1. Gulf Coast Prairies
and Marshes
By: Mimi Wellborn

2. Geography
• Major Rivers: San Jacinto, Trinity, Brazos,
Nueces, San Antonio
• Major Aquifer: Carrizo-Wilcox
• Size: 21,000 sq. miles
• Land:
-Near Gulf Waters: Marshes, barrier islands,
estuaries, & bays
-Farther West: Prairies & grasslands

3. Climate
• Regional average rainfall: 40-60 in/yr
• East Texas rainfall average: 46 in
• West Texas Rainfall average: 12 in
• Regional average net evaporation rate: 16-28 in
• Ranges from subtropical in the lower Rio Grande
valley to moderately temperate in the northwest
• Along the Gulf of Mexico it has a warm, damp
climate

4. Inhabitants
Animals Plants
-Marsh Rice Rat -Texas Madrone
-Ros Eate Spoonbill -Red Mulberry QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
-Black Skimmer -Wax Myrtle
QuickTimeª and a
-Whooping Crane
decompressor
-Red Chokecherry
are needed to see this picture.
-River Otter -Sweetgum
5-Attwater’s Prairie Chicken -Green Ash QuickTimeª and a
5 -Eastern Brown Pelican
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
-Short-leaf Pine
5 -Eskimo Curlew
5-Prairie Dawn
5 -Piping Plover
QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
5-Slender Rush Pea

5. Weathering
A. Weathering
-Mechanical: Wind from the gulf
-Chemical: Acid rain
B. Erosion
-Hurricanes have eroded away some of the
region
C. Deposition
-The shore of the Gulf of Mexico

6. QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Catastrophic Events QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Historical Event
-The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (April-July 2010)
Largest environmental disaster in American history
11 people killed QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Many oyster reefs destroyed
 Killed an alarming number of baby dolphins
 Whales: may have inhaled toxic fumes
 West Indian Manatee: food source was damaged

7. Catastrophic Events
Potential Disasters
Natural Humans
-Hurricanes -Oil Spill
• Long coast line •Long coast line
• Big region •Much wildlife
• Near lots of water

8. Catastrophic Events
Succession
• Oil-consuming microbes populations
soared, helping clean up at a relatively fast
pace
• Air evaporates many of the oils components
• Sunlight breaks the oil down

9. Conservation
We can help the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes by polluting
less, specifically water pollution. When you pollute water it
will most likely eventually end up in the ocean. We are still
trying to clean up from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in
2010. A lot of pollution in the Gulf of Mexico comes from the
U.S., not just Texas. But we can work to stop water pollution
in the Gulf of Mexico and protect the Gulf Coast Prairies and
Marshes in Texas and all the wildlife living there.
-Endangered Species:
• Attwater’s Prairie Chicken
• Eastern Brown Pelican QuickTimeª and a
decompressor
• Eskimo Curlew are needed to see this picture.
• Piping Plover
• Prairie Dawn
• Slender Rush Pea

10. Sustainability
-Heat
• Birds fly South
• Generally tropical weather
• Cold-blooded animals
-Sun
• Longer days = more plant growth = more
animals

11. Food Web
Bottlenose Dolphin Blue Crab
(Tursiops Truncatus) (Callinectes Sapidus)
Marsh Rice Rat
Whooping Crane
(Oryzomys Palustris)
(Grus Americana)
Shrimp
(Caridea)
Red Chokecherry
(Aronia Arbutifolia)
Black Skimmer
(Rynchops Niger)
Attwater’s Prairie Chicken
(Tympanuchus Cupido Attwateri)
Red Mulberry
(Morus Rubra)
Spotted Sea Trout
(Cynoscion Nebulosus)
Wax Myrtle
Green Algae
(Myica Cerifera)
(Chlorophyta)

12. Citations
• http://briansmallphoto.com/whooping_crane.html
· www.usg.gov/usgcrp/Library/nationalassessmant/gulfcoast/gulfcoast-chapter5.pdf
· www.tpwd.state.tx.us/kids/about_texas/regions/gulf_coast/big_kids/
· http://edu.glogster.com/glog/11110419/100
· http://blogs.nature.com/boston/2008/05/15/day-long-escapes-from-boston
· http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill
· http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/endang/plants/rushpea.phtml
· http://www.hotelstravel.com/ustx-gc.html
· http://www.newcomersclub.com/Texas/GulfCoast.html
· http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill
· http://healthygulf.org/201203141819/blog/healthy-waters-/-dead-zone/grn-and-
mississippi-river-groups-hit-epa-with-legal-actions-on-dead-zone-pollution
· www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3024133