THE UNMRSfTVOFTEXAS AT AUSTIN MM!NE SCIENCE INSTITUTE ,. The PO;H ARANSAS, TEXAS 251996 Lazarette4R Gazette·usRAR NEWS FROM The University of Texas at Austin MARINE SCIENCE INSTITUTE Port Aransas, Texas 78373-1267 (512-749-6760 -fax 512-749-6777) (internet: thompson@utmsi.zo.utexas.edu) Vol. 5, Issue 5, 22 March 96 In this issue of Lazarette Gazette Scott Holt: My first 22 years at MSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cover Seventeen new publications by MSI scientists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Rick Tinnin: MES, new projects, workshops, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Regular sections: trip reports & travel -p. 3, 50-year anniversary -p. 4, publications p. 5, marine education services -p. 6, cruise reports & boat operations -p. 7, letters to the editor -p. 10, facilities & equipment -p. 10, attaboys -p. 10, tony's tidings -p. 12, editor's note -p. 13 Scott Holt's first 22 years at MSI -My first day on the job we departed for a 5 day cruise on the RIV LONGHORN. I had never been farther offshore than a swim to the third bar in the surf so this was quite an adventure. I immediately got seasick (for three days) and from my deathbed I swore that if they ever got me back to shore alive I was resigning and heading for a new job somewhere inland! Fortunately, the seas calmed, I recovered, and by the end of our three year project, and many weeks at sea, I could sit in the galley on the roughest days and eat Popeye's greasy spaghetti with the best of them. :Fifty Year Jlnniversary: 1946 -1996 'Fifty 'Year Jlnniversary: 1946 -1996 I came to the Marine Science Institute from graduate school at Texas A&M to work in the benthic ecology program here on the ELM-funded Outer Continental Shelfproject. I was hired by Dr. Johnny Holland, who had also recently finished his graduate work at A&M. Johnny had a fairly large program (13 of us at one time) and a significant number were A&M graduates, much to the consternation, I am sure, ofone past and present Associate Director for Administration! Our lab was essentially in the basement, in a converted garage area where the walls were designed to wash away in hurricanes; I wonder who assigned Johnny that space? When the BLM project ended and Johnny left for Alaska (where he still works for Alaska Fish and Game in Juneau), I began working with Connie Arnold in the Fisheries and Mariculture program and working again in fish ecology, which was the subject of my graduate studies. Over the past 6-8 years our research has focused primarily on larval stages. Much of our earlier work on larvae involved descriptive studies in the estuaries from Lavaca Bay to the Lower Laguna Madre since very little was known about abundance and distribution offish larvae in the area. We have found that, although the number ofspecies is not very high, fish larvae are fairly abundant in most parts of the estuary and throughout most ofthe year since the various species involved have either alternating or prolonged spawning seasons. Species that spawn in the estuary are quite adaptable to environmental variability. We have found spotted seatrout larvae in salinities as low as 20 ppt in upper Aransas Bay and up to 48 ppt in the Laguna. (Joan Holt has found in laboratory studies, however, that there may be population adaptations to such wide ranges of salinity and an individual larva cannot tolerate such a broad salinity range.) Collecting and processing ichthyoplankton samples is a labor-intensivejob. We are lucky to have two expert larval fish taxonomists on the staff. Kathy Binney and Cameron Pratt have peered through the microscope for 7-8 years now at those tiny speckled threads of tissue that don't look anything like the adult fish into which they will develop. Kathy and Cameron have taught the art of larval taxonomy to a number of students who have worked in the lab on various projects and have managed to keep trout from turning into tuna on more than one occasion. These two wear other hats in the lab as well. Kathy has learned to watch what one wishes for when she openly wished she could be the "otolith person" as we began doing ageing studies with otoliths (ear "stones" in fish) several years ago: She now is the otolith person and probably sees growth rings on otoliths in her sleep at night after mounting and reading hundreds of otoliths each year! These