Heartbeat of the Estuary

September 8, 2023 • by Marc Airhart

Philip Souza’s research is focused on the sounds that fish along the Texas Gulf Coast make to attract mates or defend territory.

A scientist in a boat wearing headphones and dangles a microphone in the water

Philip Souza, a graduate student at UT Austin's Marine Science Institute, eavesdrops on fish in the Mission-Aransas Estuary.


On today’s show we talk with Philip Souza, a Ph.D. student in the lab of Simon Brandl at the Marine Science Institute, and a Stengl-Wyer fellow. His research is focused on the sounds that fish along the Texas Gulf Coast make to attract mates or defend territory. He works in the Mission-Aransas Estuary near Port Aransas, whose oyster reefs and other habitats support rich communities of fish, many of which have a big impact on the Texas economy — including spotted sea trout, catfish, red drum and black drum. He’s developing ways to continuously record sound in the water to monitor the health of the ecosystem. As fate would have it, two years ago, his approach was put to the test.

Gulf toadfish

Gulf toadfish. Credit: John Williams (CC BY-NC).

A man stands on a boat holding a very large fish

Philip Souza holding a black drum (Pogonias cromis), one of the sound-producing fishes found in Texas estuaries.

A scientist being interviewed for a podcast

Philip Souza being interviewed for this podcast. Credit: Nolan Zunk.

A man with a microphone interviews a scientist who is looking at a laptop

Marc Airhart interviews graduate student Philip Souza at UT Austin's Marine Science Institute. Credit: Nolan Zunk.

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