.,. The THE UNIVEISITV OFTEXAS AT AUSTIN Lazari~E Gazeffi_____Rv 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 9, 7 June 96 In this issue of Lazarette Gazette Terry Whitledge: Report on the MSI Open House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cover Pat Parker, Joe Cech, Richard Moore, Michael Gunter, Faust Parker, John Thompson: D. E. Wohlschlag. . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Chris Collumb: Carrie Bow Cay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Regular sections: director's report -p. 1, 50-year anniversary -p. 2, egabrag woes -p: 5, cruise reports & boat operations -p. 5, bureaucratic beatitudes -p. 6, trip reports & travel -p. 6, attaboys -p. 9, personnel -p. 10, letters to the editor -p. 11, msi on the www -p. 12, seminars -p. 12, tony's tidings -p. 13, editor's note -p. 13 i . I · Our open house was a great success! We could not accurately count all of the visitors·, but our estimate is more than 1000. We received a lot of good compliments about how great the guided tours were. Some of the afternoon tours were booked up by the middle of the morning, especially F AMtl, sea turtles, and the KATY trip. Our biggest problem was the lack of parking since the three parking lots :were full and many of the nearby streets were also parked full including Cotter Street that goes to the beach by the jetty. • <. •1 I .... r ,,. • ,·, . I . . I rifty 'Year 5'1.nniversary: 1946 -1996 ' : :Fifty Year Jlnniversary: 1946 -1996 We had very good publicity from three of the local teleyision stations both before the event and then reporting on the activities Saturday evening.: The newspapers in Port Aransas and Corpus Christi ran several articles on the open house and the history of the MSI. Mary Judson from the Marine Science Advisory Council gave us a lot ofhelp by sending out a local press release and personally coordinating the tours to the F AML throughout the entire day. The staff of the MSI really worked hard to make this a special day for the MSI. The spirits were very high and the kind words about our institute were nice to hear from the public. The special banners, brochures, posters and the tours really spruced up the facility and made it come alive. The graduate students served as tour guides arid made presentations about the various scientific studies. There were lots of people who worked hard to make this event happen, but none more than Dr. Lee Fuiman who organized the whole event. We are now ready to use many of the displays and banners for other local events like Port Aransas Days and Bay Fest Celebration in Corpus Christi. -Terry Whitledge Donald E. Wohlschlag Editor's Note: In addition to serving as Director from 1965 to 1970, Dr. Donald E. Wohlschlag served as Editor of Contributions in Marine Science from 1975 to 1990. The following is excerpted from the volume dedication written by Dr. P. L. Parker on the conclusion of Dr. Wohlschlag's tenure as editor. Curly, as Professor Wohlschlag was nicknamed long ago, came to The University of Texas as Director of the Marine Science Institute and Professor of Zoology in September 1965. From Stanford to Texas was a long drive and a big change for Curly and Marjorie. But they quickly settled into new duties. Marjorie organized and ran the Port Aransas Independent School District's kindergarten, perhaps the first free one in Texas and Curly took up the duties of the Director. Geraldine Ard, Curly's secretary, loved to tell the story ofhis first dictated letter. It began "Dear Yo-Yo." Some careful investigation revealed that Yo-Yo was Paul Dayton, one of Curly's early field students at Stanford. During Curly's term as Director the Board of Regents authorized a major building program at the Institute and through his efforts, the University acquired 48.78 acres of beach front property from Nueces County and the Federal Government. This happened about the time of Hurricane Beulah in 1967. We never did know whether Curly used the actual hurricane as an argument for a new building or whether he just threatened the Regents with a hurricane if they did not build a new lab. Either way, a generation of staff and students benefited from his leadership. Many of these students were Curly's own. During his career at Texas he supervised 8 Ph.D. and 8 M.A students. These men and women continue their research and problem solving that Curly started them on at positions across the country. Curly was devoted to hands on experience for his students and technicians. Itbecame a key part oftheir training and has served them well. Of course there is some risk in letting young folks find their own way. Now we can laugh at the young man who needed