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The Lazarette Gazette NEWS FROM The University of Texas at Austin MARINE SCIENCE INSTITUI'E Port Aransas, Texas 78373-1267 (512-749-6760 -fax 512-749-6777) ·.vol. 3, Issue 1~, 26 A.ugust 1994 In this issue. ofLazarette Gazette -· · Terry Whitledge:· Turning the tide ....................................cover Antonio Mannino: Effects of freshwater inflow and.... . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Pat Parker celebration will be September 10 ......... _.. :. ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 ·Eleven new grants and contracts .. ,.....· ......·. ·~ ·. . . . . ......·. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Regrtlar_sections: director's report -p. 1, abstract -_p. 2, personnel -p. 3, Irish pennants -p. 4, grants & contracts -p. 4, marine educ~tfons services -p. 5, cruise reports & boat operations -p. 7, trip reports & travel -p.'.8, safety -·p. 9; letters t<;> the editor ......-p. 9, · seminars----p. 10, egabrag woes -p. 11, tony's fidings -p. 12, attaboys -p. 13, library -p. 14, edito.r's note -p. 15 , · · jllllllllll•••••lfillfi\llllllltlflt:flill,l'11lkl'1'11llllllit! . I Turning the Tide was the theme of our Brown Tide Workshop held this-past Saturday · at the MSI Visitors Center. Attendan·ce by the 60 invited panelists was excellent, and, with the meeting open to the public~ we had a total attendance of 90 persons. About 25 federal, state, and local public agencies were represented. This was an all day ·event, beginning ~ith the welcome by Larry McKinney at 9:00 a.m. and continuing . · through the fo.rmal adjournment at 6:00 p.m. I chaired our first morning session, a Review of History and Scientific Knowl~dge on Brown Tide, which included contributions from MSI's Tony Amos; Dean Stockwell, Hudson DeYoe; Ken Dunton, Scott Holt, Paul Montagna, Ed Buskey, and Joan Holt.. Others .contributing during this first session were Chris .Onuf and Larry McEachron. Discussion sessions followed, chaired by Larry McKinney and Bob Wallace. We identified over 100 different topics or actions which should possibly be addressed concerning the Brown Tide. Some items offirst priority were identified, beginning with the need to better define the problems. We need to determine what is maintaining the Brown Tide, and we need to know ifthis is a natural event or is the system broken. This can be done through core sample analysis and study of the origin of the current event. Of course, even if it is natural, anthropogenic activities may be exacerbating the effects of the Brown Tide. Another area of first priority is the need to make a risk assessment, both from the stand point of the ecological risk (seagrasses, food web, egg and larval impact, biological controls) and the socio-economic risk (tourism, commercial and recreational fishing). A final area of first priority is to minimize/reverse seagrass loss (we need to look at dredging impacts, regeneration vs. human introduced NH4, assess impacts from human-induced bethanic disturbances such as shrimping and boating). -T. E. Whitledge EFFECTS OF FRESHWATER INFLOW AND SEDIMENT CHARACTERISTICS ON SMALL SCALE SPATIAL VARIATION OF MACROBENTHIC COMMUNITY STRUCTURE IN NUECES BAY Antonio Mannino, M.A. The University of Te.xas at Austin, 1994 Supervisor: Paul A. Montagna Sediment composition and salinity distributions are measured to assess the physico-chemical conditions within Nueces Bay on a fine spatial scale (0.5-1 km). From these results, the bay is divided into four salinity regions: a Low salinity region (13.3-20.5 ppt), Mid (20.5-26.1 ppt), High (26.1-30.6 ppt), and a CPL region (26.1-30.6 ppt) where salinity is influenced by power plant discharges, and three sediment types: muddy sediments (<50% sand), muddy-sands (50-75% sand), and sandy sediments (>75% sand). Sediment composition and salinity are generally the principal factors influencing benthic community composition. Sediment composition and salinity affect macrofauna abundance and diversity with higher abundances in sandier sediments and at higher salinities. Diversity is significantly higher in sandier sediments and at higher salinities, p=0.0154 and p=0.0002, respectively. Species dominance shifts along the estuarine gradient. Total abundance is driven by sediment characteristics, while diversity, biomass, and species abundances are functions of salinity and DIN. Deposit feeders and filter/suspension feeders are the dominant trophic groups in Nueces Bay. The filter group dominates biomass at all three sediment types and all salinity regions except the Low region. Macrofauna abundance is dominated by the filter group in muddy and muddy-sand sediments and by deposit feeders in sandy sediments. Salinity is the major factor influencing the distribution of trophic groups, p=0.0001. Dominance by pioneering species suggests that climatic events maintain the bay in this early successional state. Freshwater inflow is the ultimate factor controlling macrofauna community structure in Nueces Bay. Increasing restrictions on freshwater inflow permit climatic fluctuations to have greater control on the physico-chemical conditions within Nueces Bay, and subsequently affect the macrofauna communities. 