Within easy reach of the Institute are diverse marine and estuarine environments of interest to researchers in many fields of scientific endeavor. Within this estuarine system is a wide variety of accessible habitats including Spartina and mangrove marshes, oyster reefs, shallow mud-bottom bays and the most extensive seagrass meadows in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the regions to the north and south comprise one of the largest lagoon systems in the world. They span a range of rainfall that produces a salinity gradient from nearly fresh at the Louisiana border to extremely hypersaline near the Mexican border. The region is also the center of economically important fisheries, gas and oil production, and marine-related tourism.
Field oriented projects focus on both the local environment and diverse sites around the world.
The Marine Science Institute staff totals 120 individuals including faculty, research scientists and associates, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and technical and support staff. The Department of Marine Science is the academic arm of the Marine Science Institute with 14 faculty members and 5 Professors Emeritus. Courses are taught primarily at the Institute in both the summer session and the long term. Graduate research is concentrated at the Institute. The Institute's 83,000 sq.