Download Healthy Coastal Ecosystems

PHOTO © SETH PATTERSON
Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
Healthy ecosystems are the foundation
of life along the Texas coast. Their
preservation is essential for commercial
and recreational fishing and the
tourism industry, but their value is also
priceless to those who live, work and
play in the coastal region. As a rapidly
increasing population, greater demands
on fisheries resources, climate change
and other human activities put greater
stresses on these fragile systems,
Texas Sea Grant is funding research
and giving resource managers the
information they need to make sciencebased decisions to respond to water
quality degradation, wetlands loss and
other threats to these ecosystems.
Finding Urban Impacts on Coastal Ecosystems
Restoring Coastal Wetlands
As Texas’ population grows, more reclaimed water
— water that has been used by cities, treated and
released — is flowing downstream into Texas’
bays and estuaries, which are important habitats
for fish and other wildlife. In collaboration with
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality,
one Texas Sea Grant-funded research project
found chemical signatures from personal care
products, pharmaceuticals, and even artificial
sweeteners and caffeine that are not completely
removed by wastewater treatment and are
flowing into the estuaries. Partnering with the
National Sea Grant Program and Project WET, the
researchers developed curricula about the issue
for teachers, and continuing studies are focusing
on the potential impact of these chemicals on
specific marine species and identifying susceptible
habitats for restoration.
Wetlands can decrease flooding, remove
pollutants from water, recharge groundwater,
protect shorelines, provide habitat for
wildlife and are an important recreational
resource. Texas Sea Grant restored more
than 350 acres of wetlands on the Texas
coast, began partnering with a local school
district to develop a wetland outdoor
classroom, and conducted several informal
education programs about the importance of
stormwater wetlands, which are constructed
wetlands designed to remove pollutants
from storm runoff. In addition, a wetland
restoration technique pioneered through
Texas Sea Grant’s partnership with the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department is being used
by managers at two other restoration sites.
Determining the Effects of Mangrove
Expansion
Rising seas, warming temperatures and
changes in rainfall patterns are driving a black
mangrove invasion of Texas salt marshes,
changing the nature of the state’s coastal
wetlands. The results from a Texas Sea Grantfunded study to determine the effects of this
change on coastal habitats is being used by
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the
Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research
Reserve and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
as they make decisions about restoration
projects and attempt to predict the impacts
on fisheries and important species like the
endangered whooping crane.
Decreasing Threats to Wildlife
Birds and animals cannot see discarded
monofilament fishing line, so it is easy for them
to become tangled in it and starve, drown
or lose a limb. Texas Sea Grant coordinated
volunteers through the Program’s statewide
Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program
to remove 309 pounds of fishing line — the
equivalent of 419 miles in length — from the
environment and send it to be recycled.
Publication supported in part by an Institutional Grant
(NA14OAR4170102) to the Texas Sea Grant College Program
from the National Sea Grant Office, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.
TAMU-SG-15-305