Lake Pontchartrain Basin Research Program (PBRP) 2007 Annual Report Southeastern Louisiana University Reporting Period: July 23, 2006 – July 22, 2007 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ADMINISTRATION ..............................................................................................................................3 LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR ............................................................................................................4 GENERAL STATEMENT.......................................................................................................................6 SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.......................................................................................................6 MISSION STATEMENT ........................................................................................................................8 TARGET AREAS .................................................................................................................................8 INFORMATION TRANSFER AND OUTREACH COMPONENTS .................................................................9 GRADUATE STUDENT COMPONENT .................................................................................................10 PHASE I PROJECTS ...........................................................................................................................12 PHASE II/III PROJECTS.....................................................................................................................13 PHASE IV PROJECTS ........................................................................................................................14 PHASE V PROJECTS..........................................................................................................................15 PHASE IV ANNUAL REPORTS................................................................................................17 ESTABLISHMENT OF BASELINE CONCENTRATIONS AND ELUCIDATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESSES CONTROLLING THE BIOAVAILABILITY AND BIOACCUMULATION OF MERCURY AND 1 OTHER TOXIC METALS IN THE LAKE MAUREPAS BASIN. MARK W. HESTER , ASSAF A. 2 3 1 ABDELGHANI , KYLE R. PILLER , AND JONATHAN M. WILLIS .......................................................17 VIABILITY OF MITIGATION IN THE LAKE MAUREPAS AND MANCHAC SWAMP REGION ROBERT 1 2 3 4 5 MOREAU , RICHARD CAMPANELLA , MICHAEL GREENE , RANDY MYERS , THAIS PERKINS , 6 7 GARY SHAFFER , FRED STOUDER ...................................................................................................23 HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY AND VULNERABILITY TO XYLEM CAVITATION OF BALDCYPRESS (TAXODIUM DISTICHUM) ALONG A SALINITY GRADIENT AS INDICATORS FOR RESTORATION SUCCESS. VOLKER STILLER .............................................................................................................29 SALINITY AS A STRESSOR OF THE FRESHWATER TURTLE, TRACHEMYS SCRIPTA IN THE LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN. ROLDÁN VALVERDE ................................................................................35 GENETIC VARIATION BETWEEN LAKE PONTCHARTAIN AND MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN FISHES: PHASE II. KYLE R. PILLER ...............................................................................................................41 EXPLORING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: EYE ON SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA PI: DR. DEBORAH DARDIS...45 PHASE V ANNUAL REPORTS .................................................................................................48 DE-ENERGIZING HURRICANES WITH CYPRESS/TUPELO BUFFERS: A PLAN TO RESTORE THE REPRESSED SWAMPS OF THE LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN BY USING POINT AND NONPOINT FRESHWATER SOURCES. GARY P. SHAFFER1, HASSAN MASHRIQUI2, AND MOLLY MCGRAW3......48 MITIGATING THE SPREAD OF ZEBRA MUSSELS INTO WETLANDS FROM MISSISSIPPI RIVER DIVERSIONS. WILLIAM F. FONT.......................................................................................................81 DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDEX OF BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY FOR THE LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN WETLANDS JANICE BOSSART (PI) AND COLIN JACKSON (CO-PI).....................................................87 DETERMINING THE POTENTIAL FOR ALGAL BLOOM IN LAKE MAUREPAS: EFFECTS OF CHANGING NUTRIENT LOAD FROM FRESHWATER DIVERSION AND CHANGES IN HUMAN POPULATION ............92 INFORMATION TRANSFER AND OUTREACH PROGRAM FOR THE LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN BASIN 1 2 3 RESEARCH PROGRAM. THAIS PERKINS , ROBERT MOREAU , TIFFANY MCFALLS , DENISE 4 ROUSSEAU-FORD ...........................................................................................................................97 2 Lake Pontchartrain Basin Research Program 