Thanks to collaborative efforts with other labs and researchers, we can see when some of our tagged fish appear in other acoustic arrays! Recently, we got data that shows some of our sharks and rays have appeared on arrays south of us! #TAMUCC

Busy summer = big numbers for the Movement Ecology Lab 🌊 🎣 400+ fish | 🦈 72 depredations 🎥 200 hrs video | 📡 20 receivers 🚤 47 trips | 📢 247 people reached ✨ Fun catch of the summer: squirrelfish 🐿️🐟 #TAMUCC

Last week, our lab attended our first national American Fisheries Society meeting in San Antonio, TX! 🐟🎣🦈 Grad students Yamilla, Kyle, Jaz & Katie presented their research, and Dr. Coffey shared work from Felipe’s thesis. Proud of our team! #TAMUCC #AFS2025

Last week, Dylan wrapped up his summer in the TAMU-CC S-RISE program, assisting with stomach content analysis to study trophic ecology & microplastic ingestion in Southern Flounder. Grateful for his curiosity, energy & contributions to the lab! 🐟🔬 #SRISE #TAMUCC #StudentResearch

Kicked off #SharkWeek with a student research panel at the Mary and Jeff Bell Library! Jaz, Katie, and Kyle presented lightning talks on their shark-related work here at the Island University. 🦈 #TAMUCC

Our summer is packed with fieldwork! MS student Kyle has been putting in long hours offshore collecting data, while PhD candidate Yamilla has been busy fishing in her bay systems and downloading acoustic receivers. Keep up the great work, team! 🎣🌊🧪 #TAMUCC

Huge congratulations to Yamilla for unanimously passing her comprehensive exams and officially advancing to PhD candidacy! 🥳 She’s the first PhD candidate in our lab, and we couldn’t be prouder of her dedication, perseverance, and the exciting work she’s doing. Way to go, Yamilla! 👏

Congratulations to the first-ever Movement Ecology Lab grads this academic year: Felipe (M.S. ’24), Cindy (B.S. ’25), and soon-to-be alum Videl! We’re proud of all you’ve accomplished and will miss you! #TAMUCC #Graduation

Last of our introductions… Meet our post-Bachelor volunteer, Cali! She received her B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa in 2024, where she worked in shark behavior and coral resilience research at the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology. Welcome! 🦈🪸🐠 #TAMUCC

Next up for introductions is Dylan! He’s a senior Biology major at TAMUCC, concentrating in Marine Biology. Dylan volunteers in the lab, is interested in trophic ecology and population dynamics, and loves SCUBA. Welcome! #TAMUCC #STEM

Next up for introductions is Madison! She’s a sophomore Biology major at TAMUCC, concentrating in Marine Biology. Madison is currently assisting with PhD student Jasmine’s trophic ecology project on southern flounder and is excited to get involved in more lab work soon. Welcome!

We have a few new faces joining our lab, and we will introduce them in the next few weeks! First up… Lily, a Texas local! She is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology. She will help PhD student Yamilla with her dissertation research #TAMUCC

Shark science in the classroom! 🦈 Last month, Yamilla, Jasmine, Katie, & Kyle visited Ella Barnes Elementary for STEM Day, sharing shark facts with 150+ curious students. Always excited to inspire future marine biologists! 💙🌊 #Outreach #TAMUCC

🎣 Caught a tagged red drum, trout, or sheepshead in TX bays?  Look for a yellow "Release Fish" tag + internal transmitter!  📍 Note tag #, date/location, & length  📞 Report: 361-825-2525  💻 sportfishcenter.org/outreach/report-tag  🎁 Reward—released or kept! #TAMUCC

Exciting times! We recently successfully downloaded data from our Aransas Channel receiver array. This data will be used by both Jaz and Katie for their projects tracking the movements of flounder and elasmobranchs. Thanks TPWD for their support! #TAMUCC #fieldwork #telemetry

🦈 This week, we're featuring a unique shark—can you guess what it is?  🔹 Distinct hammer-shaped head with three notches 
🔹 Forms large schools in coastal & offshore waters 
🔹 A skilled predator with a wide field of vision  Drop your guesses below! ⬇️

Freezing temps in Texas = the perfect time to reorganize the lab. Prepping for upcoming projects and making sure everything is for a busy research season ahead! #TAMUCC

Last week was a busy week for the lab! Presentations, fieldwork and more presentations! Kyle and Jaz both presented their research in separate seminars and Yamilla got out to tag some fish! Thanks NOAA for funding! #TAMUCC

Recently, MS student Kyle and undergraduate student Cindy found many cool critters on video! The first species we want to feature is... the Rock Hind (Epinephelus adscensionis)! Can you spot the fish in the 3rd picture?! Thanks to Texas Sea Grant for funding and to our collaborators @ CSSC! #TAMUCC

