USM Estuarine and Movement Ecology Lab

We can't wait to see you all then!

🌿 Save the Date! 🌊

Join us at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory for our big annual Open House on Saturday, September 26, 2026 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Come experience one of our favorite events of the year! Whether you’re curious about marine life, coastal research, or just looking for a fun and educational day by the water, there’s something for everyone.

We hope to see you there!

A few weeks ago, Kirsten traveled across the pond to Southampton, UK, to attend the Fisheries Society of the British Isles (The FSBI) 2026 Annual Symposium!

While there, Kirsten presented a portion of her thesis research on cownose ray movement in the north-central Gulf of Mexico, sharing her work with fisheries scientists from around the world.

Kirsten was able to attend the symposium as the recipient of the 2026 American Fisheries Society-International Fisheries Section Fellow Award. We're incredibly proud of her for representing our lab and sharing her research on an international stage!

-

Last week, our summer undergraduate intern, Andrea, wrapped up her MAR490 experiential learning internship by presenting the results of her research project to the lab.

We’re so grateful for all of Andrea’s help in the lab this summer and have enjoyed having her as part of the team. We wish her the best of luck as she starts her first transfer semester here at USM!

USM undergrads - if you're looking to complete your experiential learning requirement and want to dive into research with us, please reach out to Dr. van der Ham!

-

🚨New paper alert 🚨

In the Pascagoula River, there is one verified spawning reach for Gulf Sturgeon, located in the lower Bouie River. Post-spawn Gulf Sturgeon have been observed over-summering in the aggregate mining pits within this reach rather than migrating downstream to holding areas. Using acoustic telemetry and environmental data, we examined the drivers of Gulf Sturgeon movements into and out of the Bouie River pits, and compared pit temperatures to those of holding areas.

This paper was derived from Olivia's undergraduate honors thesis and marks her first publication! Congrats, Olivia!

Want to learn more? Check out the full paper here:
https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes11080469

-

Recapture Report!

Last weekend, an angler recaptured one of our tagged mangrove snapper! Originally tagged in Bayou Casotte in September 2025, the fish was recaptured in the Pascagoula River Estuary nearly 10 months later.

Interestingly, this fish was only ever detected by our acoustic receivers in Bayou Casotte, making this recapture an especially valuable report. It gives us new information about the fish's movements that we wouldn't have known from our receiver data alone.

Keep an eye out for our pink dart tags! If you catch and report one of our tagged fish, you'll receive one of our lab shirts as a thank you for contributing to our research.

-

Earlier this month, Kirsten attended the American Elasmobranch Society (AES) meeting at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH) in New Orleans!

She presented some of her master’s research exploring space use of cownose rays and Gulf sturgeon in relation to infauna at Ship Island, sharing insights into how these species use coastal habitats in the Mississippi Sound.

This was Kirsten’s fourth conference presentation on her master’s research and she'll be presenting at another next week!

-

Yesterday, our team had the opportunity to take the GCRL Summer Field Program Ichthyology class out to the Pearl River for a day of fieldwork! Students got hands-on experience with gillnet sampling and acoustic telemetry while learning about Gulf Sturgeon research.

After helping deploy and retrieve gillnets, students worked alongside our team to process captured sturgeon by taking measurements, collecting genetic samples, and applying PIT and Floy tags before the fish were safely released.

It was a great day on the water, and we're always excited to share these field experiences with the next generation of fisheries scientists!

-

You may notice fewer pinkish-orange buoys around the barrier islands! Last week, with the help of U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), our team retrieved 42 of our 70 acoustic receiver buoys from the water.

These buoys house acoustic receivers that detect tagged fish as they swim past and have been used over the past five years to monitor Gulf Sturgeon movement following the filling of Camille Cut. This marks the final year of post-fill monitoring, so these receivers will not be redeployed this fall.

While the end of this project is bittersweet, we're excited to see what insights this final season of data will provide!

-

Huge congratulations to Josh Perry for successfully defending his master's thesis on June 5!

His thesis, "Mind the Gap: Addressing Deficiencies for Two Data-Limited Fishery Species in the Gulf of Mexico" examined Grey Snapper and Tripletail movements in the northern Gulf using acoustic telemetry and investigated the age, growth, and maturity of Grey Snapper to help address data gaps for these species.

We're excited to celebrate this accomplishment and can't wait to see what's next. Congratulations, Josh!

-

Last weekend, our team joined anglers at the Ocean Springs Marine Mart Fishing Tournament to collect biological samples from Cobia and Tripletail as part of a Gulf-wide research project funded by Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission.

These samples will help us better understand the age, genetics, diet, reproduction, and movement of these important species.

Thank you to Ocean Springs Marine Mart for hosting us and to the anglers who allowed us to sample their fish! We're excited to see this project get underway and look forward to sharing updates as we work with collaborators and begin acoustic tagging efforts to track Cobia and Tripletail movements throughout the Gulf.

-