If You Build It They Will Come
March 16, 2023
A scientist deploying a minnow trap within a marsh pond at a natural marsh site in Lake Hermitage, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
– Photo Credit: Allison Benelli, © Louisiana State University
LSU College of the Coast & Environment Associate Professor Michael Polito and his fellow researchers recently released a study showing man-made marsh is ecologically very similar to its naturally occurring counterpart.
“This work is really exciting because it shows that when they’re carefully designed, restored marshes very rapidly become indistinguishable from natural marshes, from an ecological standpoint,” said Melissa Carle, Monitoring and Adaptive Management Team Lead for Deepwater Horizon restoration with NOAA Fisheries’ Restoration Center. “The research here suggests that if you build it right, all of the organisms that make up a healthy marsh community will come.”
Documenting and protecting the ecological stability of Louisiana's fragile coastal environments is a critical part of the commitment to the coast outlined in LSU's Scholarship First agenda.
READ ABOUT MARSH CREATION AS A TOOL TO RESTORE COASTAL Louisiana