Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas Bibliographycompiled By: Nancy L
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COMPREHENSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE LAGUNA MADRE OF TEXAS & TAMAULIPAS Compiled by John W. Tunnell, Jr. Nancy L. Hilbun Kim Withers Center for Coastal Studies Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi 6300 Ocean Dr. Corpus Christi, Texas 78412 Prepared for The Nature Conservancy of Texas PO Box 1440 San Antonio, Texas 78295-1440 January 2002 TAMU-CC-0202-CCS PREFACE This Comprehensive Bibiliography of the Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas includes almost 1,400 citations over a 70 year time span. It is a companion volume for use with The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas (J.W. Tunnell and F. W. Judd, editors, 2002, Texas A&M University Press, 346 pages). This bibliography is available in printed and electronic formats. A PDF version is available for download or search (using Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5) on the Center for Coastal Studies website (http://www.sci.tamucc.edu/ccs/welcome.htm.) and the Texas Nature Conservancy website (http://www.texasnature.org/). Both printed and electronic versions consist of three parts: Part I, Laguna Madre – A Sketch (a resumé or executive summary of the book in both English and Spanish); Part II, Comprehensive Bibliography; and Part III, Citations by Keyword. In addition, a Reference Manager for Windows (version 9) CD of the bibliographic entries is available for purchase ($10) from the Center for Coastal Studies, NRC Suite 3200, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, Texas, 78412 or by contacting Kim Withers ([email protected]) or Gloria Krause ([email protected]) at the Center. The Laguna Madre book and bibiolgraphy were funded by The Nature Conservancy of Texas with grants from the Robert J. and Helen C. Kelberg Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. These organizations are gratefully acknowledged. The Texas Center for Policy and Dr. Ernesto Chavez graciously provided translation of “The Laguna Madre – A Sketch” and both are sincerely thanked. John W. Tunnell, Jr. January 2002 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Preface ……………………………………………………………………………. ii Part I: Laguna Madre – A Sketch ………………………………………………... 1 El Ecosistema de la Laguna Madre……………………………………….. 10 Part II: Comprehensive Bibliography …………………………………………… 18 Part III: Citations by Keyword ……………………..……………………………. 105 iii PART I LAGUNA MADRE – A SKETCH The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas is the only coastal, hypersaline lagoon system on the North American continent, comprising two of only five such lagoons worldwide. Together they form the largest hypersaline system in the world. Extending along 455 km (277 mi) of shoreline in South Texas and northeastern México, the Laguna Madre is separated into two bodies of water by 75 km (47 mi) of Rio Grande Delta. Each lagoon is about 185 km (115 mi) in length and each is further divided into subunits; the upper and lower Laguna Madre in Texas are separated by the Land-Cut tidal flats, and the northern and southern Laguna Madre de Tamaulipas are separated by the El Carrizal tidal flats. Both lagoon systems are protected on the east by barrier islands and peninsulas, and bound on the mainland side by vast cattle ranches, farmlands, and the brush country of the Tamaulipan Biotic Province. These two lagoons are best known for their hypersaline condition, large overwintering Redhead duck population, numerous protected species, vast seagrass meadows, and great fishery productivity. The commonly recorded extreme salinities of over 100 ppt in both systems have been moderated in recent decades due to changes in water circulation [Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW) and Mansfield Pass in Texas and four passes connecting the Gulf with the lagoon in Tamaulipas]. The two lagoons together contain over 77% of the North American overwintering population of Redhead, a species of duck. Numerous protected species such as Piping and Snowy plovers, Reddish Egret, Brown Pelican, and Peregrine Falcon are found in both lagoons, and colonial waterbird rookeries abound. In Texas, almost 80% of all seagrass beds in the state are found in Laguna Madre and the historically, highly productive commercial fisheries have now given way to some of the best recreational fishing for red drum, black drum, and spotted sea trout in North America. In Tamaulipas, a "boom and bust" cycle of great fishery production alternated with briny, almost sterile waters before the 1970s. The cycle included a highly productive lagoon for several years after a wet hurricane, then dwindling fisheries and species diversity as the barrier island passes closed and the completely enclosed lagoon progressed to higher and higher salinities. During extended droughts, or long periods between hurricanes, the lagoon began to dry up with water level decreasing and salinities increasing due to evaporation. When salinities reached 150 ppt, only brine shrimp existed, and at the highest recorded salinity of 295 ppt, salt had precipitated along the shoreline and in the bottom of the lagoon. Then a hurricane