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The effects of opening an artificial tidal inlet on hydrography and estuarine macrofauna in Corpus Christi, Texas

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Abstract

Packery Channel is part of a complex of storm washover channels which, before 1912, have opened intermittently, linking the Laguna Madre and Corpus Christi Bay, Texas with the Gulf of Mexico. On 21 July 2005, with the assistance of Hurricane Emily, Packery Channel was prematurely opened to the Gulf of Mexico, months before construction of a dredged channel was scheduled to be completed. A before-versus-after, control-versus-impact (BACI) design was used to assess the effects of reopening Packery Channel on water quality and estuarine macrofauna in Mollie Beattie Coastal Habitat Community (MBCHC), Corpus Christi Bay. Two deep (approximately 1 m below m.s.l.) and two shallow (approximately 0.2 m below m.s.l.) stations were sampled monthly for physical and biological characteristics at both control and impact sites between November 2003 and March 2009. The opening of Packery Channel created a unique situation where salinities decreased after the channel opening by ameliorating hypersalinity in Laguna Madre rather than increasing salinities as would occur in most estuaries worldwide. Salinity also fluctuated in a diurnal pattern after the opening of Packery Channel. Apart from salinity, Packery Channel has caused little hydrographic change in MBCHC since opening in July 2005. There was little effect on the macrofaunal community composition. There was a greater difference in community composition between deep and shallow stations than between either before and after or control and impact sites. There have been no significant changes in abundance, biomass, or N1 diversity caused by the opening of Packery Channel.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Sally Morehead, Larry Hyde, April Gossman, and others for assistance in field sampling; Nicole Selly, Mike Barajas, and others for assistance in the laboratory; Jennifer Pollack and three anonymous reviewers for reviewing this manuscript; and Carrol Simanek for data management. This research was partially funded by the City of Corpus Christi through a subcontract from HDR/Shiner Mosely and Associates, the Harte Research Institute, and the University of Texas Marine Science Institute where some of the work occurred.

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  1. Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA

    Terence A. Palmer, Paul A. Montagna & Richard D. Kalke

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  1. Terence A. Palmer
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  3. Richard D. Kalke
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Correspondence to Terence A. Palmer.

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Palmer, T.A., Montagna, P.A. & Kalke, R.D. The effects of opening an artificial tidal inlet on hydrography and estuarine macrofauna in Corpus Christi, Texas. Environ Monit Assess 185, 5917–5935 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2995-0

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