Articles

The Marine Science Institute's monthly column, Science and the SeaTM, is an informative and entertaining article that explains many interesting features of the marine environment and the creatures that live there.  Science and the SeaTM articles appear monthly in one of Texas' most widely read fishing magazines, Texas Saltwater Fishing, the Port Aransas South Jetty newspaper, the Flour Bluff News, and the Island Moon newspaper. Our article archive is available also on our website.

July 31, 2006

Islands of Life

Offshore oil rigs and other man-made structures in the sea attract large numbers of fishes and other marine life. But have you ever wondered why? It’s the same reason coral reefs contain so many kinds of life - complexity.

Flat, sandy bottoms and open water offer very little structure for organisms to live in or on. In these featureless areas, fish densities tend to be low. However, like the corals on a reef, oil platforms add complexity to the open ocean, and become the foundation for what are essentially artificial reefs.

July 1, 2006

The Smallest Superheros
Look down into the sea. It’s not a bird…it’s not a plane…it’s plankton! Able to swim great distances and make giant leaps in a single bound, zooplankton are tiny animals with remarkable abilities.

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Living in open waters can be dangerous for zooplankton. Being at the base of the food web means they are popular food items for many sea creatures. To protect themselves from predators, zooplankton have developed unique defense mechanisms.

June 1, 2006

60 Years and Stronger than Ever
It was 1935 when Dr. E.J. Lund, a zoologist from The University of Texas, came to Port Aransas to investigate a massive fish kill. He built a small one-room shack on the old Corps of Engineers dock as a base of operations. Dr. Lund recognized the uniqueness of the local environment and the need for public education about the natural resources of the Gulf of Mexico.
May 1, 2006

A Fish's Sixth Sense

Sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch — the five senses that serve humans well. But still we dream of a sixth sense that might allow us to predict the future, read minds, or even see the dead. 

Fishes are not limited to just these five senses. Among their “extra” senses is the ability to detect very small water movements.

April 1, 2006

A Balancing Act

Imagine trying to adapt to life on Mars. One might think this would be a difficult feat. Physiologically, a fish being able to live in both fresh and salt water may be just as difficult! This is because saltwater and freshwater environments present very different challenges to fishes due to two related processes: osmosis and diffusion. 

March 1, 2006

Beware, The Shadow

The “golden shadow from the lagoon” has returned to the Texas coast. Though not as well publicized as the fabled Loch Ness monster, this mysterious life form has plagued our coastal bays for more than a decade.

The “golden shadow” actually refers to the microscopic plant Aureoumbra lagunensis. This single-celled, golden-brown plant can reproduce so rapidly that it changes the color of the water and such blooms are commonly referred to as brown tide.

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