Abstract:

A survey of insect fauna in coastal salt marshes of the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana was conducted before and after landfall of Hurricane Isaac. Collection information, environmental data (air temperature, water temperature, wind speed, salinity and total aromatics from soil samples) are presented in addition to abundances of terrestrial insects collected during that study.

Suggested Citation:

Bui, Linda M.. 2018. An annotated list of insects collected after Hurricane Isaac in the coastal salt marshes of the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana, 2012-2013. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N75T3J2W

Purpose:

To study how the hurricane affected insect diversity, distribution pattern, and assembly processes in salt marshes.

Data Parameters and Units:

Worksheet Bio: Code: User defined sample identifier; Site: User defined site identifier; Latitude (DD): Latitude of the sampling site in decimal degrees; Longitude (DD): Longitude of the sampling site in decimal degrees; Date: Text representation of the date insect samples and environmental data were collected (YYMMDD); Abundances of 233 insects (identified to the lowest taxonomic level) designated by abbreviation codes (a key to the abbreviations is located on Worksheet Abbreviations). Worksheet Env: Code: User defined sample identifier; Site: User defined site identifier; Latitude (DD): Latitude of the sampling site in decimal degrees; Longitude (DD): Longitude of the sampling site in decimal degrees; Date: Text representation of the date insect samples and environmental data were collected (YYMMDD); Sorter: Name of the person sorting the insect sample (n/d=no data); Time: Time of day the environmental parameters were collected (n/d=no data); Air Temp (deg F): Air temperature in degrees Fahrenheit; Water Temp: Temperature of the water closest to the marsh sites where insects were collected, in degrees Celsius; Wind Speed (kt): Wind speed at the study site, in knots; Salinity (PPT): Salinity of the water closest to the marsh sites where insects were collected, in ppt; Oil Status (Total Aromatics, ng/g): Total aromatic data collected from sediment samples at the sites. Worksheet Abbreviations: Key to the abbreviation codes used on Worksheet Bio. Codes generally consist of the first three letters of the insect Order, Family, and Genus.

Methods:

All insects were collected with a sweep net in an area of 40 square meters at each site.

Individual Files: