The University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) is part of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

but is located in Port Aransas, Texas. Founded in 1941, UTMSI has 15 faculty members and 21 students. Notable alumni include

Nancy Rabalais Nancy Nash Rabalais is an American marine ecologist. Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, she is the daughter of Kathryn Charlotte Preusch and Stephen Anthony Nash, a mechanical engineer, and the second of four children. She researches dead zones in ...

. Facilities on the main campus include wet and dry lab space, a wildlife rehabilitation "keep", dormitories, boat storage, offices, and a cafeteria. UTMSI has received funding appropriated by the Texas State Legislature since 1971. In 2021, these funds totaled approximately $4.5 million.

History

UTMSI was established in 1941 and counts

Gordon Gunter Gordon Gunter (August 18, 1909 – December 19, 1998) was an American marine biologist and fisheries scientist. He is noted for his pioneering study of fisheries in the northern Gulf of Mexico, a topic to which he devoted his entire profession ...

Shaw, Joyce M., "History of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory," ''Gulf of Mexico Science'', 2010(1–2), pp. 109–126.
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Howard T. Odum Howard Thomas Odum (September 1, 1924 – September 11, 2002), usually cited as H. T. Odum, was an American ecologist. He is known for his pioneering work on ecosystem ecology, and for his provocative proposals for additional laws of thermod ...

among its notable former directors. Although the modern day fleet consists entirely of small watercraft, from 1971 - 2006 UTMSI operated an 80 ft research vessel, the R/V Longhorn. In 2011, UTMSI expanded with the addition of a new Estuarine Research Center which is part of the

National Estuarine Research Reserve The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is a network of 29 protected areas established by partnerships between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and coastal states. The reserves represent different biogeographic re ...

program. UTMSI together with the Estuarine Research Center operates the Bay Education Center in Rockport, Texas. In 2017, UTMSI suffered $45 million in damages due to

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...

. In 2017, a new site of the

Long Term Ecological Research Network The Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER) consists of a group of over 1800 scientists and students studying ecological processes over extended temporal and spatial scales. Twenty-eight LTER sites cover a diverse set of ecosystems. It is par ...

was founded with UTMSI scientists as principal investigators.

Academics

Work at UTMSI spans the globe with local work throughout the

Texas Coastal Bend The Texas Coastal Bend, or just the Coastal Bend, is a geographical region in the US state of Texas. The name refers to the area being a curve along the Texas Gulf Coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The largest city of the Coastal Bend is Corpus Chris ...

. Areas of research include: *Fish Physiology and Ecology - investigation of living marine resources, especially finfish and shellfish. This work has included studies on the effects of oil spills on marine life. In 2008, UTMSI scientists published the first account of the brown tide forming species

Aureoumbra lagunensis ''Aureoumbra lagunensis'' is a unicellular planktonic marine microalga that belongs in the genus '' Aureoumbra'' under the class Pelagophyceae. It is similar in morphology and pigments to '' Aureococcus anophagefferens'' and '' Pelagococcus sub ...

. *Ecosystem Dynamics - integrates diverse fields of science analyzing how plants, animals, water, air, minerals and mankind interact in coastal ecosystems. This work has included studies on microplastics pollution. *Biogeochemistry - research on foodwebs and understanding the delicate balance and flow of nutrients that are crucial for sustaining marine ecosystems. This work has included studies on the role of groundwater transport in carbon and nutrient cycling in Arctic coastal ecosystems

References

External links

* {{authority control Oceanographic organizations University of Texas at Austin Research institutes in Texas 1941 establishments in Texas Research institutes established in 1941