Poster session: Understanding and Managing Living Resources

Dolphins serve as key indicators of ecosystem health due to their territoriality, making it crucial to understand their habitat use and movement patterns. This is important in areas heavily impacted by anthropogenic effects like the Mississippi Sound and surrounding waters, a 2966 km² area including Lake Borgne, and Biloxi Marshes. However, large areas like this are difficult to study with standard photo-identification techniques, due to low recapture rates. The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies resolved these difficulties by initiating a long-term study that has collected standardized photo-identification data for over 14 years with seven systematic routes through the study area. In this study, we assessed the site fidelity patterns of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) from 2010-2023. Site fidelity refers to an individual dolphin's tendency to stay in or return to a specific area throughout its life. Of the 2339 dolphins identified during the study, 39.21% (n=649) were seen five or more times, and 1655 were observed more than once, indicating fairly strong site fidelity, both spatially and temporally. In addition, most dolphins were re-sighted within the same route - a relatively small area. Within the population there was an average maximum standard distance of 11.90 km from the individual's central sighting point, and 79.44% (n=935) fell within one standard deviation (8.03 km) from the mean, indicating that many dolphins tended to prefer smaller home ranges and are territorial within the study area. However, a smaller number of dolphins showed much wider movement (>4 standard deviations away from the mean). These findings as a whole potentially indicate that the Sound comprises several distinct dolphin populations, potentially some resident populations and transient populations. A finding which may be crucial for informing conservation and management strategies for both the dolphins and their habitat.

The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS) responds to stranded or injured cetaceans year round in the state of Mississippi. IMMS averages fifty stranded cetaceans annually, the vast majority of which are common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), this species inhabits the coastal waters and bays of the Mississippi Sound more than any other species in the region. While rare to find other species in this area, over the last decade five individuals of three additional species have been documented: one rough-toothed dolphin (Steno Bredanensis), one fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), and three pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata). These three species are found throughout the Gulf of Mexico but typically inhabit deep offshore waters. Movement into shallow coastal waters is often an indication of poor health and/or anthropogenic stressors. The fin whale washed ashore deceased in Pass Christian, MS in 2023 emaciated weighing an estimated 12,000lbs and measuring approximately 36ft. Large baleen whale strandings on the Mississippi coast are extremely rare and retrieval and documentation of this whale was a multi-organization and multi-state effort. The rough-toothed dolphin and three pygmy killer whales all stranded live and were brought to IMMS for rehabilitation. Pygmy killer whales are an understudied species and have never been rehabilitated previously in an U.S. facility. Two were successfully rehabilitated and released in the Gulf of Mexico by IMMS with satellite transmitters. The data provided invaluable information about their movement patterns and habitat use. Cetaceans are important indicator species for the health of the ecosystem and can indicate potential threats in the environment. It is equally important that the public is well informed on reporting stranding events to the proper agencies in a timely manner so that these animals can be assessed and given the proper care if alive.

The northern Gulf of Mexico has been documented as a critical habitat for juvenile Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii). An abundance of crustaceans, fish, and other prey species necessary to the survival of the endangered Kemp's ridley can be found in these waters. The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS) provides rehabilitation to multiple species of sea turtles, averaging 14 turtles per year from 2020-2024. A majority of IMMS' rehabilitation patients are healthy turtles that are incidentally captured by recreational fishermen on Mississippi piers. Fecal output from each turtle was collected for the first 10 days in rehabilitation and analyzed to determine diet composition. This was dried for 24 hours at 60 degrees Celsius and sorted by weight into the following categories: crustacean, fish, mollusks, barnacles, plants, anthropogenic material, miscellaneous, other, and unknown. Previous data collected from over 800 individuals that were admitted to rehabilitation in 2012-2014 resulted in a high frequency of crustaceans, followed by fish and mollusks. Sea turtles are opportunistic feeders and a shift in diet composition may indicate a change in prey availability, which can also be cross-referenced with fisheries data. In 2019, a fisheries disaster occurred in the Mississippi Sound as a direct result of freshwater incursion from extended openings of the Bonnet Carre Spillway. This study was continued from 2020-2024 to determine if there were any long-term changes to prey consumption by these turtles. Preliminary results indicate that turtles rehabilitated at IMMS between 2020-2024 also consumed mostly crustaceans prior to admittance. This study is important to identify, manage, and conserve prey species of the kemps ridley in order to increase conservation efforts for this species in the region. Additionally, this can allow for improving nutritional decisions for sea turtles in rehabilitation by mimicking their natural diet.

