Louisiana Association of
Professional Biologists/ The Wildlife Society Louisiana Chapter
2012 Fall Symposium
Recent Natural Resource
Research in Louisiana
With a Focus Session on
GulfCoast Ecosystem Restoration
August 16th and 17th
The NOAA Estuarine Habitats and Coastal
FisheriesCenter
646 Cajundome Blvd.
Lafayette, LA70506
Thursday, August 16th – Large Conference Room #119
8:30 – 8:40Welcome and Introduction: Aaron Pierce,
LAPB President-Elect
Session IModerator: Kim Marie Tolson (ULM)
8:40 – 8:55EDAPHIC CONSTRAINTS ON PLANT ESTABLISHMENT IN A TIDAL MARSH RESTORATION SITE: IMPLICATIONS FOR WETLAND RESTORATION. Taylor M. Sloey and Mark W. Hester, Coastal Plant Ecology Laboratory, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
8:55 – 9:10METHODS FOR ENHANCING ESTABLISHMENT OF BACCHARIS HALIMIFOLIA AT COASTAL RESTORATION SITES.Michael J. Dupuis and Mark W. Hester,Coastal Plant Ecology Laboratory, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
9:10 – 9:25GROWTH OF SMOOTH CORDGRASS IN THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF FIDDLER CRABS. Aimee Hafkesbring and Grary LaFleur, Jr., Department of Biological Sciences, NichollsStateUniversity.
Water--Louisiana’s Defining Resource.
Mark Davis, Senior Research Fellow and Director
Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy
TulaneUniversityLawSchool.
Louisiana has a long and complex relationship with water. Culturally and economically, water has shaped Louisiana in powerful and obvious ways. Legally, the relationship has been more obscure, defined more by specific uses and periodic crises that command intense but brief attention than by a systematic approach to management. As a result, comprehensive water management has received relatively little attention in Louisiana.
The state is facing a future in which water, even in Louisiana, is a scarce resource that demands a well thought out and integrated approach to its stewardship. The need to purposefully balance navigation, flood control, environmental, agricultural, industrial and drinking water supplies is already pressing and will only become more so. Regional and interstate water needs are also growing as are energy driven water uses.
Recent legislative and administrative actions indicate that Louisiana is beginning to recognize both the true value of water and the need to manage it more comprehensively. Those interested in the future of wildlife will need to track and engage in the water planning processes that are starting in the state if the state’s rich natural heritage is to be ensured.
Unit costs were shown to decrease with increases in project time and scale, and increase at higher discount rates regardless of restoration method. Mobilization and demobilization of dredging equipment, access dredging costs, and the distance between sediment borrow site and project site, served to significantly increase the unit costs of MC projects. Break-even costs for MCwere found to exceed DIV2 and DIV1 at time periods beyond 25 and 35 years, pumping distances of 10 and 20 miles, and target scales of 4,000 and 10,000 acres, respectively. These intersection points increase substantially; however, with incorporation of climatic and social risks. The implications of such risks will be presented in detail, with specific recommendations for addressing limiting factors (physical and socioeconomic) by project type.
9:25 – 9:40GROWTH RATES AND ESTABLISHMENT PATTERNS OF WATER ELM (PLANERA AQUATICA) AND BALD CYPRESS (TAXODIUM DISTICHUM) AS INDICATORS OF CLIMATIC AND HYDROLOGIC CONIDITIONS AT CATAHOULA LAKE, LOUISIANA. Sanjeev Joshi1 , Karen S. Doerr1, Richard F. Keim1 , and Frank L. Willis2, 1School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, 2Willis Engineering and Scientific, LLC.
9:40 – 9:55ANALYSIS OF MARSH REVEGETATION EFFORTS IN CALCASIEU AND CAMERON PARISHES, LOUISIANA. Joshua M. Soileau and Eddie K. Lyons, Department of Agricultural Sciences, McNeeseStateUniversity.
