Event Calendar

Featuring: Elizabeth Harris, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department | Megan Howson, GCOOS | Jerad King, GCOOS

MHW, periods of higher-than-normal temperatures in the ocean, can have significant impacts on marine species. The Gulf alone is home to more than 15,000 species ranging from highly migratory whales and sea turtles to fish that live their whole lives on a single coral reef. In this lunch & learn webinar, hear from experts about how environmental data, including temperature data, is used to sustainably manage marine species, as well as some new GCOOS tools being developed to make marine-species data more accessible.

Register here.

Speakers: Andrea Tarnecki, Auburn Shellfish Lab | Jeff Plumlee, Louisiana State University/Louisiana Sea Grant | Blair Morrison, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program

MHW can have especially high impacts on less-mobile marine species like oysters, which provide critical habitat for other species, aid water filtration in estuaries, reduce coastal erosion and provide food for humans. Oyster aquaculture is also a growing industry, with 2023 landings valued at $77 million by NOAA Fisheries. In this lunch & learn webinar, hear from experts who study oyster production, MHW impacts on oyster recruitment and general stressors for oyster reefs.

Register here.

Speakers: Brian Dzwonkowski, University of South Alabama/Dauphin Island Sea Lab | Shawn Milrad, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University | Coral Lozada, Houston Methodist Academic Institute

What happens in the ocean doesn’t just impact marine species, it also impacts coastal weather. In the Gulf region, hurricanes are a frequent and damaging reality. The Gulf also continues to experience very high summer temperatures that can be dangerous for local communities. In this lunch & learn webinar, hear from experts about how marine heatwaves impact hurricanes and coastal temperatures and what that means for all of us along the Gulf coast.

Register here.