Increases in global temperature continue to drive poleward expansions of organism distributions. Specifically, rising minimum temperatures result in overwinter survival of cold-sensitive species, allowing tropical species to expand into subtropical and temperate environments. In coastal Alabama, several tropical species have been documented, including black mangrove, gray snapper, and emerald parrotfish. Other species have been hypothesized for range expansion including African pompano, bonefish, and permit. However, one popular sportfish has recently been documented in increasing abundance: the predatory gamefish common snook Centropomus undecimalis. Snook are highly-prized fish historically restricted to water temperatures >10-12℃. Recently, snook have been documented at higher latitudes on the Atlantic Coast of Florida with observations as far north as South Carolina and along the Gulf Coasts of both Texas and Florida. Here, we document the presence of snook in coastal Alabama through various news reports, social media, and personal communication with fishers, managers, and stakeholders. Given that the Alabama state record has been broken for the past two consecutive years (2023 and 2024), state officials are now discussing implementing regulations in anticipation of a growing snook population. Because of this growing interest, we present plans for ongoing and future work to characterize snook abundance, life history parameters, and ecology in this recently expanded range.

Freshwater inflow events attributed to the Bonnet Carré Spillway have become more frequent in the last decade. These events have had adverse ecological impacts in the Mississippi Sound. However, our knowledge on the species-specific impacts of these openings is largely limited to oysters. While sessile organisms suffer or die under suboptimal to lethal conditions, respectively, motile organisms have the option to leave an area in search of more favorable conditions. To expand our understanding of the impact of BCS openings on nektonic fisheries species, a series of MaxEnt species distribution models is in development. Models will predict how the environmental changes consistent with BCS openings influence the likelihood of occurrence of Gulf menhaden, brown shrimp, blue crab, spotted seatrout, and red drum throughout the Mississippi Sound. Models are informed by fisheries-independent catch data collected between 1990 and 2021 by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR), Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), and the Alabama Department for the Conservation of Natural Resources (ADCNR). Environmental predictor variables include salinity, temperature, bathymetric depth, and dissolved oxygen. Here, we highlight the process of model preparation and design, description of spatial autocorrelation, and preliminary findings. Preliminary analyses explore the environmental tolerances of model species via abundance-weighted frequency histograms of environmental drivers. Histograms show total catch across all recorded values of each environmental predictor variable. These graphs allow us to visualize the realized niche of model species prior to completing model runs. The specific ecology of each species is considered to determine the best route for modeling each (i.e., ontogenetic models vs. sex-specific models vs. season-based models).

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill had significant impacts on the natural resources of the northern Gulf of Mexico. In response to these impacts, we implemented a probabilistic sampling framework to monitor tidal marsh birds across coastal Mississippi. We implemented a demographic study comparing nest parameters of Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza maritima) between natural and restored tidal marsh sites. Here we report data from two restoration sites and one natural marsh site on Deer Island, Mississippi. The Deer Island restoration projects included approximately 27 hectares of restored tidal marsh in two areas. The adjacent reference site was approximately 11 hectares but was expanded in 2023 to encompass approximately 35 hectares of habitat. We used modified nest searching and monitoring protocols based on Saltmarsh Habitat and Avian Research Program (SHARP) https://tidalmarshbirds.org protocols to ensure our data are comparable to similar monitoring programs across differing geographies. Of 344 active nests monitored during the 4-year period (2021-2024), 123 nests (35.7%) fledged at least one chick, averaging 2.8 fledglings per successful nest. Natural marsh had fewer nests (n=76) overall compared to restoration sites (n=268) but had an equal fledging rate (~36%). The leading cause of nest failure during the study period was predation (42.1% natural marsh, 30.9% restoration plots). Flooding was not a major cause of nest failure at this site during the study period (5.2% for natural marsh, 2.9% for restoration sites). Our preliminary findings suggest the nest success of Seaside Sparrows on Deer Island is consistent with success rates from other regions, and nest success is most influenced by predation. We recommend demographic monitoring of tidal marsh restoration and reference sites continue and if possible expanded to include additional sites across coastal Mississippi and adjacent states to broaden our understanding of marsh bird responses to restoration.

The Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center's Coastal ONE Health program is proud to introduce its newest asset, a 34-foot research vessel designed to advance scientific exploration and environmental stewardship along the Gulf Coast coming early in 2025. Moored at the Pass Christian Harbor, this vessel is equipped for offshore day trips, providing a platform for collaborative research initiatives across multiple disciplines.
The vessel will play a pivotal role in achieving the Coastal ONE Health program's research goals, which include comprehensive studies on water quality, deep-sea coral ecosystems, marine mammals and birds. The vessel will be especially equipped for the Chandeleur Sound and surrounding waters. Its deployment represents a significant enhancement in our capacity to monitor and protect these marine and coastal environments.
This poster will detail the vessel's capabilities, highlight key research objectives, and outline opportunities for collaborative efforts with other institutions and organizations. By fostering interdisciplinary research and facilitating access to underexplored areas, this vessel will contribute to the understanding and preservation of our coastal ecosystems.

