Hurricane Ike caused plenty of problems for Gulf Coast humans, but now it looks like the storm has also messed with area wildlife. Ike’s storm surge helped turn some freshwater wetlands as far as 20 miles inland into salty marshes hostile to many freshwater fish, as well as other wildlife. “[The salt infusion] exasperates everything that needs freshwater,” said Jim Sutherlin, superintendent of a Gulf Coast wildlife area. “If we don’t get a lot of rain soon, then it’s gloom and doom for fish, insects, and some mammals.” Algae blooms have also been a problem; caused by untreated sewage rushing into Galveston Bay after the storm, algae blooms have been sucking oxygen out of the water, leaving little available for marine life. Ike’s high winds also shredded many mulberry trees that migrating birds depend on for fuel to cross the Gulf of Mexico. “This will have a huge impact on the birds,” said Gina Donovan of the Houston Audubon Society. “Without the food to fatten them for a 600-mile journey, the birds will starve and perish.”