9:55 – 10:15BREAK
Session IIModerator: Sammy King (USGS)
10:15 – 10:30A COMPARISON OF AQUATIC TURTLE SPECIES IN SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA. Cybil Covic Huntzinger, Irvin Louque, and Eddie K. Lyons, Department of Agricultural Sciences, McNeeseStateUniversity.
10:30 – 10:45A COMPARISON OF FISH AND CRUSTACEAN COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH CONSTRUCTED OYSTER REEFS AND NATURAL OYSTER REEFS IN A LOUISIANA ESTUARY. Victoria Bacheler and Earl J. Melancon, Jr., Department of Biological Sciences, NichollsStateUniversity.
10:45 – 11:00MEETING THE ENERGETIC NEEDS OF WINTERING WATERBIRDS THROUGH SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AT BOSQUE DEL APACHE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, NEW MEXICO. Drew N. Fowler, School of Renewable Natural Resources, LouisianaStateUniversity Agricultural Center.
11:00 – 11:15EVALUATING BARRIER ISLAND HABITATS FOR WINTERING WATERBIRDS. David Curtiss and Aaron R. Pierce, Department of Biological Sciences, NichollsStateUniversity.
11:15 – 11:30NOCTURNAL HABITAT SELECTION OF THE AMERICAN WOODCOCK (SCOLOPAX MINOR) IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOUISIANA. James C. Haynes1, Jeffery Duguay2, and Kim Marie Tolson1, 1Department of Biology, University of Louisiana Monroe, 2Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Baton Rouge.
TRAJECTORY ECONOMICS: A COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF COASTAL LAND-BUILDING METHODS. Rex H. Caffey, LouisianaStateUniversity.
Coastal restoration in Louisiana is increasingly characterized by the use of rapid land building techniques that rely on mechanical dredges and sediment pipelines for the purpose of marsh creation. Yet the advantages of such projects can be offset by their high costs and apparent low functionality compared to more natural methods such as fresh water and sediment diversions. Such comparisons are central to a growing economic and ideological debate between advocates of these two methods, and one typically defined by a narrow interpretation of costs and benefits.
Generic cost and benefit models were developed via regression analysis using project data marsh creation (MC) and diversions (DIV1). An exogenous model of diversion benefits (DIV2) was utilized to capture a wider suite of nutrient and sediment contributions at specific flow rates. Net present valuation and sensitivity analysis were utilized to solve for the break-even ecosystem service value ($/acre/year) in which the benefit-cost ratio was equal to 1.0. Risk assessments were developed using hurricane landfall probability and social risk for 16 simulated projects in the upper and lower basins of Plaquemine Parish.
emerging issues of increased population density, changing land use and climate, and ecosystem research for conservation of desired landscapes. This presentation will address early successes, findings, and current and future research directions of the GCP and GCPO LCCs, using examples from the Gulf of Mexico region to highlight the functional roles and added value proposition of conservation within this partnership context.
11:30 – 1:30LUNCH (on your own)
Session IIIModerator:Frank Rohwer (LSU)
1:30 – 1:45MIGRATION OF BALD EAGLES FROM LOUISIANA. Nickolas R. Smith1, Alan D. Afton2, Thomas J. Hess, Jr.3 , 1School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University, 2U.S. Geological Survey Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 3Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Rockefeller Refuge, Grand Chenier.
1:45 – 2:00WASTE RICE, MOIST-SOIL SEED, AND WATERBIRD ABUNDANCE IN RICE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN LOUISIANA AND TEXAS. Joseph Marty1, J. Brain Davis1, Richard M. Kaminski1, Michael G. Brasher2, Guiming Wang1, 1Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, 2Gulf Coast Joint Venture, National Wetlands Research Center, Lafayette.
