To the casual visitor, the Gulf of Mexico shores offer mainly sun, sand, and sea. Even the standard field guides, focused on one group of animals or plants, barely hint at the wealth and diversity of habitats and species along Gulf shores. Shore Ecology of the Gulf of Mexico, using a “whole habitat” approach, breaks new ground in describing all the conspicuous vascular plants, algae, birds, mammals, mollusks, crustaceans, and other invertebrates for each marine habitat. The area covered begins west of the Mississippi delta in Louisiana and follows the shores west and south to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

Transitions between habitats also receive detailed treatment. The authors discuss changes in flora and fauna that result from differences in climate, shore geology, and patterns of precipitation in the succeeding habitats along the Gulf rim. They include discussion of more than 1,000 species of plants and animals, both on shore and in the near-shore subtidal zone, to give a virtually complete picture of western Gulf coast ecosystems. Excellent line drawings and photographs of over 800 species complement the text.

For marine scientists, students, and knowledgeable beachcombers, this is a thorough source on Gulf coast marine life.

• Preface
• Part 1. Introduction
  • 1. The Western Gulf of Mexico: An Introduction to Shores and Life
    • Taxonomy: The Names of Things
    • Community Relationships
    • Shore Categories and Gulf Shore Communities
    • Climate
    • A Survey of the Coastline
  • 2. The Tidal Shore: Principles and Processes
    • Tides
    • Waves
    • Exposure Gradients
    • Zonation
    • The Molding of the Shoreline
    • Toward Gulf Shores
• Part 2. Hard Shores
  • 3. Hard Shores of the Northwestern Gulf
    • Introduction
    • Biotic Zonation on the Texas Jetties
    • Environmental Gradients and Texas Jetties
    • The Supralittoral Fringe
    • The Mid-littoral Zone
    • The Sublittoral Fringe and Sublittoral Zone
    • Gulls and Terns
  • 4. The Hard Shores of Eastern Mexico
    • Introduction
    • Man-made Hard Shores
    • Natural Mainland Hard Shores
    • Toward the Tropical Hard Shores
    • A Final Perspective
  • 5. Bay Hard Shores
    • Introduction
    • Bay Breakwaters
    • Pilings
    • The Oyster Community
    • Fishes
    • Pelicans, Cormorants and the Oyster Catcher
    • A Perspective on Oysters
• Part 3. Soft Shores
  • 6. Gulf Beaches and Barrier Islands
    • Introduction
    • Sands, Spits and Barrier Islands
    • The Foreshore: Intertidal Sand
    • The Strand Line
    • The Backshore
    • The Upper Shore
    • The Sandy Gulf Beaches of Yucatan
    • Sargent Beach
    • Toward Bayshores
  • 7. Texas Primary Bays
    • Introduction
    • Physical Features of Texas Estuaries
    • Estuarine Life
    • Bayshore Vegetation
    • Fauna of the Bayshores
    • Biota of the Subtidal Grassbeds
    • Unvegetated Subtidal Bayfloors
    • Bay Macroplankton
    • Bay Fishes and Cephalopods
    • The Harvestfish
  • 8. Secondary Bays, Lower Salinity Marshlands and Hypersaline Lagoons
    • Introduction
    • Salinity Profile of a Typical Estuary
    • Texas Secondary Bays
    • Coastal Marshlands
    • Hypersaline Lagoons
  • 9. Mangrove Shores
    • Introduction
    • The Plants
    • The Texas Mangal
    • Mangroves of Central Mexico Shores
    • Northern Yucatan Mangroves
    • Mangroves in Perspective
• Part 4. Subtidal Sands, Banks and Coral Reefs
  • 10. Subtidal Sands and Banks
    • Introduction
    • Texas Offshore Sands
    • The Offshore Fauna of Yucatan
    • Offshore Banks of the Northwestern Gulf
  • 11. Coral Communities of the Western Gulf of Mexico
    • Introduction
    • Reefs of the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico
    • Nearshore Reefs of Central Mexico
    • Yucatan Offshore Reefs and Banks
    • Toward the Caribbean
• Part 5. The Future
  • 12. The Future for Gulf Shores
    • Introduction
    • The Changing/Evolving Shore
    • The Human Influence
    • The Human Legacy
    • Conservation
• Epilogue
• Glossary
• A Taxonomic Guide
• Literature
• Index