Just like humans, fish and other aquatic life like certain temperatures. Some animals like it really cold such as salmon, but other animals need warmer water to survive such as red drum. Water temperature is very important because as the temperature gets too far above or below an animal’s preferred temperature range, that species can die. Fish kills are a common sight in hot summer months or during a cold front. The average water temperature of the Laguna Madre is 66.2°F in the winter, 73.4°F in the spring, 84.2°F in the summer, and 78.8°F in the fall. Temperature also is strongly connected to pH (acids and bases). When temperature increases then H+ ion increases; meaning the water becomes more acidic. When you have a fever, your body increases your temperature to kill the virus. As a result, your stomach becomes more acidic. That’s why your stomach hurts when you’re sick.
In Corpus we have a lot of sea turtles. The rarest sea turtle in the world only nests in two places in the world: in Corpus Christi and on one beach in Mexico. Sea turtles are heavily impacted by water temperatures. When the water becomes too cold the sea turtles can die. During our major freeze two years ago thousands of sea turtles died. Also, when the water becomes too hot the turtles cannot fight off viruses and diseases. A lot of sea turtles become infected with a virus that creates lumps all over their body.
We can measure water temperature with a simple water thermometer.
