Postdoctoral Research Opportunity: Coastwide

Mapping of Seagrasses in Texas

Institution: University of Texas at Austin, Department of Marine Science 

Location: Port Aransas, Texas (Travel to UT-Austin main campus 1-2 times/yr) Advisor: Kenneth H. Dunton  

Earliest Start Date: October 2025 

Position Duration: Two years (with possible extension) 

Annual Salary: $70,000+ (depending on qualifications) 

​

The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Marine Science and the Marine Science Institute invite applications for a postdoctoral position in Dr. Ken Dunton’s Coastal Ecology Lab to conduct a  coast-wide survey of seagrass distribution on the Texas Gulf coast.  

​

Research Focus: The State of Texas is committed to the conservation of an estimated 90,000  hectares of seagrass meadows that provide habitat for a variety of estuarine dependent species. A targeted mapping survey has not been conducted for 20 years, despite reports of significant losses.  This study (funded by the Texas General Land Office) requires the acquisition of high-resolution modern satellite imagery and application of deep convolutional neural networks (DCNN) to update existing maps of seagrass distribution. This project will combine mapping (Tier 1) with existing  seagrass rapid assessment (Tier 2) data from the Texas Seagrass Monitoring Program,. The  successful candidate is expected to produce high-resolution seagrass distribution maps and  conduct extensive field sampling (with assistance of personnel from the Dunton lab) to ground truth the imagery for calibration and validation. The mapping effort extends over 500 km of  coastline and incorporates five species of seagrasses. Field studies are often conducted under a variety of ever-changing weather and sea conditions in remote coastal estuarine environments.

​

For full application information click here!

​

​

​