A healthy Gulf of Mexico is pertinent to a healthy Gulf Coast economy. Dauphin Island Sea Lab’s Executive Director, Dr. John Valentine, understands this importance, and the Gulf of Mexico University Research Collaborative recognizes his dedication by naming him the 2024 recipient of the Wes Tunnell Lifetime Recognition Gulf Science and Conservation Award. He was awarded at the Gulf Estuarine Research Society (GERS) Biennial Meeting, which the University of South Alabama hosts.

This award was created in honor of John Wesley “Wes” Tunnell Jr., a prolific marine ecologist and biologist in the Life Sciences Department of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Endowed Chair of Biodiversity and Conservation Science at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. Tunnell had a wealth of experience working in the Gulf of Mexico and stressed the importance of the bigger picture to his students.

Dr. Valentine’s contributions to coastal research also value the bigger picture. In the years following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, he focused on creating an Alabama Center of Excellence with funds from the RESTORE Act. The Center of Excellence manages the projects focused on understanding the influences of human interactions with the flora and fauna of the Gulf ecosystem.

“His advocacy for the federal RESTORE act, which has steered billions of dollars to the Gulf States for ecosystem restoration and science, following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and his desire to make sure we are never caught that unprepared,” Dr. Sean Powers, Stokes Endowed Chair & Director of the USA School of Marine & Environmental Sciences, said. “It was a wake-up call for all of us, and John was one of the first to get up and go to work when the alarm went off.”

Valentine also helped establish the Benthic Ecology Meetings, which are influential in generating more collaborative efforts between researchers studying benthic habitats across the Gulf and along the eastern seaboard. He also participates in federal scientific panels, including those of the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

“This award really belongs to all the people that contributed to the success of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab,” Dr. Valentine said.

The Valentine Lab at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab examines the influence of controlling energy flow within and between marine habitats, emphasizing submerged vegetated habitats. This research is being conducted in diverse locations ranging from the lower reaches of the Mobile Bay Delta to the Marine Protected Areas of the northern Florida Keys.

Dr. Valentine is the sixth recipient of this award.