Photos NOAA Okeanos Explorer and Charles Fischer/Wikipedia

BP

DEEP SEA FIELD GUIDE

BP joined with HRI to better understand the mysterious world that exists far below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. Deepwater oil and gas exploration has introduced new opportunities and challenges. Just because this exploration is taking place underwater doesn’t mean that environmental considerations can be overlooked. Before an exploratory underwater well is drilled, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) requires an environmental assessment study. Due to the depth of these wells, the only tool up to the task is a remotelyoperated underwater vehicle (ROV). The ROVs, operated by highly trained pilots, are outfitted with video and still cameras to capture images. This information is vitally important to understand the habitat that exists almost a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Gulf of Mexico’s sea floor features sensitive habitats such as natural hydrocarbon seeps containing specialized chemosynthetic autotrophic biota. Without the information gathered through ROV exploration, BP might not be aware of the importance of avoiding these areas and relocating their drilling. However, ROV pilots are not normally biologists. To assist in the identification, HRI scientists have taken on the task of researching and compiling a list of environmentally sensitive deepsea species of macrofauna. This research will be compiled for use as a resource for BP’s ROV pilots. Once the key species have been identified, HRI will source images photographs, video capture, or museum species and develop visual tools for reference. These will be compiled into a deep sea “field guide” with a miniposter and a flip book with images, taxonomic identification, and other information including habitat, depth, body shape, color, etc.

This important tool will provide the ROV pilots with a key resource when completing BOEM’s required ROV Survey Report. Quality information and identification will have significant longterm benefit on the sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico.

EXXONMOBIL

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES VALUATION

Preserving the ability of the environment to provide valued ecosystem services is one of the objectives of environmental management. With the growth of exploration in deepwater environments, integrating the considerations of ecosystem services is vital. ExxonMobil hosted the Approaches to Ecosystem Services Valuation and Indicator Selection: Pilot Gulf of Mexico workshop in 2012 at the ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company. The workshop resulted in thoughtful and important suggestions. Actions which enhance the benefit of the resources, rather than diminish them, are vital for long term ecological and economical sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico.

Understanding the interconnected nature of the deep ocean and offshore environments and the ecosystem services they provide is the key. Both the public sector and the private sector must have sound, scientific data and information to make quality decisions. However, one of the limitations has been the absence of organized forums where stakeholders can communicate their values and expectations. To start the dialogue with stakeholders, the Harte Research Institute with the help of ExxonMobil, held stakeholder workshops in Houston, Texas and in Tampa, Florida. Stakeholders were asked to rank ecosystem services using the RESVI approach. They were asked to allocate a hypothetical $1 to the services stakeholders valued the most. Participants could either assign their $1 to one service or divide it among as many services as desired. The information from the workshops was valuable. Food received the highest valuation, followed by raw materials, recreation, science and education and transportation.

Although more study is needed, these workshops provided a good first step in assessing the RESVI approach for marine environments. The results can provide useful information for future discussions of scientific and socioeconomic indicators related to ecosystem services of the Gulf of Mexico and their relationship with the many stakeholders.

ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATIVE SCIENCE CENTER

HRI has been an active Partner with The Environmental Cooperative Science Center (ECSC) for many years. The ECSC was established in 2001 as part of NOAA’s Educational Partnership Program to address ecological and coastal management issues at specific National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR) and National Marine Sanctuaries. HRI’s close proximity to MissionAransas National Estuarine Research Reserve helps further ECSC’s commitment to the protection of this valuable resource. ECSC has a vision “to become a center of excellence in training and graduating scientists and managers, particularly from underrepresented groups to meet the future workforce of NOAA and other sciencemission driven agencies in the 21st century.” The focus is on the economic and social systems of coastal communities and their relationships with the natural systems. Using an interdisciplinary approach, similar to the one used by HRI, the ECSC incorporates socioeconomics, law and policy, and the geospatial, biological, chemical and physical sciences helps to achieve their goals of: • increasing the number of scientists, particularly from underrepresented minority groups in the environmental, coastal and oceanic sciences,

• enhancing the scientific understanding of human interactions with the coastal environment in support of NOAA’s placebased management, • improving the scientific basis for coastal resource management by developing tools and research products to characterize, evaluate, and forecast coastal and marine ecosystem responses to natural and human induced stressors, and

• Facilitating community education and outreach relating to the function and significance of coastal ecosystems.

HRI leads the ECSC Socio-Economic focus area. In addition, four of the six endowed chairs at Harte Research Institute are collaborators with the ECSC and are directly involved in coordinating ECSC student training and research. Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi’s designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution, its quality educational structure, and diverse student population support ECSC in its efforts to meet NOAA’s future workforce demands for the 21st century.

