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Fishery Ecology Lab with Texas A&M students


(NOAA Image)

NOAA NMFS Scientists Dr. Tom Minello, Shawn Hillen and Juan Salas conduct a fishery ecology training laboratory with Texas A&M Galveston students to demonstrate drop sampling in Galveston Bay (above). This is the sixth year NMFS has conducted this laboratory with Texas A&M Galveston.

Students examine shrimp
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Typically NOAA NMFS collects random samples of these wetland areas to further their studies of marsh ecology. Here, students examine a shrimp collected during the sampling.
Farantepenaeus aztecus
(NOAA Image)

Students identified several species including brown shrimp Farantepenaeus aztecus (above). Students were also shown how to sample an area using a benthic sled.
callinectes sapidus
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A tiny blue crab Callinectes sapidus is identified from one collection (above). Since many of the species are very tiny, the samples are returned to the lab to be sorted, identified and counted.