Comparison of Fish Communities in Open and Plugged Backfilled Canals in Louisiana Coastal Marshes
- 1 January 1987
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in North American Journal of Fisheries Management
- Vol. 7 (1) , 57-62
- https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(1987)7<57:cofcio>2.0.co;2
Abstract
Fish communities were compared among 13 open, partially open, and plugged back-filled canals in coastal Louisiana brackish marshes. Captured fish were divided into two categories: residents, those species that complete their entire life cycles in shallow marsh ponds, and migrants, species that move into shallow marsh areas as postlarvae or juveniles. Migrant fishes included several species of high commercial or recreational value and accounted for at least 76% of the fish caught in each open canal. Resident species comprised more than 90% of the individuals caught in each plugged canal. The mean number of migrant species was greater in open and semi-open than in plugged canals; the mean number of resident species was greater in plugged than in other canal types. Migrant species dominated the catch in two canals that were partially plugged, whereas the catch in a third partially plugged canal consisted entirely of resident species. Plugging canals reduced their use by migrant species and decreased...Keywords
This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: