bayou

File:Bayou Corne.jpg in Louisiana, October 2010]]

In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|aɪ|.|uː|,_|ˈ|b|aɪ|.|oʊ|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-NaomiAmethyst-bayou.wav}}){{Dictionary.com|bayou|access-date=2016-08-20}} is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They typically contain brackish water highly conducive to fish life and plankton. Bayous are commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, especially in the Mississippi River Delta, though they also exist elsewhere.

A bayou is often an anabranch or minor braid of a braided channel that is slower than the mainstem, often becoming boggy and stagnant. Though fauna varies by region, many bayous are home to crawfish, certain species of shrimp, other shellfish, and leeches, catfish, frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, American alligators, turtles, and snakes such as watersnakes, swampsnakes, mudsnakes, crayfish snakes, and cottonmouths. Common birds include anhingas, egrets, herons, spoonbills, as well as many other species.

Etymology

The word entered American English via Louisiana French in Louisiana and is thought to originate from the Choctaw word bayuk, which means "small stream".[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bayou Online Etymology Dictionary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606222801/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=bayou |date=2011-06-06 }}, [http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/academie9/bayou Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225005657/http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/academie9/bayou |date=2012-02-25 }} After first appearing in the 17th century, the term is found in 18th century accounts and maps, often as bayouc or bayouque, where it was eventually shortened to its current form.{{Cite journal |last=West |first=Robert C. |date=1954 |title=The Term "Bayou" in the United States: A Study in the Geography of Place Names |journal=Annals of the Association of American Geographers |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=68 |jstor=2561116 }} The first settlements of the Bayou Têche and other bayous were founded by the Louisiana Creoles, and the bayous are commonly associated with Creole and Cajun culture.

An alternative spelling, "buyou", is also known to have been in use, as in "Pine Buyou", used in a description by Congress in 1833 of Arkansas Territory. {{Asof|2016}} "bye-you" {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|b|aɪ|.|juː}} is the most common pronunciation, while a few use "bye-oh" {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|b|aɪ|.|oʊ}}, although that pronunciation is declining.

File:GNIS map Coulee vs. Bayou (4134811651).jpg locations (in orange) in the United States}}pfly from Pugetopolis, GNIS map Coulee vs. Bayou (4134811651), CC BY-SA 2.0]]

Geography

The term Bayou Country is most closely associated with Cajun and Creole cultural groups derived from French settlers and stretching along the Gulf Coast from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama, and picking back up in South Florida around the Everglades, with its center in New Orleans, Louisiana.{{cite web | url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/bayou/ | title=Bayou }} The term may also be associated with the homelands of certain Choctaw tribal groups.{{cite web | url=https://www.bvlbanchapublicaccess.com/scierra-lagarde-bayou-lacombe-choctaw | title=Bvlbancha Public Access – Scierra LaGarde – Bayou Lacombe Choctaw }}{{cite web | url=https://www.louisianafolklife.org/lt/articles_essays/choctaw_hert.html | title=Choctaw Heritage of Louisiana and Mississippi }}

Houston has the nickname "Bayou City".{{cite magazine|author=Shilcutt, Katharine|url=https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2016/10/24/what-is-a-bayou-and-how-do-you-pronounce-it|title=What's a Bayou Anyway?|magazine=Houstonia|date=2016-10-24|access-date=2019-01-01|archive-date=2019-01-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102002212/https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2016/10/24/what-is-a-bayou-and-how-do-you-pronounce-it|url-status=live}}

Environmental risks

Anthropogenic influences have damaged bayou ecosystems over the years. Bayous are susceptible to pollution such as runoff{{Cite journal |last1=Moshiri |first1=Gerald A. |last2=Crumpton |first2=William G. |last3=Blaylock |first3=Dewey A. |date=1978 |title=Algal Metabolites and Fish Kills in a Bayou Estuary: An Alternative Explanation to the Low Dissolved Oxygen Controversy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25040383 |journal=Journal (Water Pollution Control Federation) |volume=50 |issue=8 |pages=2043–2046 |jstor=25040383 |issn=0043-1303}} from nearby urban communities (which can result in eutrophication) and oil spills given their low-lying position in the watershed.{{Cite journal |last1=Bhandari |first1=S. |last2=Maruthi Sridhar |first2=B. |last3=Wilson |first3=B. |title=Effect of Land Cover Changes on the Sediment and Water Quality Characteristics of Brays Bayou Watershed |journal=Water, Air & Soil Pollution |date=2017 |volume=229 |issue=9 |page=336 |doi=10.1007/s11270-017-3538-7 |bibcode=2017WASP..228..336B |s2cid=102710370 }}{{Cite book |last1=Eargle |first1=Lisa A. |last2=Ashraf |first2=Esmail |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/823195464 |title=Black beaches and bayous : the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster |year=2012 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn=978-0-7618-5978-9 |oclc=823195464}} Many bayous have been cleared away by human activity as well, with those in Louisiana having shrunk by 1,900 square miles (4,900 square kilometers) since the 1930s.

