Oso Bay
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Surrounding three sides of Ward Island (home of TAMUCC), Oso Bay is fed by the Oso Creek watershed and exchanges water with Corpus Christi Bay. Salinity varies wildly among seasons and years, ranging from nearly fresh to hypersaline depending on rainfall. Seagrass beds are largely Halodule wrightii, although patches of other species including Syringodium filiforme and Halophila engelmanii are sometimes observed. Shorelines are dominated by black mangroves (Avicennia germinans). Hard substrate is rare, and is mainly artificial rock rubble. Historically, the system hosted oyster reefs, and shell hash can still be observed in some locations although there is little to no recruitment. However, just outside the mouth of Oso Bay, fringing oyster reefs can be found, suggesting that a potential future return is possible. The shallow estuary has an exceptional habitat designation and is an important nursery for juvenile gamefish. It is also considered one the best accessible locations in the region for wade fishing for spotted trout and red drum.
Despite these accolades, the system has been heavily impacted by humans. It is listed as impaired for water quality and has recently had TMDL’s created for it. Thus, it is an important long term research site for tracking how the system will respond to these management actions that have been taken to improve water quality. MarineGEO Texas performs annual sampling within Oso Bay near Ward Island. |
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