Habitats page
 An ecosystem is a natural system that includes all of its living and non-living things. The Galveston Bay ecosystem is composed of a complex set of overlapping habitats that function with inter-linking energy and materials processes. The integrity of these distinct but interacting habitats is vital to the continued natural function and life-support capability of the estuary. The abundance of nutrients and the diversity of available habitats within the estuary provide for very high levels of biological productivity.
The Galveston Bay Estuary habitat types include:
Loss of habitat, especially wetlands and seagrasses, by a range of human activities is the top overall priority problem facing the estuary. The well-being of these habitats is partially dependent on distant events, such as the spawning of shrimp and finfish in the gulf or storm water runoff from a remote watershed. This implies the need for a watershed-level approach to management of the system.
See more information on Galveston Bay habitats in Chapter Seven of The State of the Bay and in GBEP Partner Resources.
|
