Burrowing
and trace-making invertebrates are important indicators of
paleo-environment
and depositional systems in ancient rock successions.
The degree of bioturbation also controls the preservation
potential of primary depositional fabrics. Most of our understanding of
the
distribution of burrowing invertebrates is constrained by studies in
meso- and
macro-tidal environments. Micro-tidal barrier island coastlines, such
as the
Texas Gulf Coast, contain fewer inlets and passes and are
environmentally more
stressed than coastlines with higher tide ranges due to the lack of
circulation
of marine waters into the lagoons.
This
study investigates the change in the abundance and distribution of
burrowing invertebrates in Laguna Madre from Corpus Christi Pass
(normal marine
salinity) to Baffin Bay (hypersaline). Measurements of salinity and
dissolved
oxygen are made at, regularly spaced, sampling sites.
Invertebrate populations are accessed
using piston core and dredge samples.
This data allows for profiles of salinity, dissolved
oxygen,
invertebrate abundance, and faunal diversity as a function of distance
from the
point of entrance of normal marine salinity waters into Laguna Madre. This information will allow conditioning
of current bioturbation models for application to micro-tidal shoreline
systems.