would open Gulf passes, flush the system with floodwaters from rain, and the cycle would begin again. Major hurricanes of 1909, 1933, and 1967 all demonstrated this cycle in Tamaulipas, and it is likely that a similar cycle existed in Texas before channelization of that system (GIWW completed in 1949, Mansfield Pass completed in 1962). In addition to these best-known features of the Laguna Madre, there are other unique lesser-known, but important characteristics, such as: the most extensive wind-tidal flats and clay dunes in North America; the only strain of high-salinity-adapted oysters in North America; the only natural rocky shoreline in Texas; the only serpulid worm reefs in Texas, and the only locality of oolite (calcium carbonate) and gypsum crystal formation 1 in Texas. Wind-tidal flats occupy 917 km2 (354 mi2) of shoreline in the Texas Laguna Madre and 508 km2 (196 mi2) in Tamaulipas. Clay dunes form a mainland transition zone between the wind-tidal flats and the upland in many areas. A unique population of oysters, adapted to the high salinity conditions of Laguna Madre, are found in South Bay, the southernmost portion of the lower Laguna Madre in Texas. Oysters in the southern Laguna Madre de Tamaulipas may be similarly adapted, but they have not been studied. Penascal Point between Baffin Bay and upper Laguna Madre contains the only natural rocky shoreline (coquina, beach rock) in Texas, and a similar shoreline exists at Punta Piedras between Laguna el Catan and the southern Laguna Madre de Tamaulipas. Relict serpulid worm reefs occupy 16 km2 (6 mi2) of Baffin Bay, providing otherwise absent, hard substrate bottom habitat and an indication of a wetter climate in the past. Calcium carbonate is deposited as irregular sand grains in the quiet waters of upper Laguna Madre near Baffin Bay, a process typically relegated to tropical regions of the world, and gypsum crystals and rosettes are formed below the surface of wind-tidal flats. The most important issues, characteristics, and facts about the Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas are topically summarized below: Geography • Over 200 natural islands exist in Laguna Madre de Tamaulipas and less than 10 exist in the Texas lagoon, although hundreds of dredged material islands are present. • Five counties with a population of 637,228 people, surround the Texas lagoon and three counties, with 444,096 people exist around the lagoon in Tamaulipas. Population centers along the shores of the Laguna Madre include six cities and towns in Texas with 277,631 people; in Tamaulipas, there are 34 towns and villages with a population of 9,738 people on the lagoon shoreline, and another 1,354 people living on islands within the lagoon. • There are two barrier islands protecting the Texas Laguna Madre: Padre Island, the longest barrier island in the world, and Brazos Island (now a peninsula). In Tamaulipas, there is one peninsula, Barra el Conchillal, and three barrier islands, Barra Los Americanos, Barra Jesus Maria, and Barra Soto la Marina protecting the Mexican lagoon. • There are two jettied passes, Mansfield Pass and Brazos Santiago Pass, in Texas connecting the lagoon with the Gulf of México, and there are four in Tamaulipas, El Mesquital, Boca Ciega, Boca el Catan, and Boca de Santa Isabel. • No rivers drain into the Texas lagoon and only one, Rio San Fernando (also known as Rio Conchos), enters the Tamaulipas lagoon. 2 Climate • The regional climate is classified as semiarid or subtropical steppe (also as subhumid- to-semiarid east-coast subtropical climate), with extreme variability in precepitation and evapotranspiration two to three times higher than precipitation. • Persistent southeasterly winds predominate throughout the year, interrupted by strong northerly winds in winter; humidity and temperatures are high, and tropical storms or hurricanes may cause major changes to the system. Hydrography • Laguna Madre hydrography is characterized by little freshwater inflow, high evaporation, low tidal range, and shallow bathymetry, all of which contribute to its characteristic hypersalinity. • Classic, textbook example of a hypersaline lagoon; two of only six hypersaline, coastal lagoons in the world. • Salinities over 100 ppt were common in both lagoons in the past, with salinities as high as 295 ppt recorded in Tamaulipas. • Salinities have moderated due to human-induced hydrologic alterations in both systems (GIWW in 1949 and Mansfield Pass in 1962 in Texas; four dredged, jettied passes in Tamaulipas in 1970's). Origin, Development, and Geology • Laguna Madre began forming about 5,000 to 4,500 YBP as post-glacial sea level rise slowed and offshore sandbars (like Padre Island) began to develop; the lagoon became enclosed about 2,800 to 2,500 YBP. • Hypersaline conditions apparently developed in Baffin Bay first, as long as 5000 to 4300 years before present. • The Rio Grande Delta divided the Texas and Tamaulipas lagoon into two systems during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. • Important geological or biogeological features include extensive wind-tidal flats and clay dunes, localized beach rock (coquina), serpulid worm reefs, and geochemically- precipitated oolites (calcium carbonate) and gypsum crystals and rosettes.