2:00 – 2:15EFFECTS OF HABITAT EDGES AND NEST SITE CHARACTERISTICS ON PAINTED BUNTING NEST SURVIVAL.Phillip L. Vasseur and Paul L. Lerberg, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
2:15 – 2:30BREAK
2:30 – 2:45EFFECTS OF PREDATOR REMOVAL ON
DUCK NEST SUCCESS IN LOW
GRASSLAND DENSITY LANDSCAPES IN
NORTH DAKOTA. Michael J. Buxton and
Frank C. Rohwer. School of Renewable Natural
Resources, LouisianaStateUniversity
Agricultural Center.
2:45 – 3:00ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT ON DREDGE SPOIL ISLANDS OF THE ATCHAFALAYA DELTA FOR NESTING MOTTLED DUCKS AND SEABIRDS. Brendan M. Caillouet, Justin A. Rabalais, and Frank C. Rohwer, School of Renewable Natural Resources, LouisianaStateUniversity Agricultural Center.
3:00 – 3:15THE RELATIONSHIP OF WATERFOWL CONSERVATION ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP TO WATERFOWL HUNTER PARTICIPATION IN LOUISIANA.Lucien P. Laborde, Jr., Frank C. Rohwer, and Michael D. Kaller, School of Renewable Natural Resources, LouisianaStateUniversity Agricultural Center.
3:30 – 4:30LAPB/TWS Fall Business Meeting (Rm 119)
5:00 – 10:00Evening Social and Dinner at Hilton Garden
Inn
-Student Presentation and Publication Awards
announced
Collaboration in Conservation in the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Region:A Crucible for the Future.Bill Bartush1, John Tirpak2, D. Phil Turnipseed3, and Jeff Weller4,
1 Coordinator, Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lafayette, LA 70506, 2 Science Coordinator, Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lafayette, LA 70506, 3 Director, National Wetlands Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Lafayette, LA 70506
4 Project Leader, Louisiana Ecological Services Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lafayette, LA70506.
Effective and strategic conservation depends largely on holistic science planning that integrates resource priorities and partners across the entire science-management enterprise.To achieve this challenging goal, Federal, state, and local agencies have joined forces with nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to initiate a new kind of conservation partnership called Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs). LCC Partnerships leverage resources to define a common vision for sustaining natural and cultural resources and develop tools that improve natural resource management. The goal is to focus coordinated action and eliminate duplication in support of shared conservation priorities across large connected areas, or landscapes, in light of anticipated changes on those landscapes.
In 2010 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Geological Survey(USGS) along with others launched a significant coalition to assist two LCCs, theGulf Coast Prairie (GCP) and the Gulf Coastal Plains and Ozarks (GCPO), in building a critical science and engineering mass in the Gulf of Mexico region. The coalition created at the USGSNationalWetlandResearchCenter is working together to address the
OVERVIEW OF LOUISIANA’S 2012 COASTAL MASTER PLAN. Kirk Reinhardt, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana, Baton Rouge.
The State of Louisiana has lost over 1,880 square miles of land since the 1930s. This dynamic coastal environment continues to be degraded by natural and man made factors including hurricanes, oil spills, sediment starvation, and an extensive canal network in the marshes. If no efforts are made to address the causes of this loss, another 1,800 square miles of landmaybe lostoverthe next 50 years. A dramatically different approach to coastal restoration and risk reduction is essential and was developed in the 2012 Coastal Master Plan.A series of integrated, coast wide predictive models were developed to provide data for a new planning tool which was used to identify the suite of projects that would make the greatest progress toward meeting the 2007 Master Plan objectives. The 2012 Master Plan utilizes uncertainties and decision criteria to help determine greatest land gain and minimum risk damage in relation to the available funding. Recognizing that the success of the plan hinges on stakeholder support as well as science, the State has also implemented a comprehensive outreach plan to obtain input and feedback from the public, science and engineering community, Federal and state agencies, NGOs, and elected officials.CPRA’s state-of-the-art, holistic and systems approach to coastal planning will allow the State to effectively invest limited financial resources while making the greatest progress toward achieving a sustainable coast.
