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Sandy shores, common in the Gulf of Mexico, are home to a wide diversity of worms, clams, snails and other creatures that live in the sand or mud. These species also provide food to large numbers of shorebirds, who often stop by sandy beaches during their migrations. The sand dunes that form inland from the [...]

Every year, about 15 miles of wetlands in the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary of Southern Louisiana are lost. Even more astounding – it is estimated that one-half acre of the area’s coastal wetlands are converted to open water every 15 minutes! Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter This message aligns to Ocean Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts: [...]

The maximum sustained winds of Hurricane Camille in 1969 were estimated to be around 200 mph, but because the storm destroyed all wind-recording instruments when it made landfall in Mississippi, the actual sustained winds will never be known! Camille is the second most intense hurricane to hit the U.S. on record, resulting in more than [...]

The Louisiana Department of Fish and Wildlife spends about 1.5 million dollars annually to control non-native plant species in coastal waters. Detrimental species include hydrilla, Eurasian watermilfoil, alligator weed, and Chinese tallow tree. Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: U.S. EPA. Gulf Coast National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report: Tampa Bay. http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nepccr/pdf/nepccr_gom_partf.pdf.)

In order to intensify, hurricanes need warm sea surface temperatures. One of the reasons that the Gulf of Mexico is so prone to hurricanes is an ocean characteristic known as the Yucatan Channel Loop Current. Found in the southeastern part of the Gulf, extending from the mouth of the Mississippi River down through the Florida [...]

Tampa Bay is home to approximately 60 nesting pairs of reddish egrets – the biggest population in Florida! Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: U.S. EPA. Gulf Coast National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report: Tampa Bay. http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nepccr/pdf/nepccr_gom_partd.pdf.)

The Galveston Hurricane (1900) had storm tides (storm surge plus astronomical tides) of eight to 15 feet, which inundated all of Galveston Island, and parts of the Texas coast. The flooding is thought to be largely responsible for the 6,000 to 12,000 deaths attributed to the storm, and property damages of about 30 million dollars. [...]

The 250 million residents living in the United States today have access to roughly the same amount of water that was available to all of the 4 million residents of our country 200 years ago! Seasons: Spring Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: The Superior Waters Project. “Freshwater Facts”. 2006. Available at: http://wildernessclassroom.com/superior/2006/07/freshwater_facts.html.)

Though there are many different types of wetlands, all wetlands have three things in common. Both freshwater wetlands, such as Cypress swamps, and saltwater wetlands, such as saltwater marshes and mangrove swamps, are found in the Gulf states. All wetlands have three physical characteristics in common: water, hydric soil, and hydrophytes. Wetlands are saturated or [...]

The wetlands in southern Louisiana act as a buffer to help moderate flooding during storm events. Erosion of the Mississippi delta and sea level rise threaten these wetlands. Louisiana’s coast, which contains 40 percent of US wetlands, is disappearing into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 35 square miles per year. That is [...]

Since 1970, the U.S. Gulf Coast region has experienced tremendous population growth, as approximately 10,411,000 people have moved to the region! The total population of the region is now 20,528,556, a 103 percent increase from 1970 to 2008, making the Gulf Coast the second leading U.S. coastal region in percent population change. Seasons: Spring, Summer, [...]

Bald eagle and brown pelican populations nearly became extinct along Louisana’s coast because of reproductive problems tied to pesticide exposure. Today, however, brown pelicans are re-established in their historic range, and the number of nest sites in the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary are increased from 675 in 1990 to 6,500 in 2001. Bald eagle populations are also [...]

More than 30 percent of manatee deaths in Sarasota Bay each year are caused by boat collisions. Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: U.S. EPA. Gulf Coast National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report: Sarasota Bay. http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nepccr/pdf/nepccr_gom_partc.pdf.)

Since 1950, salt-water wetland area in Sarasota Bay Watershed has declined by 39 percent, and sea grass acreage has declined by about 30 percent. The good news is that since 1988, sea grass beds have been recovering – there are about 600 acres of new sea grass beds in the Sarasota Bay area, and the [...]

Since population growth took of in Tampa Bay in the 1950′s, the Bay has lost about half of its marshes, and 40 percent of its sea grass beds. Loss of seagrass habitat in the Bay caused spotted seatrout populations to decline sharply during the 1970s and 1980s. Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: U.S. EPA. [...]

Salt marshes are important ecosystems where the ocean meets the shore. They help prevent shoreline erosion, filter out pollutants that would otherwise enter the ocean, and house estuaries where fish, shellfish, and crustaceans young are raised. About 60 percent of the coastal and freshwater marshes in the United States are found along the northeast Gulf [...]

Tampa Bay is home to more than two million people, and the region is expected grow by 10 to 20 percent over the next ten years. More than 100,000 boats are registered to fishers and boaters in the Tampa Bay region! Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: U.S. EPA. Gulf Coast National Estuary Program Coastal [...]

Tampa Bay is home to three major sea ports. Collectively, the ports contribute five billion dollars annually to the economy from trade, tourism, fishing, and development. Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: U.S. EPA. Gulf Coast National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report: Tampa Bay. http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nepccr/pdf/nepccr_gom_partd.pdf.)

Mangrove forests found along Florida’s coast provide habitat for an astounding 2,300 animals, including at least 42 threatened or endangered species. These species include the bald eagle, Florida black bear, manatee, Florida scrub jay, and the American crocodile. Seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (Source: U.S. EPA. Gulf Coast National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report: Charlotte [...]

The menhaden fishery is the largest in the U.S. by volume. Menhaden travel in large groups, or schools, along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts, feeding on plankton along the way. They spawn in the ocean along the Atlantic coast, but their young swim into less salty water (bays, estuaries, or rivers) to live [...]