data storehouses can tell us a larva's age (in days), its growth rate and birth date. From the age distribution of large numbers of larvae we can determine the death rate as well, which is extremely high, on the order of 40-70% per day, in young larvae. Cameron is our information manager, passing megabyte after megabyte of data through the computer and ultimately onto a growing pile of storage disks and tapes; but she is always able to find the data on what fish we caught six years ago in the Laguna Madre as easily as what we caught last month in Aransas Bay. I have had the privilege of having a good personal and professional relationship with my wife and friend Joan Holt over the past many years. We have worked together on several projects, recently focusing on how processes in the early life of fishes can impact population size. The core of this work has dealt with movement of larvae through tidal inlets from offshore spawning areas to estuarine nursery areas. The swimming ability of these larvae is virtually nonexistent so they are largely at the mercy of the currents. Our studies are therefore as much studies of physical processes as they are biological processes and are leading to cooperative work with physical oceanographers like Tony Amos of MSI and others who can help us integrate hydrodynamic models with biological processes. These studies have emphasized the non-standard working hours that scientists often keep. A series of 28 and 54 hour time-series collections (sampling for an hour every other hour by boat over one, and then two, full tidal cycles) has shown that red drum larvae migrate vertically in response to light and tidal stage to enhance their movement into the estuary. Our ultimate time series to date, sampling larvae on every high tide for 90 days in the fall of 1994 from the research pier, showed the pulsed nature of larval movement through the inlet by several species, including red drum, sand seatrout and Atlantic croaker. This pulsed movement seems to be driven by 'Fifty 'Year 57inniversary: 1946 -1996 meteorological events, particularly frontal passages. Ifyou haven't checked your tide tables lately, high tide typically occurs at night here during the fall, and our 7 days on 14 days offsampling schedule for each team meant lots of long nights on the pier. Even with that schedule, memories of silent ships passing in the night, watching monstrous red drum come up to feed under the lights, and showing dozens of visiting classes from Rick Tinnin's Marine Education Services program the excitement ofmarine science make that time now a fond memory. Several students from Joan's lab have worked on these projects with us. Kris Drescher just finished her Masters degree looking at the condition, or health, of red drum larvae from the inlet study and found that up to 40 % of the larvae were experiencing some degree ofstarvation (part ofthe source ofthe 40-70 % daily mortality rate). Jay Rooker and Andy Soto are currently working on studies of larvae from seagrass meadows where we are linking the arrival of new recruits to the seagrass nursery areas with the pulsed nature of transport through the inlet. Jay is also determining condition and mortality rates of red drum larvae in two species of seagrass meadows, while Andy is comparing food habits of those larvae between habitats. Our studies oflarval transport and recruitment will proceed as we continue to explore the relationship of physical and biological processes in the early life history of coastal fishes. -Scott Holt Travel ending between March 9 and March 22 +Christine Ritter, March 7-10, Colombia, South Carolina, present paper, Macroinfauna response to freshwater inflow variations in Rincon Bayou, Texas, at the.Benthic Ecology Meeting. +Pascal Riera, March 7-10, Colombia, South Carolina, present poster, Isotopic determination of food sources of nematodes in Marennes-Oleron (France), at the Benthic Ecology Meeting. +Mary Conley, March 7-10, Colombia, South Carolina, present paper, The effect ofbrown tide on benthic macrofauna, at the Benthic Ecology Meeting. +Greg Street, March 7-10, Colombia, South Carolina, present paper, Genetic diversity of cultured harpacticoid copepods exposed to hydrocarbons, at the Benthic Ecology Meeting. +Paul Montagna, March 7-10, Colombia, South Carolina, present paper, Trophic pathways of mercury bioaccumulation elucidated by stable isotopes, at the Benthic Ecology Meeting. +Terry Whitledge, March 8-10, Savannah, Georgia, represent The University ofTexas at a meeting ofthe Southern Association of Marine Laboratories. +Scott Holt, Cameron Pratt, March 14-15, Port Mansfield, Texas, larval fish research. +Curtis Suttle, March 17-19, Stillwater, Oklahoma, to present seminar on marine viruses at Oklahoma State University. 3 .'Fifty 'Year !Jlnni.versarg: 1946 -1996 Acting Directors and Interim Administrations -As we celebrate our 50-year anniversary this year, we have been featuring MSI Directors in the LazGaz, with Lund and Gunter having already appeared and Odum slated for the next issue. Ifwe go only by Directors we should just celebrate about 30 years of history rather than 50, because MSI enjoys the distinction of having had interim administrations for about 40% of its 50-year history. Until working on the Gunter article last issue, I had always thought of Gordon Gunter as a long-term Director. I was surprised to find that he (at least according to his own accounts in Gunter's Archives) had been Acting Director from 1949 to 1954 and then only Director to 1955. And then a second Acting Director, Henry Hildebrand, took over from 1955 to 1956. Gunter was Lund's student and Hildebrand was Gunter's student. Then came H. T. Odum as Director from 1956 to 1962. Odum was followed by Patrick L. Parker as Acting Director from 1963 to 1965 (stay tuned for Parker again, and again, and again). Dr. Parker had been hired in 1959, fresh out of the University of Arkansas, to begin a program in marine chemistry at MSI but had left for greener pastures at the Carnegie Geophysical Institute. Odum hired him back, but by the time he returned Odum himself was leaving and Parker returned as the Acting Director, serving for about two years. Then Donald E. (Curly) Wohlschlag was Director for five years, 1965-70. Curly was followed by-P. L. Parker in 1970, again as Acting Director. Then Carl Oppenheimer served as Director, but only for 1971-72. Neal Armstrong was the next Acting Director. Dr. Armstrong served as Acting Director while maintaining his regular residence in Austin (Professor in Civil Engineering). Often, every week or so, Dr. Armstrong would fly in to the PA airport for a day in Port Aransas. Jake, the pilot, was grateful for the regular employment. Peter Percival, who was an ex-pilot in the British Navy and had come to MSI as an assistant for Dr. Oppenheimer, was named Assistant to the Acting Director. Dr. Parker was selected as Director and served during 1974 1976. Then, surprise, surprise, the only straight transition from one Director to another without an interim administration; Oswald Roels took over as Director in 1976, lasting into 1978. (Editorial comment: Twenty years later many are still puzzling over how and why the change from Parker to Roels could have happened; especially in consideration of later developments, it still fails to make any sense!) The resignation of Dr. Roels in 1978 began a six year period during which there was no Director in Port Aransas. Following the exit of Dr. Roels, Dr. Keith Arnold, a senior professional administrator with many years service in the National Forest System, came down from main campus and served as Acting Director during 1978. In early 1979 a Program Management Committee was appointed, with P. L. Parker (Chairman), Connie Arnold and Dan Kamykowski; at the same time John Thompson was appointed Acting Director ofFacilities (reporting to MSI's Acting Director Peter Flawn in Austin). After another year this arrangement was dissolved and Dr. Parker was appointed as Associate Director (reporting to Robert Moore, the new Director of MSI headquartered in Austin and consisting of the Port Aransas Marine Laboratory and the Galveston Geophysical Laboratory). After Dr. Moore's resignation in 1982, there was no longer a Director or MSI office in Austin. For the period 1982-84 MSI (now just in Port Aransas) was governed by an Austin Administrative Committee consisting of Gerry Fonken, Robert Boyer, and Richard Starr. The group made periodic visits to Port Aransas. John Thompson was designated as the on-site administrator, except for scientific programs. And there was a local budget advisory Committee of Jim Cameron (Chairman) and Reinhardt Rosson, Connie Arnold, Warren Flint, and John Thompson, Ex officio. All