a little fiber glass resin and poured the left over but activated resin back into the five gallon can. It made a great boat anchor. Curly is one of the few scientists who has done research in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. He started in the Arctic in the early 1950's. No one knows why he switched; adventure, romance, money? It must have been opportunity. In the year prior to leaving Stanford for UT Curly was running the biological laboratories in the Antarctic for the National Science Foundation. His years in those cold places may explain his move to Texas. Texas has not been dull for him either. Besides the heat and administrative nightmares of running a facility remote from the campus, he holds the record for having the roof of his !Fift!J '.Year Ylnni.versarg: 1946 -1996 home blown off the most times. The best part of the Donald E. Wohlschlag story is that he still is a colleague and friend. As an emeritus Professor, he comes in every day when he is not traveling. His counsel and support for the marine program over some stormy seas mean a lot to all of us. We are glad that Curly and Marjorie came our way. -Pat Parker Mentoring-When I finished my postdoc in Maine and came to California as a new assistant professor in 1975, I was told about UC Davis' expectations: research, teaching, service, undergraduate student advising, and graduate student mentoring. I was comfortable with these because I had conducted research, taught a course, served on committees, and had been a student of some sort "forever." With 21 years' hindsight, I now know that being Curly Wohlschlag's technician (for one year) and graduate student (for six years) at the UTMSI had particularly prepared me for the mentoring role. After completing a one-year research cruise in the Caribbean and the South Pacific (1965-66) and finishing my B.S. degree in Zoology at UW Madison (summer, 1966), Curly hired me to work for a year on his NSF grant studying seasonal effects on pinfish metabolism in the pier lab. During that year (1966-67) I was accepted into the UT Zoology graduate program and became Curly's graduate student (M.S. followed by Ph.D.) in fall, 1967. Curly taught me much about fishes, plumbing, Winkler titrations, WWII history, field research, carpentry, aquatic habitats, music (at least, banjo music), getting along with people, Tempmobiles (a type of temperature controlled water bath), persistence, and possible solutions to social problems. I'll never forget the countless Sunday afternoon invitations to the Wohlschlag home to watch some Dallas C9wboys football, enjoy Marjorie's real cooking, and discuss a plethora of topics with the assembled group of students and faculty. Chase Van Baalen, Colin Nicol, and Bill Behrens (faculty) and Richard Moore, Richard Watson, Jim Cameron, and Bill Longley (graduate students) were regular participants on these occasions. I'm still not sure how Marjorie knew that I was otherwise "existing" on hot dogs and pot pies, during that first year. There is no doubt that the hours of discussion (including evening sessions at the laboratory) measurably enriched my graduate experience. Curly was an early master of what we now call "multi-tasking." The other students and I would be reading in our office in the evening, while Curly was working on a manuscript or a memo in his Director's office. At intervals, he would take a break by lighting his pipe and walking down the. hall to recount an experience of his. For example, he would explain the value of forethought and field preparedness with a story about having a certain kind ofmildly abrasive cloth in his coat pocket to assist the boat crew in reviving the engine (by cleaning spark plugs and ignition contact points) on a wind-whipped arctic lake. On these occasions, he would often pause in mid-story, quickly return to his desk to continue writing, and return at the next interval to continue the story exactly where he left off. With my current responsibilities as a department chair, as well as professor, multi-tasking is a way oflife. Curly was doing this in the 1960s. Because ofmy UTMSI experience in the Wohlschlag lab, it has been very natural for me to pass along what I've learned (about fishes, plumbing, persistence, etc.) through the years to my own students. Mary and I entertain students at our home, although the California group is not as interested in football. In the Wohlschlag tradition, "mentoring-relevant" discussions also occur in vehicles, during field trips, and in the laboratory (including some evening opportunities). I hope that my students will continue the fine example I learned from Curly Wohlschlag in mentoring future fish biologists. -Joe