ESTUARIES: A primer on estuaries...coming up on Passport 
to Texas ... 
__________________________________________________________

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Estuaries are the transition zones between the land and 
the ocean. They are the places where fresh water from 
our streams and rivers, mixes with salt water from the 
ocean.

"And in our case, that's the Gulf of Mexico. That means 
that water in our estuaries is brackish. Not fresh and not 
salty like ocean water. And that brackish water is what 
makes estuaries what they are."

And what they are, says Dave Buzan, team leader for 
Texas Parks and Wildlife's Coastal Studies Team, are 
critical habitat for certain species.

"There are fish and shellfish that can only live in the 
estuaries. They can't tolerate the fresh water of our 
rivers; neither can they live in the salt water of the 
ocean. A good example is oysters. If we did not have 
that zone of fresh water mixing with ocean water we 
would not have oysters."

Estuaries also provide habitat for wildlife, including 
river otters, alligators, and diamond back terrapins, 
to name few. Humans also depend on estuaries. 
 
"A number of industries rely on estuaries. The bird 
watching industry, which is new and growing. Fishing 
guides, commercial fishermen - they all depend on what 
the estuary provides."

More on estuaries tomorrow.

That's our show ... made possible by the Sport Fish and 
Wildlife Restoration Program ... 

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.