environmental research - undergraduate biology program · by climate and human-driven environmental...

College of Science and Engineering (www.sci.tamucc.edu/) - Dean Frank Pezold

Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences (www.pens.tamucc.edu/) – Dr. Richard Coffin

Department of Life Sciences (https://lsci.tamucc.edu/) – Dr. Edward Proffitt

Department of Engineering (http://www.sci.tamucc.edu/) – Dr. David Bridges

Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences

Methane Hydrate and Energy Research

We are working around the world to assess coastal deep

sediment methane hydrate loading in terms of new energy,

climate change and coastal ocean carbon models.

Fieldwork integrates geochemistry and seismic data to

determine deep hydrate distribution. Recent work has

been off the coast of New Zealand and up in the Arctic.

POC: Richard Coffin, [email protected]

We work on 1.

hydrological changes

induced estuarine carbon

cycle and acidification; 2.

Coastal ocean

acidification that is caused

by the additive effect of

both carbon dioxide

increase in the atmosphere

and eutrophication.

POC: Xinping Hu,

[email protected]

.

Ocean Acidification

Research focuses on coastal

management, benthic processes,

ecoinformatics, ecosystem

modeling, environmental flows,

hypoxia, acidification, and I

Integrating natural science and socioeconomics.

Balancing human needs for water resources with

ecological sustainability is our major focus.

Environmental flow studies have been performed with

the U.S. State Department, Agency for International

Development.

POC: Paul A. Montagna, PENS Professor,

HRI Endowed Chair, E-mail:

[email protected]

Ecosystem Studies and Modeling Laboratory

Related to the global carbon cycle, fate of terrestrial

dissolved organic matter (tDOM) transport to the ocean

has been studied for the last three decades. Estimates of

removal processes accounts for ~20-35% of tDOM in

coastal regions; far from closing the gap between the

riverine fluxes and amount of tDOM measured in the

open ocean. Two possibilities that could explain this

dilemma; 1) a component of tDOM is escaping the

detection windows of all the tDOM tracers that had been

used, or 2) other important removal processes not

accounting for removing significant portion of tDOM.

POC: Hussain Abdulla, [email protected]

Fates of Terrestrial Organic Matter

Environmental Research

http://www.sci.tamucc.edu/


http://www.pens.tamucc.edu/


https://lsci.tamucc.edu/


mailto:[email protected]









Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences

Slomp C. P. et al., 2004

The Hydrology group is conducting research related to: 1-

understanding groundwater contributions to water quality

and habitat degradation in coastal embayments; 2-

understanding the role of groundwater nutrients in system-

wide nutrient budgets: and 3 - implications of climate and

anthropogenic changes on decreased freshwater inflows

to coastal embayments and increased salinities in surface

water and groundwater in coastal areas.

POC: Dorina Murgulet, [email protected]

During past two decades, space borne radars in the NASA

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the

Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) provide a global

view of severe weather and precipitation. NASA

supported research at TAMUCC focuses on the properties

and variations of global precipitation systems which

improves our understanding of severe weather, hydrology,

and the global water cycle. Using these unique satellite

observations, we are also supported by NSF to understand

the role of thunderstorms in the global electric circuit,

which is the continuous flow of electric current between

the ionosphere and earth’s surface.

POC: Chuntao Liu, [email protected]

Severe Weather and Global Precipitation

The highly reflective shallow clouds produce profound

radiative cooling effects and their feedback mechanism

remains a primary uncertainty in global climate model

projections. We use numerous satellite observations to

study the physical processes controlling the low cloud and

air-sea interaction over the eastern ocean.

POC: Feiqin Xie, [email protected]

Low Cloud Study from Satellite Measurements

Coastal Hydrology

The Felix Research

Group focuses on

using stable isotope

techniques to

investigate reactive

nitrogen sources,

transport, and

exchange between

the biosphere,

atmosphere,

geosphere and

hydrosphere in the Gulf Coast region. The research aims

to increase knowledge of nutrient loading, processing and

abatement techniques in the Gulf Coast region in an effort

to understand and minimize negative anthropogenic

impacts. POC: J. David Felix,

[email protected]

Reactive Nitrogen Biogeochemistry











Department of Life Sciences





Mangrove Methane Cycling

Wetlands may cover

only 4 – 9% of

Earth’s surface, but

they store as much

as 37% of terrestrial

carbon, making

this a significant

source of methane to

the atmosphere. In

order to determine

the amount of

methane emitted from mangrove wetlands, it is imperative that

we first accurately determine the process of methane

production, consumption, and oxidation. Ultimately, we aim to

determine what causes methane production to overtake

methane consumption in dynamic wetlands and understand

how this might affect global methane levels.

POC: Brandi Reese, [email protected]

The Marine Genomics Laboratory uses cutting edge

genomic analyses to address issues of conservation

and management in exploited coastal marine species.

Current species studied include; red snapper, red

drum, golden tilefish, southern flounder and several

species of sharks. We also investigate biogeography

and phylogenetics with a focus on patterns of fish

diversity in the western Atlantic. Current studies

include the U.S., Mexico and Caribbean.

POC: David S Portnoy,

[email protected]

Marine Genomics Laboratory

Spatial Dynamics of Marine Populations

Movement ecology and population dynamics

regarding causes and consequences of dispersal and

migration among fish populations. Advanced

molecular and biogeochemical approaches to address

: 1) causes and consequences of variation in

migration and dispersal for the fitness of individuals

and the persistence of populations; 2) impacts of

aquatic invasive species and how movement ecology

of invasive species can inform management; 3)

impacts of global change on the movement ecology of

freshwater and marine fishes.

