback terrapins.

USGS researchers are collecting information about lower trophic levels in Barataria Estuary to develop a long-term monitoring plan.

The Mississippi barrier islands are dynamic coastal landforms that are the first line of defense between the Gulf and the Mississippi mainland coast. These islands are experiencing changes in structure (land area and habitat) and geomorphic processes (erosion and accretion) due to frequent intense storms, relative rise in sea level, and changes in sediment supply. A long-term monitoring and...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is leading a Monitoring and Adaptive Management (MAM) activity with USGS collaborators to establish reference ranges and restoration targets, assess data gaps for focal nekton species and/or guilds associated with Louisiana’s estuarine and coastal habitats, implement the fixed-area sampling strategy to quantify fishes and invertebrates...

WARC researchers partnered with Gulf Sturgeon decision makers and biologists to develop a Bayesian network model that uses habitat characteristics to predict the quantity of juvenile winter foraging habitat under alternative river discharge and timing of juvenile arrival scenarios.

WARC researchers sampled anuran populations at sites within Big Thicket National Preserve to explore saltwater intrusion on these populations.

Estuaries and their surrounding wetlands are coastal transition zones where freshwater rivers meet tidal seawater. As sea levels rise, tidal forces move saltier water farther upstream, extending into freshwater wetland areas. Human changes to the surrounding landscape may amplify the effects of this tidal extension, impacting the resiliency and function of the upper estuarine wetlands. One visible...

USGS researchers are working with partners to assess the health and foraging behavior of Florida manatees in the northern Indian River Lagoon and Banana River, areas that have experienced declining seagrasses due to an extended phytoplankton bloom.

Collisons between wildlife and vehicles threaten many species, and can lead to human loss of life, injuries, and loss of property. USGS is developing models to help evaluate the effectiveness of wildlife protection zones and optimize the design of these protected areas.