Lessons Learned from a Decade of Assessment and Restoration Studies of Benthic Invertebrates and Submersed Aquatic Vegetation in Lake Pontchartrain

Abstract

Abstract Studies of Lake Pontchartrain benthic invertebrates and submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) from 1996 through 2005 provided the opportunity to determine community responses to severe disturbances including: recovery from shell dredging; effects of anoxia and hypoxia from saltwater intrusion; the 1997 Bonnet Carre Spillway opening; a prolonged drought resulting from an El Nino Southern Oscillation; and effects of Hurricane Katrina. We included reviews and updates of our recently published work, an integrated analysis of findings, and restoration recommendations. During this decadal study there were no prolonged periods of “normal” conditions. Instead, benthos and SAV were experiencing or recovering from significant temporal disturbances. This made it difficult to use the abundance of a particular set of organisms at a point in time to evaluate habitat quality or restoration success without considering past disturbance effects. Benthos species diversity and the relative abundance of stress tolerant ...