Mississippi Alluvial Valley

Therefore there was a recorded 8 birds, 1 dove, 5 magpie goose and 2 pacific black duck, 3 weeks after the floods. By 2017 the total of 8 birds, 3 species have now increased to a total of 25 birds, 6 species in 4 years. Though this being said many of the birds are ‘new’ to the area such as the 15 Cotton pygmy Geese and 4 recorded Dusky Moorhen. 6 bird species were seen/recorded in 2017, these being the 2 Black cormorant, 1 pacific black duck, Cotton pygmy, Dusky moorhen, little egret and willie wagtail. Other bird species such as the magpie goose which had a number of 41 recorded in 2009, 5 in 2013 and now 0. This indicates that the diversity of birds and population has decreased as a result of their habitat loss and or an a adequate supply of food.

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

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).

The Mississippi River is one of the world’s major river systems not only in size, but in habitat diversity as well. It is the third longest river in North America. It flows 2,350 miles from its source at Lake Itasca through the center of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mississippi River is highly regarded as the most important river in Louisiana. One of the lesser known rivers is just as phenomenal, however. The Atchafalaya River (pronounced At-cha-fa-lie-uh), which is adjacent to the Louisianan southern half of the Mississippi River, is so much of a phenomena that the United States Army Corps has been put in charge of controlling the river!

The Hawaiian Duck is blessed with one of the best habitats in the world. It resides in the beautiful islands and the epitome of all beautiful islands known as Hawaii. They are mostly found in lowland wetlands, river valleys, and mountain streams. This works to this bird’s advantages. They mostly try to stay away from the more urban parts of Hawaii and stick to their usual wetland setting. However, there not much of these habitats around on the virtually miniature island of Hawaii, which makes this bird’s effort of trying to stick around, just that much harder. Its endangerment has a large part to do with the fact that you cannot find all of these elements in many places on the island of Hawaii. The Hawaiian duck’s habitat is a huge part of what this bird is and how it functions through its

Parus bicolor, commonly known as the tufted titmouse is a small bird species native to many places in North America. The taxonomy for the tufted titmouse follows this hierarchy: Kingdom Animalia, Family Parade, Genus Parus, and species Paris bicolor. Originally, the tufted titmouse only inhabited few areas of the around the South East, and slowly the species migrated up the East Coast, and even a few subspecies have developed in Texas. They thrive best in woodlands, swamps, river basins, and other vegetative areas. Occupying the tops of many deciduous trees, the Tufted Titmouse offers many positive factors to an ecosystem.

The wetlands of spring welcomes migrating shorebird species, including sandpipers, stilts, plovers, dunlins, curlews, and avocets. The colors of summer come alive with an array of birds atop trees with beautiful sounds filling the air. These include black-chinned, calliope, broad-tailed, red-tailed hawk, white-crowned sparrow, tanager and rufous hummingbird. Cranes and geese make their appearance in early fall, coyotes, northern shovelers dabble on the water, javelina, and mule deer idle or prance about in the open meadow, and wild turkeys trek in their roosting

Since 1930, over 2,300 square miles of wetlands have disappeared and recording about 23-25 square miles of wetlands are lost each year. “This is equivalent to losing a football field every thirty-eight minutes” (Losing Ground). Human and natural activities are at fault for the coastline destruction but human activities are the most responsible for having accelerated the amount of destruction. One major form of human activities that have hurt the coast was the construction of levees. Levees are man-made earthen hills that surround the Mississippi River, and many other bodies of water, and protect people from the natural flooding that occurs.

In 1923-1947 Arkansas Power and Light (AP&L) constructed several dams on two Arkansas lakes, Hamilton and Catherine. AP & L obtained “flood easements” on property adjoining the lakes. AP&L sold lake side property and kept the easement in force. These flood easements permitted AP&L to “clear of trees, brush, and other obstruction and to submerge by

To determine the migratory patterns and population patterns of the Barn Swallow, I examined different charts provided by the BPP website that allow me to examine the population numbers of Barn Swallows in different parts of North America during their mating seasons. According to the information provided by the BPP website, Barn Swallows have a tendency to live closer to areas that have a higher amount of water. This means that they nest in areas where the climate is more damp. Barn Swallows make their nests out of mud and twigs which makes it necessary for them to live in areas where the environment has more rain or is damper so that they can use the mud to create their nests. The information provided by the BPP clearly shows this due to the fact that throughout the years, larger populations of Barn Swallows are shown to be along the eastern coast and the Great

Historically, this region was host to communities of Native Americans (East West Gateway Council of Governments, 2007, Leland, 1953). The abundance of freshwater and navigable rivers has attracted communities of people, and subsequently, commerce (Foley, 2000). Naturally, resources throughout the land have been extracted and utilized to further build these communities and attract prospective businesses. In the 19th century, this watershed was impacted by mining, logging, and grazing practices. In the early 20th century, logging dominated resource extraction (East West Gateway Council of Governments, 2007) which swiftly impacted the landscape. Ultimately, as logging stressed this region’s resources, state legislation allowed the federal government to purchase large tracts of land to establish national forest. Soon after, the national mobilization of the Civilian Conservation Corps, during the height

The Mississippi River influences the states of Louisiana in numerous ways. The river can be both beneficial and harmful to the state. It may help with industries, but at the same time it may be harming by taking away from Louisiana’s coastline. While erosion is widely considered to be a destructive occurrence, it does have some necessary features. For example, erosion provides many nutrients for animals living in the water, and it creates new deltas that many animals live in. Since the beginning of Louisiana, the Mississippi River has been a crucial factor in the creation and the development of Louisiana’s economy. It has helped with things like trade and the growth of crops. The Mississippi is also significant in the way Louisiana is shaped

Presently, “Mallards are thought to be the most abundant duck on Earth” (National Geographic). In addition, Mallards are the most common ducks in North America. Mallard duck migration is a mystery currently being studied by the Missouri Department of Conservation. “The Mallard

In Area 2, the species with the highest dominance value was the Oregon White Oak (70.6%). Oregon White Oaks provide shelter, housing, and food to various animals as well. Diversity of birds is often higher in Oregon White Oaks than in an adjacent coniferous forest. Using the dominance data, it tells us that at this moment in time Oregon Oak and