Acute Disturbance of Lake Pontchartrain Benthic Communities by Hurricane Katrina |
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| Authors: | Michael A Poirrier Zoe Rodriguez del Rey Elizabeth A Spalding |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, 2000 Lakeshore Drive, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA |
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| Abstract: | In 2005, Hurricane Katrina produced a distinct, acute ecological disturbance of the benthic invertebrate community of Lake
Pontchartrain, LA, USA. The bivalve Rangia cuneata and other community dominants were lost from 50% (815 km2) of the lake bottom. The storm surge directly killed benthic organisms and produced salinity stratification that caused episodes
of detrimental low dissolved oxygen concentration at depths >3.7 m. Past disturbance of the bottom by shell dredging and intrusion
of higher salinity bottom water through deep shipping channels appears to have contributed to the severity of this impact.
Colonization by tolerant opportunistic taxa occurred, but low rainfall after Katrina has slowed the recovery of the typical
rangia community. A decrease in water transparency and an increase in turbidity and chlorophyll a were associated with the loss of clam biomass. Other hurricanes may have produced less obvious but similar effects on smaller
spatial and temporal scales. |
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