Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Louisiana
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Saltmarsh habitat provides critical support for the production of commercially and recreationally important fish and invertebrates. The coast of Louisiana is being rapidly reshaped. From widespread land loss to some of the country’s highest rates of relative sea-level rise, detrimental changes will alter protective and productive land features upon which coastal communities depend. ​Responding to this widespread loss, ​a large-scale restoration plan seeks to restore lost land. Restoration of salt marsh however has resulted in concerns that this restored habitat may not provide the desired ecological functions. Specifically, restored habitat may be promoting increased abundance of an invasive plant, Phragmites australis, with evidence indicating it supports lower production of marine fish and invertebrates. Working with university, and state wildlife and fisheries partners (LDWF, CPRA), this work seeks to answer two questions 1) what is the spatial and temporal scale of phragmites expansion? 2) what is the impact of increasing phragmites occurrence on secondary production of nekton? This work will answer critical questions surrounding the propagation of Phragmites resulting from restoration efforts and its correlation with fisheries production, providing ​information to help better manage and modify restoration activities.