. The ecology of delta marshes of coastal Louisiana : a community profile. Marsh ecology -- Louisiana; Wetlands -- Louisiana. marsh edges shelter is grass stans pers. comm.) freshwater coastal marsh/aquatic systems represented by the Balize and Atchafalaya Deltas are found to function in very much the same way as saline estuaries, with the same suite of marine/estuarine fish and shellfish. In addition,freshwater species like gars (Lepisosteus spp.), gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum), and blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus) are common (Kelley 1965, Thompson and Deegan 1983). Even when they are sel
. The ecology of delta marshes of coastal Louisiana : a community profile. Marsh ecology -- Louisiana; Wetlands -- Louisiana. marsh edges shelter is grass stans pers. comm.) freshwater coastal marsh/aquatic systems represented by the Balize and Atchafalaya Deltas are found to function in very much the same way as saline estuaries, with the same suite of marine/estuarine fish and shellfish. In addition,freshwater species like gars (Lepisosteus spp.), gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum), and blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus) are common (Kelley 1965, Thompson and Deegan 1983). Even when they are seldom found up in the marsh itself or in the small marsh ponds, other species concentrate along the where food is abundant and available in the streamside For example,Peterson (LSU; was unsuccessful in capturing larval spotted sea trout until he began to seine along the very edge of marshes as compared to more open aquatic environments. Spotted sea trout are just one example of the concentration of both the food supply and the aquatic organisms that depend on it. Biological activity is concentrated at the marsh edge (Figure 56). For reasons already discussed, pi ant production is highest along the marsh edge. Finely decomposed detritus from the previous year's plant crop is flushed from the marsh during the winter and accumulates along the marsh edge in deep deposits known to local shrimpers as "coffee ; Nematode numbers are highest here as are the concentrations of small deposit feeders. It is no wonder that larger invertebrates - shrimp and crabs - and larval and juvenile fish are also attracted to this feast. Virtually every kind of organism enumerated has been found to concentrate along marsh Figure 56. detritus and salt marsh. Density of consumers at the vegetation, edge of the The importance of this energy flow pathway in marshes can be seen qualitatively by comparing the list of nektonic species in Figure 54 that use the benthic pathway predominan
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