Friday, August 17th
8:00 – 9:20POSTER SESSION – Conference Room #116
FOCUS SESSION
GULFCOAST ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION
9:20 – 9:30Opening Remarks: Aaron Pierce, LAPB President-Elect
Focus Session Moderator: Michael Carloss (LDWF)
9:30 – 10:00LDWF-NRDA RESPONSE AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM: aN OVERVIEW. Matthew Weigel and Jon J. Wiebe, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Response and Assessment Program, Lafayette.
10:00 – 10:30The Effects of Macondo Oil on Coastal Ecosystems. Linda Hooper-Bui, Department of Entomology, LouisianaStateUniversity, Baton Rouge.
10:30 – 11:00OVERVIEW OF LOUISIANA’S 2012
COASTAL MASTER PLAN. Kirk Reinhardt,
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of
Louisiana, Baton Rouge.
11:00 – 11:30COLLABORATION IN CONSERVATION
IN THE GULF OF MEXICO COASTAL
REGION: A CRUCIBLE FOR THE
FUTURE. Bill Bartush1, John Tirpak2, D. Phil
Turnispeed3, and Jeff Weller4, 1GulfCoast
Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lafayette, 2Gulf
Coastal Plain and Ozarks Landscape
Conservation Cooperative, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Lafayette, 3National Wetlands Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey,
Lafayette, 4Louisiana Ecological Services
Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Lafayette.
11:30 – 12:00TRAJECTORY ECONOMICS: A
COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC
ASSESSMENT OF COASTAL LAND-
BUILDING METHODS. Rex H. Caffey,
Center for Natural Resource Economics &
Policy, LouisianaStateUniversity.
12:00 – 12:30Water--Louisiana’s Defining
Resource.Mark Davis, Tulane Institute on
Water Resources Law and Policy, Tulane
UniversityLawSchool.
12:30 – 12:40Presentation of Poster Award
Closing Comments
The Effects of Macondo Oil on Coastal Ecosystems. Linda Hooper-Bui, Department of Entomology, LouisianaStateUniversity, Baton Rouge.
The sounds of a healthy salt marsh community and adjacent coastal waters include buzzes, clicks, chirps, and splashes. Healthy ecosystems can handle small disturbances or stressors such as smallpulses of oil from deep seeps in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Stressed ecosystems such as the saltwater marshes and the waters that extend to the shelf that fringe the northern GOM experienced a huge pulse of additional disturbance as a result of escaping oil from the Macondo blowout, fresh water diversions, and the subsequent cleanup efforts. Members of the LUMCON GoMRI consortium are studying the effect of crude-water emulsion on the soil, plants and fauna in saltwater marshes and adjacent open water and comparing them to reference sites. All sampling had contemporaneous unoiled controls or reference sites and comparable samples before the emulsion made landfall. Whereas some data indicate select taxa escaped impact of Macondo oil, our results and observations indicate widespread ‘silencing’ of insect and spider activity in Louisiana saltwater marshes affected by the BP Macondo blowout.
ABSTRACTS FOR FOCUS SESSION
Friday, 17 August 2012
LDWF-NRDA RESPONSE AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM: aN OVERVIEW. Matthew Weigel and Jon J. Wiebe, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Response and Assessment Program, Lafayette.
Since its inception in January 2011, LDWF-NRDA Response and Assessment Programremains the Department’s principal representative addressing Mississippi Canyon Block 252 (MC-252) Emergency Response and Assessment efforts. These efforts have been accomplished through strong collaborative relationships among the principal State (i.e., LOSCO, OCPR, LDEQ, and LDNR), Federal (i.e., USCG, USFWS, NOAA, and USGS) and Responsible party (i.e., BP, CardnoENTRIX) members. Throughout the Area of Response (AOR), program personnel continue to advocate for state trust resources, protecting wildlife and valuable habitat while guiding necessary response activity. In tandem, assessment work plans (cooperative and non-cooperative) have been developed / implemented to evaluate principal injury endpoints to Louisiana’s natural resources in relation to the MC-252 oil spill including: 1.) Acute toxicological response; 2.) Identification of exposure routes; 3.) Evaluating physiological endpoints indicative of PAH exposure (i.e., biomarkers); 4.) Evaluating survival metrics; and 5.) Developing paired field / laboratory work plans to assist in injury quantification.To date, program personnel are addressing both short-term (i.e., Response and Assessment plan implementation, data analysis / interpretations) and long-term (i.e., monitoring and restoration activities) objectives.
