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Atchafalaya Symposium

RNR students presented aspects of their research at the Ecosystem Functions and the Dynamic Atchafalaya River from the Old River Control Structure to the Continental Shelf symposium held January 10-11 in Baton Rouge, LA.  Former student Blake Amos presented “Dendrochronology analysis of wetland forest productivity and hydrology.”  Current student April Bryant Mason presented “Isotopic signatures of nitrogen along the Atchafalaya River,” Thorpe Halloran presented “How does flooding in the Atchafalaya River basin shape young-of-the-year fishes?,” and Amy Scaroni presented “Identifying controls on nutrient removal in the Atchafalaya River basin, Louisiana.”

RNR faculty helped organize and presented data at the Atchafalaya River symposium.  Andy Nyman, Richard Keim, and Bill Kelso served on the steering committee.  Andy Nyman also presented “Marsh loss mechanisms where river inflow is high and subsidence is slow: how estuarine marshes can erode even in the virtual absence of wave and tidal energy.” Jun Xu presented “Hydrologic influences on carbon, nutrient, and sediment transport in the Atchafalaya.”

Several RNR students presented their research at the 29th Annual Meeting of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Fisheries Society on January 31st and February 1st in Baton Rouge.  Chris Llewellyn and Rafael Cuevas-Uribe won awards for their abstracts, and Craig Gothreaux, Peter Markos, and Mason Piehler won awards for their posters.  Oral presentations were given by the following students.  Thorpe Halloran presented, “Speed dating on the floodplain?  Trying to establishing a link between seasonal floodpulses and recruitment in Atchafalaya River basin,” Shauna Harris presented, “Sperm Activation in the Estuarine fish Fundulus grandis,” Chris Lllewellyn presented Assessing Functional Equivalency of Restored Marshes:  Exploring the Use of Stable Isotope Ecology,” Brian Ward presented “Effects of Watershed Land Use and Fish Community Structure,” and Rafael Cuevas-Uribe presented “Cryopreservation of Catfish Sperm by Rapid Non-Equilibrium Cooling.”  Posters were presented by Chris Bonvillain, Craig Gothreaux, Peter Markos, Mason Piehler, and Jonathan West.  RNR students Chris Bonvillain and Kevin Melody also served on the programming committee.

Several RNR faculty and research associates also presented their research.  Research associate A. Raynie Harlan presented, “A Survey of fishes Inhabiting the Pearl, Tchefuncte, and Tangipahoa River Systems in Louisiana.”  New (relatively) faculty member Chris Green presented, “Snail Consumption and Preference by Redear Sunfish and Redear Sunfish × Warmouth Hybrids.” Faculty member Mike Kaller severed as Abstract and Proceedings Editor. 

Floodplain Ecosystems of the Southeast

RNR students extensively participated in the Integrating Science into the Restoration and Management of Floodplain Ecosystems of the Southeast Symposium held March 3-6 in Little Rock, Arkansas.  RNR student Thorpe Halloran presented, “The degree of co-occurrence between zooplankton and ichythoplankton shapes the year-class recruitment in newly inundated bottomland hardwood floodplains.”  RNR students Hugo Gee, Patti Newell, Jonathan Valente, and Rachel Villani assisted with registration and audio-visual activities.

RNR faculty were instrumental in this Symposium.  Faculty members Richard Keim and Sammy King served on the steering committee, and Richard Keim presented an invited presentation on, ”Hydrologic controls on swamp forest regeneration and sustainability.”