these persons (and a great many others) were relieved and happy when Dr. Robert S. Jones finally arrived from the top position at the Harbor Branch Foundation and there was again, after six long years, a Director at Port Aransas of MSI. Everyone expected to live happily ever after, and MSI did for over eight years. But then, per the headlines from the Lazarette Gazette of 12 February 1993 -bulletin: Bolt from the Blue -Bob Bermuda Bound. Bob's resignation was effective June 1, 1993 and Terry Whitledge was appointed as Acting Director of the Marine Science Institute. Peter Thomas was appointed as Acting Chairman of the Department of Marine Science. -John Thompson :Fifty 'Year 5'Lnniversarg: 1946 -1996 New listings since September 1995 Amon, R.M.W. and R. Benner. (in press). Photochemical and microbial consumption of dissolved organic carbon and dissolved oxygen in the Amazon River System. Geochimica et Cosmochima Acta. Buskey, E.J., J.O. Peterson and J.W. Ambler. 1995. The role of photoreception in the swarming behavior of the copepod Diothona oculata. Marine and Freshwater Behavior and Physiology 26:273-285. Gardner, W.S., R. Benner, R.M.W. Amon, J.B. Cotner, Jr., J.F. Cavaletto, and J.R. Johnson. (in press). Effects of high molecular weight dissolved organic matter on nitrogen dynamics in the Mississippi River plume. Marine Ecology Progress Series. Garza, R. and C.A. Suttle (in press). Large double stranded DNA viruses which cause the lysis of marine heterotrophic nanoflagellate (Bodo sp.) occur in natural marine virus communities. Aquatic Microbial Ecology. Gwo, J.-C., K. Strawn, and C.R. Arnold. 1995. Changes in mechanical tolerance and chilling sensitivity of red drum (Sciaenopus ocellatus) embryos during development. Theriogenology 43: 1155-1161. Higgs, D.M. and L.A. Fuiman. (in press). Light intensity and schooling behaviour in larval gulf menhaden. Journal of Fish Biology. Mannino, A. and P.A. Montagna. Effects of salinity and sediments on small scale spatial variation of macrobenthic community structure. Estuaries (in press). Mannino. A. and P.A. Montagna. Fine-scale spatial variation of sediment composition and salinity in Nueces Bay of South Texas. Texas Journal of Science (in press). McCarthy. M., J. Hedges and R. Benner. (in press). Major biochemical composition of dissolved high molecular weight organic matter in seawater. Marine Chemistry. Meilahn, C.W., D.A. Davis and C.R. Arnold (in press). Effects of commercial fish meal analog and menhaden fish meal on growth of red drum fed isonitrogenous diets. The Progressive Fish Culturist. Riley, C.M., G.J. Holt and C.R. Arnold. 1995. Morphological development in the early life history of captive bred yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus (Bloch). Fishery Bulletin 93: 179-185. Riley, C.M., G.J. Holt and C.R. Arnold. 1995. Growth and morphology of larval and juvenile captive bred yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus (Bloch, 179 l). Fishery Bulletin 93: 179-185. Rooker, J.R. and G.J. Holt. (in press). Application of RNA:DNA ratios to evaluate the condition of larval and juvenile red drum Scieanops ocellatus. Journal q{ Marine and Freshwater Research. 5 rifty 'Year .9Lnniversary: 1946 -1996 Thomas, L.M., S.A. Holt and C.R. Arnold. 1995. Chemical marking techniques in larval and juvenile red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) otoliths using different fluorescent markers. In Recent Developments in Fish OtoI ith Research (David H. Secor, John M. Dean and Steven E. Campana, eds). 19:703-717. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina. Street, G.T. and P.A. Montagna. Loss of genetic variability in harpacticoid copepods associated with offshore platforms. Marine Biology (in press). Wilhelm, S.W. 1995. The ecology of iron-limited cyanobacteria: a review of physiological responses and implications for aquatic systems. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 9:295-303. Zhu, Y. And P. Thomas. 