Abstract
Physical characteristics of sediments in coastal marsh ponds (flooded zones of marsh associated with little vegetation) have important ecological consequences because they determine compositions of benthic invertebrate communities, which in turn influence compositions of waterbird communities. Sediments in marsh ponds of the Gulf Coast Chenier Plain potentially are affected by (1) structural marsh management (levees, water control structures and impoundments; SMM), and (2) variation in salinity. Based on available literature concerning effects of SMM on sediments in emergent plant zones (zones of marsh occasionally flooded and associated with dense vegetation) of coastal marshes, we predicted that SMM would increase sediment carbon content and sediment hardness, and decrease oxygen penetration (O2 depth) and the silt-clay fraction in marsh pond sediments. Assuming that freshwater marshes are more productive than are saline marshes, we also predicted that sediments of impounded freshwater marsh ponds would contain more carbon than those of impounded oligohaline and mesohaline marsh ponds, whereas C:N ratio, sediment hardness, silt-clay fraction, and O2 depth would be similar among pond types. Accordingly, we measured sediment variables within ponds of impounded and unimpounded marshes on Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge, near Grand Chenier, Louisiana. To test the above predictions, we compared sediment variables (1) between ponds of impounded (IM) and unimpounded mesohaline marshes (UM), and (2) among ponds of impounded freshwater (IF), oligohaline (IO), and mesohaline (IM) marshes. An a priori multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) contrast indicated that sediments differed between IM and UM marsh ponds. As predicted, the silt-clay fraction and O2 depth were lower and carbon content, C:N ratio, and sediment hardness were higher in IM than in UM marsh ponds. An a priori MANOVA contrast also indicated that sediments differed among IF, IO, and IM marsh ponds. As predicted, carbon content was higher in IF marsh ponds than in ponds of other impounded marsh types. In contrast to our predictions, C:N ratio and sediment hardness were lowest and silt-clay fraction and O2 depth were highest in IO and IM marsh ponds. Our results indicated that SMM has affected physical properties of sediments in coastal marsh ponds. Moreover, sediments in IF marsh ponds were affected more so than were those in IO and IM marsh ponds. Our results, in conjunction with those of previous studies, indicated that sediments of marsh ponds and emergent plant zones differed greatly. We predict that changes in pond sediments due to SMM will promote greater epifaunal macroinvertebrate biomass, which in turn should attract larger populations of wintering waterbirds. However, waterbirds that filter or probe soft sediments may be negatively affected by SMM because of the expected decrease in infaunal invertebrate biomass.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A.D. Afton R.H. Hier S.L. Paulus (1991) ArticleTitleLesser scaup diets during migration and winter in the Mississippi flyway Canadian Journal of Zoology 69 328–333
M.C. Baker (1979) ArticleTitleMorphological correlates of habitat selection in a community of shorebirds (Charadriiformes) Oikos 33 121–126
D.P. Batzer M. McGee V.H. Resh R.R. Smith (1993) ArticleTitleCharacteristics of invertebrates consumed by mallards and prey response to wetland flooding schedules Wetlands 13 41–49
D.P. Batzer S.A. Wissinger (1996) ArticleTitleEcology of insect communities in nontidal wetlands Annual Review of Entomology 41 75–100 Occurrence Handle10.1146/annurev.en.41.010196.000451 Occurrence Handle15012325