= Agriculture =

Farming activities introduce nutrients into bayou ecosystems. Row crop agricultural land use is common (75–86% of the bayou watershed) in Bayou watersheds given the unique physical characteristics like flat topography and alluvial soils.{{Cite journal |last1=Lizotte |first1=R.E. |last2=Steinriede |first2=R.W. |last3=Locke |first3=M.A. |date=2021 |title=Occurrence of agricultural pesticides in Mississippi Delta Bayou sediments and their effects on the amphipod: Hyalella azteca|journal=Chemistry & Ecology |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=305–322|doi=10.1080/02757540.2021.1886281 |bibcode=2021ChEco..37..305L |s2cid=233402128 }} Agricultural activity results in byproducts of nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers, which can drastically alter delicate balances in freshwater and marine ecosystems. A study conducted on 3 agricultural bayous in the lower Mississippi River Basin found that the addition of nitrogen and phosphorus to sample mesocosms affected the decomposition of maize crop and willow oak detritus.{{Cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=J.M. |last2=Lizotte |first2=R.E. |last3=Testa III |first3=S. |last4=Dillard |first4=K.R. |date=2017 |title=Habitat and nutrient enrichment affect decomposition of maize and willow oak detritus in Lower Mississippi River Basin bayous |journal=Freshwater Science |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=713–725|doi=10.1086/694452 |bibcode=2017FWSci..36..713T |s2cid=90201052 }} While both species showed an increase in decomposition rate after N and P nutrient enhancement, the maize crop broke down faster than the native willow oak. The maize crop also had a significantly faster microbial respiration rate. The changes in microbial respiration of a wetland system impacts its carbon exchange with the environment. Inhibiting a wetland's ability to sequester carbon further damages the status of the wetland as a carbon sink.{{Cite web |title=Coastal Blue Carbon |url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ecosystems/coastal-blue-carbon/#:~:text=As%20a%20result,%20wetlands%20are,of%20time%20in%20their%20soils. |access-date=2023-05-09 |website=oceanservice.noaa.gov |language=EN-US}} This poses larger-scale issues as it alters the exchange of carbon dioxide with the atmosphere and environment.

The use of pesticides in agriculture poses further threats to bayou ecosystems. A study conducted on three bayous (Cow Oak, Howden, Roundaway) in the western Mississippi River watershed found that pesticides released into bayou sediments cause significant impairment of the amphipod Hyalella azteca both spatially and temporally. Despite being banned 40 years ago in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency, traces of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), once used in agriculture as an insecticide, were found in sediment and amphipod tissue.{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=OCSPP |date=2014-01-07 |title=DDT – A Brief History and Status |url=https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}} DDT is a probable carcinogen, and it has been linked to adverse health effects in both humans and wildlife.

= Oil spills =

Several oil spills have impacted bayou regions, including the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. This oil spill occurred off the Louisiana coast and resulted in the deaths of 11 people and the release of over 4.9 million barrels of oil into the ocean.{{Cite web |title=Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Overview |url=https://coastal.la.gov/deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-content/oil-spill-overview/ |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=Coastal Protection And Restoration Authority}} The bayou wetlands of Bataria Bay, Louisiana experienced increased shoreline erosion as a direct result of the Deepwater horizon oil spill.{{Cite journal |last1=Rangoonwala |first1=A. |last2=Jones |first2=C.E. |last3=Ramsey |first3=E. |date=2016 |title=Wetland shoreline recession in the Mississippi RiverDelta from petroleum oiling and cyclonic storms |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=43 |issue=22 |pages=11,652–11,660|doi=10.1002/2016GL070624 |bibcode=2016GeoRL..4311652R |s2cid=132184547 |doi-access=free }} This was determined by examining rates of wetland loss in the region from the year prior to the oil spill and contrasting that with the rates of wetland loss after the oil spill. The study noted significant land loss in regions not impacted by wave activity, further demonstrating that the land degradation was caused by oil rather than other sources of weathering from waves and cyclones.