ABSTRACTS FOR STUDENT PRESENTATIONS
Thursday, 16 August 2012
EDAPHIC CONSTRAINTS ON PLANT ESTABLISHMENT IN A TIDAL MARSH RESTORATION SITE: IMPLICATIONS FOR WETLAND RESTORATION. Taylor M. Sloey and Mark W. Hester, Coastal Plant Ecology Laboratory, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
The Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta in California is recognized for its role in providing important ecological services; however, historical manipulations via levee construction have resulted in vast losses of wetland habitat. Concerns about the Delta’s water quality and ecological function, have given impetus to consider proposals for controlled breaching of these levees to re-introduce hydrologic connectivity and return the land to tidal freshwater wetlands. This study evaluated the effects of edaphic and hydrologic conditions on vegetationestablishment and expansion at Liberty Island, a post levee-breach restoring marsh in California.
We examined the effects of varying environmental conditions on the establishment and expansion of three freshwater macrophytes: (Schoenoplectus acutus, Schoenoplectus californicus and Typha latifolia) at two life history stages (rhizome and adult). Results indicate S. californicus has established more successfully than the other species and expanded to more than an order of magnitude greater (in terms of area colonized) than the other two species. Furthermore, degree of the compacted soil layers may be influencing species survival and expansion. Total area of expansion of all species was more than 2.5 times greater in areas of lesser compacted soils. A subsequent seed-bank assay further emphasized the importance of understanding constraints on vegetative expansion as conditions limit successful seed germination at Liberty Island. The information gained from this study will aid restoration planning by optimizing plant species selections to meet restoration goals and further refine restoration trajectories for the Delta as well as wetland restoration and creation projects in a variety of regions worldwide.
METHODS FOR ENHANCING ESTABLISHMENT OF BACCHARIS HALIMIFOLIA AT COASTAL RESTORATION SITES.Michael J. Dupuis and Mark W. Hester,Coastal Plant Ecology Laboratory, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Enhancement of vegetation establishment techniques at coastal and barrier island restoration sites is critical to project success and sustainability. We investigated various establishment techniques for the woody shrub Baccharis halimifolia on barrier island swale sediment (pumped silty sand). Our methods focused on improving germination and sediment conditions for subsequent vigorous growth. We conducted two germination experiments: the first determined the optimal burial depth for B. halimifolia seed germination; the second
determined the benefit of organic matter, hydromulch, and humic acid treatments on B. halimifolia seed germination under two precipitation regimes. Our third experiment evaluated a range of applied humic acid amendments on seedling growth and optimized humic acid dosage with potential synergy with fertilizer application. Results from the first study indicate that the optimal burial depth for B. halimifolia seed germination is
Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery is being pursued to provide stock for active restoration. Search and restoration efforts would benefit from a prioritization tool that could identify potential habitat. We developed a LPM habitat model that included parameters related to stream permanence, flow, substrate, and water temperature. Excepting stream permanence that was available from NHD, we relied on proxy variables to index the other parameters. For flow, we used stream order and gradient. For substrate, we used bank slope, assuming steep slopes provided a source for the preferred gravel substrates. Lastly, water temperature was indexed by determining the percent canopy cover and forested habitat within each subwatershed draining into each 100 m stretch of stream. Mussel locations were compared to all habitats in the landscape, and mussels were distributed non-randomly with regard to habitat. Mussels occurred in first- to third-order streams with moderate stream gradients along gently sloping areas in predominantly forested landscapes with greater canopy cover than on average. We used a GIS to identify unoccupied but potentially suitable habitats with these characteristics across the landscape. These results and potential next steps will be discussed.