the United States comes from Galveston Bay. Galveston Bay also contributes 31 percent of the 
total finfish and shellfish catch in the combined total of inshore-offshore fisheries of Texas. 
Research Needs 
The following research needs of Galveston Bay, developed by the Galveston Bay Seminar group, 
are derived from management questions and a lack of research analyses and data. The research needs 
are not ranked in order of importance but are grouped into general and specific categories that have 
been emphasized by the EPA guidelines on priority research topics in estuaries. The categories 
discussed are general research, toxicants, pathogens, eutrophication, habitat loss and living re¬ 
sources. 
General Research Needs 
1. Understand Water Circulation Patterns — Almost all studies of important processes in 
Galveston Bay would require knowledge of water movements as shown in time dependent two- 
or three-dimensional models. At the present time no current meter moorings have been placed 
in Galveston Bay; only vertical profiles using hand-held current meters have been taken over a 
few hours or days. Current meter moorings are necessary for testing the validity of time 
dependent models and they should be deployed in several diagnostic locations in the bay system. 
2. Assess and Analyze Existing Data — Several state agencies, departments and boards collect data 
in Galveston Bay. These data sets should be coalesced and analyzed for trends and rates to the 
extent that is practical. The spatial and temporal resolution of the data may not be adequate for 
definitive results but trends may be extracted. Universities and other research organizations may 
be able to contribute additional data. 
3. Quantify Cumulative Impacts — Multiple stresses can be placing additional impacts on the 
ecosystem that are not considered in tightly focused studies. For instance, upper Galveston Bay 
may be stressed at one location by dredging, eutrophication and permitted discharge of 
industrial waste. An inclusive study should be developed for each situation that would assess 
the total impact of the multiple stresses. 
4. Delineate Ecosystem Interconnections — The river, bay and Gulf waters provide a continuum 
of habitats from freshwater to saltwater that is necessary for estuarine organisms. If the ecology 
of any of these waters is changed, the resources in the others will probably be affected. Most of 
the organisms in Galveston Bay utilize the habitat in more than one of these areas. 
Toxicants 
1. Concentration of Toxins — The concentration of toxic material in water, sediment and biota is 
not well known in Galveston Bay. Some values are known in the Houston ship channel, but a 
comprehensive survey has not been undertaken for the whole bay complex. 
2. Temporal Changes — The concentration of toxicants in sediments where large values are 
observed has not been sampled adequately to discern temporal changes. 
3. Effects on Nursery Areas — The specific effect of toxicants on nursery areas such as saltwater 
marshes or seagrass beds has not been adequately studied. 
4. Mobilization in Dredge Spoil — Dredge spoil can either be isolated or utilized but there is a 
controversy over its disposal. The primary question relates to the extent of mobilization of 
contaminants that occur during dredging operations. 
5. Biological Uptake — We may know that sediments are contaminated with toxicants but we 
cannot presently estimate transfer coefficients of toxic materials from sediments into organisms. 
Until we can estimate the rate of accumulation of toxicants in animals we will not be able to 
predict their effect on the biota accurately. 
6. Sublethal Effects — Toxic materials may have significant effects in addition to killing organisms. 
Most of the endocrinology, reproduction and behavioral effects occur at lower effective concen¬ 
trations of toxic materials and those effects are more subtle than death but could be just as 
significant. 
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