Shore Ecology of the Gulf of Mexico

Joseph C. Britton (1942–2006) was Professor of Biology at Texas Christian University. Brian Morton is Professor Emeritus of Marine Biology at the University of Hong Kong.

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