Migratory Land Birds Response To The Hurricane Devastation

    Schleifstein begins by going straight into how much land Louisiana is losing. He states that the coastline is “losing wetlands at a rate of 16.57 square miles a year during the past 25 years”, which is about a football field every hour (Schleifstein 1). Most of the wetlands that were lost were results of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and Gustav and Ike in 2008. A study found that “a post-Katrina and Rita estimate of 217 square miles of wetlands” but there were

I researched the Everglades in Florida. There have been many negative changes in this habitat both from humans and other species. The region’s water resources are being depleted by invasions of exotic plants such as the Australian Melaluca. The Australian Melaluca also affected the native species of which the rest of the ecosystem depends. Another effect on the water is the runoff from agricultural operations, which gets into the water and pollutes it. Development pressures from agriculture, industry, and urban areas have destroyed more than half of the original Everglades

The characteristic warming climate of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene resulted in rising sea levels which contributed to the formation of the various deltas in the New Orleans area (Dunbar, Britsch, 2008). The natural formation of these deltas produced coastal wetlands that represent 30% of coastal wetlands currently in the United States (Cigler, 2007). In addition to these wetlands, the Mississippi River was surrounded by substantial forest growth (Pabis, 1998).

To begin, because of the change in water supply the wildlife is losing resources, causing them to die. Without the proper water and land mass wildlife needs, most won’t survive. According to, “The Florida Everglades” it states, “As a result, the quantity and diversity of the wetlands’ wildlife decreased and 50% of the original wetlands on South Florida

Giving full credit to restricting the Mississippi River as the culprit for loss of wetlands is not accurate. The booming oil and gas exploration of the 1970’s and 1980’s merits a name on the marquee as well. The pipelines and canals used to transport the resources to the outside world placed a great deal of stress on the fragile wetlands. Erosion from the barges in and out of the marshes as well as the salt water allowed into the fresh water, providing a precarious habitat for fresh water species – flora and fauna alike. Plants provide root systems to hold soil in place. Fish and fowl provide an economy for the area. Enter

If that hurricane had hit Byronville, many things would happen to the animal population. To illustrate, the water from the hurricane would flood the plants, most likely killing a large amount of them. If that would happen, that would lead to a decrease in the primary consumers (grasshopper, mule deer, jackrabbit, and field mouse). If that happened, then the secondary consumers would either emigrate or die out (scrub jay, fox, coyote, frog and lizard). Continuing on the chain reaction, both the tertiary and quaternary consumer (hawk and rattlesnake) would die out, leading the population of the ecosystem to decrease exponentially.

(2010). Gaining Ground: Wetlands, Hurricanes, and the Economy: The Value of Restoring the Mississippi River Delta.Earth Economics Project Report.

Cause and Effect of Coastal Erosion on Louisiana and Its Cajuns Culture has always played a major role in Louisiana espcially down in the Southeast where Cajuns run the bayous. Louisiana’s protection from the Gulf of Mexico consist of major wetlands and marshes that border the southern area between the land and sea. These marshes help break down and suck up storm surge and high tides that would take out Louisiana’s gold, New Orleans. From hurricanes to nutria, Louisiana’s coastline has been under constant destruction leaving Louisiana armor-less in the battle of survival, damaging the life of the Cajuns. Many people are clueless when it comes to coastal marshes and their importance.

First of all, Louisiana’s economy is abundantly affected in this catastrophe. Fishing industry is greatly impacted because if the coastal marshes disappears, then the animals won’t have anywhere to live. From page 11, it states,

This article focused on Wild Turkey habitat changes due to flooding. Flooding along the plains, where the wild turkeys are located, caused great change to the landscape and habitat. The way the lands connected changed, making it more difficult for migration to occur, they were forced to find new way to travel across the land. Flooding can affect the nesting habits of the bird and ultimately cause a decline in population because they can’t mate properly. Flooding cause’s great changes on the shape, size, connect of land. Hills that use to be located near the river before the flood may be completely gone, completely changing the land. Turkeys need to mix with other populations when mating and when land connection changes, mating is reduced. Flooding

I have always found the ocean to be a very intriguing part of the Earth. There are infinitely many discoveries that have yet to be made about it. My fascination with the ocean sparked the idea to do my class paper on hurricanes and what they are along with their effects. I remember hearing about all the damages from Hurricane Katrina after it hit the coast near New Orleans. The only information I really know about them is what is briefly covered on the news. I thought it would be interesting to discover the true effects they can have on not only people that endure them, but also the environment as it gets ripped to shreds by the plethora of winds and water.

On Sunday August 28, 2005 the National Weather Service warned the storm would make southeast Louisiana “uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer” and also warned of “human suffering incredible by modern standards.” This same

As decades continued to pass by the wetlands change. "People have begun to realize that wetlands are valuable and productive ecosystems that fulfill an essential function for both humans and wildlife. Due to their unique characteristics, wetlands can support a wide diversity of plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and fish. They also control floodwaters and protect us from storms and hurricanes. Wetlands also improve water quality by filtering, cleaning and storing water. Lastly, many people rely on wetlands for their livelihood, as they are important centers for hunting, fishing and recreation." Referring to this from "Wetlands and Habitat Loss", we now see how wetlands are valuable and helpful to the ecosystem. The wetlands are known for our water source. Many people depend on the Everglades for a water source. We also use the Everglades for activities. These activities include fishing, recreation, and

Numerous different aspects were altered due to the ruckus of Hurricane Katrina. The first major aspect was housing and location. Katrina nearly demolished 300,000 homes. The ascending sea level along the coast resulting from onshore winds is a storm surge. With a twenty-two foot storm surge in New Orleans and a twenty-seven foot storm surge in Mississippi, Hurricane Katrina averaged a shocking twelve foot storm surge. As a storm surge’s footage increases, the surge will continue to move inland farther and farther. Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge is documented as moving inland a total of twelve miles into the state of Mississippi (FAQS, 2013). Hurricane Katrina impacted a total of seven states. Five of these states were Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Kentucky and Ohio were two more states affected but in a different way. Because of the tremendous amount of water, Kentucky and Ohio were victims of the Mississippi River flooding. Some states experienced more extreme destruction than others. Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana experienced Hurricane Katrina’s wrath firsthand. These three southern states were affected the worst by the massive storm (FAQS, 2013). Mississippi’s forest industry experienced a great amount of destruction losing 1.3 million acres of valuable forest land. The main cause of destruction in New Orleans was blamed on the failure of the levee system to stand its ground

Global warming is a major problem when providing a suitable habitat and lifestyle for ample marine life. With sea levels rising there are consequences to plant life in coastal wetlands that can not handle the amount of water being provided. The wetlands are important in their job to protect the species they contain and for stabilizing coastlines. Storms are increasing in magnitude and severity, causing the transport of nutrients to marine life to be disturbed. As shores move further inland animals will have to move and adapt, history has shown how this can decrease populations. In the future both rare and abundant species could become locally extinct, with rare species on the verge of becoming totally extinct.