2 PAT PARKER RETIREMENT CELEBRATION UPDATE:· . Additions to list of Parker graduate students-We regret that the following students were inadvertently omitted from the list of graduate students published in the last Lazarette Gazette. • Richard Leo-. MA 1965, teaching Jr. College, Ridgecrest, California. • David. Shultz -MA 1970, U.S.G.S.; Reston, Virginia. · • Thomas Lytle -Ph.D. 1971, Research Scientist, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, MS. • Marilyn (Estep) Fogel-Ph.D. 1977, (with C. Van Baalen and R. Tabita), Research Scientist, Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, D.C. LeGrand Plans for Pat Parker Party -SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 !! * LeGrand BBQ -We will have a BBQ lunch at MSI from 1 to 3:00 p.m. There is no charge for this. We plan to have this in the picnic area under the laboratory building. Come one, come all; but please leave your charming young future scientists at home. Folks at MSI, please let Kathy Quade know if you will be coming to the BBQ. We will assume that all the out-of-town folks who send reservations for the seafood dinner (see below) will also be attending the BBQ lunch. * LeGrand Honors Program -A special program honoring PLP's MSI career will be held at the Visitor Center Auditorium from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Again-come one, come all! (Contact Ken Winters at 512-288-5533 if you have ideas concerning the program.) * LeGrand Seafood Dinner -There will be a Seafood Dinner, complete with appropriate beverages, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Cline's Landing. The cost is $18/person. Please mail your reservation and check to Della Scalan, P. 0. Box 256, Port Aransas, Texas 78373. Have your check to Della, or at least call her for a reservation at 512-749-5392 by Tuesday, September 6. (MSI folks can leave their checks with Kathy Quade for transfer to Della.) 3 •Oceanography was the funest camp out that I have ever went to. (Statement by Boy Scout Greg Fikac, on his final report to earn his Oceanography Merit Badge-the 230th Boy Scout to do so.) TOP 10 BEST LIES -SMALL BOATS 10 -We checked it over-completely yesterday. 9 -We did not hit anything_(but the prop blades are. curled back). 8 :.-W'e never ·operate a-.boat at frill thrc:>ttle. ·' · , .. 7 .....:... we·wi11 only he in deeper· water.. . . :.. .· . . . . 6 ~Wedid remember to unscrew the air vent on the fuel tank. ··· 5 -The new Chevy 4 X 4 is perfect for towing the Kleberg. 4 -We will clean it up next week. 3 -The tool kit is fine. 2 -We will be back in time for dinner. 1 -It ran perfectly last time. -Mfil He 3HB.eM· AWARDS UPDATE-AUGUST 1994--compiled by Lynn Amos • Lower Colorado River Authority 94-21 Montagna: "Inflow Needs Assessment of the Colorado River Diversion on Benthic Communities," Agreement, 01/01/94-12/31/94. • National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration 94-16 Benner: "Organic Matter Decomposition, Nitrogen Recycling, and Oxygen Depletion in the Mississippi River Plume/Gulf Shelf Region," NA90AADSG689, RIES-29, 06/01/94-11/30/94. 94-18 Whitledge: "Buoyancy and Nutrient Exchange in the Mississippi River Outflow Region," NA90AADSG689, R/ES-28, 06/01/94-11/30/94. 4 • National Science Foundation 92-23s 1 Buskey: "Behavioral Cues Responsible for Initiation and Maintenance of Copepod Swarms," Supplemental Funds underResearch Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, OCE-9218516001, 07/05/94-01/31/95. 92-33/1 Tinnin: "Adaptation and Implementation ofthe Marine Activities Resources & Education (MARE) Program to the Texas GulfCoast," Subcontract, University ofCalifornia/NSF, SA1183-21359NM (Yr 1 of 3), 05/01/94-04/30/95. 93-36 Amos: "Tidal Predictions for Palmer Station, Antarctica," OPP-9316777, 04/01/94-03/31/95. 94-04/1 Benner: "Characterization of Dissolved Organic Matter in Seawater by Ultrafiltration and Chemical Analysis;· OCE-9413843 (Yr 1of3), 05/15/94-04/30/95. · 94-32 Tho~pso~:-'.'Ship Operations," OCE-9~14910Aineri~ent001 (addition.al funds); 07/0l/94-·06(3Q/9~.. . . . .·. -..