Western Gulf coastal grasslands
Encyclopedia
The Western Gulf coastal grasslands are a subtropical grassland
ecoregion
of the southern United States
and northeastern Mexico
. It is known in Texas as "Coastal Prairie" and as the Tamaulipan pastizal in Mexico.
from southeastern Louisiana
(west of the Mississippi Delta
) through Texas
and into the Mexican state of Tamaulipas
as far as the Laguna Madre. Specific areas include a number of barrier island
s, and the resacas or natural levee
s of the Laguna Madre. The coast is vulneable to tropical storms that can seriously damage habitats.
similar to those found in inland Texas, with Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans
), Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) the primary tallgrass species that are typical of the coastal prairie, with several other shorter grasses
and many herbaceous
and woody
species. The southern third of the Texas stretch and all of the Tamaulipan portion contains shrubby areas of Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), Huisache (Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana), Lime Prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum fagara
), and Texas Persimmon (Diospyros texana
).
This coast is rich in wildlife with 700 species of birds, animals and reptiles have been counted here although many are now threatened or endangered. This coast is a critical habitat for the Attwater's Prairie Chicken
s (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri), over one million of which inhabited the prairie in Texas and Louisiana in the 19th century, but extreme reduction of their habitat put them on the U.S. endangered species list
in 1967. Another endangered bird of the coast is the Whooping Crane
(Grus americana) while other birds include Least Grebe
, White-collared Seedeater
(Sporophila morelleti), Red-billed Pigeon
(Columba flavirostris), Brown Jay
(Cyanocorax morio), Neotropic Cormorant
, White-winged Dove
(Leptotila verrequxi) and Audubon's Oriole
(Icterus graduacauda).
Mammals of the area include Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), Gulf Coast Jaguarundi
(Puma yagouaroundi cacomitli), Southern Yellow Bat
(Lasiurus ega), Mexican Spiny Pocket Mouse
(Liomys irroratus), Bobcat
s, Collared Peccary
and Eastern Cottontail
s. Rancho Nuevo beach in Tamaulipas is the only nesting site in the world for the Kemp's Ridley
sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) while other herpetofauna of the ecoregion include Río Grande Chirping Frog (Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides
) and Mexican White-lipped Frog (Leptodactylus fragilis
).
. Estuaries and other coastal wetlands are better preserved than the prairie and indeed the protected areas of the coast are mainly sanctuaries for waterbirds.
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are a grassland terrestrial biome located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and tropical latitudes. Grasslands are dominated by grass and other herbaceous plants. Savannas are grasslands with scattered trees...
ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
of the southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and northeastern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It is known in Texas as "Coastal Prairie" and as the Tamaulipan pastizal in Mexico.
Setting
The ecoregion covers an area of 77425 km² (29,894 sq mi), extending along the shore of the Gulf of MexicoGulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
from southeastern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
(west of the Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
) through Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and into the Mexican state of Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
as far as the Laguna Madre. Specific areas include a number of barrier island
Barrier island
Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...
s, and the resacas or natural levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
s of the Laguna Madre. The coast is vulneable to tropical storms that can seriously damage habitats.
Flora
The natural habitat of the area is a mix of tallgrass prairieTallgrass prairie
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies. They flourished in areas with...
similar to those found in inland Texas, with Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans
Sorghastrum nutans
Sorghastrum nutans, commonly known as Yellow Indiangrass, is a North American prairie grass found in the central and eastern United States and Canada, especially in the Great Plains...
), Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) the primary tallgrass species that are typical of the coastal prairie, with several other shorter grasses
Shortgrass prairie
The shortgrass prairie ecosystem of the North American Great Plains is a prairie that includes lands from the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains east to Nebraska and Saskatchewan, including rangelands in Alberta, Wyoming, Montana, North, South Dakota, and Kansas, and extending to the south...
and many herbaceous
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
and woody
Woody plant
A woody plant is a plant that uses wood as its structural tissue. These are typically perennial plants whose stems and larger roots are reinforced with wood produced adjacent to the vascular tissues. The main stem, larger branches, and roots of these plants are usually covered by a layer of...
species. The southern third of the Texas stretch and all of the Tamaulipan portion contains shrubby areas of Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), Huisache (Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana), Lime Prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum fagara
Zanthoxylum fagara
Zanthoxylum fagara is a species of flowering plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae that is native to southern Florida and Texas in the United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America as far south as Paraguay...
), and Texas Persimmon (Diospyros texana
Diospyros texana
Diospyros texana is a species of persimmon that is native to central and west Texas and southwest Oklahoma in the United States, and eastern Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. Common names include Texas Persimmon, Mexican Persimmon and the more ambiguous "black...
).
