Coastal Conservation and Restoration Ecology Lab

Happy #NationalOysterDay! Our lab monitors and restores oyster reefs along the Texas coast. Today, we celebrated by sampling restored oyster reefs in Aransas Bay! 🦪💙

Today we are saying a bittersweet goodbye to our Lab Tech, Zach. Zach will be pursuing his Ph.D. at North Carolina State University this upcoming fall. Thank you so much for all of your hard work, Zach! We will miss you, good luck in North Carolina!

Last week, we continued sampling for an ongoing project that aims to assess the biological integrity of tidal streams. We collected nekton and benthic samples, as well as deployed water quality sondes for 24 hours. Check out some photos from the field! 🐟🌳🌊

Last week, we continued our sampling of Mesquite Bay oyster reefs! In a monumental effort by TPWD and numerous partners, over 13,000 cubic yards of river rock was used to restore 70 acres of Carlos Reef, within the Mesquite Bay complex! 🌊🦪🛥️

We are excited to introduce our summer intern, Bree! Bree graduated from TAMU-CC in May with her B.S. in Environmental Science and a minor in Biology. She is excited for the opportunity to assist in oyster reef carbon sequestration research at HRI! Welcome, Bree! 🦪👩‍🔬

Introducing one of our summer interns, Jules! She is graduating in August with a B.S. in Environmental Science from TAMU-CC. She's helping by processing sediment grain size samples. Outside of school, she enjoys volunteering with sea turtles & identifying Texas wildflowers. 🌊

Join us in congratulating HRI PhD student Kelley Savage on being appointed as a @NOAADigCoast Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellow for 2024-2026! Kelley will be conducting her work in the Mission-Aransas Reserve looking at the potential of oyster reefs for carbon sequestration.🦪

Meet Erin Hill, our new Research Specialist III! 👩‍🔬 Erin is an alumna of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Her research interests include coastal ecology, water quality, invertebrate systematics and taxonomy, and environmental education/outreach. Welcome Erin!

Congratulations to our Spring 2024 graduates! Thank you so much for all your hard work, we are so proud of you! 👩‍🎓🥳👩‍🔬 Kalie Tovar - B.S. Environmental Science Neina Chapa - M.S. Coastal and Marine System Science Alyssa Outhwaite - Ph.D. Marine Biology

Introducing our new Laboratory Technician, Isabella Cevallos! 👩🏻‍🔬 Bella recently graduated from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in 2023 with her B.S. in Marine Biology and a minor in Psychology. We are so happy to have you on our team!

This Earth Day, we want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible ecosystems that we study. Habitats such as oyster & serpulid reefs, wind tidal flats, and beaches are crucial to the Texas Gulf Coast. Happy Earth Day from the Coastal Conservation and Restoration Lab! 🌊🦪🌎💚

Happy #FieldWorkFriday! Last week, we had some engine trouble while sampling oysters in Aransas Bay. Thank you Sea Tow for getting us back to shore quickly and safely! Field work doesn't always go to plan, but it is always interesting! 😁🛥🌊

Last week, the Coastal Conservation and Restoration Ecology group presented their research at the Texas Bays and Estuaries Meeting! Congratulations to everyone for showcasing their hard work and to our own Izzy Nykamp who took home second place in the poster session! 🌊🦪🦀👩‍🔬

We are excited to share an article published by @Revelator_News about our restoration efforts with @sinkyourshucks! Check it out in the link below. 🦪 @HarteResearch therevelator.org/coastal-restor…

Congratulations to Alyssa Outhwaite on successfully defending her dissertation, titled "Influence of habitat context on organic matter composition, community structure, and consumer diets of subtidal oyster reefs in Matagorda Bay, Texas.”🦪🎉

The March student spotlight is Izzy Nykamp! Her work uses experimental elevation plots and unmanned aerial systems to assess elevation stabilization and cyanobacteria growth on treatment surfaces. Her research will further our knowledge of wind tidal flat restoration. 🦠🦠

Happy Worm Wednesday! Today we want to introduce the family Onuphidae. They are large polychaetes that spend most of their lives inside tubes and are mostly found in the intertidal & shelf areas of the Gulf of Mexico. We find them in our sediment samples from Baffin Bay! 🪱

On International Women’s Day, we want to recognize all the women of the Coastal Conservation and Restoration Ecology Lab! First celebrated in 1911 and recognized by the UN in 1975, IWD has become a global day of highlighting incredible women of the past & present! 💜💚🤍🌎

Congratulations to everyone on our team for publishing a new paper titled “Developing a bioassessment framework to inform tidal stream management along a hydrologically variable coast"! 🐟🎉🐊 Check it out here #f0020" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">sciencedirect.com/science/articl…!

Wind-tidal flats may seem like a barren stretch of mud and sand, but they are one of the most valuable me coastal habitats in Texas! The cyanobacteria mats that grow in these habitats provide major ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling and sediment stabilization! 🌱💨🌊