A.C. Benke (1984) Secondary production of aquatic insects V.H. Resh D.M. Rosenberg (Eds) The Ecology of Aquatic Insects Praeger New York, USA 289–322
F. Bolduc A.D. Afton (2004) ArticleTitleHydrologic aspects of marsh ponds during winter on the Gulf Coast Chenier Plain, USA: Effects of structural marsh management and salinity Marine Ecology Progress Series 266 35–42
F. Bolduc (2002) Effects of structural marsh management and salinity on sediments, hydrology, invertebrates, and waterbirds in marsh ponds during winter on the Gulf Coast Chenier Plain Louisiana State University Louisiana, USA
R.M. Boumans J.W. Day SuffixJr. (1994) ArticleTitleEffects of two Louisiana marsh management plans on water and materials flux and short-term sedimentation Wetlands 14 247–261
J.B. Buchanan (1984) Sediment analysis N.A. Holme A.D. McIntyre (Eds) Methods for the Study of Marine Benthos Blackwell Scientific Publications Massachusetts, USA 41–65
A.J. Bulger M.E. Monaco M.G. McCormick-Ray (1993) ArticleTitleBiologically-based estuarine salinity zones derived from multivariate analysis Estuaries 16 311–322
J.V. Byrne D.O. Leroy C.M. Riley (1959) ArticleTitleThe Chenier Plain and its stratigraphy, southwest Louisiana Transactions of the Gulf Coast Association of the Geological Society 9 237–259
D.R. Cahoon (1994) ArticleTitleRecent accretion in two managed marsh impoundments in coastal Louisiana Ecological Applications 4 166–176
R.H. Chabreck R.K. Yancey L. McNease (1974) ArticleTitleDuck usage of management units in the Louisiana coastal marsh Proceedings of the Southeastern Association of the Game and Fish Commissioners Conference 28 507–516
R.H. Day R.K. Holz J.W. Day SuffixJr. (1990) ArticleTitleAn inventory of wetland impoundments in the coastal zone of LouisianaUSA: Historical trends Environmental Management 14 229–240
M.B. Epstein R.L. Joyner (1988) ArticleTitleWaterbirds use of brackish wetlands managed for waterfowl Proceedings of the Southeastern Association of the Game and Fish Commissioners Conference 42 476–490
N.H. Euliss R.L. Jarvis D.S. Gilmer (1991) ArticleTitleFeeding ecology of waterfowl wintering on evaporation ponds in California Condor 93 582–590
ForetJ.D. 1997. Accretion, sedimentation, and nutrient accumulation rates as influenced by manipulations in marsh hydrology in the Chenier Plain, Louisiana. Master thesis, University of Louisiana in LafayetteLouisianaUSA.
J.D. Foret (2001) Nutrient limitation of tidal marshes on the Chenier Plain, Louisiana University of Louisiana in Lafayette Louisiana, USA
S.W. Gabrey A.D. Afton (2001) ArticleTitlePlant community composition and biomass in the Gulf Coast Chenier Plain marshes: Responses to winter burning and structural marsh management Environmental Management 27 281–293 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s002670010149 Occurrence Handle11116385
J.G. Gosselink C.L. Cordes J.W. Parsons (1979) An Ecological Characterization Study of the Chenier Plain coastal Ecosystem of Louisiana and Texas NumberInSeriesVol. 3 US Fish and Wildlife ServiceOffice of Biological Services Washington, DC, USA
J.A. Kadlec (1962) ArticleTitleEffects of a drawdown on a waterfowl impoundment Ecology 43 267–281
J.A. Kadlec (1986) Effects of deep flooding and drawdown on freshwater marsh sediments R.R. Sharitz J.W. Gibbons (Eds) Freshwater Wetlands and Wildlife US Department of Energy Washington, DC, USA 127–144
B.D. Keim G.E. Faiers R.A. Muller J.M. Grymes SuffixIII R.V. Rohli (1995) ArticleTitleLong-term trends of precipitation and runoff in LouisianaUSA International Journal of Climatology 15 531–541
G.L. Krapu K.J. Reinecke (1992) Foraging ecology and nutrition B.D.J. Batt A.D. Afton M.G. Anderson C.D. Ankney D.H. Johnson J.A. Kadlec G.L. Krapu (Eds) Ecology and Management of Breeding Waterfowl University of Minnesota Press MinnesotaUSA 1–29