Cech Curly stories -The great trouble with Curly stories is that he was always the person with all the stories. It's hard to top the master at his own craft, but I do recall once when Curly was left without a tale to tell. Anyone around the lab in those days will remember that Curly used to like to intercept folks at the water cooler. Ifhe caught you out in the hall you were a sure target for one ofhis many stories. My office was right next to the cooler, so I got a first hand view (or earful) ofmost everything that went on. One time Dick Watson, after carefully checking to ensure the way was clear, snuck out to get a drink of water and was "caught" by Curly as he emerged from the men's room. Curly began his story with his usual, "well." But before he could get any further Dick said, "no Curly, it's a water fountain." This unexpected response apparently left Curly momentarily speechless and before he could recover, Dick had safely escaped back in Bill Behren's lab. -Richard Moore riftg '.Year .9lnni.versarg: 1946 -1996 Curly's wisdom -My time as a graduate student with Curly Wohlschlag coincided with a watershed period in my own path, one in which I was literally immersed in the science and the life of the ocean, not to mention the whole maritime experience, and a lot of thoroughly enjoyable experiences which we called "research". Of course, it is hard for me now to separate my MSI period from the overall Port Aransas experience and the genuine excitement of an urban Kansan adapting to life in a seaside resort town. Nowhere are fishes more important, and the fish are so much bigger than I was accustomed to. The collection oflive, experimental redfish, and speckled trout, is a lot like fishing. It is easy to get hooked on this activity. Running fish in an aquatic treadmill was great sport too. Fish ecology (for lack of a better term) under Curly was, all at once, my most intense interest, my favorite sport, my current job and my ticket to a career in environmental science. Curly was wise enough to just let it all happen. Not what you would call a "control freak" he seemed to understand that a laissez-faire approach to research (as long as equipment was identified with "DEW" or "Fish Ecology") would provide enough latitude for a budding scientist to find a need and fill it, and enough rope to hang anyone else in the culturally stressful environment of Port A. Curly's management style was loose, but required mastery ofcertain material and a well-rounded, nearly comprehensive view ofwhat we were doing. The real trick to working with Curly was to save up topics requiring discussion and then get them covered in occasional marathon sessions during which one had to abandon preconceiv~d notions about orderly conversation, and compete for conversational niche space in the time available. · Curly's best insights, in my opinion, are only revealed to those with patience and I often found myself defending his style against those who were in a hurry. It is as if the entropic connectedness which characterizes everything ecological (and the profundity and problems of our human condition within that construct) was the unspoken framework for any discussion. All things seemed to revolve around this vast concept, all topics had to relate to it, cycle back to it, provide examples of it, or lay bare some insight into it. It was never stated, it was simply in the background. You either got it or didn't. There were no shortage ofthose who lacked the necessary understanding, patience and mental flexibility to receive Curly's wisdom. What he was teaching was a way of thinking. Folks may be forgiven for doubting that there was wisdom in these long conversations, but since he was my boss, I could indulge in the sessions which looped around and around this unstated and intuitive ecological paradigm. His teaching method could be called "unilateral dialectic". I could go on at length about how Curly managed to teach me some marine ecology, but I'll spare you. I am glad to see the Laz Gaz feature my prior mentor and give me the opportunity to reflect on those days and Curly once again. My e-mail address is sysop@dbcity.com. My web site is at http://222.dbcity.com. Drop in sometime. -Michael Gunter So many stories, so little time! Sounds a little like Curly's motto, doesn't it? From his evening M.G. tours ofthe institute grounds to the ever-present Latakia-filled pipe rhythmically wiggling out a B-29 story next to the water cooler, he is probably one of the most unique personalities ever to direct MSI. But most of all, Curly was, and is, a great mentor, father figure and best friend. Always allowing enough leash but knowing when to reel back an errant graduate student. I owe my success as a laboratory director to the foundations laid in those wonderful years in Port Aransas. Curly and Marjorie always made us feel like one of the family and to this day I can't watch a Dallas Cowboy game without drifting back to those Thanksgiving day games at the Wohlschlags. The University, the Institute and a whole bunch of babyboomer scientists out there owe a big thank you to Curly and the whole Wohlschlag clan. (Stories and photos to be dusted off prior to the reunion.) -Faust Parker rifty '.Year .9lnni.versarg: 1946 -1996 Working for DEW-It was with considerable trepidation (and perhaps a somewhat exaggerated view of my own importance to the operation of the MSI) that I approached the new Director about my vacation plans. I only knew that he had come from Stanford, where he had been a full Professor (this was important-only recently had the senior people at PortAransas been changed from Lecturer to the lofty title ofAssistant Professor) and had been involved in NSF sponsored work in the Antarctic. I did know, to my amazement, that his term for the new and exalted Assistant Professors was often green bean. For some months I had been corresponding with Bob Jones, who was working on his Ph.D. at the University of Hawaii, about arrangements to join him aboard the Ketch LITTLE BEAR for a lengthy cruise around the islands, and I now needed the new Director's permission. IfDOCTOR Parker was a green bean, what was I-perhaps some sort ofturnip sprout at best. Not to worry-offI went with best wishes. Five years were to follow in which one could always count on the Director to do the right thing-perhaps not the most popular thing, the easiest thing, but the right thing. Recently I wrote of running up the steps at the UT Tower two at a time with H. T. Odum, with DEW we_would more likely stop off at a stair landing for a story. But the bottom line was that the work did get done, and correctly. One of the first projects in the office was to organize the new Wohlschlag filing system. Three metal boxes with lids were found and refinished in bright red enamel by Herman Moore. Then they were carefully labeled: Hea,ven -finished work to be filed; Hell -correspondence/work just received; Purgatory -work begun but not finished. If anything the work of the Director was then more complex. There was no Chairman because there was no Department. The Director had to go, hat in hand, to the Chairman of the various departments, (Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Microbiology) and beg, cajole, wheedle, or whatever to put together a program each summer. To me this work seemed to all belong in the red box with the shortest label. -John Thompson Cruise #96-663 -Captain's Report: Our second NSF cruise for the year was for Dr. Ron Benner for his project Characterization of dissolved organic matter in seawater by ultrafiltration and chemical analysis. RIV LONGHORN departed Port ._ , Aransas on May 22 and returned May 29. Dr. Benner was Chief Scientist. Other .~~:~members of the scientific group were Dr. Bopi Biddanda, Dr. Annelie Skoog, Brenda ~=f> Black, and Dan Lara, all of the UTMSI. The original cruise plan was closely followed; -~ it called for a direct transit to 26°10N, 96°00W and to remain in the vicinity ofthe station for the duration of the cruise. This location is on a course 120° and 190 miles from Port Aransas. The weather was great on the first two days and then for four days we had 20 mph winds. We had a slight problem with one air conditioning unit but the remaining two units continued to work well. Many thanks to the best A.C. repair man in South Texas (MSI's Bill Piepmeier) for letting me look over his shoulder when he's working on the system. I was able to adjust the system to keep people comfortable until we got to the dock. Organization of the scientific party was excellent as well as communications between the scientific party and the crew. The Chief Scientist commented (in the Research Vessel Cruise Assessment form) Best cruise I ever had on LONGHORN, the crew were very professional and even the cooking was great. CTD and water collection went as well as possible-very well equipped with 02 probe, fiuorometer, PAR sensor, and transmissometer. -Noe Cantu Listen pardner, be advised of the correct procedures for return ofvehicles. Ifyou do not follow these procedures and one of your compadres wants to use the vehicle the next morning, then that compadre is going to be up the you-know-what creek without the jet-air boat or even a paddle. Because, said compadre won't be able to find the key and those guys in maintenance who try to keep this stuff running for you will think it is still in use and it won't get serviced. -Walker * Return the vehicle to the garage. *Return the key to the hook (or through the drop slot in the office door). Carrie Bow Cay -Ed and I have recently returned from spending two weeks in Belize. Per John Thompson's request, for travel stories, I'm submitting this anecdotal account of my time there. The trip does not start off that well. Our flight is delayed 3 hrs in Houston due to a "smoking panel". This repair is unable to be completed so we must wait for another plane to become available. This is a problembecause we need to get from Belize City, where the Continental flight lands to Dangriga on a small commuter flight. The airport in Dangriga is not lit (it's a dirt road cut into the jungle next to a shack that has an old windsock over it) so we cannot fly after dark. Fortunately, we arrive in 1;3elize City prior to sunset, and although we have missed our commuter flight,the lab manager has arranged a private charter. I get to sit in the copilot's chair in this small 4-seater airplane. Ed gets stuck in the back with a lot of our luggage. We land without any major incident. Due to our delay we have missed the boat out to the lab. We spend the night at the Pelican Resort in Dangriga.This is the last I shall see of flushing toilets for awhile. The next morning Mike, the station manager, arrives to take us to the lab. A fairly pleasant 50 minute boat ride takes us to the Carrie Bow Cay Smithsonian Laboratory Facility. Carrie Bow is a small island (lessthan an acre) which the Smithsonian leases from the Bowman family. The mangroves were removed and several coconut trees were planted when the island was Carrie Bowman's private retreat (thus, the name Carrie Bow Cay). While not environmentally correct, it does make our stay more pleasant. Typically a nice breeze keeps the nights from being unbearably hot, and bugs are not too abundant. Carrie Bow is part of the large barrier reef off the coast of Belize. A lagoon and reef are on the eastern side of the island. Carrie Bow Oly, Belize, and Vicinity (from K. Riitzler and l.G. Macintyre. eds.. 1982: Smith~onian Contributions to the Marine Sciences. 12) ·.. ::: ·?jff ·.;:\· Blue Ground :_i.~_l_;l_tJf ~nge '/ .. .:..(:~>... -~~(: .. J:· }~· • .,.. Cl •• : . .: 0 .. ~ \~· ·. ..·::_:.: BI] Sand Bores & ..:_~~-:).,·.WccWceCar._•: .·...:. :::;_·~-)'_:Patch Reefs _~~<.·~.: _~·_::___~~ !Fifty ry'ear Y'lnniversarg: 1946 -1996 Three buildings make up the lab's facilities. Two of them have lab space and sleeping quarters; the third is just sleeping quarters. The lab can house nine scientists and the station manager and cook. Fortunatelyit was never this crowded while Ed and I were there. Electricity was supplied by solar batteries during the day, and by generator during the night. Power was turned offat 10:00. One had to keep an eye on the time because often the power shut off without warning. (Have your flashlight nearby because, unless the moon was up, when the lights went out it was very dark.) All of the water used on the island was collected rain water. This led to chilly showers in the morning. The drinking water filter system was broken so we had to survive on soda and beer for several days. The rest room facilities consisted of rest room "number one" which was a plank with a hole cut in it over the water and rest room "number two" which was a composting toilet. Shockingly it did not smell too bad, but it was the focal point for the majority of bugs on the island. While the atmosphere left something to be desired, you could not beat the view. The stalls had windows which let you look out on the reef. The island also came with a pet frigate bird, Elvis. Elvis would come by every couple of days to beg for fish. He had been raised from a chick by one of the cooks so did not fear humans. You could hand feed him, and pick him up. He would snatch fish out of your hand on the fly. I think Ed got a little tired ofElvis by the end ofour stay, especially after he tried to use his head as a perch. We quickly settled into a routine. We ate breakfast at 7:00, loaded the boat, and headed out to Twin Cays to collect copepods and mysids. The copepods swarm, and the mysids school in the light shafts formed bythe mangrove prop roots. This allows easy collection of a large number of a single species of zooplankton.While snorkeling among the mangroves one can see many small fish, tunicates, sponges, upside-down jellyfish and an occasional barracuda. We would return around lO:OO'and run experiments for most ofthe day.Near sunset, the animals would stop swarming/schooling, so around 5:00 experiments tended to end. This allowed for several