Establishment of operational guidelines for Texas coastal zone management : final report on biological uses criteria

This study has produced a methodology for assessing the effects of natural and man-made changes on the estuarine environment. Examples have been presented to demonstrate its application to the Corpus Christi area. Several communication forms have been developed to describe the biotic environment. There are illustrations of the ecological assemblages through artist renditions with a written text entitled "Biotopes" and several computer data base systems. Through the identification of these discrete biotic regimes (biotopes), the coastal environment of the Corpus Christi area has been quantified in percentages of the total acreage and percentage of total productivity. The computer Life History Data Bank (LHDB) has been established to provide information on distribution, abundance and tolerances of the living organisms in the biotopes. Information accumulated through a preliminary creel census of sportfishing has also been identified by biotope distribution. Through the use of these systems productivity and fish catch can be compared quantitatively.