Our approach is to collect data on phytoplankton, microzooplankton, mesozooplankton, and fish communities in the different salinity regimes of the Barataria and Breton Sound estuary systems and determine how these communities change over time and during different freshwater pulse events in the Breton Sound system. We are utilizing standard microscopy, but also more automated, digital techniques to analyze plankton samples and so provide rapid information for the NGI-LSU DELTA Ecosystem Forecasting System. We will also conduct field-experiments to look at trophic transfer from plankton to fish.