Abstract:

The Texas coast climatic gradient of decreasing precipitation and freshwater inflow from northeast to southwest shapes estuarine ecosystems and biodiversity. By employing broad-scale diversity and community structure metrics and habitat suitability models of key indicator species, this study explored how multiple abiotic environmental factors, freshwater inflows, and drought and flood events shape estuarine communities across different spatial and temporal scales. A long-term fishery-independent data set captured the latitudinal, seasonal, and interannual range of environmental conditions, providing insights into the general patterns and trends across different ecosystems and demonstrating how freshwater inflow regimes affect estuarine nekton communities. These spatial patterns indicate that resource managers may be well-served to incorporate community dynamics and hydrological regimes when developing adaptive management plans to maintain freshwater inflow and target salinities for important fisheries species and estuarine communities to produce a sound ecological environment. The original dataset (first version) published on 2023-03-29 is located in the folder: Seine_Surveys_Nueces_1987-2016_Version_1_Published_2023-03-29. Two data files were added to the dataset and the second version is located in the folder: Seine_Surveys_Nueces_1987-2016_Version_2_Updated__2023-11-08.

Suggested Citation:

Coffey, Daniel M., Stunz, Greg W., and Paul A. Montagna. 2023. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fishery-independent monitoring program bay trawl and bag seine surveys, Texas, 1982-2020. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/m663qn60

Purpose:

Fish and invertebrate nekton data were collected as part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fishery-independent monitoring program and used to model the impacts of salinity on estuarine nekton diversity and community structure across Texas estuaries, and the spatial extent and distribution of suitable nursery habitats for the selected indicator species within the Nueces Estuary.

Data Parameters and Units:

estuary code, subregion code (bag seine samples only), major area code, minor bay code, station code, year, month, day, hour, minute, second, surface area (0.03 hectares; bag seine samples only), salinity (psu), water temperature (°C), dissolved oxygen (mg/L), turbidity (NTU), longitude, latitude, shallow water depth (m), deep water depth (m), species (or lowest taxonomic unit) counts (individuals captured per trawl or bag seine sample), observation number (obs), bay name

Methods:

Fish and invertebrate nekton data were collected as part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fishery-independent monitoring program. Ten to twenty bay trawl samples and twenty bag seine samples are collected monthly within each major bay system of the Texas coast based on a stratified, random sampling design. Otter trawls (6.1 m wide with 38-mm stretched nylon multifilament mesh and 1.2 × 0.5 m trawl doors) were deployed in open bay habitats (>1 m depth) and towed at 4.82 km/h for 10 min away from the shoreline in a circular manner. Bag seines (18.3 × 1.8 m, with 19-mm stretched mesh in the wings and 13-mm stretched mesh in the bag) were deployed in shallow habitats (<2 m depth) and pulled parallel to shore for 15.2 m covering an area of 0.03 hectares. Captured fish and invertebrates greater than 5 mm total length were identified to the lowest taxonomic level and counted. Hydrological data, including salinity (psu), water temperature (°C), dissolved oxygen (mg/L), and turbidity (nephelometric turbidity units, NTU), were recorded at each sampling site. The minimum and maximum depth (m) of each bag seine haul and depth of each bay trawl were also recorded. Bay trawl samples (n = 54,615) collected from 1982 to 2020 from all major Texas estuaries and bag seine samples (n = 8,021) collected from 1987 to 2016 from the Nueces Estuary were collated.

Individual Files: