Harte Current Newsletter Spring 2022

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A PUBLICATION BY THE HARTE RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR GULF OF MEXICO STUDIES

TOP STORY

Inaugural Sea to Screen™ Film Festival Sells Out!

STAFF NEWS HRI Receives Funding for Mesquite Bay Oyster Reef Research

INSTITUTE NEWS HRI Seminar Series Renewed by Graduate Student Group

TOP STORY

BRINGING BAFFIN BACK

selected as Texan by Nature Conservation Wrangler

STAFF NEWS Dr. Larry McKinney Receives Harvey Weil Award

MORE HRI NEWS INSIDE...

Friends of HRI, This spring at HRI has been busy, but nothing short of exciting. Events have started to ramp up, we’re finally able to see more of our friends and colleagues in person at conferences and presentations, and we’re celebrating multiple student awards and graduates this semester. We’ve also had the pleasure of welcoming a few new faces into the HRI family.

This April we were honored to have our “Bringing Baffin Back” initiative, in conjunction with Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, selected as a 2022 Conservation Wrangler by Texan by Nature. The Conservation Wrangler program recognizes the very best Texan-led conservation projects throughout the state and we look forward to Texan by Nature’s support in restoring and protecting the jewel that is Baffin Bay. In June, on World Ocean Day, HRI presented our inaugural Sea to Screen™ film festival, in collaboration with the International Ocean Film Festival. Along with our friends from partner organizations, we presented the public with ocean-themed films, fun, and education about the importance of marine ecosystems. We're already looking forward to an even bigger event next year.

We were also proud to release our 2021 Annual Impact Review, highlighting the year's news, projects, events, as well as the resilience of our people at HRI who, despite a year like no other, still managed to fulfill HRI’s mission of developing science-driven solutions for Gulf of Mexico problems.

I’m inspired by what we have been able to accomplish so far this year and am eager to see what opportunities lie on the horizon for HRI as we move into the summer months. We hope you continue to follow alongside us as we keep working to make a difference in the Gulf.

Dr. David Yoskowitz, Senior Executive Director 1

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TOP NEWS

Bringing Baffin Back Selected as Texan by Nature Conservation Wrangler A conservation project led by researchers at HRI, in conjunction with Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program (CBBEP), has been selected as a 2022 Conservation Wrangler. Conservation Wrangler is an accelerator program of Texan by Nature (TxN), a conservation nonprofit founded by former First Lady Laura Bush. The program catalyzes the very best Texan-led conservation projects occurring in the state. Selected projects are science-based and demonstrate a positive Return on Conservation for people, prosperity, and natural resources.

VISIT OUR PROJECT PAGE

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

TOP NEWS

Inaugural Sea to Screen™ Film Festival Sells Out! On June 8, World Ocean Day, HRI welcomed the public to the inaugural Sea to Screen™ film festival at Alamo Drafthouse Corpus Christi. Partnered with the International Ocean Film Festival, Sea to Screen™ sought to raise awareness for the global importance of marine ecosystems through 12 films, including two of our own. HRI was joined by partner organizations including the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, Texas State Aquarium, and Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO

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INSTITUTE NEWS

HRI Participates in First Gulf of Mexico Conference

HRI was proud to be a sponsor of the Gulf of Mexico Conference 2022 which took place in April in Baton Rouge, LA. HRI also had booths and presenters at the annual conference. GOMCON combines the annual Gulf of Mexico Alliance All Hands Meeting, the annual Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference, and the tri-annual State of the Gulf Summit. Emphasizing the intersection of science and management across the Gulf Coast region, GOMCON will include sessions on themes that are important to ecosystem and community resilience as well as restoration and natural resource management.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

HRI Seminar Series Renewed

by Graduate Student Group A SEMINAR SERIES WITH

2022

Per a request from the HRI Senior Executive Director, the HRI Researchers Group collaborated with the Marine Science Graduate Student Organization to resume the HRI Seminar Series. Speakers were selected to span a broad topical scope that reflects the Harte model, ranging from research scientists doing important work to natural resource managers and a city planner who has infused resilience science into comprehensive planning for the area. The spring season was packed with interesting speakers and seminars were very well attended.