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Advisory Group conducted “listening sessions” with each of the five Gulf states. These sessions provided ideas and strategies for NAS’s new $500 million, 30year research program focused on human health, environmental protection and oil system safety in the Gulf region. NAS received the award of these funds from actions relating to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to help determine its research focus. NAS held their Texas meeting in November 2013. Dr. Larry McKinney and Dr. Wes Tunnell played key roles to in assuring the success of the meeting. In attendance were 23 Texas institutions and NGO’s. This diverse group provided perspectives and input to the NAS Advisory Group. The goals of the NAS strategic plan closely parallel the HRI mission and vision and will provide an important foundation for developing science driven solutions to Gulf problems.

STUDENT SUPPORT

The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) was founded with a generous endowment from Ed Harte in 2000. One of his goals was the support and development of students. HRI has sought to establish additional support to fund the growing needs of our students and research programs.

TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE

In May 2002, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and the Coastal Conservation AssociationTexas (CCA) partnered to support a summer internship program. The program was designed to give TAMUCC students handson experience in the field working alongside state agency personnel. When the students are not in the field working with gill nets or bag seines, they are back at the office repairing gear and completing data entry. The program started with one student and has grown to funding six student interns for a total of $38,000 in 2014. The Mr. Big Fish and Mrs. Big Fish Tournaments helped make this growth possible. These two organizations have joined CCA in sponsoring the summer internships to expand the program. Since 2002, the internship program has provided students over $239,000 in funding.

2014 CCA SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Sarah Kimbrough – Aransas Bay Ecosystem Meghan Martinez – Corpus Christi Bay Ecosystem, Nicole Thomas – Upper Laguna Madre Ecosystem Maria Cooksey – Lower Laguna Madre Ecosystem

2014 MR. AND MRS. BIG FISH SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Greg Purtle – Upper Laguna Madre Ecosystem Heidi Ballew – Upper Laguna Madre Ecosystem

In May 2012, the Crutchfield Fellowships were established by John H. Crutchfield in honor of his late father, John W. Crutchfield. The purpose of the endowment was to fund educational expenses for Harte Research Institute masters and doctoral students. These expenses include, but are not limited to, tuition, books, travel to meetings and workshops, and necessary research supplies or equipment. The first funding to Harte Research Institute from the Crutchfield Fellowships Endowment occurred in September 2013, in the amount of $54,000. With those funds, we were able to fund tuition costs for 11 masters and doctoral students.

CRUTCHFIELD FELLOWSHIP ENDOWMENT

GRADUATES

REACHING MILESTONES

The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi congratulates the following students for reaching educational milestones during fall 2013 and spring/summer 2014:

DOCTORATE

Judd Curtis PhD in Marine Biology Bhanu Paudel - PhD in Coastal and Marine System Science Michael Reuscher PhD in Marine Biology Eleonor Barraza Taylor PhD in Coastal and Marine System Science

MASTER’S DEGREE

Dana Cubanski MS in Environmental Science Mariana Gonzalez Devlin MS in Environmental Science Amanda Van Diggelen MS in Marine Biology Lucy Flores MS in Environmental Science David Franklin MS in Environmental Science Philip Jose MS in Marine Biology Maria Pillado MS in Marine Biology Sara Marie Smith MS in Environmental Science Lee Schroer MS in Marine Biology

BACHELOR’S DEGREE

Matthew Anderson BS in Geology Colton Crow BS in Computer Science Marissa Dotson BS in Geology Chas Downey BS in Biology Abby Johnson BS in Biology Katelin Stroman BS in Biology

ROHAL STUDIES IN SOUTH KOREA

FOCUS ON CRUSTACEAN RESEARCH

Melissa Rohal, a PhD student in Dr. Paul Montagna’s Ecosystems & Modeling lab, attended the East Asian and Pacific Summer Institute in South Korea this summer where she studied at Hanyang University’s Biodiversity lab with Dr. Wonchoel Lee, a noted expert in Harpacticoid Copepod Taxonomy. Rohal learned the taxonomic skills needed to identify harpacticoid copepods, a group of small crustaceans found in the oceans as well as the majority of freshwater habitats. She also collected copepods from the Rincon Bayou northwest of Corpus Christi, Texas, as part of a study to determine freshwater pumping strategies. From the samples that she supplied, a new genus was discovered.

TEXAS SEA GRANT AWARDS

Texas Sea Grant awards four HRI students one year grantsinaid to provide support to their areas of graduate research. The Texas Sea Grant College Program’s GrantsInAid of Graduate Research Program aims to promote scientific excellence and achievement by providing financial assistance to graduate students currently enrolled in Master’s or Ph.D. programs at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas A&M University at Galveston or Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi, whose marine or coastalrelated research in any field of study is relevant to Texas.