Other notable oil spills affecting bayous include 4,000 U.S. gallons (about 15,141.65 L) of oil spilling in a lake near Bayou Sorrel in Louisiana and 20,000 U.S. gallons (about 75,708.24 L) of oil spilling into Saint Bernard Parish waters and the adjacent Bayou Bienvenue in Louisiana.{{Cite web |last=Wilkins |first=James |title=4,000 gallons of crude spilled at Frog Lake near Bayou Sorrel; cleanup ongoing |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/environment/4-000-gallons-of-crude-spilled-at-frog-lake-near-bayou-sorrel-cleanup-ongoing/article_e53bf516-1407-11ed-8c73-4f62b99dece9.html |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=The Advocate |date=4 August 2022 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Buercklin |first=Kacey |date=2022-09-27 |title=20,000 gallons of oil spilled in St. Bernard Parish waters |url=https://www.wdsu.com/article/20000-gallons-oil-spilled-st-bernard-parish-waters/41395949 |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=WDSU |language=en}} Both incidents occurred in 2022. Oil spills harm bayous as oil is toxic to most animals. In vapor form, oil leads to lung, liver, and nervous system dysfunction if inhaled.{{Cite journal |last=EPA Office of Emergency and Remedial Response |date=December 1999 |title=Understanding Oil Spills And Oil Spill Response |url=https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-01/documents/ospguide99.pdf |journal=}} Ingested oil poses threats to the digestive tract. Oil mattes feathers and fur, resulting in disruptions in the animal's ability to insulate themselves in colder temperatures. Matted bird feathers lose properties that aid in flying and swimming. Such disruptions in individual adaptive ability may lead to trophic cascades in a bayou community.

= Impervious surfaces =

Human development activities, such as the increase of impervious surfaces, results in quicker, high intensity flood pulses, delivering larger quantities of these nutrients to the ecosystem at a much more rapid rate.{{Cite journal |last1=Bhandari |first1=S. |last2=Maruthi Sridhar |first2=B. |last3=Wilson |first3=B. |title=Effect of Land Cover Changes on the Sediment and Water Quality Characteristics of Brays Bayou Watershed |journal=Water, Air & Soil Pollution |date=2017 |volume=229 |issue=9 |page=336 |doi=10.1007/s11270-017-3538-7 |bibcode=2017WASP..228..336B |s2cid=102710370 }} Impervious surfaces include roads, housing developments, and parking lots that replace natural vegetation, typically associated with human development and urbanization.{{Cite web |title=Impervious Surfaces and Flooding {{!}} U.S. Geological Survey |url=https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/impervious-surfaces-and-flooding |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=www.usgs.gov}} When impervious surfaces are installed, the layer of soil that stores water is damaged/removed, resulting in a lack of permeable surfaces to absorb rainfall and floodwater.

== Heavy metal contamination ==

Bayous have experienced trends of land cover loss and conversion to impervious surfaces, of which has been associated with influxes of metals such as aluminum, copper, iron, lead, and zinc. Heavy metals in sediments and ultimately the waters of bayous bioaccumulates in organisms to spread their toxins throughout various trophic levels.{{Cite journal |last1=Welt |first1=Marc |last2=Mielke |first2=Howard M. |last3=Gonzales |first3=Chris |last4=Cooper |first4=Kora M. |last5=Batiste |first5=Cory G. |last6=Cresswell III |first6=Lawrence H. |last7=Mielke |first7=Paul W. |date=2003 |title=Metal Contamination of Sediments and Soils of Bayou Saint John: A Potential Health Impact to Local Fishermen? |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B:EGAH.0000004552.15486.f5 |journal=Environmental Geochemistry and Health |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=387–396|doi=10.1023/B:EGAH.0000004552.15486.f5 |pmid=14740984 |bibcode=2003EnvGH..25..387W |s2cid=10941000 |url-access=subscription }} This harms both the health of individuals in that ecosystem as well as the humans who would be ingesting fish and other aquatic organisms with potential metal contamination.