2022 Harte of the Gulf Annual Impact Review Released HRI is proud to release its 2021 Annual Impact Review! This issue covers news, projects, events, and updates across the Institute as well as a special anniversary timeline insert looking back over notable events in our 20 year history.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT

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INSTITUTE NEWS WATERBIRD SOCIETY

Waterbird Society Conference Announced for Fall 2022 The Waterbird Society will hold its 46th Annual Conference in Corpus Christi this fall and HRI is a proud sponsor of this event. Mark your calendars for October 31 through November 4. Registration and call for abstracts will open soon!

Annual Meeting

2022

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

HRI Participates in Earth Day Bay Day 2022 Fifteen volunteers from across HRI research groups staffed booths at this year’s Earth Day Bay Day event hosted by the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation. Volunteers educated local citizens about coastal and marine ecosystems, oyster shell recycling and oyster reefs, and learned about what our bays mean to surrounding communities.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

HRI Hosts Journalist Group at Laguna Madre Field Station The Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources spent some time at the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Laguna Madre field station in April. The group had an overnight visit with HRI and CCS research staff and guest Chuck Naiser with FlatsWorthy. The team enjoyed beautiful views, good food, and got to see first-hand how our south Texas bay ecosystems function, what the threats are, and the work our institutes are doing.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

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STAFF & STUDENT NEWS

Dr. Larry McKinney Receives Harvey Weil Award Friends and family celebrated HRI’s Chair for Gulf Strategies and former Executive Director Dr. Larry McKinney in April at the Rotary Club of Corpus Christi's annual Harvey Weil Sportsman's Dinner held at the Welder Wildlife Refuge. Dr. McKinney was honored with their Professional Conservationist of the Year award.

Dr. Jennifer Pollack Named Professor of Marine Biology HRI Chair for Conservation & Restoration Dr. Jennifer Pollack was promoted to Professor of Marine Biology

by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in May, the highest achievement a faculty member can earn at TAMU-CC Dr. Pollack started with TAMU-CC in 2007 and became a Chair at HRI in 2018.

HRI Graduate Students Conduct NERTO Internships Two HRI graduate students are completing their 12-week NOAA Experiential Research Training Opportunities. Monisha Sugla, MS student with the Coastal Conservation & Restoration lab, is doing hers with Dr. Beth Sanderson at the National Marine Fisheries Service in Seattle, WA, focusing on green crab invasion in Washington state and its impacts on shellfish and nearshore habitats. Jordana Cutajar, MS student in the Coastal Ecosystem Processes lab worked with the NCCOS Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring and Reference Branch at the Hollings Marine Lab in Charleston, SC. 5

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STAFF & STUDENT NEWS

HRI Receives Funding for Mesquite Bay Oyster Reef Research Oyster reefs in the Mesquite Bay system near Rockport, Texas have been degraded by multiple stressors including high harvest pressure and environmental factors. HRI's Dr. Jennifer Pollack will lead a team of researchers to collect data and conduct research on these reefs to support future conservation and restoration actions as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission looks at a proposed amendment for closure of these reefs to commercial harvest. The study is funded by Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program and partners include the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, CCA Texas, and FlatsWorthy.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

HRI Researchers and Students Participate in Crab Trap Removal Program Dr. Terry Palmer and Technician Hannah Bueltel spent some time on the water removing abandoned crab traps around Estes and Mud Islands as part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Abandoned Crab Trap Removal Program which took place in February.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

NASEM’s Gulf Ecosystem Restoration Report Released HRI’s Dr. Larry McKinney was a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on Long-Term Environmental Trends who released their report entitled An Approach for Assessing U.S. Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration: A Gulf Research Program Environmental Monitoring Report on March 31, 2022. The report assesses the cumulative effects of multiple restoration projects along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast, considers the effects of acute events and long-term physical changes on restoration projects, discusses synergistic and antagonistic effects of long-term restoration activities, and recommends adaptive management strategies.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

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STAFF & STUDENT NEWS

HRI Intern Emma Morrow Honored with TAMU-CC Award At HRI, we are thrilled to provide real-world experience to many Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi students like Emma Morrow who recently served as an honors intern with our HRI Socio-Economics Group where she gained valuable insight into social marketing and branding.

