Over the past few decades, the Gulf Coast has experienced rising anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Quantifying the impacts of these disturbances can be difficult; however, the implementation of long-term monitoring for ecosystem indicators that integrates both environmental and biological components has proven effective for deepening our understanding of the impacts and consequences. Bulit upon earlier work and ongoing since September 2022, monthly zooplankton sampling has been ongoing in Galveston Bay, Texas, alongside the concurrent collection of environmental data. To date, we have generated monthly time series data over 38 months. Data synthesis has indicated distinct distribution patterns in mesozooplankton diversity, abundance, and biomass between the upper and lower portions of the estuary. Coincidentally, the bay experienced two different summers in 2023 and 2024, drought in summer 2023 and a freshwater inflow event in summer 2024, which allowed us to test the impacts of natural disturbances on zooplankton community dynamics. Findings of this research will contribute to the further understanding of estuarine ecosystems that are frequently impacted by climatic and manmade perturbations, while emphasizing the necessity of long-term monitoring towards ecosystem-based management of estuarine ecosystems.