Dataset: Drop Sampling Data - Port Fourchon, LA 2022

This dataset provides species count data collected during the Fall 2022 drop sampling season at 52 sites near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. The sampling effort aimed to assess the abundance and composition of estuarine nekton species across a landscape experiencing significant climate-driven habitat change, including mangrove encroachment and marsh loss. Species counts were obtained using a drop sampler with a 1.2 m² area, deployed along the marsh edge at each site. Nekton within the sampler were captured using a suction pump and dipnets, sorted into taxonomic groups, and enumerated.The data are presented alongside site-level information, including approximate geolocation, date, and environmental context (e.g., habitat classification derived from drone and satellite imagery). The purpose of this dataset is to evaluate how species abundances respond to habitat structure at multiple spatial scales, particularly in relation to landscape metrics such as land-to-water ratio, edge area, and mangrove cover. This dataset is useful for ecologists, resource managers, and conservation scientists interested in habitat suitability, estuarine ecology, and the impacts of climate-driven habitat changes on coastal nekton communities. This dataset is part of a study exploring the effect of habitat scale on models linking species abundance to landscape metrics. This was collected by Herbert Leavitt, Dr. James Nelson, and Alex Thomas. Affiliation at time of sampling was University of Louisiana at Lafayette.