Movement Ecology Lab is back on campus and gearing up for the new semester! Recently, PhD Student Yamilla was in the field finishing up deploying receivers for her project on gamefish, and now we can tag fish! Thanks @noaa.gov & TPWD for funding! #TAMUCC

Meet Jaz! Originally from outside Philadelphia, she’s our new PhD student. With a B.S. from the University of New England and an M.S. from @uafairbanks and @biminisharklab, she’s studied bull shark movement in the North Atlantic. At TAMUCC, she’ll explore fish and shark migration

Today our lab had the pleasure of giving a talk to the the students from the Aquateens program at the Texas State Aquarium. We had a lot of fun talking about #sharks, #bycatch and #acoustictelemetry 🦈 🐟 #outreach

Meet Cindy, a Texas local! She is an undergraduate pursuing a Bachelor of Science in marine biology. She will be working closely with graduate student Kyle, on his research over testing different shark deterrents and their effects on shark depredation 🦈🎣 #undergraduateresearch #researchexperience

Summer is #fieldwork season! 🎣 We are here prepping #shark #deterrents for testing on vertical longlines 🦈 This is part of @kyledking12 masters project!

Another day of #sharkweek, so of course, we are still talking about #sharks! Learn more about Katie's project by clicking on the link: www.tamucc.edu/news/2024/07... You can also catch her today at TAMUCC, Library where she will be talking about her project! 🦈 #islanderssharkweek2024

Shark week is still going! One of our grad students is giving a talk at the Mary and Jeff Bell Library. If you are a TAMUCC student or a Corpus Christi local come join us! She will be talking about her project which focuses on sharks and rays! 🦈

Did you know one of the biggest concerns facing sharks today is depredation? Our lab is attempting to quantify how often shark depredation is occurring in the Gulf of Mexico in commercial and recreational fisheries through the use of magnetic shark deterrents #sharkresearch 🦈

Last week, Our grad students had a blast teaching Texas State Aquarium SeaCampers about #sharks 🦈 and showing them the different pieces of technology we used to track their movements! #outreach

Texas estuaries, crucial for species, suffer from human impact altering salinity, which reduces species diversity. Masters student Felipe uses long-term data to predict suitable habitats, aiming to enhance estuarine health through strategic freshwater releases #statmodels #research #estuaries 🐟🦀🦐

Meet Videl, originally from Illinois. She is an undergraduate at TAMUCC, pursuing a B.Sc. in marine biology. Her undergraduate project involves a community analysis of elasmobranch species along the Texas coast using a large fisheries dataset 🦈 #undergraduteresearchexperience

Meet Kyle, originally from Kansas. He got his bachelor’s degree in Texas A&M Galveston. He joined the movement ecology lab in spring 2024 to pursue a master’s degree in marine biology. His project focuses on testing different shark deterrent devices to assess shark depredation in the Gulf of Mexico🦈

PhD student Yamilla Samara and master student Katie Gheysen joined PhD candidate Alex Good from the @thebahrlab.bsky.social on her outreach event with a local high school. The team took high-school students to the rescue center at the Texas State Aquarium and a beach clean up #outreach

Meet our PhD student, Yamilla. She has a B.Sc. in Marine Biology and an M.Sc. in Biology. Her dissertation aims to combine acoustic telemetry, stable isotopes, and compound specific amino acids to study fish habitat and resource use at oyster reefs to inform management decisions #stemwomen #research

Last week our team deployed 12 acoustic receiver stations to start tracking the movements of juvenile elasmobranchs (e.g. sharks and rays) in Texas estuaries #trackingnotslacking #research

Curious about how researchers track fish? They use acoustic telemetry! Fish are tagged with devices that send sound signals underwater. When near a receiver, it logs the fish’s ID, time, and location. Our lab uses this tech to study fish and shark movements #research #tracking

Meet our master student Katie originally from Illinois. She got a dual B.Sc. in Marine Biology and B.A. in Spanish from the University of Rhode Island. Her project aims to explore the habitat use of juvenile elasmobranchs in Corpus Christi's estuarine waters to inform management.🦈

Meet master student Felipe, born and raised in Texas. He got his bachelor’s degree in biology at TAMUCC. His project focuses on creating habitat suitability models to predict how juvenile estuarine nekton will respond to climate change stressors in Texas estuaries🦐🐟🦀

Meet our research specialist, Robert, originally from Illinois. He earned a B.Sc. and M.S.c at TAMU-CC. Now he works full time for the movement ecogology lab. He is a great help for graduate students when it comes to buying supplies and organizing fieldwork! 🐟

Meet our Principal Investigator, Dr. Daniel Coffey, originally from California. His expertise lies in marine ecology, focusing on understanding movement and habitat use of marine animals through the application of technological tools and statistical models.🦈🐟