· . . : . . -. .. . . . . . • Office of Naval Research 93-18/2 Suttle: "Viral Pathogens ofMarine Phytoplankton," N00014-92-J-1676P00002 (Yr 2of3), 02/18/9409/30/94. • Sid W. Richardson Foundation 94-22 Arnold, Holt J & Holt S: "Intensive Culture and Habitat Requirements of Young Red Drum and Spotted Seatrout-Part II," Grant 94-13, 04/07/94-04/06/98. • Texas Water Development Board 94-24 Whitledge: "Rincon Bayou-Nueces. Marsh Wetlands Restoration and Enhancement Project: Biological Monitoring," Contract #94-483-046, 04/01/94-02/15/97. This was a very busy summer for the Marine Education Services Program. It. began with a week-long summer institute with the "Blue Planet" leadership team teachers at Lopez-Riggins Elementary in Los Fresnos. We focused on marine habitats such as the Rock Jetty, Sandy Beach and the Marshes and Mudflats found along South Padre Island. We started each day with an early morning field trip and returned to school to examine what we had collected and to provide an opportunity for the teachers to develop implementation strategies and lesson plans to get the information into the classroom. We also assisted them in developing a year-long scope and sequence for the school's science program using marine science as the central theme or focus. In late June, I flew out to Santa Cruz, California to join the Marine Activities, Resources and Education (MARE) Teacher Institute. The MES program and the MARE group at Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley, were recently awarded a 1.2 million dollar grant through NSF to pilot the MARE curriculum and staff development strategies in schools in California, Nevada and Texas. I have a subcontract with LHS and serve as the Texas Project MARE Principal Investigator. I am working with 5 elementary schools in the Eanes ISD in Austin and with Crossley Special Emphasis Elementary in Corpus. Crossley will be the 5 first school in Texas to develop ·a year-round curriculum using the ocean as the main focus for all subject areas. The MARE curriculum and teacher training model are tailor-made for assisting the school in reaching its goal. The school has received special waivers from the Texas Education Agency as well as grant money to· develop and implement this curriculum approach. In early July, I served as chief scientist for a two day offshore cruise aboard the RIV LONGHORN for 10 REU minority college students. We set up a sampling routine at stations every 10 fathoms on the outbound leg at 10, 20, 30 and 40 fathoms and sampled at 35, 25 and 7 fathoms on the inbowid leg. Samples collected at each station included a surface plankton tow, CTD cast, surface and bottom water, Smith Macintyre mud grabs, a biological dredge and an otter trawl. The students were impressed by the marked difference between the diversity and abundance of plankton, fish and invertebrates as we cruised farther offshore. . For instance, plankton samples collected close to shore were chock full of a wide variety of copepods, ·arrow worms and temporary zooplankton. The inshore sample had so much zooplankton in it, it was almost impossible to see through the collecting jar. . Conversely, the offshore plankton tows were almost clear with very little _obvious plankton in them. These samples were pres·erved and will se:r;ve as ·for..the visiting ~lass·program which.start$ up agrun·this fall. ·. · ·:r:esqq~·c~ samples jn.the nev\r. pier . lal;> . . . . . . ·. . . . . .. . . . . . In mid-July, I hosted 33 ·eleme~tacy teachers for ~S-day MARE Summer Institute here ~t UTMSI. Craig Strang, MARE Project Director at LHS and Pam Stryker, a Presidential Award Winner for Elementary Science and an Eanes ISD teacher, assisted me leading the institute. The MARE curriculum is habitatfocused, with each grade level studying a different marine habitat. During the institute, we focused on the individual habitats, providing _the teachers with hands-on field experiences as well as opportunities to explore the activities and background materials in each habitat guide. MARE uses the ocean as a central theme and links all of ~he traditional subject areas across the curriculum. 