My research interests in aquatic systems are broad, but I am particularly interested in the ecology of estuaries and coastal and freshwater wetlands. My current research examines patterns between environmental variables and nekton use of estuarine habitats on the northern Gulf of Mexico. Although estuaries have long been recognized as important in supporting fishery species, we have only recently begun investigating some estuarine habitat types and identifying important attributes that regulate their use by fishery species or comparing ecological functions among different habitat types. For example, we know little about habitats that occur in tidal freshwater and oligohaline environments. We have much to learn about the specific functions provided to nekton by estuarine habitats and the contribution of these functions to secondary productivity. Understanding the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on estuarine communities and how to restore the functions of degraded habitat are also of interest.

Recent Publications:
• Rozas, L. P., T. J. Minello, R. J. Zimmerman, and P. Caldwell. 2007. Nekton populations, long-term wetland loss, and the effect of recent habitat restoration in Galveston Bay, TX (USA). Marine Ecology Progress Series 344:119-130.
• Rozas, L. P. and T. J. Minello. 2007. Restoring coastal habitat using marsh terracing: the effect of cell size on nekton use. Wetlands 27:595-609.
• Rozas, L. P. and T. J. Minello. 2006. Nekton use of Vallisneria americana Michx. (wild celery) beds and adjacent habitats in coastal Louisiana. Estuaries and Coasts 29:297-310.
• Rozas, L. P., T. J. Minello, I. Munyera-Fernandez, B. Fry, and B. Wissel. 2005. Macrofaunal distributions and habitat change following winter-spring releases of freshwater into the Breton Sound Estuary, Louisiana (USA). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 65:319-336.
• Rozas, L.P., P. Caldwell, and T. J. Minello. 2005. The fishery value of salt marsh restoration projects. Journal of Coastal Research Special Issue 40:37-50.
• Minello, T. J. and L. P. Rozas. 2002. Nekton in Gulf Coast wetlands: fine-scale distributions, landscape patterns, and restoration implications. Ecological Applications 12:441-455.
• Castellanos, D. L. and L. P. Rozas. 2001. Nekton use of submerged aquatic vegetation, marsh, and shallow unvegetated bottom in the Atchafalaya River Delta, a Louisiana tidal freshwater ecosystem. Estuaries 24:184-197.

I can be contacted directly at: Lawrence.Rozas@noaa.gov, NOAA Fisheries, SEFC/Estuarine Habitats and Coastal Fisheries Center, 646 Cajundome Blvd., Lafayette, LA 70506, Telephone: (337) 291-2110.