The Gulf of Mexico has an area of approximately 615,000 square miles; it is bordered on the north by the United States, on the south by Cuba, Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. The southern third of the Gulf of Mexico lies within the tropics. Coastal water temperatures range from just above 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to approximately 87 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer months. The shallowest depths occur in the intertidal areas; waters deepen along the continental shelf and continental slope and ultimately reach depths greater than 3,000 meters in abyssal areas. The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world and its fisheries (shrimp, oysters and finfish) are some of the most productive.
Along the coast of the Gulf lie many long and narrow barrier islands; the area is characterized by marshes and swamps as well as stretches of sandy beach. Gulf habitats include coastal wetlands, mangrove forests, submerged aquatic vegetation, upland, and marine/offshore areas. The Gulf's coastal wetlands, which cover overfive million acres, serve as an essential habitat for numerous fish andwildlife species, including sport and commercial fisheries, migratory waterfowl, seabirds, and wading birds.
Brown Pelican Spotlight
Photo courtesy of Rochester Institute of Technology
Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
Description:The Brown Pelican is dark and bulky with a wingspan of 6.5 feet. The throat pouch suspends from the lower half of the hooked bill and can hold 3 gallons of water and fish.
Life History:The Brown Pelican lives in flocks and flies in groups. Unlike most birds, which warm their eggs with the skin of their breasts, pelicans incubate their eggs with their feet, essentially standing on the eggs to warm them. This incubation method made them vulnerable to the effects of the pesticide DDT, because the DDT made the eggshells thin, and the incubating parents frequently cracked their eggs. Brown Pelicans dive from the air for fish. They also eat crustaceans.
Habitat:The Brown Pelican is found along ocean shores and bays. They are rarely seen inland
Distribution:The Brown Pelican is a permanent resident of the coastal marine environment from central North America southward to northern South America. It breeds in scattered locations along the Atlantic coast from Maryland southward around Florida, and westward to southern Texas and Mexico; and on the Pacific Coast from southern California down to South America. The largest U.S. colony is on California's West Anacapa Island.
Status:The Brown Pelican is listed as endangered, except on the Atlantic coast, Florida, and Alabama. Pesticide poisoning, especially by DDT, caused huge declines in Brown Pelican status. After the ban on DDT, the Brown Pelican population recovered. The total population in the United States now exceeds historical figures.
