Dr. Wes Tunnell: It's great to be able to visit with students across Texas and to particularly share with them the mysteries, the adventure, and the wonders of the Gulf of Mexico Texas coastline.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: The best way is to determine what kind of life is in the body of water that is in question -- to go in with some kind of sampling device, like a seine or another kind of net to determine the marine life in the area. Another way is to sample the water and test the water for its quality to determine if there are any kinds of pollutants that are in the water. These kinds of tests are often more difficult to perform. Some can be performed in the field with special equipment, but others must be performed in the laboratory with more sophisticated equipment.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Oil spills have had varied impact on ocean life, particularly on the immediate area of the spill. The most damaging kinds of oil spills are those that we say are chronic. In other words, they continue to happen in an area. The large ones are the ones we normally hear about forever, like a tanker going aground or a large pipeline rupturing. So, most of the damage is done in the localized area, but it depends upon the size of the oil spill. In warm water areas natural conditions help to rejuvenate an area and to clean up the oil spill naturally after crews move in and clean up the area. However, in cold water areas, where microbes are not as common and can't function as well, spilled oil in Arctic kinds of environments or cold water environments may last for years.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: If you are from Texas there is a particular one that is for the Texas coast. It is actually published by Texas A&M University in Kingsville. It's "Keys to the Invertebrates of the Texas Coast" by Dr. Allan Chaney. And then another one that I highly recommend that is more in a book format and has a lot more information is entitled "Shore Ecology of the Gulf of Mexico" by Britton and Morton, and it's a University of Texas Press book. It has lots of nice pictures in it and lots of good text.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: It is best to keep a water well closed because of the possibility of impurities getting inside the water well. Also, algae could bloom in the water well with the sunlight, so for both reasons it is best to keep it closed.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Good ocean environments or healthy ocean environments will have a higher diversity of organisms. When I say diversity, I am referring to the number of species, and so the number of species and the number of kinds of organisms will be abundant within healthy ocean waters. We might expect to find an array of different kinds of fish, echinoderms, worms, and other invertebrates, whereas in polluted ocean waters we would expect to find low diversity, with very few organisms living in the water. Therefore, this would be an indication to us that something was not right or incorrect in that water body. In summary, healthy ocean waters have lots of life in many different kinds of species and unhealthy waters don't have much life.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: That's a very good question and one that is of much importance today. We are learning daily how important it is for people who live inland in the United States with what they, for instance, put on their lawn, or what is used on their agricultural fields, because when it rains all of that material can be washed off of the land and into the streams and rivers, eventually reaching the sea. A classic example today is the example of the Mississippi River, which drains the middle two-thirds of the United States and flows out into the Gulf of Mexico. Because of all the nutrients that are within that water body we now have an area in the northern Gulf of Mexico that is called the 'dead zone.' This is all as a result of materials that have drained from the land in the interior part of the United States down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. So, this dead zone is involved in an area almost the size of New Jersey off the coast of Louisiana and Texas and is literally a zone where there isn't any life on the bottom of the ocean caused by the bad water of the Mississippi drainage.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: The greatest environmental danger to our oceans at present is probably human population levels. That may not be what you were thinking, but if I could elaborate on that a little bit: Human populations are increasing in coastal areas around the world. We now see that approximately 80 percent of all people live within 100 miles of the coastline and that increasing population level causes stresses on all parts of the ecosystem - those on the land and in the sea, whether it's from the use of water, the degradation of habitat, the degradation of water quality, and other things that large human populations or urban centers can cause on coastal water bodies.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Yes. That is true. There are several techniques for doing that. Probably the easiest one and the simplest one is probably to boil the water and gather the steam that comes from the water. It will be pure, with the salt in the pan from which the water was boiled.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Working with Mexico on environmental problems and solutions for coral reefs has been challenging. Many people in Mexico utilize the coral reefs for their own survival; in this case, I'm speaking of fishing. Unfortunately, back to our population question, too many people have been fishing on the coral reefs and therefore the fishes around the coral reefs are then depleted. However, new forms of environmental management in Mexico are proving promising, such as the establishment of marine protective areas. The best way for protecting coastal areas are the establishment of marine sanctuaries or marine protective areas and involving the local people in the stewardship of the coral reef resources.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Yes. I have worked with students and professors in Mexico for the last twenty years. I lived in Merida, in the Yucatan Peninsula, in 1985 and 1986, working with students on coral reefs and with mollusks. The students in Mexico are very interested in learning about marine science and coastal biology, and I have enjoyed working with them at both the master's level and PhD level through research projects. The students in Mexico seem to have great quantitative and computer skills and enjoy analyzing data that they collect. At the graduate level they also enjoy visiting other countries during their studies. Many of them visit European countries like France, Spain and England. And, of course, some come to the United States.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: My greatest hope - and I think the best avenue for helping or saving the oceans - is to teach the idea of stewardship. The idea of stewardship is that all people who enjoy and use the oceans - whether they are fishermen, swimmers, boaters, shipbuilders, or people who work in refineries - is to teach them the quality of the ocean and life in the ocean and that it belongs to all of us. And if they develop an ownership of the ocean, then they will feel more like stewards at taking care of the ocean. I think this is the best hope for saving the oceans. My greatest concerns about the ocean are just the opposite of what we just talked about. That is, not being stewards of the ocean and not understanding the ocean, that it belongs to all of us, and therefore using the ocean as a waste ground or a dumping ground.