Animals will be exposed by the receding water levels and some will have to burrow into sediment or migrate to deeper water. Other species are versatile enough to be able to adapt to short-term changes in the environment and weather. Freezes and northers combined put additional stress on animals and ecosystems alike. During times of drought, estuaries can become as salty as the bays along the coast. The lack of freshwater inflow mixing with the seawater causes pollutants to concentrate in the estuary and contributes to losses of oysters and white shrimp.
Oysters suffer greatly due to their inability to be agile and move or migrate.
White shrimp are very sensitive when freshwater inflow is reduced and high salinity levels are present. Some fish may suffer blindness or develop body lesions due to the high salinity stress. Informational documentaries discussing El Nino and its effects upon weather patterns across the United States are commonplace on television networks. Enhanced precipitation is predicted for parts of Texas calling for a wet Southwest and Gulf Coast. This will lead to dilution of salinity levels in the estuary ecosystems if predictions prove to be true.