CHRIS HOLLENBECK

Chris Hollenbeck, an HRI doctoral student in the Marine Biology program who works in the Marine Genomics laboratory, was awarded $2,000 to study genomic DNA profiles of red drum brood fish that are used by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to supplement wild red drum populations. The oneyear award is a supplement to his doctoral research in the use of genomics and nextgeneration DNA sequencing to build a highly saturated, red drum genetic map and to identify genetic differences among red drum populations across U.S. waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic Ocean.

CHIEN-YI HSIANG

ChienYi Hsiang, an HRI doctoral student in the Coastal and Marine System Science program who works in the Ecosystems and Modeling lab, was awarded $1,000 to enhance her current doctoral research titled: “The Effects of Reducing Freshwater Inflow on Ecosystem Functions in Texas Estuaries.” While her past work has focused on the effect of altered inflow on abundance and diversity, little is known about how the ecosystem works. Specifically, Hsiang will explore how changes in salinity interact with changes in diversity, system metabolism, and nutrient flux. Answers to these questions will help to understand how to balance the freshwater needs for environment flow with the needs for human populations.

MATTHEW STREICH

Matthew Streich, an HRI doctoral student in the Marine Biology program who works in the Fisheries and Ocean Health laboratory, was awarded $2,000 to assist in his research of red snapper ecology in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. His research will compare artificial and natural habitats in order to understand the role that artificial reefs and natural banks play in maintaining the red snapper population. The results of this study will provide managers with new information regarding the impacts and function of nearshore artificial reefs on the reef species that inhabit them.

MELINDA MARTINEZ

Melinda Martinez, an HRI master’s student in the Environmental Science program who works in the Geospatial Science lab, was awarded $1,000 to complement her current research work on the short term wetland accretion rates on Mustang Island. The purpose of this project is to assess the amount of sediment accretion in low and high marshes and tidal flats over a short‐term period (seasonally and annually) and compare it with long‐term accretion rates determined in an earlier study conducted by former HRI master student Boris Radosavljevic. An assessment of shortterm and long‐term accretion rates is critical to understanding the processes affecting surface elevation, and wetland loss and transition as sea level rises.

“Without the tireless commitment of our ‘Harte’s Heroes’ and other dedicated people and organizations like them, the smallest and rarest of sea turtles would have disappeared from our oceans by now,” said Dr. Larry McKinney, HRI Executive Director. “Unfortunately, just as we are seeing promising signs of its recovery, the Kemp’s ridley is once again threatened, not only by disasters natural and man-made, but by federal funding cuts for conservation programs. In the face of these challenges, we must redouble our efforts to save the only endangered marine species that breeds exclusively in the Gulf’s waters.”

HARTE’S HEROES

HARTE’S HEROES 2014

Five individuals and one organization whose efforts have been critical to furthering the successful recovery of the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle are the recipients of the 2014 “Harte’s Heroes” Award.

Each Year, the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) commemorates “World Oceans Day” by recognizing individuals and groups who have demonstrated their passion for protecting and preserving the vast natural resources of the world’s ninthlargest body of water. The 2014 Harte’s Heroes are:

DR. PATRICK BURCHFIELD

One of the world’s leading authorities on the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. For more than 30 years, he has been the driving force behind the Rancho Nuevo Sea Turtle Project, the only known place in the world where large groups of the Kemp’s ridley gather.

DR. PAMELA PLOTKIN

Director of Texas Sea Grant, a leader in funding research about the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. She is currently leading efforts to call attention to the declining number of Kemp’s ridley nests at the same time that federal funding for continued conservation efforts is being reduced.

LES HODGSON

Coowner of Marco Sales, a shrimp wholesaler in Brownsville, Texas, began helping restore populations of the endangered sea turtle at a time when shrimpers were considered to be one reason for its decline. Hodgson serves on the board of the Texas Shrimp Association and is a member of the Kemp’s Ridley Sea Recovery Team.

LUIS JAIME PEÑA

Began working on nest data management at Rancho Nuevo in 1995, an assignment that, in 1997, led to his appointment as the camp’s field crew coordinator. Peña became Operations Director for the U.S. Contingent of the Kemp’s Ridley Binational Project and, in 2007, was named the Gladys Porter Zoo’s Curator of Conservation Programs.

SEA TURTLE, INC.

Rescues, rehabilitates and returns injured sea turtles to their natural environment. The Organization currently administers and funds the South Texas Nest Conservation Program and helps fund three binational projects including a beach patrol project with Mexico that locates and protects the nests and eggs of Kemp’s ridley turtles.

DR. DONNA SHAVER

Chief of the Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at the Padre Island National Seashore, is the Principle Investigator for a Natural Resources Damage Assessment study to determine potential injury to the Kemp’s ridley population from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.