opportunities to snorkel on the reef and to do some fishing off the lab's dock. The fishing started off well. I caught four good sized grunt the first night, earning me the short-lived nickname Grunt Master. After that night however the abundance of fish rapidly declined, and we spent many a night getting bait wet. Although one night Ed became the Grunt King by catching seven gruntsin short order. On our final day on the island we took a boat to the outer edge of the reef to try and get some big fish. Ed and the second station manager, Keith, managed to catch 11 nice sized fish, includingtrigger fish, yellow tail, snapper, and a grouper. I managed to lose three rigs, snarl my line twice and catch a tiny squirrel-fish. The snorkeling was wonderful. I won't describe all of the creatures seen, instead you should come see the bulletin board outside our lab which has some of the pictures taken at Carrie Bow (new ones to be added soon). Our return trip was uneventful and we made all our connections. The trip had been a lot ofwork, but also a lot of fun. A lot of data had been obtained and I have plenty of video tape to analyze. Hopefully, I will be able to return and continue working with these swarming copepods. -Chris Collumb Travel ending between May 25 and June 7 +Terry Whitledge, May 30-31, New Orleans, Louisiana, attend NOAA Gulf Region Constituent Meeting. +Peter Thomas, May 25--June 7, Hakodate, Japan, present paper, Characteristics ofa progestin membrane receptor on Atlantic Croaker sperm, at the 3rd International Symposium on Fish Endocrinology. riftg 'Year ;;fmdversarg: 1946 -1996 • I was one of that sea ofRotarians you spoke to this past Thursday at Corpus Christi's Bayfront Plaza. I have endured tons of speakers who had nothing to say and said it poorly. And then you stood up! I was enthralled and decided at lunch that whatever UTMSI was, if it comprised folks like yourself, I'd happily spend part ofSaturday in Port A. Your breadth ofinterests, easy manner ofspeaking and outstanding sense of humor telegraphed a passion that I'd guess has attracted its unfair share of students into the field. showed up Saturday at 9:40 and had to work to find a spot to park. One of your students behind the registration table was protesting that "Clear as Mud" was her own field and that the visit would be worthwhile. It was! I took two semesters ofGreek but couldn't decode "benthic." No problem. The faculty managed to get me to see the word, say the word, and use the word ten times in sentences. I was a Spanish major at Cornell, am a Presbyterian minister graduate ofPrinceton Seminary, ·and had a blast visiting the Institute. My seven-year old son and I have speculated about the old Padre Island to Bluffroadway. Now that I have spotted a photo around the corner from Benthic Ecology, this liberal arts graduate has an excuse to return with the boy and his sister to see what more we can learn about the island we live on. In short, you were great, and so was the Institute you represent. Hope the Rotarians didn't bore you. (To Rick Tinnin from Ed Seeger) • On behalfofthe Texas GulfCoast Press Association I want to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation for allowing us to have our dinner at the UTMSI Visitors Center on Friday, May 17. About 75 publishers and their spouses attended the dinner which was highlighted by a talk and slide presentation by the MSI's own Tony Amos. The group enjoyed the aquaria and displays in the foyer, and was fascinated by Tony's presentation. I would also like to extend my personal appreciation to you and your staff(Kathy Quade and Linda Fuiman) for their cooperation in making arrangements for the dinner. It has been a pleasure to work with all ofyou. Our convention also featured a slide show and talk by Dr. Joan Holt of the Fisheries and Mariculture Lab, and a tour of the FAML by Dr. Connie Arnold. We appreciate the time, expertise and facilities provided by you and the MSI personnel. As a result of all the cooperation, UTMSI was a major player in the convention's success. (To Terry Whitledge from Mary Henkel Judson) • The Open House was a huge success, no matter how you look at it. Even the·most conservative estimates indicate that we had well over 1,000 v.isitors on May 25th. I spoke with many ofour guests personally and found them to be delighted with the event. Everyone at MS! who played a part in the Open House should take great pride in a job well done. The people who worked during the event were the most visible and I thank them, but many of our staff worked for weeks prior to the event to make it the success it was. In particular, I thank John Shaw, Mike Gibson, and their staff for