Quenton C. Fontenot

The yellow bass (Morone mississippiensis) is a common, yet lesser known species of the Mississippi River drainage basin; few life history studies on the species have been published throughout its range. To describe population level gonad development, seasonal abundance, and age and growth, yellow bass were collected every 7-14 days with monofilament gill nets from 14 November 2008 to 17 November 2009 from the upper Barataria Estuary (UBE) in south Louisiana. Mean catch-per-unit effort (CPUE) was highest from February-April, indicating that yellow bass used the UBE seasonally. Yellow bass...

Gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) are an important component of many water bodies in the southeastern United States that contributes energy and nutrients to piscivores and impacts nutrient cycles. Spawning movements from the lower Barataria Estuary, Louisiana, into the upper reaches of the Barataria Estuary results in seasonal congregations of gizzard shad in the upper estuary. Historically, these spawning movements may have been initiated by the predictable annual Mississippi River floodpulse; however, the Barataria Estuary is currently cut off from the Mississippi River and no...

The Barataria Estuary, Louisiana, is an interconnected hydrologic network of bayous, canals, lakes, and bays that stretches from freshwater swamps to the open Gulf of Mexico along a salinity gradient. Although the Barataria Estuary was built by sediment delivered via distributaries and interdistributaries of the Mississippi River, flood protection activities have blocked the historical connections between the Mississippi River and the upper estuary. Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) are abundant in the Barataria Estuary and seasonally occur in the upper estuary. To gain a better...

In order to assess the change in spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) density relative to water level in a disconnected low-water refuge, we used monofilament gill nets to collect adult gar throughout the annual flood pulse in the Atchafalaya River Basin (ARB), Louisiana. Spotted gar density was greatest during low-water periods and there was a strong negative correlation between spotted gar catch per unit effort and the Atchafalaya River water level at Butte La Rose (P = 0.0002, R2 = 0.5763). The spotted gar population in Deer Lake, a disconnected backwater area, was estimated to be 2,079...

The life histories of many organisms are directly tied to floodplain inundation for access to spawning grounds, nurseries, and feeding, but many floodplain ecosystems have been altered by anthropogenic activities and are disconnected from associated rivers. The Atchafalaya River Basin (ARB) floodplain, Louisiana, is relatively intact, whereas the upper Barataria Estuary (UBE) has been separated from the Mississippi River by anthropogenic modifications and lacks an annual flood pulse. The lack of connection can alter trophic webs that include fish species such as bowfin (Amia calva...