Working and Careers in Water and Aquatic Science

A benthic ecologist works to study aquatic life that lives on the bottom surfaces of Texas’ aquatic ecosystems.

Photo credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

There are thousands of invertebrate species in aquatic systems, from mountain top headwaters to the greatest depths of the oceans. A benthic ecologist studies the invertebrates and the communities of invertebrates that live on the bottoms of streams, lakes, rivers, estuaries, bays, and the ocean. This life is often called benthos. A benthic ecologist does research experiments, counts and measurements, look at the effects of pollution, and determine the health of invertebrate communities. Benthic ecologists usually have a master’s or doctorate degree in biology or ecology.

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Texas Aquatic Science is a cooperative education project sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife, The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University. Additional project support came from the Ewing Halsell Foundation and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Sport Fish Restoration Program. Rudolph Rosen, Ph.D. wrote and edited the Texas Aquatic Science textbook. Videos were produced by Randall Maxwell. Sandra Johnson, Ph.D. served as educational consultant and authored the accompanying Teacher’s Guide.