Resource of the Month

Resource for the Month is the 2025 Mississippi Department of Marine Resources calendar. A favorite for locals who need tide tables, artificial reef coordinates, Mississippi salt water sportfishing information and records, and more! Visit Gunter Library to get your calendar.

Submit Your Book Recommendations

All faculty, students, and staff--now is the time to submit your recommendations for books to be purchased to support your teaching, research, and learning. Please include as much information as possible--author, title, date, publisher, etc. and indicate your preference for print or e-books. Please note there are some publisher restrictions with e-books including the number of pages you can download (usually 60 pages or less). If this will impede your use of the book, then be sure to indicate you are requesting print. We need your recommendations asap. Print books ordered for COA are housed at Gunter Library at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. Please email to: guntergcrl@usm.edu

Welcome COA Students!!!

Tamara Kramer (M.S.)

Advisor: Eric Powell

Frank Driscoll (M.S.)

Advisor: Songjie He



Aishah Burke (M.S.)

Advisor: Wei Wu



Welcome New Hires!!!

Dr. Songjie He – Assistant Professor – Coastal Sciences



Audra Beeson – Marine Educator – Marine Education Center

Call to Support Co-Worker

Pam Moeller is organizing donations and gift cards to support Jill Eure, GCRL Public Information Officer. Jill receiving medical care in Jackson. If you would like to donate a gift card or money, please bring to Millie Medina at the Director’s House.

AAUP@USM

The USM chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) offers opportunities for faculty and graduate students to promote communication, transparency, and shared governance. The group meets virtually once a month and twice a year co-sponsors with the Faculty Development Center Faculty First Friday after work social events. For graduate students, there are faculty who are available to serve as mentors.

Membership is $20 for faculty and staff and $5 for graduate students payable at Venmo: @AAUP-USM.

Upcoming Events

Call for Nominations!

Excellence in University Service Award

The "Excellence in University Service Award" recognizes a faculty member who has excelled in (non-administrative) service to the university community.

Excellence in University Teaching Award

The "Excellence in University Teaching Award" recognizes a faculty member with a record of exceptional teaching.

Faculty Senate Junior Faculty Awards in Teaching, Research and Creative Activity

The Junior Faculty Awards were created to recognize outstanding assistant professors early in their careers at Southern Miss. Award categories are for excellence in teaching, creativity, and research. Qualified faculty members may apply for multiple awards but can only receive the award once in any category. Applications should be submitted through Faculty Success-Workflow. 

The deadline for all faculty award applications is Friday, January 31, 2025.

These awards offer a meaningful opportunity to celebrate your dedication, accomplishments, and contributions to our academic community. It’s also an excellent chance for your faculty to gain recognition for their outstanding work!

More Upcoming Events

• Gunter Library Closed, Monday, January 20, 2025



• Thesis and Dissertation Bootcamp (GCRL) Cedar Point Site, Friday, January 24, 2025 12pm to 2pm

• Graduate Student Digital Dialogue, Thursday, January 30, 2025 6pm to 7pm

Save the Date

Monday, January 28th - 6 pm to 7 pm

Caylor Auditorium

(703 East Beach Drive, aka "Halstead" campus)

Sponsored by Mississippi Alabama Sea Grant Consortium

Scared Strong: Using Predator Cues to Bolster Oyster Restoration and Aquaculture

Presenter: Dr. Lee Smee



Many prey species respond to predators by changing their appearance to reduce their chances of being eaten. For example, oysters grow heavier, stronger shells when exposed to scents from blue crabs, oyster drills, or other predators. These shell changes increase oyster survival, and we are now working to improve oyster restoration by toughening up oysters to improve their survival. We investigated if oyster morphology could be manipulated on large scales to improve survival and bolster restoration. Through a series of experiments in collaboration with state agencies, NGOs, and industry, we tested the benefits and costs of this approach. Our results suggested that exposing oyster spat to predator cues significantly increased their survival. Concurrently, we performed experiments to identify the chemical cues predators release that stimulate oysters to grow stronger shells in hopes of building a synthetic cue. We found that oysters are reacting to molecules in predator urine and increase their shell strength by 20 – 100%. Oysters with stronger shells had >50% higher survivorship than controls after being in the field after one year, although survivorship differences varied substantially depending on season and site. These findings demonstrate the utility of using predator cues to enhance the survival of target species, and highlight an opportunity to employ cost-effective methods for improving oyster aquaculture and restoration.

Join link:

https://usm.webex.com/usm/j.php?MTID=m93efd8b991809ba82a7614bba1d12e0f

Webinar number:

2494 293 8055

Webinar password:

KnD8JxBJM96 (56385925 when dialing from a phone or video system)

Join by phone

+1-408-418-9388 United States Toll

Access code: 249 429 38055

If you missed any of our GCRL Science Cafes visit our Marine Education Center’s (MEC) Facebook page at the link below.



Refreshments compliments of Gunter Library

"Like" the GCRL Science Cafe Facebook page for more information about upcoming Science Cafe events.

If you missed any of our Zoom GCRL Science Cafes visit our Marine Education Center’s (MEC) Facebook page at the link below.

Gulf Coast Research Laboratory

703 East Beach Drive

Ocean Springs, MS 39564

Joyce Shaw, Head Librarian - 228-872-4213