FromPhysicstoFishModelingtheeffectsofpulsedriver.PDFVIP

From Physics to Fish: Modeling the effects of pulsed river diversion on salinity distribution and fish movement in the Breton Sound estuary Haosheng Huang, Kenneth A. Rose, Dubravko Justic Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences School of the Coast and Environment Louisiana State University 2012 Northern Gulf Institute Annual Conference, Stennis Space Center, May 23, 2012 Study Area Louisiana Coastal Wetlands 2 Total of 9,881 km of coastal wetlands 30% of total coastal marsh area 90% of the coastal marsh loss 2 -1 Wetland loss of ~62 km yr from 1990-2000 2 Predicted to lose 500 km over the next 50 years How river diversions (river pulsing) affect the exposure of fish to stressful environmental conditions due to pulsing-caused spatial displacement ?  Diversions may increase nutrient inputs and thus alter the spatial and temporal dynamics of productivity within the system  Diversions can also cause significant shifts in the spatial distributions of salinity, which, in turn, can cause significant shifts in the spatial distributions of ecologically and economically important fish and invertebrates  Do the animals experience physiological stress due to rapidly changing environmental conditions?