CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas has received a $1.9 million grant that will study Texas oyster reefs and the response to management actions.
Oyster reefs are a large part of the Gulf of Mexico's ecosystem and they have been declining recently.
Dr. Simon Brandl, an assistant professor at University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI), will be leading a five year project to study the oyster reefs and how to preserve them.
Dr. Brandl highlighted why humans should care about preserving the oyster reefs.
"They provide a lot of benefits. For example, they filter the water. They literally suck the dirt out of the water, so they enhance water quality a lot," Brandl said. "They take a lot of these excess nutrients that come into the bays from agriculture upstream and take them out of the water."
Dr. Brandl and other researchers from UTMSI are accompanied by many other organizations collaborating on this project such as Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Harte Research Institute, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, The Nature Conservancy, Texas Coastal Conservation Association, Mission-Aransas Reserve, and the City of Port Aransas.
The grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association will benefit all of the organizations involved.
"So the main objective of this grant really is to empower Texas Parks and Wildlife to make the best decisions for oyster reefs in Texas, to really make sure we can preserve these ecosystems for future generations," Brandl said.
Over the next few years, researchers will monitor over 50 oyster reefs in Texas and track various environmental factors that affect them.
The overall goals of the five year project include creating a tool that predicts the effects of management actions on oysters and learning how to make better decisions involving preserving oyster reefs.
"There's going to be a lot more awareness going forward about oyster reefs and their cause down here," Brandl said. "I think they're as important of an ecosystem in Coastal Texas as you can get and I really hope that the public will appreciate what we're doing for its reefs."
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