Wes Tunnell, Ph.D.

Associate Director
& Harte Center Research Scientist

Office:	HRI 318 C
Phone:	(361) 825-2055
Fax:	(361) 825-2050
E-Mail:	wes.tunnell@tamucc.edu
Website:	Harte Research Institute
Curriculum Vitae:	2009 Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Wes Tunnell is a broadly trained marine biologist/ecologist with a particular interest in field studies on coral reefs and coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. Although his current focus is on biodiversity of the Gulf of Mexico, he has studied and published on coral reef ecology, coastal ecology, molluscan distribution and ecology, oil spill impacts, brachiopods, colonial waterbirds, and vertebrate fossils from the seabed. Dr. Tunnell has published two books, Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas (2001) and Coral Reefs of the Southern Gulf of Mexico (2007), and has another, In Press Encyclopedia of Texas Seashells.

Education

B.S. in Biology, Texas A&I University, 1967
M.S. In Biology, Texas A&I University, 1969
Ph.D. in Biology, Texas A&M University, 1974

Research Interests

coral reef and coastal ecology
molluscan systematics, distribution, and ecology
Gulf of Mexico biodiversity
oil spill impacts to marine environments

Awards

Fellow, Texas Academy of Sciences, 1981
Fulbright Scholar Award, Yucatan, Mexico, 1985-86
EPA Award for Environmental Excellence in Wetlands, 1994
Regents Professor Service Award, Texas A&M University System, 1998
Distinguished Professor Award, TAMU-CC Alumni, 2003
Guardian Award, Bi-National Category for Gulfbase, 2006
Fellow National, Explorers Club, March 2007
TAMU-CC Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activity Award for 2006-07
Gulf Guardian Award, Bi-National Category for book – Coral Reefs of the Southern Gulf of Mexico, 2008

Selected Publications

Tunnell, J.W., Jr. 2009. Gulf of Mexico. Pp 136-137 in S.A. Earle and L.K. Glover (eds.). Ocean - An Illustrated Atlas. National Geographic Society.
Tunnell, J.W., Jr., D.L. Felder, S.A. Earle. 2008. The Gulf of Mexico - Past, Present, and Future: A United States, Mexico, and Cuba Collaboration. Pp 222-229 in K. Withers and M. Nipper (eds). Environmental analysis of the Gulf of Mexico. Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Special Publication Series No. 1, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
Tunnell, J.W. Jr., E.A. Chavez, and K. Withers. 2007. Coral Reefs of the Southern Gulf of Mexico. Texas A&M University Press. College Station, Texas. 256 pp.
Tunnell, J.W. Jr. and S.A. Earle. 2004. Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies: Initiatives in Marine Science Research. Proceedings of 55th Annual Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute, Xel-Ha, Quintana Roo, Mexico, pp. 132-141.
Beaver, C.R., S.A.Earle, J.W. Tunnell, Jr., E.F. Evans, A.V. de la Cerda. 2004. Mass spawning of reef corals within the Veracruz Reef System, Veracruz, Mexico. Coral Reefs. 23:234.
Tunnell, J.W. Jr. and F.W. Judd (eds). 2002. The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas. 346 pp.
Tunnell, J.W. Jr. and B.R. Chapman. 2001. Ecology of nesting seabirds on the Campeche Bank Islands, southeastern Gulf of México. Atoll Research Bulletin 482: 1-50.
Dokken, Q.R., I.R. MacDonald, J.W. Tunnell, Jr., T. Wade, C.R. Beaver, S.A. Childs, K. Withers, and T.W. Bates. 2001. Long-term monitoring of the East and West Flower Garden Banks, 1998-1999. OCS Study MMS. Minerals Management Service. New Orleans, LA. p. 120.
Hicks, D.W., J.W. Tunnell, Jr., and R.F. McMahon. 2001. Population dynamics of the nonindigenous brown mussel Perna perna in the Gulf of México compared to other world-wide populations. Marine Ecology Progress Series 211: 181-192.
Hicks, D.W., C.P. Onuf, and J.W. Tunnell, Jr. 1998. Response of shoal grass, Halodule wrightii, to extreme winter conditions in the Lower Laguna Madre, Texas. Aquatic Botany. 62: 107-114.
Lang, J., P. Alcolado, J.P. Carricart-Ganivet, M. Chiappone, A. Curran, P. Dustan, G. Gaudian, F. Geraldes, St. Gittings, R. Smith, J.W. Tunnell, Jr., and J. Wiener. 1998. Status of coral reefs in the northern areas of the wider Caribbean. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, Australian Institute of Marine Science. Australia. 123-134 pp.
Tunnell, J.W. and Q.R. Dokken. 1996. Current status and historical trends of the estuarine living resources within the Corpus Christi Bay National Estuary Program Study Area. Corpus Christi Bay National Estuary Program. 4 Vols. 1442 p.