Avifauna Surveys of the Northern Main Chandeleur Islands
USGS WARC ecologists are assisting partners in conducting avian surveys on Chandeleur Islands during the pre-restoration monitoring phase to document threatened and endangered species, species richness and diversity, species abundance, and habitat use.
The Science Issue and Relevance: The Chandeleur Islands are a chain of uninhabited barrier islands along the eastern coast of Louisiana that provide essential habitat for birds and other wildlife. This island chain has experienced a reduction of total land area from 44.5 km2 in 1855 to 4.7 km2 in 2005. Increased hurricane intensity and frequency in the northern Gulf of Mexico during the past decade has accelerated this land loss trend, forcing the Chandeleur Islands into a mode of rapid dissection and transgressive submergence (conversion from emergent barrier islands to submerged shoals). Based on extrapolated historical land loss and shoreface retreat rates, the islands are expected to be completely converted to a system of submerged shoals within approximately 25 years. This 50-mile-long barrier island chain plays a crucial role in: (1) attenuating storm impacts for mainland Louisiana and Mississippi; (2) regulating conditions for a 12,043 km2 estuary; (3) supporting a $2.7 billion fisheries industry; and (4) providing unique habitat for threatened and endangered species including nesting sea turtles, piping plovers, and red knots. Considering the significance of the Chandeleur Islands, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) is planning to restore ~21 km of the Chandeleur Islands by reinforcing the island coastline and rebuilding barrier habitats, such as marshes and dunes, using offshore dredge materials.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: The CPRA is currently planning a coastal restoration project to restore a portion of the Chandeleur Islands. The CPRA Chandeleur Islands Restoration Project is collecting preliminary data for its engineering and design phase. During this planning phase, scientists are conducting bathymetric, topographical, and biological surveys prior to island restoration design to understand the complex ecosystem that currently exists on the Chandeleur Islands and to maximize the benefits of habitat restoration for biological resources. Biological surveys entail monitoring birds, marine mammals, and sea turtles. USGS WARC ecologists are assisting partners in conducting avian surveys during the pre-restoration monitoring phase to document threatened and endangered species, species richness and diversity, species abundance, and habitat use.
Future Steps: Given the amount of current and anticipated restoration projects in the region, biological monitoring before and after restoration is helpful when natural resource managers, conservation planners, and coastal engineers make decisions related to the design of future restoration projects. Management of coastal habitats requires successfully balancing infrastructure and hydrology needs with those of plants and animals using these coastal landscapes. Bird survey data can be used to plan restoration goals as well as inform engineering and construction techniques that optimize the overall integrity of the Chandeleur Islands while meeting the needs of flora and fauna.
Non-breeding Habitat Use of Flooded Agricultural Fields by Shorebirds within the Mississippi Delta
Seasonal Surveys of Shorebird and Coastal Waterbird Utilization of Dredged Material Islands in the Baptiste Collette Bayou, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District, Louisiana
Understanding Avian Habitat Availability and Use After Barrier Island Restoration in Coastal Louisiana
Monitoring Effects of Barrier Island Restoration on Piping Plovers in Louisiana
USGS WARC ecologists are assisting partners in conducting avian surveys on Chandeleur Islands during the pre-restoration monitoring phase to document threatened and endangered species, species richness and diversity, species abundance, and habitat use.
The Science Issue and Relevance: The Chandeleur Islands are a chain of uninhabited barrier islands along the eastern coast of Louisiana that provide essential habitat for birds and other wildlife. This island chain has experienced a reduction of total land area from 44.5 km2 in 1855 to 4.7 km2 in 2005. Increased hurricane intensity and frequency in the northern Gulf of Mexico during the past decade has accelerated this land loss trend, forcing the Chandeleur Islands into a mode of rapid dissection and transgressive submergence (conversion from emergent barrier islands to submerged shoals). Based on extrapolated historical land loss and shoreface retreat rates, the islands are expected to be completely converted to a system of submerged shoals within approximately 25 years. This 50-mile-long barrier island chain plays a crucial role in: (1) attenuating storm impacts for mainland Louisiana and Mississippi; (2) regulating conditions for a 12,043 km2 estuary; (3) supporting a $2.7 billion fisheries industry; and (4) providing unique habitat for threatened and endangered species including nesting sea turtles, piping plovers, and red knots. Considering the significance of the Chandeleur Islands, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) is planning to restore ~21 km of the Chandeleur Islands by reinforcing the island coastline and rebuilding barrier habitats, such as marshes and dunes, using offshore dredge materials.
Methodology for Addressing the Issue: The CPRA is currently planning a coastal restoration project to restore a portion of the Chandeleur Islands. The CPRA Chandeleur Islands Restoration Project is collecting preliminary data for its engineering and design phase. During this planning phase, scientists are conducting bathymetric, topographical, and biological surveys prior to island restoration design to understand the complex ecosystem that currently exists on the Chandeleur Islands and to maximize the benefits of habitat restoration for biological resources. Biological surveys entail monitoring birds, marine mammals, and sea turtles. USGS WARC ecologists are assisting partners in conducting avian surveys during the pre-restoration monitoring phase to document threatened and endangered species, species richness and diversity, species abundance, and habitat use.
Future Steps: Given the amount of current and anticipated restoration projects in the region, biological monitoring before and after restoration is helpful when natural resource managers, conservation planners, and coastal engineers make decisions related to the design of future restoration projects. Management of coastal habitats requires successfully balancing infrastructure and hydrology needs with those of plants and animals using these coastal landscapes. Bird survey data can be used to plan restoration goals as well as inform engineering and construction techniques that optimize the overall integrity of the Chandeleur Islands while meeting the needs of flora and fauna.