1995. Red drum somatolactin: development of a homologous radioimmunoassay and plasma levels after exposure to stressors or various backgrounds. General and Comparative Endocrinology 99:275-288. -compiled by Patty Webb Recent workshops and short courses -In February MES hosted three coastal birds workshops for school teachers, an Elderhostel intensive studies course, and a Chautauqua short course for junior college faculty. Investigating our blue planet -We have another five years funding by the Department of Education! We are especially proud that of the originally funded fifteen proposals our MES proposal was the only one refunded (in our Southwest region we were one of nine projects funded from the original 106 full proposals). Rick will be working with Lago Vista Elementary north ofAustin using a thematic science strand and the 5-E teaching model the first three years, expanding in years four and five to include the middle school. The Ocean and Earth Science themes will be used to drive the creation of an integrated science center. The goal is to improve science and math attitudes, skills, and knowledge of all the teachers through a variety of teaching strategies with a focus on science process skills which demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of science as it crosses traditional subject boundaries. This five year extension provides an opportunity to refine and further define the successful teaching model developed in the first project. 6 '.Fifty 'Year Jlnniversa1y: 1946 -1996 MARE-Maureen Terry, program assistant for MARE, conducted three days of touch labs at two ofthe MARE project schools in the EANES district in Austin. Maureen worked with over 1,600 elementary students in three days, bringing live marine invertebrates, marsh plants and fiddler crabs, sharks, stingrays and flounders and live plankton to the students as they celebrated their Oceans Week events. Maureen and Rick provided the same experience for 500 second and third grade students at Flour Bluff Elementary (Corpus Christi), who were also celebrating Oceans Week. Flour Bluffwas one of the original pilot schools for Project Ocean in 1989-90 and they still celebrate in grand style each year. Coming events: • MES hosts an Astronomy workshop March 22-24 for 35 teachers, which times out perfectly with the arrival of the comet, Hyakutake. (viewing information on Hyakutake is available on the www at http:/www.skypub.com/comets/hyaku3.html or http:llnewproducts.jpl.nasa.govlcometlhyakutake/ . • Maintaining marine aquariums and terrariums in the classroom workshops. Two workshops will be held; April 12-14 at Port Aransas and April 27 at the UT-Pan American Coastal Studies Laboratory on South Padre Island. • Basic marine science workshop will be held May 4 at the UT-Pan American Coastal Studies Laboratory. • RIV KATY will be operating from the South Point Marine in Port Isabel during late April and early May in support of both workshops and will be available for class trips by students and teacher groups from the Rio Grande Valley area. -Rick Tinnin .· ": Cruise #96-658 for the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife's Artificial Reef Project got underway at 2200 hours, February 19. Doug Peter was aboard as Chief Scientist. RIV LONGHORN first stopped at the Port Mansfield Liberty Ship Reef where a buoy was replaced. RIV LONGHORN then moved to the North Padre Reef Site and performed buoy maintenance. This was a routine trip with good weather and no problems. Cruise #96-659 combined LONGSECS-15 with trial testing of a new PDR for the RIV LONGHORN and was conducted from 1045 of 314196 to 1215 of 315196. Tony Amos was aboard as Chief Scientist and Gordon Snow, System Technologist, represented Knudsen Engineering. The LONGSECS work was accomplished successfully, but there were PDR problems both with the recorder and theR/VLONGHORNs transducers. 7 'Jijty Year Jtnniversary: 1946 -1996 LONGHORN CRUISE 659 UNDERWAY DATA; 03-05-1996 SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES THIS DAY; ~~ :I • :: YFCT!lB:! !!!ti I: : OTHEll INVE9TI8ATIOH9 ond N!Jn8 =~~ _4________________._F :~ -PWEMOMEHA 111.MKT (111: JO: 01 UXAU; l10KlAV; 03/04/IHI ~ I '~:;;,~;: ::;,llf'FFQ I fa O • Thanks for your note and the copies of the Lazarette Gazette. I look forward to attending the 50th anniversary ofMS/. Keep me posted on dates, etc. Thanks! Regards to all, Gerry Fonken. (From Dr. Gerhard Fonken, Ashbel Smith Professor Emeritus) Boat Basin Pavilion -The RIV KATY has moved. Although building plans have just been received from Architect John Placek for the new pavilion, the RIV KATY has moved to its new location. The first classes have already gone to sea from the new landing. Even without a pavilion, the new location is already a big success. There