Emma was named the Spring 2022 College of Business Outstanding Islander Graduate.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Baffin Bay Symposium at CBBF Coastal Issues Forum The Coastal Bend Bays Foundation hosted a Baffin Bay Symposium on May 9 as part of their Coastal Issues Forum. Dr. Michael Wetz with HRI, along with partners at the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, presented on our “Bringing Baffin Back” initiative.

HRI Attends HURCON in Nueces County The Regional Resilience Partnership (RRP) provided an update on their work to help build the resilience of the Coastal Bend at the 2022 Hurricane Conference, May 4-5 in Robstown, TX. The presentation was attended by many local officials, stakeholders and the General Land Office – with standing room only!

Participants engaged in lively discussion including RRP’s featured tool GeoRED, or Geospatial Resilient Economic Development.

GeoRED was featured at a booth sponsored by HRI where the RRP team had a demo available for participants to use the program.

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HIGHLIGHTS HRI Hosted its first Oyster Bake event at Water Street Gardens in March. Invited friends of the institute enjoyed live music and local seafood for an evening in the courtyard along with a display of some of Texas’ first farmed oysters courtesy of Brad Lomax and his Texas Oyster Ranch farm.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

HRI highlighted our support staff for Administrative Professionals Day and women in science for International Women’s Day with short videos on social media.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH Administrative Professionals Day Video CLICK HERE TO WATCH International Women’s Day Video

The HRI Book Club recently completed HRI Ambassador Dr. Sylvia Earle’s Sea Change anniversary edition and had a virtual visit from Dr. Earle herself during the book club discussion.

Our Sink Your Shucks™ Oyster Recycling Program visited a number of local schools this spring to educate students on oyster reef biology and even teamed up to create bagged oyster shell to be used in this year’s reef restoration events.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Lee Jordan, who donated Robert Wyland’s “Humpback Realm” sculpture to HRI in 2018, stopped by for a visit this spring and met with HRI's Dr. David Yoskowitz and Dr. Larry McKinney.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Spring 2022 MS graduate Lexie Neffinger has accepted a 2-year NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, starting in August 2022. Lexie also received 1st place in the Marine Science Long Oral Presentation category at 2022 TAMUCC Student Research forum and 2nd place in the TAMU-CC 3-Minute Thesis competition held in April.

Dr. Katya Wowk became Co-Chair of the Global Ocean Forum Policy Advisory Working Group on Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management, as well as a member of the Editorial Board for Springer Nature Humanities & Social Sciences Communications.

Two NOAA CCME students received awards at the 2022 NOAA EPP/MSI Forum at Florida A&M University in April - Mariana León-Pérez, PhD Student in Geospatial Sciences, won best presentation in the Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies division and Kelsey Martin, PhD Student in Fisheries & Ocean Health, won first in the Healthy Oceans division.

Play ball! We spent a night at the ballpark on June 11 for the Corpus Christi Hooks game with a booth in the concourse and the Mike Shaw loft area reserved for HRI staff and students to enjoy the game and good BBQ.

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PRESENTATIONS Dr. Dale Gawlik and Ph.D. Student Alyssa Outhwaite were guest lecturers at the Aquarium at Rockport Harbor’s lecture series in February and March.

Dr. Terry Palmer presented to the Texas Master Naturalists in February with a talk titled “The Serpulid Reefs of Baffin Bay”.

Dr. Larry McKinney presented about sustainable tourism to the board of Visit Corpus Christi during their March meeting at Port Royal in Port Aransas.

Dr. Jennifer Pollack did a virtual interview with COMPASS in March discussing her oyster reef research and the role science communication played in recent resource management discussions.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Dr. Audrey Douglas with the HydroEcology lab gave a presentation to the Calhoun County Groundwater Conservation District Board of Directors meeting in April titled “Potential effects of widening and deepening the Matagorda Ship Channel on groundwater resources”.

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PRESENTATIONS Dr. Michael Wetz gave a virtual talk titled “Human & Climate-driven water quality challenges affecting the Texas Coast” to North Carolina State University’s Department of Marine, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences

Dr. Larry McKinney presented “Waterways, The Gulf, and Migration” at the Conference on Texas: Changing Landscapes in San Antonio in May 2022.