moving furniture, setting up signs, and preparing the facilities and grounds for weeks before the event. Thanks, also, to Dolores Villarreal and her custodial stafffor making the place look so nice. Many members ofthe scientific staffalso worked long hours preparing their displays and presentations. In addition, Greg Street, Mary Conley, and Scott Holt put in an extraordinary effort dealing with the artwork in its various forms. Linda Fuiman managed to get so many things ordered under harsh deadlines. Finally, the members of the Open House committee, Ruth Grundy, Joan Holt, Mary Judson, Todd Sperry, and Rick Tinnin, never failed to get various and sundry tasks accomplished week after week. Everyone ofyou has my sincere appreciation. (from Lee Fuiman) ~ift!J 'Year !llnni:versarg: 1946 -1996 •We wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the Open House events. We learned alot about a facility we knew existed-but had no ideas as to the research done there. A real eye opener for us. Thanks again-had a great time-students, staff, were all just a joy to visit and learn from. (from Harold Putman Jr. and Lillian Putman) Curtis Suttle resigns -Dr. Curtis Suttle, who first joined the MSI in November of 1988, has resigned and accepted a faculty position at The University ofBritish Columbia. The following message was received from Curtis and Amy: Just to let everyone know we arrived safely in Vancouver after driving 2700 miles in two and a halfdays. We miss Port A and UTMSI already. I especially want to thank everyone who helped us moue things and load the truck; we absolutely could not have done it without you. We look forward to seeing everyone again in July! Curtis and Amy may be reached by e-mail at suttle@ocgy.ubc.ca. Curtis and Amy will be back in Port Aransas to board the RIV LONGHORN for a cruise July 22 through July 31. Codgers consume cake -A "hallway festivity" was held Monday, June 3, to pres~nt certificates for long-term employment with UT and MSI. A special cake with the 50-year Logo as well as cookies, coffee, and punch were on hand. Youngest codger was Veril Barr with 10 years service. Medium-agedcodgers with 15 years service were Duffy Aldridge, Peter Thomas, John Shedd, and John Turany. Old codger with a 20-year certificate was Kathy Quade and older codger, with a 25-year certificate, was Ruth Grundy. Youngster with 35-year certificate was John Thompson. MS! Employees Proud Parents of P.A.I.S.D. -ALL YEAR HONOR ROLLS • OLSEN ELEMENTARY A HONOR ROLL first grade: Kyle Stockwell, Cory Turner, Matt Dunton · • OLSEN ELEMENTARY NB HONOR ROLL fourth grade: Jack Montagna, James Cantu fifth grade: Lauren Kalke • BRUNDRETT MIDDLE SCHOOL A HONOR ROLL sixth grade: Nicole Buskey, Karli Dunton, Toni Jackson seventh grade: Rachel Pearson eighth grade: Nathan Dunton .. • BRUNDRETT MIDDLE SCHOOL NB HONOR ROLL sixth grade: Brince Abel, Ashley Harris, Tess Montagna, Stephanie Tinnin eighth grade: Patricia Tinnin • HIGH SCHOOL NB HONOR ROLL ninth grade: Matt Pearson •Just wanted to check in with you. We have found it a little hard to find places to plug in our modem for internet communications, so will have to rely on snail mail. After seeing Dick Hoese 's note about his retirement status, Sally and I thought we should provide some information in case any friends or colleagues might want to get in touch with us. I retired on January 1, 1996 from my last duty station at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc. The latter was a nice way to hang it up and Sally and I enjoyed our stay in Bermuda very much. This ended a career mostly in marine lab administration with delightful forays into teaching and research. The professional paper chase led us to many interesting places and provided an opportunity to meet a great number ofnew friends and colleagues. These ventures included my first job as director of the University of Guam Marine Laboratory, fishery biologist at the Harbor Branch Foundation in Florida, program manager for the UTMSI and other institutions in the Texas OCS, a return to Harbor Branch as science director and then managing director, back again to UTMSI as director and department chairman, and then on to BBSR as deputy director and education director. Retirement finds us on the road full time in a 30' Mobil Scout 5th wheel travel trailer with a Dodge 3 I 4 ton diesel pickup truck to haul it around. We have just completed about 6 weeks on the road to Florida and back. Best we can tell so far is that we really like the life. We spent two nights on a rendezvous with Dick and Ruth Hoese up in Toledo Bend between Texas and Louisiana. Dick and I traded Port·Aransas stories and told the usual lies to