2007 Annual Report Administration William N. Norton, Ph.D. Director, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Research Program Box 10736 Southeastern Louisiana University Hammond, LA 70402 Telephone: (985) 549-3740 FAX: (985) 549-3851 E-mail: [email protected] Thais Perkins, M.S. Assistant Director Lake Pontchartrain Basin Research Program Box 10585 Southeastern Louisiana University Hammond, LA 70402 Telephone: (985) 549-2268 FAX: (985) 549-3851 E-mail: [email protected] 3 Letter from the Director The 2007 year was a relatively quiet period for PBRP as compared to last year when the program experienced a comprehensive external review. PBRP did not have a new allocation to expand its research and education/outreach activities; however, there was a concerted effort to secure additional research funds. Most notably, a number of the program’s current PI’s collaborated with investigators from LSU, UNO, and Tulane to draft an extensive three million dollar multidisciplinary grant proposal for the Louisiana Board of Regents Post Katrina Scientific Initiatives Program. Although the project was not financially supported because of insufficient funds, the proposal was given a very favorable review by a panel of external evaluators. The theme of the proposed project, the conservation and sustainability of cypress ecosystems, will serve as a focal point of research for future proposals submitted to state and federal granting agencies by current and former PI’s of PBRP. The Information Transfer and Outreach Program of PBRP was very successful during the past year in pursuing its goal of ensuring that the knowledge garnered in the program’s projects will be disseminated widely to technical professionals in the regulatory agencies and to community leaders, as well as to other important stakeholders and decision makers, the general public, and to the news media. Several Research Reports that focus on program supported research projects and their results, as well as a Pontchartrain Basin Update entitled “Understanding the Environmental Impacts of Cypress Mulch” were published and released. A pamphlet entitled “Notable Accomplishments of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Research Program” was produced and distributed to the Louisiana Congressional Delegation. In addition, an exciting new supplement to this program is the “Swamps to Savannahs” presentation being offered to stakeholders around the basin as a face-to-face method of explaining the causes behind and solutions to Louisiana’s coastal loss. The seminar had been awarded extra funding by NOAA which is now nonforthcoming, and we are actively writing new proposals to continue this effort. This annual report reflects the research activities of 11 PBRP based projects that have been funded at a total monetary value of approximately one million dollars. The diverse projects include an effort to determine whether genetic variation exists between Lake Maurepas and Mississippi River basin fishes, information that is critical for predicting the effects of fresh water diversion projects. Additional studies focus on the bioavailability and bioaccumulation of mercury and other toxic metals in the Lake Maurepas basin; the degree to which salinity induces stress on the endocrine system of an economically important species of turtle; the establishment of a physiological indicator of restoration success for baldcypress after its exposure to high salinity; and the determination of potential algal blooms in Lake Maurepas as a consequence of nutrient loading from freshwater diversion projects. PBRP is also funding research projects that are attempting to determine methods for mitigating the spread of zebra mussels into the wetlands from diversions of the Mississippi River; to develop an Index of Biological Integrity for Lake Pontchartrain Basin wetlands; and to design a plan to restore the repressed swamps of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin by using point and non- point freshwater sources. 4 PBRP supports essential education and outreach programs, as well as projects that concentrate on aspects of human behavior in the Lake Pontchartrain basin. One important PBRP funded project that pertains to human behavior is designed to develop a “white paper”, a how-to-manual, outreach workshops, and a web-site for Mitigation Banking in the Manchac Swamp. A critical aspect of the education and outreach programs is the hands-on interdisciplinary, educational experiences for both K-12 teachers and their students. The workshop oriented activities introduce participants to the ecology of the basin and attempt to instill in them an understanding of the important link between the region’s ecology and its cultural and economic vitality. Detailed accounts of the projects mentioned in this introduction can be found in the following report. William N. Norton, Ph.D. Professor of Biological Sciences Director of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Research Program 5 General Statement The EPA supported Lake Pontchartrain