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: There are a number of different kinds of water cleanup activities that occur in localized areas around the state. I'm not as familiar with those that are inland, but along the Texas coast there are numerous ones that occur each September and each April. These are coordinated by the Texas General Land Office, and involve the general public coming out and cleaning local beaches and bay shorelines. These are usually advertised in the local newspapers. Students could also go to the website of the newspaper and find out about these, or go to the website of the Texas General Land Office and look up beach clean up. As I said, I am not as familiar with inland waterway cleanups, but I know they exist around certain of the larger cities, and I would encourage contact with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission in your local area for information.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Yes. I do believe that there will become a time. In fact, we are already in a time in certain parts of the world where there are not adequate freshwater resources for the population living in that area. Saudi Arabia and other countries of the Middle East are an example of countries that use desalinization plants to provide fresh water for human populations. That technology is very expensive today, but it is coming down in price every year and soon will be more widespread in use in other parts of the world.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: The main polluters of the Gulf of Mexico include ship traffic trash, non-point source pollution, and other runoffs from the land. There are other polluters of the Gulf of Mexico, but probably the most important right now is non-point source pollution, which is defined as polluted runoff. Again, back to our earlier discussion of what we as people put on our lawns or what agricultural people put on their fields, that material could wash into the streams and rivers, and ultimately reach the sea. The polluters that we used to think about, like refineries and heavy industry, are what we call point source pollution. Those are very heavily regulated today and are not as much of a problem as they used to be. And then lastly, the first one I mentioned, ship traffic trash or the trash that flows down rivers and into the sea, is an insidious kind of pollution in that it normally doesn't affect the organisms like chemicals do, but it is obviously ugly to us on our beaches and, in fact, on the bottom of the ocean.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: I don't know that I see big problems with water quality and biodiversity work. There are volunteers who are giving much of their time and energy for doing water quality and biodiversity work, and the more they learn and the more experience they gain, the better their work becomes. The scientists, on the other hand, are highly trained to start with, and so their work is normally good. So, maybe the only problem is not a major problem, but just an experience problem. Volunteers are greatly helping around the United States with monitoring water quality and biodiversity.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: My favorite beach in Texas is at Padre Island National Seashore, because it is a protected area where development has not infringed upon the natural landscape and one can drive for miles and miles down the beach without seeing any development or, sometimes, any other individuals. This particular stretch of beach is about 75 miles long, from the northern part of Padre Island National Seashore southward to the Port Mansfield Jetties. This strip of beach in Texas is a real treasure not only to Texans, but also to all people of the United States.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: The coolest sea creature I've ever seen while diving is probably the reef squid. This squid usually occurs in schools of six to ten individuals and hovers over the top of the reef. They will allow divers to come within three to four feet of them. They can change their colors dramatically in response to the diver approaching them. And they can dart away in an instant and be completely gone, out of sight.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Since my specialty is more marine science and coastal science in biology rather than in rivers and streams, I'm afraid I can't answer that particular question, but I can give an example in the sea of a lack of phosphorus. One example has to do with mangroves, the trees that grow in the edge of the ocean. When there is a lack of phosphorus in the water these plants will become stunted and only grow three to four feet in height, instead of 20 to 30 feet in height like they normally would. And so, like with many other components of the water, the lack of an important component can cause growth problems for plants and animals. On the other hand, abundance or a super-abundance of some compounds can cause problems also. For instance, too many nutrients in the water may cause an algal bloom, basically fertilizing the water and causing too much algae to grow. So there can be problems in both directions, both in limiting of nutrients and in having too many nutrients.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: There are many species that are under threat because of pollution. Some of these are on the land, some in aquatic systems of fresh water and marine. In my area of marine science some of the species that come to mind right away are the sea turtles - all five species, for instance, which live in the Gulf of Mexico are either threatened or endangered. Likewise, there are several birds and some marine mammals within the Gulf of Mexico that are also threatened or endangered. There are several state and federal agencies that maintain lists of threatened and endangered species, and they have lots of information usually on their websites. I would encourage students to check out the websites of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fishery Service. All three of those agencies maintain lists of threatened and endangered species.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: A field trip down the beach in Mexico inspired me to consider marine biology as a field of study. When I was an undergraduate student involved in biology as a major, one of my professors invited me on a trip down the beach in Mexico, south of the Rio Grande River. We traveled for approximately 100 miles down the beach in a four wheel drive vehicle studying the beach, collecting seashells, and collecting brine shrimp eggs along the shores of the Laguna Madre in Mexico. This exciting adventure sparked my interest in the study of the sea and the coastline.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: The favorite thing about my job (which includes teaching, research, administration, and working with students) is working with students. I particularly enjoy taking students on field trips to the Texas Coast and Mexican coral reefs, and watching them enjoy the excitement of these marine ecosystems. So, in summary, working with students and going on field trips is the favorite part of my job.