COASTAL ECOLOGY INSTITUTE

BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY RESEARCH PROGRAM

CEI scientists work in offshore waters to investigate food web dynamics of the water column and the ocean bottom. Research focuses on nearshore interactions of estuaries and open marine waters, which are fertile production grounds for Louisiana shrimp and fish.

Documenting which coastal areas are essential fish habitat for preservation of sustainable fisheries is one goal of current research efforts. CEI research shows how changes in nutrient composition of the Mississippi River are affecting plankton dynamics and harmful algal blooms.

In addition, CEI scientists study the amazing communities of animals that are associated with natural hydrocarbon seeps on continental slopes. Unlike the ecosystems on land that are based on oxygen, the seep communities derive their food supply from chemicals (methane and hydrogen-sulfide).

Right : Jim Lee unwinds as the R/V Pelican steams to the next offshore sampling station.

Top : Robert Carney showing Bathynomus giganteeus, an organism that lives at seeps.

Photograph by Greg Boland