thoroughly bore Sally and Ruth. The trailer provides all the necessary comforts ofhome and a familiar place no matter where we are. The only thing that changes is the yard. So far our front porch has looked out overpine and deciduous forests, cypress swamps, and coastal dunes and marshes. We have deserts, mountains, and a wealth ofother habitats to look forward to and we haven't had to mow anything yet. We will hole up this summer in Utopia, Texas and beat the heat in the Sabinal River. After that, who knows, we will just keep moving and combine old favorites with new ground. We have a mail forwarding service and call for mail whenever we find a spot to stay in for a week or more. Our mail service address: We can also be reached via a voice mail service: Bob and Sally Jones 1-800-234-4231 Ext. 54895 4319 Medical Drive Suite 131-206 San Antonio, TX 78229 Good luck on the plans for UTMSI's 50th anniversary. We know it will involve a lot of hard work for you and all the other hands in Port Aransas. Sally and I hope to make some ofthe activities and look forward to hearing how plans are going. The Laz Gaz remains a blast, keep up the good work. Best regards to you and our other friends at UTMSI. (from Bob and Sally Jones, Guadalupe River State Park) • We are both ex-students ofMSI-left in 1970. We did visit two years ago and enjoyed the expanded and more modern facility. There was just the one wing and our classes were in the basement lecture and lab room. I remember going out with Elgie on sampling trips. My Masters thesis was the study of Marine Plankton so I did a study with Van Baalen and Michael Wynne at the Austin campus. Victor was a Post Doc with Martin Sage and did research on Gobies and Stingrays. We had a great group of students-Joe Cech is out here in California-and remember some fun beach parties and sorties to Shortys. It would be fun to have a big reunion ofthat group in time! Vic is an environmental scientist for the state ofCalifornia. Roseanne has her own medical interpreting business and teaches Botany and Medicinal Herbology at an herb school in Auburn, California. (from Roseanne and Vic de Vlaming, 3942 Terra Vista Way, Sacramento, CA 95821) Settling into a rhythm -During May the daily average number of hits on our WWW page by people outside of MSI remained at about 32. In all, there were 930 daily unique hits from outside MSI during the month. These values are virtually identical to those for February and April. The few low values toward the end of the month were due to system crashes. We had a computer set up in the Visitor Center during the Open House that allowed the public to browse our web site and our WWW address was printed in newspapers and other announcements of the Open House. It will be interesting to see if this results in increased access to our web site during June. -Lee Fuiman Number of Computers Accessing UTMSI Web Site -1996 250 50 .. O+-~~~~~~;....z4----+~~~~--+-~~~~-+-~~~~-+-~~~~ 14-Dec-95 11-Jan-96 8-Feb-96 7-Mar-96 4-Apr-96 2-May-96 30-May-96 • Randy Garza, Department of Marine Science, UT-Austin, In situ production and decay of marine viruses, Friday, May 24. • Kristen Rodda, Department of Marine Science, UT-Austin, Temporal and spatial dynamics of Synechococcus spp. and Micromonas pusilla host -viral systems, Friday, May 24. Weather Report for 20 May -June 2, 1996 -Tony Amos This issue during our 50-year anniversary focused on Dr. Donald E. Wohlschlag, known to most as Curly. Former students Joe Cech, Richard Moore, Michael Gunter, and Faust Parker have all provided fond memories of his reign. Only on working on this issue did I realize how many students had been among those fortunate to receive his mentoring. Curly was the Director from 1965 to 1970. This was a transitional period for me-I got married in the middle ofit and on the day ofthe wedding the Wohlschlags vacated their home and turned it entirely over to the Thompson clan for dressing and wedding preparations. Which reminds me that Marjorie Wohlschlag needs more than a mention here. Besides helping Curly with his mentoring, Marjorie helped civilize a major portion ofthe youngsters in Port Aransas. For a great many years she was the early-childhood teacher in Port Aransas. The Thompson children were among the lucky ones to begin their schooling with the best·~ Future issues will include Carl Oppenheimer, Pat Parker, and Oswald Roels. Maybe it has already been long enough since Bob Jones left to include him also. Students, employees, associates, are all invited to contribute. Many thanks to Chris Collumb for the Belize travel story. And thanks to Linda Yates for the great illustration of Elvis and companions. -John Thompson