Fauna
Attwater's Prairie Chicken
Attwater's Prairie Chicken is a highly endangered subspecies of the Greater Prairie Chicken that is native to coastal Texas and Louisiana in the United States.-Description:...
s (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri), over one million of which inhabited the prairie in Texas and Louisiana in the 19th century, but extreme reduction of their habitat put them on the U.S. endangered species list
Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966
In the United States the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 was the predecessor to the Endangered Species Act.Passed by Congress, this act permitted the listing of native U.S animal species as endangered and for limited protections upon those animals.This Act caused the Secretary of the...
in 1967. Another endangered bird of the coast is the Whooping Crane
Whooping Crane
The whooping crane , the tallest North American bird, is an endangered crane species named for its whooping sound. Along with the Sandhill Crane, it is one of only two crane species found in North America. The whooping crane's lifespan is estimated to be 22 to 24 years in the wild...
(Grus americana) while other birds include Least Grebe
Least Grebe
The Least Grebe , an aquatic bird, is the smallest member of the grebe family. It occurs in the New World from the southwestern United States and Mexico to Chile and Argentina, and also on Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles.-Description:The Least Grebe ranges in length from...
, White-collared Seedeater
White-collared Seedeater
The White-collared Seedeater is a passerine bird in the typical seedeater genus Sporophila.-Taxonomy:The subspecies S. t...
(Sporophila morelleti), Red-billed Pigeon
Red-billed Pigeon
The Red-billed Pigeon, Patagioenas flavirostris , is a relatively large pigeon which breeds from southern Texas, United States, and northwestern Mexico south to Costa Rica...
(Columba flavirostris), Brown Jay
Brown Jay
The Brown Jay is a large American Jay which has the habitus of a magpie, but is slightly smaller and with a shorter tail, though the bill is larger.It occurs from Mexico south into Central America on the Gulf slope...
(Cyanocorax morio), Neotropic Cormorant
Neotropic Cormorant
The Neotropic Cormorant or Olivaceous Cormorant is a medium-sized cormorant found throughout the American tropics and subtropics, from the middle Rio Grande and the Gulf and Californian coasts of the USA south through Mexico and Central America to southern South America. It also breeds on the...
, White-winged Dove
White-winged Dove
The White-winged Dove is a dove whose native range extends from the south-western USA through Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. In recent years with increasing urbanization and backyard feeding, it has expanded throughout Texas and into Louisiana...
(Leptotila verrequxi) and Audubon's Oriole
Audubon's Oriole
Audubon's Oriole , is a New World passerine inhabiting the forests and thickets of southeastern Texas and the Mexican coast. It is the only species to have a black hood and yellow body. It is divided into four subspecies and two allopatric breeding ranges...
(Icterus graduacauda).
Mammals of the area include Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), Gulf Coast Jaguarundi
Gulf Coast Jaguarundi
The Gulf Coast Jaguarundi is a subspecies of Jaguarundi that ranges from southern Texas in the United States south to Veracruz and San Luis Potosí in eastern Mexico. This cat looks like a large weasel or otter with a coat in one one three color phases: black, reddish-brown or brownish-gray...
(Puma yagouaroundi cacomitli), Southern Yellow Bat
Southern Yellow Bat
The Southern Yellow Bat , is a species of bat in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. It is native to South, North and Central America, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States to Argentina. This species roosts in trees and vegetation...
(Lasiurus ega), Mexican Spiny Pocket Mouse
Mexican Spiny Pocket Mouse
The Mexican Spiny Pocket Mouse is a species of rodent in the Heteromyidae family. It is found in Mexico and in Texas in the United States....
(Liomys irroratus), Bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
s, Collared Peccary
Collared Peccary
The collared peccary is a species of mammal in the family Tayassuidae that is found in North, Central, and South America. They are commonly referred to as javelina, saíno or báquiro, although these terms are also used to describe other species in the family...
and Eastern Cottontail
Eastern Cottontail
The eastern cottontail is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is one of the most common rabbit species in North America.-Distribution:...
s. Rancho Nuevo beach in Tamaulipas is the only nesting site in the world for the Kemp's Ridley
Kemp's Ridley
Kemp's ridley sea turtle , or Atlantic ridley sea turtle is the rarest sea turtle and is critically endangered. It is one of two living species in the genus Lepidochelys Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), or Atlantic ridley sea turtle is the rarest sea turtle and is critically...
sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) while other herpetofauna of the ecoregion include Río Grande Chirping Frog (Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides
Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides
The Rio Grande Chirping Frog or Mexican Chirping Frog is a small Leptodactylid frog found from the southern United States in scattered locales in the state of Texas, and south into the Mexican states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, and Veracruz. It is a terrestrial frog, that lays its...
) and Mexican White-lipped Frog (Leptodactylus fragilis
Leptodactylus fragilis
The Mexican White-lipped Frog is a species of Leptodactylid frog which ranges from Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas in the United States south through Mexico and Central America to Colombia and Venezuela.- Description :...
).
Threats and preservation
Less than 1% of the ecoregion remains in pristine condition, almost entirely in Texas, while most of the coast has been converted to farmland, including rice paddies, grazing land, or urban areas including Houston, TexasHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. Estuaries and other coastal wetlands are better preserved than the prairie and indeed the protected areas of the coast are mainly sanctuaries for waterbirds.