Aquatic Biology focuses on aquatic organisms and their relationships with their environments. Our faculty works in streams, rivers, springs, cave systems, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, and wetlands. Their research uses the facilities at the Freeman Aquatic Building, the nearby Federal Fish Hatchery, and natural aquatic ecosystems from the swamps of east Texas to the Rio Grande River and the springs of the Trans Pecos. 

Study organisms include fish and benthic invertebrates, frogs and salamanders, turtles, snakes, aquatic mammals, birds, and their parasites. The Master’s Degree in Aquatic Biology prepares students for a wide range of natural resource careers.

The Aquatic Resources Master of Science Program at Texas State University is a multi-disciplinary program of study and research based on aquatic sciences and resources. This is a thesis-based degree program and students within the program receive their degree through the Department of Biology. Graduate students pursuing an M.S. in Aquatic Resources can select one of two areas of concentration for their course work and research: Aquatic Biology or Aquatic Systems. 

Students in the Aquatic Biology concentration will focus on the biology and ecology of aquatic organisms and an understanding of the dynamics and management of aquatic ecosystems. Students in this track can focus on aspects of the aquatic biology and ecology at the level of individual genes to entire ecosystems and the processes contained therein. 

Students in the Aquatic Systems concentration will focus on an understanding of the structure and functioning of aquatic systems as integrated physical, biological, and socioeconomic entities and will emphasize practices aimed at protecting, maintaining, and restoring the health and sustainable use of these resources. This area of concentration encourages investigation of aquatic systems at the level of the watershed, as influenced by atmospheric and terrestrial processes.

Prospective graduate students interested in the program should contact potential advisors listed below. This is a list of faculty who have recently participated in advising students in the program.