Subsurface Habitat Classification and Species Habitat Relationships in the Pearl River Basin

With a significant level of attention being given to landscape scale conservation planning, many of the data products being developed currently focus on coarse resolution information to guide conservation plans.  While sufficient for landscape planning, those data products do not always provide the level of detail needed to identify local conservation actions.   In the interest of supporting the coarse scale planning efforts as well as the more local need for conservation design, representatives from local, state and federal agencies in the Pearl River Basin (Louisiana and Mississippi) are working together to demonstrate the feasibility and cost effectiveness of collecting subsurface aquatic habitat information at a resolution and scale that improves landscape conservation plans and also informs local conservation delivery.  To achieve this goal, sidescan sonar and bathymetric data were acquired over 386 km of the Pearl River to represent physical habitat characteristics.  We will demonstrate the utility of a relatively new off-the-shelf sidescan processing software “Reefmaster” used in this effort.  The resulting sidescan and bathymetric data will be summarized over specific themes to characterize subsurface aquatic habitats.  In year two, biological sampling will be conducted based on the delineated habitats to establish species habitat relationships.