'l'he Texas MARE teachers will help me develop activities and a curriculum which focus on the Texas Gulf Coast This material will be incorporated into the existing MAREHabitat Guides and be used by the California and Nevada Teachers. The new pier lab was used extensively during the institute and proved to be an invaluable resource for the MES program. I can't wait to start working with the visiting classes that will arrive shortly for the fall season. In late July and early August, I was able to visit with Dr. Sharon Walker, Director of the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center in Biloxi, Mississippi; Dr. John Dindo, Associate Director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama and with the education staffat the new Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga about their docent programs. Dr. Walker was hosting a Navy sponsored Oceanography program for minority teachers called Operation Pathfinder. Through my efforts, two Texas teachers were accepted into the program. Dr. John Dindo at Dauphin Island has created a 1.5 acre marsh at the site of a former Air Force septic tank field and was very helpful in providing details of the planning, construction and funding for his project. This information as well as the plans he supplied will be very valuable in planning the 3.5 acre marsh on site here between the Visitor Center and the new pier lab. Planning for that project will begin in earnest later ·this fall. I accomplished this round of visits enroute to the National Marine Educators Association Conference held in conjunction with the American Institute for Biological Sciences in Knoxville. I am currently on the board of NMEA and participated in long-range planning, the annual board meeting and presented a paper at the conference that focused on the MES program at UTMSI and the field experiences we provide for teachers and students. In early September, I will be attending the Marine Technology Society (MTS) annual conference in Washington, DC. I will present a paper in the Education Track on my research in Los Fresnos. The focus of the talk is how to integrate science, math and technology at the elementary school level through use of a thematic curriculum and a variety of creative teaching strategies. This next week, I will be setting the visiting class schedule of the fall as well as setting dates for the '94-'95 weekend teacher workshops. -Rick Tinnin 6 RIV LONGHORN LONG TERM SCHEDULE 1994 •· August 22-26, UTARL, Clark Penrod and Paul Eisman, ONR work, testing acoustic array~ and recording buoy systen:is. . ·. • September 1.4~ UTARL~ Gu~f,.details to Qe ·arr~ge4 . . . . .. ··· . . . ·ii Approximately 10.days· t9 .he ·scJ:iedulecf as .needed by Texas Parks· and Wildlife Department ro:r.-buoy· replacement and maintenance work. · 1995 • Up to 20 days to be scheduled as needed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for buoy replacement and maintenance work. •May 10-17, Ron Benner & John Hedges, NSF OCE-9413843, Characterization ofdissolved organic matter in seawater by ultrafiltration and chemical analysis. • Six days, minority and women students training cruise, summer, Whitledge and Thomas, NSF: OCE-9322284 • Five to seven days, summer class/student training • 15 days, Richard Buffler UTIG, ocean bottom seismometers deployment, NSF proposal, Structure of the Chicxululum KT Impact Crater, Yucatan, Gulf of Mexico · • August 10-17, Ron Benner & John Hedges, NSF OCE-9413843, Characterization of dissolved organic matter in seawater by ultrafiltration and chemical analysis. combined with • August 18-20, Ellery Ingall, NSF, Burial and preservation ofphosphorus in marine sediments: Response to bottom water oxygenation • September 19-25, Ellery Ingall, NSF, Burial and preservation of phosphorus in marine sediments: Response to bottom water oxygenation 1996 • Six days, minority and women students training cruise, summer, Whitledge and Thomas, NSF: OCE-9322284 • Five to seven days summer class/student training • April 1-5, Ellery Ingall, NSF, Burial and preservation ofphosphorus in marine sediments: Response to bottom water oxygenation • August 10-17, Ron Benner & John Hedges, NSF OCE-9413843, Characterization of dissolved organic matter in seawater by ultra.filtration and chemical analysis. combined with • August 18-22, Ellery Ingall, NSF, Burial and preservation ofphosphorus in marine sediments: Response to bottom water oxygenation RIV LONGHORN Cruise #94-619: Many enjoyed reading the report which Tony Amos sent from the RIV LONGHORN while still in the Gulf on the latest student cruise. We would print Tony's formal cruise report, but it is not nearly as charming; and it is 67 pages long! However, the cruise track is presented below. LONGHORN STUDENT CRUISE 16 CRUISE TRACK 30 July -7 August 1994 27 o 30, N-wt--;:-(rr;--t---------~!o,,..