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Home > GCR > Vol. 36 > Iss. 1 (2025)

 

Alternate Title

Macroinvertebrate Community Dynamics in a Recovering, Hypersaline Estuary

Document Type

Article

Abstract

The Bahia Grande is a 6,500—acre tidal basin located at the southernmost tip of Texas. Tidal flow into this coastal estuary was cut off in the 1930s, causing the basin to dry up for ~70 y. A pilot channel connecting the Bahia Grande to tidal waters was constructed in 2005, allowing flooding of the basin to occur. Throughout the period reported herein (2005–2019), the system remained characterized by persistent spatial and temporal episodes of extreme hypersalinity (>70)—a critical factor influencing estuarine community composition and driving key ecological processes. With additional rehabilitation actions forthcoming, characterization of the estuary is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of future restoration efforts. In this study, we analyzed macroinvertebrate data collected from 2005–2019 to evaluate community turnover as well as spatial variation driven by salinity gradients (ranging from 36 to 178). We found 5 distinct ecological groups throughout the study period: 1) early colonizers, 2) high salinity, 3) early stabilization, 4) middle stabilization, and 5) late stabilization. In addition, we found that less saline areas of the basin support different macroinvertebrate assemblages than more saline areas, suggesting that full ecological recovery of the Bahia Grande has yet to be achieved. These findings provide unique insight into the ecological progression of a reflooded, hypersaline estuary (sequence of community turnover, persistence of salinity—driven assemblages, limited recovery of sensitive taxa) while also offering an assessment of the estuary’s current rehabilitation status and critical baseline data to inform and evaluate the outcomes of future restoration efforts.

First Page

89

Last Page

104

Supplemental Data
Eckert et al. Supplemental Table S1 .pdf (91 kB)
Supplemental Table S1
Eckert et al. Supplemental Figure S1.pdf (250 kB)
Supplemental Figure S1
Eckert et al. Supplemental Table S2 .pdf (154 kB)
Supplemental Table S2
Eckert et al. Supplemental Table S3.pdf (228 kB)
Supplemental Table S3
Eckert et al. Supplemental Table S4.pdf (285 kB)
Supplemental Table S4

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Statement

No artificial intelligence (AI) was used in the preparation of this manuscript

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