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: The job market for water quality specialists in Texas is primarily with the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. There are not too many jobs available in those areas at the bachelor's level and most are at the master's level. For instance, if you are interested in salary, jobs in Texas now for those with a B.S. degree in biology start around $20-22,000; for an M.S. degree, $24-28,000; and for a Ph.D., approximately $40,000. So, students considering a career in marine science - which is more an interdisciplinary study of biology, chemistry and geology all together - should consider strong backgrounds in the science classes.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: The damming of Texas rivers is a problem that we all are facing now. The damming of most of these rivers occurred during the 1950s and 1960s for the purpose of storing water for human population use and agricultural use. The ecosystem problem with damming all the rivers has been the impact of the lack of freshwater inflow into the Texas estuaries. We now have problems in Texas estuaries, particularly in South Texas, because we do not have enough fresh water flowing into the ocean along the coast, which is a requirement for many species that live in the area. It is very important for all of us to learn how to conserve water in our homes and in our businesses in order for us to have adequate water for ourselves and the environment.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Chlorine, like other chemicals, in concentration can cause the death of plants and animals in our rivers. Chlorine is used in our water treatment processes and is important for drinking water quality. When it is managed correctly there should not be a problem of high chlorine concentration going into our rivers.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: I am not familiar with the dolphin populations off the coast of Oman. However, I am familiar with other places in the world where large concentrations of marine mammals gather at certain times of the year. Most of the time these gatherings are related to either protection in that environment, breeding away from predators, or for large food sources in the area.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: The long-term damage from oil spills is usually from those that are continuous or chronic, that meaning a leaky pipe or the leaking from some sort of facility that continues over time. The worst oil spill that I am aware of is the one associated with the Gulf War in the early 1990s in the Middle East. In that case, in an act of war many oil wells were blown up and the oil poured out on the land and into the sea for many months. In Texas the worst oil spill we observed on the coast was the XTOC that occurred in 1979 in the southern Gulf of Mexico. This oil well blew out in June of 1979 and currents carried the oil all the way to Texas, reaching our shores in August of 1979 and covering the beaches from Port Aransas to the Rio Grande. Fortunately, storms during September of that year and a change in current moved the oil back southward again. Unfortunately for Mexico, the oil well continued to spew oil for 9 months into the southern Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: The worst thing that could happen if the Packery Channel were to be completed can be divided into two areas. One would be the long-term damage to the habitats of Padre and Mustang Islands caused by overdevelopment. This would eliminate natural grassland and dune habitats because of the large development and large population of people that would live there. The other problem would be during a hurricane if it hit right in the area of Packery Channel and the flooding and erosion that could occur immediately around the channel to the property that is there.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: I don't know of any single state that could be singled out as being the one with the greatest amount of pollution. If we look at a single kind of pollution we might be able to single out some states just by individual activities, but overall I don't think we can single out any one state over another as being the most polluted.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Coral reefs are one of the more sensitive kinds of environments on Earth, probably the most sensitive kind of environment in the ocean. Approximately 10% of coral reefs have been damaged beyond repair already. Another 30-50% are threatened now with various kinds of impacts. The remainder are still healthy. There are many problems that impact coral reefs and again the main problems are those associated with high human populations and high human use areas. Those reefs that are close to cities and shorelines are the ones that are having the most problems. Those that are out in the open ocean are typically the most healthy. Again, our best way to help the coral reefs is to broaden the understanding among the general population and establish a stewardship mentality that the coral reefs belong to all of us and need to be protected. There are many organizations around the world that are trying today to save the coral reefs, just like what occurred in the 1980s with the rainforests. Many people saw how important and wonderful the rainforests were and are now trying to help with that. The same thing needs to happen with coral reefs.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Yes. Human demands on water continue to increase, primarily because human populations are increasing. We must address two issues here. One is the increasing human population that we have already discussed, and the other is the conservation of our water resources. It is very important for all of us to learn different kinds of water conservation methods in our homes, in our yards, in our businesses, everywhere, in order for us to save our water resources. The lack of water resources in the next few decades will probably be the most pressing of ecological and human problems.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: The Texas coast is interesting in regards to salinity. A salinity gradient occurs from north to south along the Texas coast because of higher rainfall and freshwater inflow in north Texas, along with lower freshwater inflow and rainfall in south Texas. On the north Texas coast the first estuary is Sabine Lake, which by its name, you can see, is a freshwater lake. So, salinity is very low there - around zero to two parts per thousand salinity. Galveston Bay, the next bay on the Texas coast, has a large amount of freshwater inflow also, and has salinity in the lower parts of the estuarine range. However, the Laguna Madre on the south Texas coast has hyper-saline conditions (higher than oceanic seawater in salinity). Texas Parks and Wildlife has information on its website concerning fisheries and salinities along the Texas coast, and I would suggest students look there for that information.

Dr. Wes Tunnell: Thank you very much for your interest and concern in the Texas coast and the Gulf of Mexico. I would encourage you all to visit and enjoy. Thank you.