MRI: Acquisition of Equipment to Quantify Environmental Conditions in Estuarine Systems

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Intellectual Merit:The proposal requests funds to acquire instrumentation to outfit 15 stations that will measure environmental parameters including pH, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, chlorophyll a, velocity, and turbulence. The use of the 15 instrumented stations will enable the PIs to more rigorously capture large-scale patterns of temporal and spatial variability than currently feasible. These stations will provide data necessary to address research questions involving (1) causes of hypoxia and its long-term effects; (2) effect of freshwater inflow on hydrography and biology in a Texas estuary; (3) oyster reef community dynamics; and (4) influences of environmental context on top-down and bottom-up effects in community dynamics. Broader Impacts:As a minority-serving institution, TAMU-CC is well positioned to significantly expand the representation of minority students in ocean and coastal sciences. The proposed instrumentation, combined with the active research and enthusiasm of the PIs, will provide additional research and educational opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate students. The proposed instrumentation will support an existing Master?s program and a newly initiated PhD program at the institution.