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Highlights

 
Sally Palmer is the Communications Coordinator for The University of Texas Marine Science Institute. She received a bachelor of science in marine biology from the University of Rhode Island and earned a masters degree in marine science from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. Prior to her position handling communications, Sally served as the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve Manager. She also has research experience with benthic ecology, hypoxia, and ecosystem dynamics. Since 2006, Sally has help secure over $16 million in funding for administration, research and construction of educational facilities.
Blue Carbon in Our Own Backyard

Blue Carbon in Our Own Backyard

Workshop participants learned about wetlands and how the carbon stored here is being used in the carbon market and GHG offset credits. Credit: Jace Tunnell, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute. PORT ARANSAS, Texas – Did you know that the...
Around Campus with Venus Mills

Around Campus with Venus Mills

We sat down with Venus to talk about who she is and why she bloomed where she was planted.Position: Administrative Associate, but “I love the title of secretary” Tell me a little bit about yourself.I like to say that I bloomed...
End to an Icy Field Season

End to an Icy Field Season

The 2015 field team from the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, and University of California - Santa Cruz. Credit: Lee Fuiman.Dr. Lee Fuiman and his research team just returned to from the Antarctic where they were conducting experiments to understand...
UTMSI Picnic was Scarily Good

UTMSI Picnic was Scarily Good

This weekend UTMSI friends and family celebrated being a part of the Institute with a picnic at Robert’s Point Park. The event coincided with Halloween and was complete with children and adult costume contests, a piggy perch fishing tournament, and plenty...
Big Fish Baja Expedition 2015

Big Fish Baja Expedition 2015

Mobula rays like this one pictured, can leap up to heights of six feet and higher. Scientists are trying to figure out why. Credit: Patrik Neckman.Baja is the world’s second largest peninsula and is a vast region of beauty and unknowns....
Accepting applications for Discovery Fellowship in Marine Science

Accepting applications for Discovery Fellowship in Marine Science

The University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) in Port Aransas, Texas invites outstanding candidates for the 2016 Discovery Fellowship in Marine Science. This highly selective doctoral studies fellowship is open to graduates with a bachelor or master of science received within two years...
Unmanaged Fishing at Spawning Sites Put Species, Economies at Risk

Unmanaged Fishing at Spawning Sites Put Species, Economies at Risk

“David and Goliath.” David Castro is pictured with a spawning aggregation of Bigeye Trevally (Caranax sexfasciatus) in Cabo National Park, Mexico. Credit: Octavio Aburto, ILCP. PORT ARANSAS, Texas — Countries worldwide may soon see mass species loss and challenges for local...
Port Aransas’s own United Nations

Port Aransas’s own United Nations

This fall, The University of Texas Marine Science Institute will experience a boom in international brain power with the addition of seven new postdoctoral fellows and one Fulbright Scholar from countries throughout Europe and Australia.    The researchers will be...
UTMSI has roots in red tide

UTMSI has roots in red tide

The founder of The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Elmer J. Lund, was a professor of zoology at The University of Texas at Austin who traveled to Port Aransas to investigate a major fish kill caused by a red tide...
Visitors Get Excited about Estuaries

Visitors Get Excited about Estuaries

This past Saturday was National Estuaries Day, an event that is celebrated throughout the United States. We are fortunate to have our very own [Mission-Aransas] National Estuarine Research Reserve located right here to help celebrate and commemorate what special places our...
Changing science one seal at a time

Changing science one seal at a time

Preparing to release an instrumented seal through the floor of a hut. Credit: Lee Fuiman.Dr. Lee Fuiman and his research team continue their work on Weddell Seals in the Antarctic. They are currently camped on the frozen Ross Sea to conduct...
Red Tide Update

Red Tide Update

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is working with other agencies to monitor a red tide event along the southern Texas coast. The bloom was first confirmed on Sunday, September 13, by the University of Texas Marine Science Institute who collected samples...
Ever wonder how seals find breathing holes under a thick blanket of snow and ice?

Ever wonder how seals find breathing holes under a thick blanket of snow and ice?

"You want me to do what?" One of the seals with equipment attached about to enter the water inside a hut at one of the camps. Credit: Lee Fuiman.Dr. Lee Fuiman and assistant Erin Frolli and a team of researchers from four...
Mission-Aransas Reserve wins big in Estuarine Photo Contest

Mission-Aransas Reserve wins big in Estuarine Photo Contest

Texas estuaries are beautiful and the Mission-Aransas Reserve Director, Jace Tunnell, captured some of the beauty in images that were awarded winners and honorable mentions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2015 Estuary Photo Contest. There were over 130 submissions...
Red Tide Facts

Red Tide Facts

What is Red Tide? • Red tides are caused by the massive growth of tiny, microscopic algae, which is a type of phytoplankton in the ocean. • In Texas, microscopic algae named Karenia brevis often cause red tides. Massive growth of...
Whale Shark Video and Satellite Tags Help Scientists Understand Energy Use and Feeding Biology

Whale Shark Video and Satellite Tags Help Scientists Understand Energy Use and Feeding Biology

Whale sharks are the largest fish in the ocean. Their large size is both a challenge and virtue when it comes to eating. Researcher have unraveled strategies that the sharks use to conserve energy. Credit: Wayne Osborne.Whale sharks, the world’s largest...
Red Tide Confirmed in the Port Aransas Area

Red Tide Confirmed in the Port Aransas Area

The fish kill, found today, at the north jetty is likely caused by red tide. Credit: Tony Amos.University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) scientists confirmed that samples from two different locations (Fish Pass and Port Aransas Ship Channel) had significant...
UTMSI Starts 2015 Academic Year with Two New Tenured Associate Professors

UTMSI Starts 2015 Academic Year with Two New Tenured Associate Professors

This fall, UTMSI is pleased to announce that Drs. Bryan Black and Zhanfei Liu have been promoted to Associate Professor. Both of these researchers have a tremendous amount of experience and are blazing new trails in their respective fields. Dr. Black...
The 3rd quarter newsletter is hot off the press

The 3rd quarter newsletter is hot off the press

Read all about the latest activities and events at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute: http://issuu.com/utmsi/docs/3rdquarter2015
Around Campus with Veril Barr

Around Campus with Veril Barr

We sat down with Veril Barr to talk about who he is and why he is a jack of all trades. Veril, the Landscape Services Supervisor, shows off one of the many battery operated nodes that helped get the irrigation system...