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Variability in salt marsh flooding patterns in Galveston Bay, Texas
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2015
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Alternative Title:Salt marsh flooding patterns in Galveston Bay, Texas
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Description:Tidal flooding of the marsh edge appears to be an important characteristic that affects the value of this habitat for juvenile nekton. We measured elevations and flooding durations of the marsh surface near the edge in 13 (10 natural and three created) Spartina alterniflora marshes in Galveston Bay. Benchmarks and water level recorders were installed near each marsh in 2010, and a professional surveyor measured elevations in NAVD88 by taking static GPS observations at each marsh. The elevation of the edge was variable among the 13 marshes ranging from -15.3 cm to 43.0 cm (NAVD88), with an overall mean elevation of 3.8 cm (SE = 4.1). Edge elevations appeared to be substantially higher and more variable in the three upper bay marshes with a mean of 17.9 cm NAVD88 (SE = 14.0) compared with the ten lower bay marshes (mean = - 0.5 cm NAVD88, SE = 2.7). Natural marshes in the lower bay were flooded for 83.7% of the time over the four years from 2010-2013, and the two created marshes in the lower bay had similar flooding characteristics. The Demonstration Marsh, created in 1993, in the upper bay had the highest elevation and lowest flooding duration (30.4% over 4 years) of any marsh examined. Our data support the conclusion that flooding durations in most Galveston Bay marshes are higher than in many other estuaries of the northern Gulf of Mexico, and this characteristic may be responsible for the high productivity of penaeid shrimps and blue crabs in the bay. [doi:10.7289/V5P55KFS (http://dx.doi.org/10.7289/V5P55KFS)]
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Content Notes:by Thomas J. Minello, Lawrence P. Rozas, Shawn P. Hillen, and Juan A. Salas.
"May 2015."
doi:10.7289/V5P55KFS (http://dx.doi.org/10.7289/V5P55KFS)
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Includes bibliographical references (page 9-10).
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Rights Information:Public Domain
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