Dr. Michael Wetz was a guest on CCA Texas’ Coastal Advocacy Adventures podcast to talk about the Bringing Baffin Back initiative and the importance of the health of Baffin Bay. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Dr. Katya Wowk held two Texas OneGulf virtual workshops on “TONE Integration for OneGulf Solutions: Advancing Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Co-Production”.

Dr. Jim Gibeaut presented a seminar to the Bureau of Economic Geology Seminar Series at The University of Texas at Austin for “Developing the Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan through Data Analysis, Modeling, and Expert Elicitation”.

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PUBLICATIONS

Future Flood Risk Exacerbated by the Dynamic Impacts of Sea Level Rise Along the Northern Gulf of Mexico Bilskie, M. V., D. Del Angel, D. Yoskowitz, S. C. Hagen (2022). Future Flood Risk Exacerbated by the Dynamic Impacts of Sea Level Rise Along the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Earth’s Future, 10-4.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ARTICLE

Hierbas marinas: El verdadero tesoro de Isla Caja de Muertos León-Pérez, M.C. (2022). Hierbas marinas: El verdadero tesoro de Isla Caja de Muertos. Revista Marejada, 18-1, pp.

26-29 CLICK HERE TO SEE ARTICLE

Evaluating transferability of a model estimating shallow-water availability for foraging waterbirds in intertidal systems.

Martinez, M. T., L. Calle, S. Romañach and D. E. Gawlik. 2022. Evaluating transferability of a model estimating shallow-water availability for foraging waterbirds in intertidal systems. Ecosphere. 13: e4030.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ARTICLE

COVID-19 Small Business Impacts in the Texas Coastal Bend: A Hyperlocal Approach for Small Towns & Rural Communities McClure, M. and K. Wowk. 2022. COVID-19 Small Business Impacts in the Texas Coastal Bend: A Hyperlocal Approach for Small Towns & Rural Communities. Small Business Institute Journal. Vol. 17 No. 1.

Long-term trends in estuarine carbonate chemistry in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.

McCutcheon, M.R. and Hu, X., 2022. Long-term trends in estuarine carbonate chemistry in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 793065.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ARTICLE

A general pattern of trade-offs between ecosystem resistance and resilience to tropical cyclones Patrick, Christopher J.; Kominoski, John S.; (...); Hensel, Enie; Hense, Marc J. S.; Strickland, Bradley A.; (..); Hardison, A. K.; Kinard, Sean; and et al. 2022. A general pattern of trade-offs between ecosystem resistance and resilience to tropical cyclones. Science Advances, 8(8), eabl9155.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ARTICLE

Using epibenthic fauna as biomonitors of local marine contamination adjacent to McMurdo Station, Antarctica Terence A. Palmer, Andrew G. Klein, Stephen T. Sweet, Amanda J. Frazier, Paul A. Montagna, Terry L. Wade, Jennifer Beseres Pollack. 2022. Using epibenthic fauna as biomonitors of local marine contamination adjacent to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 178, 113621.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ARTICLE

Subtropical estuarine carbon budget under various hydrologic extremes and implications on the lateral carbon exchange from tidal wetlands

Yao, H., Montagna, P.A., Wetz, M.S, Staryk, C.J., Hu, X. 2022. Subtropical estuarine carbon budget under various hydrologic extremes and implications on the lateral carbon exchange from tidal wetlands. Water Research, 217, 118436.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ARTICLE

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NEW PROJECTS

Sediment Quality Assessment Survey of Lavaca and Matagorda Bays

Colony Island Network Design and Implementation (CINDI) to Recover Waterbirds in the Gulf of Mexico: Pilot Study

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Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust PI-Paul Montagna $400,000

Knobloch Family Foundation PI-Dale Gawlik $262,131

Influence of Saharan Dust Deposition on the Growth of Harmful Marine Bacteria and Algae in Texas Coastal Waters

Greater Amberjack (Seriola dumerili) Abundance, Distribution, and Movement in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico

