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Impacts of droughts and low flows on estuarine water quality and benthic fauna

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Abstract

The effects of droughts on benthic infaunal communities and three epifaunal species were determined in three semi-arid central Texas estuaries with different inflow dynamics and consequent salinity regimes: the Nueces, Lavaca-Colorado, and Guadalupe Estuaries. Periods (months or years) were considered to be in drought if mean salinities were in the upper quartile of historic salinities. This drought classification method was verified by comparing the Palmer Drought Severity Index of the catchments with the drought classifications within each estuary. Droughts have demonstrable effects on estuary water column condition, notably decreases in turbidity, nutrient concentrations, and chlorophyll concentrations. Droughts do not appear to be important drivers of infaunal communities in estuarine regions with normally high salinities (25–32) although they coincide with increased diversity and changes in community composition in estuarine regions that have lower salinities (10–19). Droughts cause decreases in Litopenaeus setiferus (white shrimp) and Callinectes sapidis (blue crab) abundances and spatial extents. This indicates that droughts, especially when combined with water diversions, may negatively affect primary and secondary productions in other semi-arid estuaries of the world.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Texas Water Development Board, Interagency Contract 1100011150. The authors would like to acknowledge Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Monitoring Program (CFMP) for supplying fisheries and water quality data. The authors also thank Rick Kalke, Larry Hyde, and many other people involved in collecting the infauna and water chemistry data used in this study. Carrol Simanek provided significant help in data management. Review and advice on earlier drafts were provided by the Bay and Estuaries Division of the Texas Water Development Board. This manuscript was improved greatly after incorporating suggestions made by Jennifer B. Pollack and two anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5869, Corpus Christi, TX, 78412, USA

    Terence A. Palmer & Paul A. Montagna

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  1. Terence A. Palmer
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Correspondence to Terence A. Palmer.

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Palmer, T.A., Montagna, P.A. Impacts of droughts and low flows on estuarine water quality and benthic fauna. Hydrobiologia 753, 111–129 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2200-x

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