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  ABOUT US  -  PERSONNEL  -  ENDOWED FACULTY  -  SHIRLEY

  DR. THOMAS SHIRLEY
        HRI ENDOWED CHAIR FOR MARINE BIODIVERSITY &
        CONSERVATION SCIENCE

 


HRI ENDOWED FACULTY
DR. RICHARD MCLAUGHLIN
DR. PAUL MONTAGNA
DR. THOMAS SHIRLEY
  TAMUCC BIO
  GULFBASE BIO
  CURRICULUM VITAE pdf
  INVASIVE SPECIES pdf
DR. GREG STUNZ
DR. DAVID YOSKOWITZ


Shirley gives talk at 'Wear Blue' event


Dr. Tom Shirley

January 2010 - HRI
staff members participated in Wear Blue for Oceans Day on January 13, which was celebrated by conservation organizations
across the nation to help make a public statement in support of greater protection for our oceans. Dr. Thomas C. Shirley, HRI
Chair of Marine Biodiversity & Conservation Science, gave a presentation.

PHOTO & INFORMATION

Shirley, Reuscher on research expedition

Dr. Tom Shirley in expedition submarine

June 9-23, 2009 - HRI's world expert on marine biodiversity and conservation Dr. Thomas Shirley and HRI PhD Student Michael Reuscher were part of a team of scientist that took part in a two-week-long expedition funded by the Living Oceans Society, June 9-23. Under calms seas and mostly clear skies, the researchers searched for deep sea corals in the North Pacific off the west coast of Canada.

Shirley and Reuscher were two of the scientists who drove the expedition's Deep Worker manned submarines to depths of up to 500 meters and gathered evidence of corals, associated species and damage from human impacts. The scientists documented over 14 species of coral, ranging from small orange cup corals to meter-high red tree corals. They learned about the black spotted rock fish that nestles in the stalks of Primoa and the brittle star that entwines in the sytlaster hydrocorals. Over the next few months this data will be analyzed by the expedition's science team and the results used to develop a conservation strategy to protect these beautiful and important creatures.

The research vessel set sail on Ocean Day, June 8, following a press conference on the dock, and returned on June 23. A number of well-known marine biologists, including HRI's Dr. Sylvia Earle, representing a variety of organizations and agencies took part in the research cruise.

Expedition Photos

Finding Coral Expedition

You Tube "Day 4" video narrated by Dr. Tom Shirley
Finding Coral Expedition video - Day 4

Article 3/20/09: Finding Coral Expedition sets sail in June (FindingCoral.com)

Article 6/9/09: North Van mini subs used in coral research (The Province)

Shirley attends media workshop

June 2009 - Dr. Tom Shirley attended a media training workshop in Palo Alto, California, April 5-7, 2009, called Communication Partnership for Science and the Se (COMPASS). The course involved learning techniques and tips for radio, TV and press interviews, and also included training for producing podcasts. The COMPASS training, perhaps best known for its Aldo Leopold workshop series, was taught by Dr. Nancy Knowlton and occurred at the Moore Foundation. Expenses were covered by the Living Oceans Society.

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Dr. Thomas Shirley - photo by Carrie Robertson
Dr. Thomas Shirley in his HRI lab
Carrie Robertson photo - download hi-rez (350KB)

Contact Information:
Harte Research Institute
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5869
Corpus Christi , Texas 78412-5869
Telephone: (361) 825-2030
Fax: (361) 825-2050
E-mail: thomas.shirley@tamucc.edu

Thomas Shirley was named HRI's Endowed Chair for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Science in August 2005. He was a former Director of the Fisheries Division, Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks, and has been the Principal Investigator on 11 manned submersible projects, including the DSV Alvin, Pisces V and Delta subs. He has published more than 100 articles, books and proceedings on systematics and ecology of marine organisms, including descriptions of new species from three phyla from the Arctic, Antarctic, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean, Philippines and Alaska. CURRICULUM VITAE pdf

Area of Expertise/Interest:
Ecology and systematics of marine invertebrates


Dr. Thomas Shirley (center) gives a lecture onboard a ship in
the Gulf of Alaska to a National Geographic reporter, a NMFS biologist and a grade school teacher.
Photo: Zac Hoyt

Research Projects:

  • WWII Deep Shipwrecks Project, 2004-present.
    In this MMS-funded research, WWII shipwrecks to 2000-meter depths in the northern Gulf of Mexico were used as surrogates for deep drilling structures to examine their utility as artificial reefs to marine organisms.
  • Computing Research Infrastructure, 2007-2008.
    A massive and heterogeneous data repository for computing research on the Gulf of Mexico. This NSF-funded research is assembling a multi-disciplinary team of scientists to build a massive data repository at TAMUCC.
  • Seasonal aggregations of female Tanner crabs in Glacier Bay, Alaska, 2005-2007. This NURP-funded project uses ultrasonic telemetry to measure movements & aggregations of Tanner crabs in Alaska.
  • Larval advection and retention of Alaska Dungeness crabs: interactions in phylogeography and stock structure, 2005-2007. This Sea Grant-funded research uses zooplankton sampling of larvae and genetics of adult Dungeness to address examine the role of larval retention and advection in stock structure.
  • Priapulid systematics (ongoing). This research addresses the systematics, morphology and ultrastructure the phylum Priapulidea. Several new species await formal description.

Education:

  • Ph.D. in Zoology and Physiology, Louisiana State University (1982)
  • M.S. in Biology, Texas A&I University-Kingsville (1974)
  • B.S. in Biology, Texas A&I University-Kingsville (1969)

Courses:

  • Benthic Ecology, CMSS 6590
  • Biodiversity and Conservation Science, CMSS 6590

Students:

  • Peter Etnoyer, CMSS doctoral student
  • Morgan Kilgour, CMSS doctoral student
  • Aaron Baldwin, doctoral candidate (Univ. of Alaska)
  • Larissa Bright, Marine Biology M.S. student
  • Larry Lloyd, Marine Biology M.S. student
  • Michael Reuscher, Marine Biology M.S. student

Honors/Awards/Service:

  • Professor Emeritus, Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks (2006)
  • Cooperative Conservation Award, Dept. of Interior (2006)
  • Excellence in Partnering, National Oceanographic Partnership Program (2007)

Selected Publications:

  • Park, W., D. Douglas and T.C. Shirley. 2007. North to Alaska: evidence for conveyor belt transport of Dungeness crab larvae along the west coast of the U.S. and Canada. Limnolology and Oceanogrraphy 52: 248-256.
  • Shirley, T.C. 2007. cultivation potential of golden king crab, Lithodes aequispinus. Pp. 47-54 IN Stevens, B.G. (ed.) Alaska Crab Stock Enhancement and Rehabilitation. Alaska Sea Grant College Program, Ak-SG-06-04.
  • Schizas, N. V. and T.C. Shirley. 2006. Apolethon hippoperus (Copepoda: Harpacticoida), a new species from southeastern Alaska. J. Crustacean Biology 26(3):341-354
  • Kruse, G. H., V. F. Gallucci, D. E. Hay, R. I. Perry, R. M. Peterman, T.C. Shirley, P. D. Spencer, B. Wilson and D. Woodby (Editors). 2005. Fisheries Assessment and Management in Data-Limited Situations. Alaska Sea Grant College Program, University of Alaska Fairbanks. 958 pp.

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