Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Department of Life Sciences

05/19/2022

It’s baby bird season! Please be careful driving on campus and keep an eye out for small birds on campus streets and parking lots as they may still be learning to fly.

If you hear loud “meeps” on the street between Tidal Hall and Classroom West, that’s a family of Killdeer with a small baby learning to fly. Please respect their space.

If you see a Killdeer that appears in distress, that is one of the parents feigning injury to lure predators away from the fledgling. These birds do not need rescuing, just space to learn.

Here’s a picture of one of the parents sheltering the fledgling near the crosswalk at the front of Classroom West.

08/20/2021

As we start a new academic year, Congratulations to the Fisheries and Mariculture (FAMA) students who earned their M.S. over the past academic year. Perseverance and flexibility allowed each to complete their coursework and research during these unusual times. Some are continuing their studies toward a PhD and others are entering the workforce. We expect to hear many good stories from them as they move forward in their careers.

08/04/2020

Congratulations to Nick Weber on being chosen for an NMFS-SG Fellowship!

Congrats to Nick Weber, PhD student at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. He is the first person nominated by Texas Sea Grant to be selected for the prestigious joint fellowship through the National Marine Fisheries Service and National Sea Grant College Program!

Under the guidance of his advisor, Dr. David Portnoy, Weber plans to use the fellowship to continue his genetics research aimed at informing fisheries management. Genetic data can help him better understand fishery population structure and how to keep fish populations healthy.

“Genetic data are critical to fisheries management,” Weber said. “Having an understanding of how many potential populations exist for a given species can help to avoid over-exploitation, and we can use genetic data to enhance this understanding.”

Read More at http://ow.ly/p7Ef50ALuu3

07/27/2020

Congratulations to D. Nick Weber for being chosen to receive a 2020 Texas Sea Grant, Grant-In-Aid award for his proposal “Epigenetic Biomarkers: A Novel, Non-Lethal Approach to Aging Exploited Fish Species”.

Nick is a PhD student in the Marine Biology program under the supervision of associate professor David Portnoy. Nick’s research is focused on investigating a new method for aging exploited fishes, using DNA. Being able to efficiently and non-invasively age exploited fishes is important because it can help researchers and fisheries managers better understand how to maintain healthy fish populations. This award will help cover some of the costs associated with Nick’s research and will facilitate his progress towards earning his PhD.

07/23/2020

Congratulations to Michael Curtis for being chosen to receive a 2020 Texas Sea Grant Grant-in-Aid award for his proposal “Variation of Habitat Use and Trophic Dynamics of Catadromous Fish (Anguilla rostrata) in Sub-Tropical Texas”.

Mike is a MS student in the Fisheries and Mariculture program under the supervision of associate professor Benjamin Walther. Mike’s research focuses on movement and food-web ecology of the American Eel in Texas. The American Eel is a popular and economically valuable species that has rarely been studied in Texas. The award will be used to include sulfur stable-isotope analysis of tissues, which will provide a more robust understanding of the diet of the American Eel. Mike’s research is aimed to expand knowledge of the species in Texas as well as aid in the creation of a management plan for the American Eel in Texas. Mike hopes to take what he learns at TAMU-CC and apply it to a career focused on research for the conservation of threatened and endangered marine fishes.

07/19/2020

Congratulations to Paxton Bachand for being chosen to receive a 2020 Texas Sea Grant, Grant-In-Aid award for his proposal “Stable Isotope Analysis of Natural Nutrient Sources Contributing to a Reoccurring Aureoumbra lagunensis Bloom in Baffin Bay, Texas”.

Paxton is a PhD student in the Marine Biology program under the supervision of associate professor Jeffrey Turner. Paxton’s research is focused on brown tides and their microbial communities. In this project, Paxton plans to investigate potential natural nutrient sources, including a large free-tailed bat colony, that could be contributing to a recurrent brown tide bloom. Brown tide favors areas with inputs of high organic nutrients. This award will help identify the source of nutrients contributing to this bloom by supporting costs of processing samples for stable isotope analysis. Paxton hopes to work in both science and legislation in areas affecting food and water biosecurity such as maintaining clean drinking water sources and reserves, aquaculture related pathogens, and harmful algal bloom response and control.

07/15/2020

Congratulations to Jessie Castanier for being chosen to receive a 2020 Texas Sea Grant, Grant-In-Aid award for her proposal “Public Aquariums as a Potential Source of Marine Fish for Exhibits and Conservation”.

Jessie is a MS student in the Fisheries and Mariculture program under the co-supervision of associate professor John Scarpa and Jesse Gilbert, Chief Operating Officer of the Texas State Aquarium. The goal of the project is to identify eggs and larval marine ornamental fishes based on morphology and genetics from natural spawns at the aquarium. The majority of marine aquarium species are obtained from the wild, however, volitional spawning occurs regularly in public aquarium tanks. Findings from Jessie’s study will contribute to a better understanding of early life history of reef fishes and inform future larval culture methods for the Texas State Aquarium and others. The award will assist by providing laboratory reagents used for DNA barcoding to identify eggs and larval fish. Jessie's career aspirations include developing a larval-rearing program at the Texas State Aquarium so as to minimize human impact on wild populations of ornamental reef fishes.

07/12/2020

Congratulations to Dominic Swift for being chosen to receive a 2020 Texas Sea Grant, Grant-In-Aid award for his proposal “Assessing MHC-associated mate choice in the dusky smoothhound and blacktip shark”.

Dominic is a PhD student in the Marine Biology program under the supervision of associate professor David Portnoy. His research focuses on cryptic mate choice in sharks. Dominic is using genetic techniques to compare inheritance patterns of genes involved in mate choice in other animals. His research will improve understanding of how molecular signals influence mate choice and potentially kin recognition. This award will enable Dominic to sequence and analyze genes with a putative role in shark mate choice, and will assist him in completing his PhD prior to applying for postdoctoral positions.

05/14/2020

Take a tour of the Department of Life Sciences:

Join us on a 17 minute tour showcasing our students, faculty, and facilities.

04/21/2020

Congratulations to Ethan Taulbee, and his supervisor, Dr. Benjamin Walther, of the Fisheries and Mariculture program who presented and defended his thesis on April 15. Amid the health crisis our graduate students are moving forward with their education and research while taking all precautions.