is lots of good (&safe) parking for vans and school buses and the students venture to the sea from an attractive dock and landscaped park-like area. An impressive combination trawl neUflagstaffhas been installed. Individual electrical service to the boat slips in this area has been removed and the Gardening Crew will soon improve additional areas of the landscaping. Pond Area Fencing -Funding has been received to remove and replace the security fencing around the pond area. A contractor will be performing the work soon. The new fencing will allow for direct access to the pier and pier laboratory without passing through gates while still providing security to the research ponds. Lund House -Remodeling and redecorating ofupper Lund is now complete. Everyone who has looked at the results has been enthusiastic and surprised. It really looks great. Many thanks are due to Advisory Council Member Susie Pina who took the lead in planning and carrying out this project as well as donating many of the items which have completely changed Upper Lund from a somewhat mediocre housing facility to an attractively decorated beach house. • Since my participation in the Research Experiences for Minority Undergraduates at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute during the summer of 1995, opportunities have become available to further enhance my hands-on-science participation. I was asked to apply for a full time job at the Pan American University Laboratory, unfortunately this opportunity would have conflicted with my full time scholastic schedule. The second oppoi·tunity involves Biological Research Problems under the direction of Dr. McNeely. This research involves the investigation of fish life history and the ecology of Poecilia latipinna (sailfin molly). I personally helieve that these opportunities have presented themselves frorn my participation this past summer in the REU program. I would like to thank Dr. Fuiman, his graduate students and The University of Texas Marine Science Institute Staff for a very enjoyable educational experience. (From Avie/ C. Bustinza, UTB!TSC Student, to Terry Whitledge) Tide Predictions for April (For tidal heights at the tide tower, South Jetty, the Aransas Pass. Heights are in feet above or below mean sea level. The shaded area is nighttime. Remember, this is tidal height, not tidal current. Slack water is when the wiggly line crosses the MSL line, not at peaks and valleys, where the tidal current will be a full flood or ebb.) CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME ST ARTS AT 2 AM ON APRIL 7 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT O> z O> s:: O> z )> 0 .,, 0 )> 0 s:: ~ s:: z s:: ~ 2 2I 1 1 m 0 0 G) -1 -1 ~ -2 .:::=;:;::..._...._....:;;::o~~.__.........-=~--2-::;; .!3. 2 1 0 -1 -2 2 1 0 -1 -2 2 2I 1 1 m 0 0 G) I -1 -1 ~ -2 -2 -+o H1 1205 .!3. L1 0244 2 1 0 -1 -2 L 1 0453 H1 1243 H1 1254 L 1 0700 L2 1904 L2 1912 H2 1259 H2 2347 LZ 1930 Weather Report for March 4 -17 -Tony Amos I thought Scott was just writing something on the present activities of his group, but was happily surprised to receive an article which also fits in well with MSI's 50-year anniversary. The editor had nothing to do with assigning the Johnny Holland Aggie Group space in the worst part of the building; I would have put the Aggies far out on the old pier. Johnny's spouse, Louise, knitted two little beanies-one orange and white and the other maroon. We had an agreement on the annual Thanksgiving football game. Ifthe Longhorns won Johnnny had to wear the orange and white one. IfA & M won, I had to wear the maroon one. Lucky for me this was the tim~ of the reign of Darrel Royal. I mailed a copy of the article on Interim Administrations/Acting Directors to Pat Parker for comment, as he obviously is well qualified to do so. Unfortunately I did not hear back from him as yet; and I am not surprised as he undoubtedly now has more pleasant things to do back on the farm in Arkansas. I tried, but of course did not succeed, to keep personal views out of that article. But I did at least save for this part of the LazGaz the comment that perhaps UT has often done better in selecting Acting Directors than Directors. And it is interesting that Directors always seem to be from the realm of biology whereas Acting Directors have come from chemistry, geology, forestry, and engmeenng. -John Thompson