The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) this year took the lead on monitoring efforts of a key coastal species – seagrass – marking the first time anyone has monitored seagrass in Galveston Bay. The November 2016 issue of TCEQ monthly publication Natural Outlook spotlights Texas’ three-tier to survey seagrass, and the ways in which TCEQ’s aquatic and marine scientists are leading the effort.
Seagrass provides many ecological services, including nursery habitats for fish and crustaceans including commercially important species. The data collected from TCEQ’s monitoring will provide the agency a more accurate and up-to-date picture of the health of the ecosystem in order to protect it.
Read the article, “A Healthy Ecosystem: Surveying Seagrass on Gulf Bays,” here.