The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium has several fellowship opportunities each year for graduate students who are looking for opportunities. This poster will focus on making graduate students, professors and agencies aware of these opportunities. The Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship places graduate students in Washington, D.C., to work with federal agencies or legislative offices on national marine policy decisions. The National Marine Fisheries Service-Sea Grant Joint Graduate Fellowship offers graduate students the opportunity to work with a mentor in two fields: population and ecosystem dynamics involving fish populations and marine ecosystems or marine resource economics. Finally, the NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship offers on-the-job training for two years with a state coastal resource agency.

The marine microbial community is essential for biogeochemical cycling of nutrients, much of
which occurs through the activity of microbial extracellular enzymes. Although the involvement
of extracellular enzymes in the breakdown of organic matter is well-known, how enzyme activity
varies over short time scales is unclear. Using artificial fluorophore-linked substrates, day-to-day
patterns in the activity of two microbial enzymes (phosphatase and β-glucosidase) in seawater
were observed for eight days at five shoreline sites along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and related
to patterns in water temperature, pH, salinity, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen. The activity of
each enzyme varied significantly between days, with the highest phosphatase and β-glucosidase
activity being 13-14x greater than their lowest value. Phosphatase generally showed a mean
activity of 249 nmoles/h/L compared to a mean activity of 51 nmoles/h/L for β-glucosidase. Site-
to-site variation on a given day was not significant. Salinity and conductivity were positively
correlated with phosphatase activity, whereas pH was negatively correlated with β-glucosidase
activity, suggesting that the nearshore marine microbial community is impacted by and responds
to short-term changes in environmental conditions. These findings showcase the sensitivity of
the nearshore marine microbial community to the surrounding environment and inherent
fluctuations in the activity of extracellular enzymes that could result in significant changes to
rates of biogeochemical cycling and subsequent impacts in coastline waters of the Gulf of
Mexico.

Endophytic Fungi (EF) are organisms living asymptomatically within the tissues of all known plant species fostering high biodiversity and versatile microbial community. This research is geared towards EF's taxonomic identity and relationship with a specific aquatic plant named Vallisneria neotropicalis, commonly known as 'tape grass". During the course of one year (April 2023- March 2024), Vallisneria samples were collected from two different sites in Mobile River. After collection, the plant blades were sterilized, cut into three segments: top, middle, bottom. The epidermis was scraped with a razor to expose the inner layer of the leaf. After that, the segments were put onto Potato Dextrose Agar petri plates for fungal isolation and culture. 
At the end, 336 fungal specimens were isolated and cultured. Of those, 276 have been identified using the ITS1 primer, while the remaining 60, due to negative PCR results at the first time, are being processed for a second extraction and will follow the same identification procedure. Sequence results were uploaded to the NCBI website and searched using BLAST for matches in existing database. A total of 72% of searches ended with a high taxonomic identity match of > 99 % with 98% of those sequences belonging to the phylum Ascomycota and the rest in Oomycota and Basidiomycota. Within the ascomycetes a total of 147 different species distributed in 44 genera, have been identified. The genus Penicillium and Trichoderma are the two genera with the most species. 
Furthermore, some BLAST searches were inconclusive or ambiguous with results as "unidentified fungal species", "species with < 99 % match" or "multiple species hit with a singular sequence result". All of these issues will be addressed and resolved by either targeting regions other than ITS1 or morphological identification to provide a complete characterization of each of the fungal isolates.

Magnetic Resonance imaging is one of the main procedures used to provides both anatomical and functional information with quality images in in vivo imaging procedures. MRI uses non-ionizing radiation which helps to avoid some side effects. Contrast agents are used to enhance the image contrast during MRI. Iron oxide nanoparticles is a promising alternative to conventional contrast agent for Magnetic Resonance imaging due to its biocompatibility and its excellent magnetic properties. In MR imaging, when magnetic nanoparticles are added to the tissue of the patient and accumulated, the longitudinal and transverse relaxation of surrounding protons from the nanoparticles will be shortened, resulting in a contrast enhancement. This research is focused on the size control of iron oxide nanoparticles using Bovine serum albumin protein via the chemical co-precipitation method. The nanoparticles formed ranges from approximately 4-8nm. These nanoparticles are water soluble which will encourage a lot of biomedical applications. The smallest nanoparticles (approximately 4nm) formed have shown to possess T1 contrast effect.