Marine Science Institute
The Marine Science Institute has laboratories and boat facilities on the Gulf of Mexico at Port Aransas, Texas. The resident staff and faculty members conduct basic and applied research and provide undergraduate and graduate instruction in marine science in cooperation with the Department of Marine Science. Master’s and doctoral degree programs in marine science are available through the department; most thesis and dissertation research in Marine Science is conducted at the institute. An undergraduate program in marine and freshwater biology is offered through the School of Biological Sciences.
Founded in 1941, the institute is located in Port Aransas at the entrance of the main ship channel to Corpus Christi, with access to a wide variety of beach, bay, gulf shelf, and open gulf environments. These represent natural environments ranging from fresh to hypersaline waters, grass and mud flats, shell reefs, sand beaches, dune areas, and the surf zone. Facilities include laboratory-classroom-office buildings, laboratory buildings with running seawater facilities, library, pier laboratory, physical plant building, dormitories and apartments, visitor's center/auditorium building, and dining hall. Special research facilities include the 57-foot trawler R/V Katy, an airboat, and inboard/outboard and outboard utility boats; vehicles; walk-in environmental chambers; experimental tanks; stable isotope facilities; molecular biology laboratories; specialized laboratory equipment; a 5.25-acre marina; and a unit of the University Libraries that contains more than thirty-thousand books and bound journal volumes in marine science and related fields.
The Marine Science Institute also operates a mariculture research center. This 22,000-square-foot facility was deeded to the University by the National Marine Fisheries Service in 1987. The mariculture program focuses on finfish reproduction and growth.
A visitors center, maintained and operated by the institute's Marine Education Services, offers a visiting-class program for elementary, secondary, and college science classes and hosts about ten thousand students a year. A series of teacher workshops designed to encourage the introduction of marine science topics and techniques into the curriculum for all subjects, from science to art and history, is organized to improve the proficiency of classroom teachers at all grade levels. The visitors center, open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, also houses seven aquariums with typical Texas coastal habitats and numerous educational displays. Adjacent to the visitors center is the Wetlands Education Center, a 3-acre tidal marsh built for educational use. Guided and self-guided tours are available. The center is toured by about thirty thousand visitors each year. Tours for groups of fewer than thirty are available by request in advance.
The Marine Science Institute manages the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, a 185,708-acre area of wetland, terrestrial, and marine environments. On site, the reserve is hosted in a new headquarters that supports research, education, and stewardship. In the community, it brings together scientists, landowners, policy makers, and the public to ensure that coastal management decisions benefit flora and fauna, water quality, and people.
Additional information may be obtained from the director, Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, and at the Marine Science Institute Web site, http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu .