Sea Center Texas
Scenes from the video:
Connie Stolte, TPWD staff, shows us video of biologists at work at Sea Center
at work at Sea Center
Texas. What are they doing? Bryan Adams, USFWS, answers questions from students.
Windows Media |
Real Media
Questions and Answers with
Bryan Adams:
Windows Media |
Real Media
The Sea Center Texas Visitor Center houses graphic displays, aquaria and
educational displays of the marine life of Texas bays and Gulf Waters. Here,
visitors learn about stewardship of the environment and its occupants with
help from some of the hundreds of volunteers who guide tours and assist
visitors throughout the center.
An awesome entrance greets guests in the
lobby of the Visitor center. A collection of fiberglass replicas of state
record saltwater fishes including a blue marlin, shark, dolphin, and tarpon
hover overhead in the lobby.
The focus of Sea Center is the marine life of Texas bays and Gulf waters.
Aquatic habitats from coastal marshes, bays, estuaries and the Gulf of Mexico
are depicted in a unique series of habitats and aquaria.
The centerpiece of the educational exhibits, a 50,000-gallon aquarium,
allows visitors to view large Gulf of Mexico marine animals. Within Gulf
of Mexico waters live many species that can be viewed in Sea Center Gulf
tank, including several varieties of shark, large red drum, gray snapper,
a large school or jack crevalle and a large Queensland grouper named Gordon.
At nearly 300 pounds, Gordon clearly dominates all, even the very large nurse sharks in the tank. He flaps his fins slowly and from his position at the front of the tank stares back at amazed onlookers. Clearly this fish has a personality!
A 20-foot Touch Pool allows visitors to handle marine animals such as blue
crabs, hermit crabs, clams, snails and even anemones. Volunteers are available
to assist visitors and answer questions.
The 1,000-gallon aquarium with a window more than 14 feet long opens onto
a section of coastal salt marsh. Natural debris covers the floor which is
dotted with oyster and clam shells. Visitors observe croaker, pompano, mojarra,
whiting, killifish and other organisms in their natural habitat.
The hatchery building, in contrast to the Visitor Center, is a utilitarian
facility, engineered for low maintenance, semi-intensive fish production.
The high-tech life support systems are tailored for species such as red
drum and spotted seatrout. Adult fish called broodfish are maintained in
the hatchery building. From March through November, the broodfish are induced
to spawn by manipulating water temperature and lights. The eggs produced
by the redfish and speckled trout are incubated. three-day-old larval fish
are transferred into ponds outside where they will grow out to a stocking
length.
A 5,000-gallon jetty exhibit nearly fills the back wall of the center.
Granite blocks and boulders re-create a man-made jetty as the aquarium's
background. Barnacles, periwinkle, and other shelled animals encrust wooden
pilings and moray eels inhabit rocks that spill across the bottom while
finfish like sergeant majors, snook, tarpon,snapper and Bermuda chub hover
among the pilings.
Angelfish, grunts, filefish, cowfish, squirrelfish, lookdowns and pompano
swim in the 5,000-gallon artificial reef exhibit. Here visitors experience
tripletail, jacks, snapper, scamp, and pompano swimming in the colorful
habitats created by artificial reefs.
On the grounds beside the Visitor Center are over 5 acres of coastal marshes
- with both salt and freshwater ecosystems. Visitors can access the area
on an elevated boardwalk.
Sea Center Texas has one of the most versatile and active groups of supporters
in the TPW system. At any one time, about 150 volunteer donate their time
to act as Sea Center ambassadors, guiding tours, greeting visitors, and
providing "expert" knowledge at off-site events.