-~tc:~~~----H.1-27 o 30. N l Jr/ _.ii 2~~ -1~N~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~015·~ .. . g~ow· UNDERWAY and STATION LOG SHEETS Anthony F. Amos, UTMSI, Port Aransas, Tx 78373 Travel ending between August 6 and 26 +Curtis Suttle, August 2-6, Honolulu, Hawaii, attend UV Symposium on Use of marine viruses as dosimeters of ultraviolet radiation in the sea. +Rick Tinnin, July 26-August 12, Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, attend NMEA Annual Conference; Biloxi, Mississippi, teach at Summer Teacher Institute, Operation Pathfinder; Dauphin Island, Alabama, meet with designers of and visit their Estuarium .exhibit. +Robert Huntington, August 6-12, Knoxville, Tennessee, attend AIBS and NMEA conferences. +Curtis Suttle, August 7-12, Vancouver, Canada, present seminar Teasing apart the nature and ecological significance of viral communities in the sea. +Dean Stockwell, August 9-12, Galveston, attend NOAA!NMFS sponsored workshop, 1994 mortalities workshop, and present paper, Toxic algae in Texas. +Ken Dunton, August 11-14, Port Isabel, consult with Terry Allison and students on joint ARP research project and assist with software installations, deploy light meters in lower Laguna Madre. +Curtis Suttle, August 19-26, Goa, India, attend meeting and present course on Marine Molecular Methods at Institute of Oceanography. 8 MSDS forms distributed- Benner: Molybdic Acid Sodium Dihydrate Plant Cell Culture Tested; Citric Acid Free Acid; Anhydrous Plant Cell Culture Tested; Sodium Borohydride Dunton: Phenol; Iodine; Ferric Chloride Hexahydrate; Acetone; Sodium Carbonate; N,N-Dimethyl-PPhenylenediamine Sulfate Harris: Unipro Brake Fluid; Insecticide; Dursban 112 Granular Insecticide; Seymour Spray Paint (aerosol) Holt, J.: Nalidixic Acid Sodium Gamma-Irradiated Molecular . Biology Reagent; Trizma Acetate Reagent Grade Crystalline . · : Ingall: Magnesium Nitrate . Hexahydrate; Potassium Chloride Solutions; · Formaldehyde, 37% Solution; Cupric Sulfate; Barium Chloride;· Sodium Citrate;· Sodium Carbonate, Anhydrous; ·. Sodium Acetate, Anhy=drous; ~moiliumAcetate; Ammonium Hydr.oxide SolutiCm; Iso-Amyl" · Alcohol · Montagna: Potassium Chloride Shaw: Unilube HD Fleet 40 Motor Oil Stockwell: Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone; N-(1-Naphthyl)Ethylenediamine Dihydrochloride ACS Reagent; DL Dithiothreitol Electrophoresis Reagent Suttle: Sodium Chloride; Magnesium Chloride; Sodium Hydroxide, Ion, Titristar; Sodium Hydroxide Solution 0.1 N; Iso-Propyl Alcohol; Glutaraldehyde, 50% aqueous solution Thomas: NitriVar 3 Nitrite Reagent; Hexanes, 98.5+%, A.C.S. HPLC Grade; Charcoal (Activated); Trifluoroacetic Acid Tinnin: Gentamycin Sulfate Villarreal: Disolv Germicidal Clnr and De; Household Bleach (5.25%) Whitledge: L-Tartaric Acid, 99+%, ACS Reagent; Ammonium Molybdate(VI), 99.9%; Tin(II) Chloride, 99.99+% -compiled by Patty Baker • The references to Dr. Neal Armstrong in recent editions ofthe Gazette put me in mind ofmy first summer at Port Aransas. I was your typical new graduate student, much impressed with my own importance ann intellectual ability. Dr. Odum graciously provided me with an assistant to help with the research I wa.s doing on an NSF grant. The assistant was a high school kid by the name ofNeal Armstrong. Naturally, I envisioned that the kid would do all the scut work for this important scientist named Bob Beyers. When Neal arrived and I began talking to him, it didn't take long to realize that the kid was· much smarter than I was. It was obvious that he was going to be a better scientist than I could ever hope to be. Hi.s contributions to the research were large and valuable and certainly exceeded my own. On the whole, it wa.s an ego defiating but healthy experience. Neal's subsequent distinguished career has proved that m:• estimation ofhim was entirely correct. (Robert J. Beyers, Ph.D., 1962) 9 • You dirty dog. How could you spend most ofyour life at UT and still have the brains ofan Aggie? (David Shultz, M.A., 1970) {Editor: Actually, Dave did not write this. He phoned to point out that I had failed to include his name last issue in the list of Pat Parker students-see corrections to the list elsewhere in this issue. I volunteered to write a suitable letter to myself in ·his behalf.) • Editor's note: the following letter was copied to us. Although addressed to Texas Highways, you will understand why we wanted to put it in the Lazarette Gazette: Although I have enjoyed and subscribed to Texas ·Highways for a number ofyears, retirement and limitedI fzx,ed income have recently interrupted my subscription; however, an issue seen in my dentist's waiting room has prompted me to somehow find another item in my budget to eliminate in order that I can renew my subscription. The article stimulating this craving appeared in the June 1994 issue and reported on The University ofTexas Marine Science Institute at Port Aransas, Texas. It was my great good fortune and incomparable privilege to "work my way through" The University ofTexas atAustin as secretary to Dr. E. J. Lund, who at that time was struggling thro~gh conception and birth pangs for the said Institute. He.was a brilliant s.cientist, dedicated teacher, and aman-ofreality as well as v.ision. How it.ma