Study compared densities of nekton, benthos, and seagrass among newly deposited dredged sediments and nearby and distant natural seagrass sites over a three year period. Recovery of seagrass and nekton communities from dredged material placement was predicted to take from 4-8 years.

This data set consists of density ratings of submersed aquatic vegetation and Bithynia tentaculata abundance in Pool 8 of the UMR in 2015.

Terracing uses existing bottom sediments to form terraces or ridges at marsh elevation and the intertidal zone is planted with marsh vegetation. This study examined the habitat value of terracing at Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana in the spring and fall of 1999 by quantifying and comparing nekton densities in a 9-yr old terrace field and nearby reference area using a 1 m2 drop sampler. Using density and biomass patterns and the percentage of marsh and pond area in the terrace field, we concluded that terrace fields support higher standing crops of most fishery species compared with shallow marsh ponds of similar size. Future restoration projects could include design changes to increase the proportion of marsh in a terrace field and enhance the habitat value of marsh terraces for fishery species.

The numbers and species of grouper and snapper were counted annually during the grouper spawning season to evaluate the use of closed areas as a management tool to increase reef fish populations.

Marsh terracing is used to restore coastal wetlands by converting shallow nonvegetated bottom to intertidal marsh. Terraces are constructed from excavated bottom sediments, and are commonly arranged in a checkerboard pattern of square cells with open corners to form terrace fields. The project was located in shallow estuarine waters, and used bottom sediments or upland soils to construct intertidal areas planted with smooth cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora. We used a quantitative sampling device to compare nekton densities and biomass in habitat types of marsh terraces of three cell sizes at Pierce Marsh in Galveston Bay to a nearby reference marsh. Within terrace cells, density, biomass, and species richness were generally higher in marsh vegetation than over nonvegetated bottom. We also used Geographic Information System (GIS) and high-resolution aerial photography to classify areas into land (marsh vegetation) and water and applied fishery density models to assess fishery support. These models describe finescale distribution patterns for brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus, white shrimp Litopenaeus setiferus, and blue crab Callinectes sapidus across shallow estuarine habitat types (emergent marsh and shallow open water) of Galveston Bay. We show that populations of most fishery species increase as cell size decreases. However, as cell size decreases, the cost of terrace construction increases much faster than population size. Therefore, terrace fields constructed of medium or large cells would be more cost effective in providing fishery habitat than would terraces composed of small cells. Based on our modeling results, restored sites supported relatively high populations of fishery species compared to pre-restoration conditions. However, restoration sites did not support populations’ equivalent to a reference marsh system. Restoration projects should maximize the area of marsh vegetation and create a high degree of water-marsh interspersion to provide the most benefit for fishery species.

Measured fine-scale distributions of nekton on the vegetated marsh surface using drop samplers and utilized these patterns to estimate population size. Natant decapod crustaceans were most abundant in the marsh, while densities of juvenile brown shrimp, white shrimp, and blue crabs were highest 1-m from the marsh edge interface, declining rapidly towards open water. Developed regression models to describe fine-scale density patterns and used this information to estimate the population of natant decapods in a highly fragmented marsh in the Galveston Bay system.

This dataset contains information angler experiences and preferences for recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

The identification of essential habitats for marine species is critical for proper management of populations. Although the species composition of sharks that occur in coastal waters is diverse, descriptions of distribution and habitat use tend to be generalized; distribution has been broadly outlined in which individuals are segregated into different habitats by ontogeny The GULFPSAN survey is a fishery-independent survey that began in 1994 to examine the distribution and abundance of juvenile sharks in coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. It was done adhoc through 2002. In 2003 it began to receive its own funding. The database describes coastal shark abundance and environmental data from St. Andrews Bay to Apalachicola Bay in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

We examined the distribution of nekton across the marsh landscape using a 1-m2 drop sampler to compare nekton densities across three different salinity zones (intermediate, brackish, saline), three pond sizes (diameter 40 msmall, 250300 mmedium, 750 mlarge), and two habitat types (pond, adjacent marsh) in the Barataria Bay Estuary, Louisiana. Nekton assemblages of ponds and the adjacent marsh appeared to be structured by the responses of individual species to the estuarine salinity gradient at the landscape scale and to pond habitat attributes locally. Our results indicate that ponds in the brackish and saline zones are more important nursery areas for most fishery species than ponds in the intermediate zone. Medium and large ponds supported higher densities of most species than small ponds. Most species of nekton were associated with vegetation structure, and individuals of these species were either concentrated among plant stems at the marsh edge or within submerged aquatic vegetation in ponds.