Below is a list of accepted student presentations. Presentations can be viewed HERE (accessible only to registered members, beginning on 11/16).
BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
Spatial and Temporal Variability of CO2 Flux in Galveston Bay, Texas
Larissa Marie Dias; Xinping Hu.
Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
Are Ecosystem Functions Fully Recovered in Two 30-year-old Constructed Marshes?
Taylor C. Ledford; Behzad Mortazavi; Corianne Tatariw; Sommer F. Starr; Erin Smyth; Lora Simpson; Abigail Griffin Wood; Julia A. Cherry
The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
Exploring Light Dependence of Sulfide Oxidizing Microbial Communities in SETX Coastal Marshes
Jordan Denis Snowden; Matthew Hoch
Lamar University, Beaumont, TX 77705
ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION
Oyster Resource Zones in Coastal Louisiana: Defining Oyster Resource Zones for Restoration, Fisheries, and Aquaculture
Lauren Michelle Swam1; Megan La Peyre1,2; Brady Couvillion3; Brian Callam4; Jerome La Peyre5
1Agricultural Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803; 2Louisiana Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit, USGS
3USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA USGS; 4 Oyster Research Lab, Louisiana Sea Grant; 5School of Animal Science, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center
Evaluating Functional and Trophic Equivalence of Restored Marshes on Deer Island, MS
Emelia R. Marshall; Zachary Darnell; Patrick Biber; Kevin Dillon
School of Ocean Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs, MS 39564
Comparing Functions of Different Habitats to Advance Oyster Reef Restoration Projects
Devin Comba; Jennifer Beseres Pollack
Marine Biology, Harte Research Institute, TAMUCC, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
Development and Sustainability of Ecosystem Services for Restored Oyster Reefs in Louisiana
Sarah Catherine LeBlanc1; Ryann E. Rossi2; Brian J. Roberts2; Megan K. La Peyre1
1Louisiana State University, School of Renewable Natural Resources, Baton Rouge, LA 70803; 2Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium
Assessment of Serpulid Reef Communities as Critical Habitat in Baffin Bay, Texas
Terence Aaron Palmer1; Natasha Breaux1; Benoit Lebreton2; Gael Guillou2; Jennifer Beseres Pollack1
1Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412; 2UMR Littoral, Environment et Societies, CNRS - University of La Rochelle, Institut du Littoral et de l‚ Environnement, 17000 La Rochelle, France
The Effects of Hurricane Harvey on Oyster Restoration
Shailee R. Modi; Marc H. Hanke
Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston Honors College, Houston, TX 77004
MANGROVES AND MARSHES
Consumption of Mangrove Plant Matter Decreases Body Condition of Salt Marsh Invertebrates
Janelle A. Goeke; Anna R. Armitage
Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77553
Belowground Warming Alters Growth Responses of Avicennia germinans and Spartina alterniflora
Harris B. Stevens1; William C. Vervaeke1,2; Mark W. Hester1
1Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504; 1,2Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Lafayette, LA 70501
Measuring abundance of fauna at a restored marsh site in southeast Louisiana
Benjamin Lee Bates; Quenton C. Fontenot; Gary J. LaFleur
Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA 70310
Decomposition Rates of Spartina alterniflora in Coastal Louisiana Natural and Created Marshes
Allison Olivier Benelli1; Katelyn J. Lamb1; Erick M. Swenson1; Paola Lopez-Duarte2; Brian Roberts3; Michael J. Polito1
1Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803; 2University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223; 3Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Chauvin, LA 70344
Impacts of Mangrove Expansion on Habitat Preference and Fidelity of Saltmarsh Killifish
Simen Kaalstad
Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
PLANKTON ECOLOGY
Floods and Phytoplankton: Assessing Impacts from the 2019 Mississippi River Flooding
Andrea C. Jaegge; Jennifer M. Raabe; Beth A. Stauffer
Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70503
Phytoplankton Community Changes Through a Drought-wet Climate Transition in a South Texas Estuary
Sarah V. Douglas1; Jianhong Xue1; Amber K. Hardison2; Zhanfei Liu1
1University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, TX, 78373; 2Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, VA 23062
POPULATION AND COMMUNITY ECOLOGY AND BIODIVERSITY
The Prevalence of Soniferous Fishes Globally and in the Gulf of Mexico
Audrey Looby1,2; Kieran Cox3,4; Santiago Bravo5; Rodney Rountree6; Francis Juanes6; Laura K. Reynolds7; Charles W. Martin1
1UF/IFAS Nature Coast Biological Station, University of Florida, Cedar Key, FL 32625 2Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611; 3Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 3E6, Canada; 4Hakai Institute, Campbell River, BC V9W 0B7, Canada; 5Instituto Oceanografico, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 05508-120, Brasil; 6Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8P 3E6, Canada and The Fish Listener, Waquoit, MA 02536; 7Soil and Water Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
