Graduate Assistant

The project focuses on larval performance, recruitment, growth, and health of oysters in Mississippi Sound as part of two research programs, one focused on the evaluation of the influence of food quantity and quality supporting larval and post-settlement oysters and the other being a restoration program following the 2019 mass mortality due to opening of the Bonnet Carré spillway. The project includes following the environmental conditions, including food supply metrics influencing larval settlement, and the post-settlement success of the oyster resource following a large -cale restoration program and the development of Dermo disease after its eradication from the region in 2019. The project will build on a two-year study of oyster food supply supported by the Mississippi Restore Act Center for Excellence (MBRACE). The successful candidate will develop a masters or dissertation project on the subject. The research is supported by MBRACE and the Engineer Research and Development Center of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Qualification: BS or MS in marine science, fisheries, or related field; competency in mathematics or statistics, and numerical modeling; GREs in the upper 50th percentiles; GPA above 3.0.