Texas A&M University (Prime Sponsor – NOAA) PI-Michael Wetz $129,236

University of South Alabama (Prime Sponsor – Mississippi-Alabama SeaGrant Consortium) PI-Greg Stunz $389,811

Evaluating Effects of Oyster Restoration Reef Design on Habitat Enhancement and Ecology

Oyster Habitat Investigations for Rookery Island Enhancement

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (Prime Sponsor – DOI Fish & Wildlife Service)

Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program (Prime Sponsor: Texas General Land Office) PI-Jennifer Pollack $43,986

PI-Jennifer Pollack $99,971

Trophic Linkages and Habitat Connectivity of Popular Sportfish in the Matagorda Bay System Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust PI-Kesley Banks $399,932

Oyster Surveys for the Pre-construction Engineering and Design Phase of the Matagorda Ship Channel Improvement Project, Port Lavaca, Texas Texas A&M University-Galveston (Prime Sponsor: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) PI-Jennifer Pollack $131,851

Restoring Oyster Reef Habitat in Tres Palacios Bay and Developing Best Practices

GOMA: GoMRI Project Data Repository Data Maintenance

Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust PI-Jennifer Pollack $399,816

Gulf of Mexico Alliance PI-James Gibeaut $676,980

Lavaca Bay Ecosystem Assessment: Gathering Key Baseline Data Among Nursery Habitats Spread Across a Pollution Gradient Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust PI-Greg Stunz $399,776 13

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GRADUATES

PH.D. GRADUATES

DR. KATE SHLEPR

Ph.D. in Integrative Biology-Environmental Science (Florida Atlantic University)

Conservation & Biodiversity Committee Chair - Dr. Dale Gawlik

M.S. GRADUATES

Lexie Neffinger, M.S.

Lily Walker, M.S.

Elizabeth Harris, M.S.

MS Coastal and Marine System Science Coastal Conservation & Restoration

MS Coastal and Marine System Science Coastal Ecosystem Processes

MS Environmental Science HydroEcology

Committee Chair - Dr. Jennifer Pollack

Committee Chair - Dr. Michael Wetz

Committee Chair - Dr. Paul Montagna

B.S. GRADUATES

Auria Avalos, B.S.

BS Biology Coastal Conservation & Restoration

SPRING 2022

Calvin Todd, B.S.

BS Environmental Science Oyster Recycling Program

Joseph Kuntz, B.S.

BS Biology Fisheries & Ocean Health

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B.S. GRADUATES

Wendy Lee, B.S.

BS Environmental Science & BBA Marketing Socio-Economics

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GRADUATES

Emma Morrow, B.B.A. BBA Marketing Socio-Economics

Jensen Smith, B.S.

BS Biology (Fall 2021) Fisheries & Ocean Health

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TITLE CHANGES

Danielle Downey, M.S. Marketing Coordinator Communications READ MY BIO

Lexie Neffinger, M.S. Research Technician II Coastal Conservation & Restoration READ MY BIO

NEW FACES

Christian Amos, B.S. Graduate Research Assistant Ecosystem Science & Modeling READ MY BIO

Sathwika Edama, B.T. Graduate Research Assistant Geospatial Sciences READ MY BIO

Pu Huang, M.S. Geospatial Analyst II Geospatial Sciences READ MY BIO

Megan Radke, M.Ag. Communications Coordinator Communications READ MY BIO

SPRING 2022

EMPLOYMENT Emily McCauley, M.S. Marketing & Communications Manager Communications READ MY BIO

Jensen Smith, B.S. Laboratory Research Technician Fisheries & Ocean Health READ MY BIO

Ashley Barrows Student Worker Development READ MY BIO

David Essian, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Assistant Conservation & Biodiversity READ MY BIO

Brandon Hutto Student Worker Communications READ MY BIO

Alex Sharp, M.S. Graduate Research Assistant Conservation & Biodiversity READ MY BIO

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A PUBLICATION BY THE HARTE RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR GULF OF MEXICO STUDIES

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi 6300 Ocean Drive - Unit 5869 Corpus Christi, TX 78412 Email: hri@tamucc.edu

@harteresearch

www.harte.org

Copyright © 2022 Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. All Rights Reserved.