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American Zoologist 1990 30(1):77-87; doi:10.1093/icb/30.1.77
© 1990 by The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
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Biological Communities of the South Texas Continental Shelf1

NANCY NASH RABALAIS
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium Chauvin, Louisiana 70344

A multi-disciplinary study of the south Texas continental shelf in 1975–1977 investigated physical, chemical, geological, and biological characteristics over spatial and temporal scales, and the results are briefly summarized here. Chlorophyll a concentrations and zooplankton density and biomass showed reductions related to distance from shore. These factors also displayed north-south gradients and correlations with surface salinities. Bottom sediments graded seaward from fine sands nearshore to silts and clays on the outer shelf. Coarser sediments were associated with geologic and physical features such as ancestral deltas and wave action. Benthic populations were distributed in relation to sediment type, but other features such as depth, bottom water variability/stability, and primary production in the overlying waters were also important in determining benthic community structure. The study provides a baseline for future process-oriented investigations and environmental assessments.


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