R.P. Martin R.B. Hamilton (1985) ArticleTitleWading bird predation in crawfish ponds Louisiana Agriculture 28 3–5
G.W. Minshall (1984) Aquatic insect-substratum relationships V.H. Resh D.M. Rosenberg (Eds) The ecology of aquatic insects Praeger New York, USA 358–400
W.J. Mitsch J.G. Gosselink (1993) Wetlands EditionNumber2 Van Nostrand Reinhold New York, USA
T.D. Nudds J.N. Bowlby (1984) ArticleTitlePredator-prey size relationships in North American dabbling ducks Canadian Journal of Zoology 62 2002–2008
H. Pöysä (1983) ArticleTitleMorphology-mediated niche organization in a guild of dabbling ducks Ornis Scandinavica. 14 317–326
D.J. Reed A.L. Foote (1997) ArticleTitleEffect of hydrologic management on marsh surface sediment deposition in coastal Louisiana Estuaries 20 301–311
D.C. Rhoads (1974) ArticleTitleOrganism-sediment relations on the muddy sea floor Oceanography and Marine Biology Annual Review 12 263–300
J.L. Richardson J.L. Arndt J.A. Montgomery (2001) Hydrology of wetland and related soils J.L. Richardson M.J. Vepraskas (Eds) Wetland Soils: Genesis, Hydrology, Landscapes, and Classification Lewis Publishers New York, USA 35–84
InstitutionalAuthorNameSAS InstituteInc. (1999) SAS/STAT User's GuideVersion 8.0 SAS InstituteInc. North Carolina, USA
S.K. Skagen H.D. Oman (1996) ArticleTitleDietary flexibility of shorebirds in the Western Hemisphere Canadian Field-Naturalist 110 419–444
S.F. Spiller R.H. Chabreck (1975) ArticleTitleWildlife populations in coastal marshes influenced by weirs Proceedings of the Southeastern Association of the Game and Fish Commissioners Conference 29 518–525
E.M. Swenson R.E. Turner (1987) ArticleTitleSpoil banks: effects on a coastal marsh water-level regime EstuarineCoastal and Shelf Science 24 599–609 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0272-7714(87)90101-6
M.J. Swift O.W. Heal J.M. Anderson (1979) Decomposition in Terrestrial Ecosystems University of California Press California, USA
G.G. Tabachnick L.S. Fidell (1989) Using Multivariate Statistics Harper Collins New York, USA
J.D. Thompson B.J. Sheffer G.A. Baldassarre (1992) ArticleTitleFood habits of selected dabbling ducks wintering in Yucatan, Mexico Journal of Wildlife Management 56 740–744
R.E. Turner (1990) ArticleTitleLandscape development and coastal wetland losses in the northern Gulf of Mexico American Zoologist 30 89–105
J.M. Visser C.E. Sasser R.G. Linscombe R.H. Chabreck (2000) ArticleTitleMarsh vegetation types of the Chenier Plain, LouisianaUSA Estuaries 23 318–327
L.M. Weber S.M. Haig (1996) ArticleTitleShorebird use of South Carolina managed and natural coastal wetlands Journal of Wildlife Management 60 73–82
D.F. Whigham R.L. Simpson (1992) ArticleTitleAnnual variation in biomass and production of a tidal freshwater wetland and comparison with other wetland systems Virginia Journal of Science 43 5–14
K.M. Wicker D. Davis D. Roberts (1983) Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge and Game Preserve: Evaluation of Wetlands Management Techniques Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Coastal Management Section LouisianaUSA
L. Zwarts J. Wanink (1984) How oystercatchers and curlews successively deplete clams P.R. Evans J.D. Goss-Custard W.G. Hale (Eds) Coastal Waders and Wildfowl in Winter Cambridge University Press New York, USA 69–83
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bolduc, F., Afton, A.D. Sediments in Marsh Ponds of the Gulf Coast Chenier Plain: Effects of Structural Marsh Management and Salinity. Wetlands Ecol Manage 13, 395–404 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-004-0182-y
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-004-0182-y