Dr. Paul Montagna became the HRI's third endowed chair when he came onboard in 2006 to head up the ecosystem studies and modeling program. Before joining the HRI staff, he worked with the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas.

The HRI's other two endowed chairs are Dr. Tom Shirley, whose specialty is biodiversity, and Dr. Richard McLaughlin, whose specialty is marine policy and law.

Montagna and his staff are studying how organisms control and regulate marine ecosystems and coastal environments. Much of their research information is used to help guide resource management decisions.

Their day-to-day work includes collecting data on bottom-living organisms and on water quality. Using this data, they study the effects of freshwater inflow, water quality and contaminants.

Rick Kalke, is Montagna's field coordinator and lab manager. In early March, he and two HRI researchers were in the field getting benthic macro-fauna samples to study the environmental effects of the newly built Packery Channel. Packery is one of six areas they are studying in the Texas Coastal Bend area.