Assessing Biotic Integrity of Tidal Streams Along the Lower Texas Coast
Alexis J Neffinger; Jennifer Pollack; Terry Palmer; Natasha Breaux
Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi/Harte Research Institute, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
Spatial Variation in Size of Stranded Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
Matthew R. Hodanbosi1; Ruth H. Carmichael1,2
1Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, AL 36528; 2Department of Marine Sciences, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688
Examining Potential Drivers of Gulf Ribbed Mussel Distribution in Southeast Louisiana
Jordan Logarbo1,2; Ryann Rossi2,3; Megan La Peyre1,4; Brian J. Roberts2
1School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803; 2Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Chauvin, LA 70344; 3Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561; 4U.S. Geological Survey, Louisiana Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Mismatches in Plant Sampling Biases Between Observations and Vouchered Specimens
Jordan A. Rodriguez; Barnabas H. Daru
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION
Image Analysis of Epiphyte-Seagrass Dynamics on Thalassia testudinum from different environmental conditions
Chi Huang; Carissa Pinon; Mehrube Mehrebeoglu; Ed Proffitt; Kirk Cammarata
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
Halodule wrightii and Sediment Biogeochemistry Response to Ray Bioturbation
Mackenzie J. Rothfus; Jane Caffrey
Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514
Nekton Trophic Structure in Turtlegrass Ecosystems cross the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Christian Todd Hayes1; Kevin S. Dillon1; M. Z. Darnell1; D. Lee Smee2; Charles W. Martin3; Margaret O. Hall4; Bradley T. Furman4; Kelly M. Darnell1
1Division of Coastal Sciences, School of Ocean Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi, Ocean Springs, MS 39564; 2Dauphin Island Sea Lab, University of South Alabama, Dauphin Island, AL 36528; 3Nature Coast Biological Station, University of Florida, Cedar Key, FL 32625; 4Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
Next Generation Systematics and Biogeography of the Aquatic Plant Clade Alismatales
Keilana Cherae Borja; Barnabus Daru
Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
WATER QUALITY, CONTAMINANTS, AND STRESSORS
Temporal Dynamics of Multiple Stressor Effects on Crassostrea virginica in Galveston Bay
Anika Agrawal; Laura J. Jurgens
Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77553
Mercury and Selenium Concentrations in Northern Gulf of Mexico Bottlenose Dolphins
Meaghan A. McCormack1; Brian P. Jackson2; Jessica Dutton1
1Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666; 2Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755
Mercury Concentrations in Sharks from the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Jacob Ryan Ketchum1; Bethany M. Deacy2; Kesley J. Gibson3; Gregory W. Stunz3; Jessica Dutton1
1Department of Biology, Texas State University, Aquatic Station, San Marcos, TX 78666; 2Riverside Technology, Inc., National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Panama City, FL 32408; 3Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
Tissue-Specific Mercury Concentrations in Immature Bull Sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) from Sabine Lake
Michaela Livingston1; Jonathan Davis2; Jessica Dutton1
1Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666; 2Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Coastal Fisheries Division, Port Arthur, TX 77640
Analysis of Microplastic Pollution on Three Texas State Park Beaches
Maureen Hayden; Mary K. Wicksten
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843
The use of Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA as an Indicator of Human Pollution in Tampa Bay
Shannon Noel Twyman; Bridgette Froeschke
Biology Department, The University of Tampa, Tampa, FL 33607
Occurrence of Vibrio sp. in Tampa Bay and it’s Relation to Zooplankton
Margaret Loren Baker; Rebecca Waggett; Bridgette Froeschke
University of Tampa, Biology Department, Tampa, FL 33606
PFAS Compounds in Galveston Bay Following the Deer Park ITC Fire
Rayna Michelle Nolen1; Patricia Faulkner1; Karl Kaiser1; Antonietta Quigg2; David Hala1
1Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77554; 2Marine and Coastal Environmental Science, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX 77554
Detecting Microplastics in Marine Snows using Microscope Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
Hannah Lynn Niland1; Xiangtao Jiang1; Anja Engel2; Zhanfei Liu1
1University of Texas at Austin, Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, TX 78373; 2GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Evaluating Organic Contaminants Associated with Nurdles along Beaches of South Texas
Xiangtao Jiang; Jace Tunnell; Zhanfei Liu
The University of Texas at Austin‚ Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, TX 78373