POC: Derek Hogan, [email protected]

Salt marshes dominate the intertidal

zone in temperate latitudes, but

tropical mangrove trees are

invading these areas because of

reduced incidence of freezing

temperatures. Such conversion

affects fish and crustaceans that

depend on these habitats for habitat

and food.

Projects include marsh-mangrove

interactions, and assessments of the

effects of disturbances (hurricanes,

parasites, etc) on mangrove

populations. Recent research in

Florida and southern China

POC: Ed Proffitt & Donna

Devlin,

[email protected]

Estuarine Ecology & Genetics

















The Molecular Microbiology

Laboratory studies bacteria found in

the coastal and estuarine waters,

including native species such as Vibrio

vulnificus and those emanating from

anthropomorphic sources (Escherichia

coli, Enterobacter, Enterococcus) to

determine how genes involved in

virulence of these organisms are

regulated under changes occurring

within the environment (acidity,

salinity, pH, oxidative stress).

POC: Gregory W. Buck

[email protected]

0.1

1

10

0 100 200 300 400

O.D

. (6

00

nm

)

Time (minutes)

MI4 at 2000 µM H2O2

Mean Control

Molecular Microbiology Laboratory

Numerous fish and invertebrate

species call coastal

environments home. Our recent

work has focused on

conservation and restoration of

important coastal habitats such

as oyster reefs and salt marshes.

POC: Jennifer Pollack,

[email protected]

Coastal Conservation and Restoration

Aquaculture produces 50% of

the seafood we eat, as well as

fish and shellfish for

commercial and recreational

restocking and restoration

programs. Small-scale coastal

fisheries are the economic

driver for many nations

around the world. Current

research focuses on

developing methods and

techniques for global food

security and environmental

sustainability.

POC: John Scarpa,

[email protected]

Aquaculture

We are using novel

geochemical markers to

compare the response

of ecologically and

economically important

fishery species to

hypoxia. This work is

in the northern Gulf of

Mexico and the Baltic

Sea, two of the largest

hypoxic regions in the

world.

Hypoxia in Fisheries

POC: Benjamin Walther

[email protected]














Algal Toxin Research

Our work internationally includes providing safe drinking

water free of algal toxins for drinking and recreational

uses. Work has included identification of a new to

science toxin in euglenoid algae, identification of two

new toxin producing cyanobacteria, along with current

research on ciguatera, brevetoxin, and the cyanotoxins .

POC: Paul Zimba, [email protected]

Department of Physical

and Environmental Sciences

Research in the Estuarine &

Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics

Lab focuses on understanding

how estuarine and coastal

ecosystems “work”. We often

use phytoplankton as indicators

of both ecosystem function and environmental

change in the coastal zone, and are particularly

interested in understanding how phytoplankton

production and community composition are affected

by climate and human-driven environmental

changes. We are also interested in the implications

of climatic and anthropogenic change for water

quality, biogeochemical cycling and food webs in the

coastal zone.

POC: Michael Wetz, [email protected]

Estuarine & Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics

Laboratory

Synergy among observational, experimental, and

modeling approaches enhances quantitative description

and simulation of greenhouse gas (CO2, CH4, and N2O)

cycling, and linkage with vegetation and microbes.

Multiple ecosystem stressors is studied in salt marshes,

Arctic peatlands, estuaries, and oceans using

compound/position specific isotopic tracers such as

ammonium, nitrate, CH4, CO2, amino acids, and alcohols

as well as by combining with meta-omics data. Active

and passive samplers are used to study transport and fate

of organic pollutants and methyl mercury in biota,

atmosphere, water, and sediments.

POC: Lin Zhang, [email protected]

Greenhouse Gas Cycling in Arctic

Peatlands and on Gulf Coast



















CSE Laboratories

The following table provides a list of laboratories at TAMU-CC CSE

Center for Community Health, Education and Diversity

Harte Reseach Institute

Laboratory of Behavioral Neurophysiology

Molecular Microbiology Lab

CITGO Astronomical Observatorium

Design-Simulation Lab

Nano Sensing and Energy Lab (NSEL)

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Energy and Propulsion Laboratory

Hyperspectral Optical Property Instrumentation (HOPI) Laboratory

Cognitive Engineering Laboratory

BINA LAB (Computer Vision and Remote Sensing Lab)

Geospatial Computing Laboratory

Geospatial Systems Engineering Lab (GSEL)

Center for Water Supplies (CWSS)

Water and Environmental Systems Analysis Lab (WESA)

Aquatic Nutrition Laboratory

Coastal Carbon Cycle Lab (or C3 Lab)

Coastal Conservation and Restoration Ecology Lab

Coastal Dynamics Laboratory

Coastal Health and Water Quality Lab (C-HaWQ, pronounced Sea hawk)

Comparative Physiology Laboratory

Environmental Metabolomics laboratory (EML)

Estuarine & Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics Lab

Fisheries and Mariculture Research Laboratory

Laboratory for Microbial Ecology

Marine Ecology Lab

Mass Spectrometer Laboratory

Plankton Laboratory

The Marine Genomics Laboratory (MGL)

Genomics Core Lab

Innovation in Computing Research (iCORE)

Isotope Core Laboratory (ICL)

Physics Labs (Introductory & Advanced)

SMTE Laboratory (Shared between PENS, LSCI and other departments as needed)

Robotics Lab

Unmanned Systems Laboratory (TAMUCC-USL)

Cyber Security Laboratory - Teaching Lab

Computer Forensics Laboratory - Research







environmental research - undergraduate biology program · by climate and human-driven environmental...

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