Texas Biodiversity Center

New bat exhibit 'Masters of the Night' opens at Texas Science & Natural History Museum May 24, 2026Texas Science & Natural History Museum Debuts “Masters of the Night” Bat ExhibitAustin, TX—Texas Science & Natural History Museum announces the open

Meet Stengl-Wyer Fellow Daryl Barth! She studies the gut microbiomes of plastic-eating superworms to uncover novel enzymes capable of breaking down persistent plastics like polystyrene, polyethylene, and nylon.

Meet Stengl-Wyer Fellow: Daryl Barth This article is about 2025 Stengl-Wyer graduate fellow Daryl Barth.

Coral reefs occupy just 1% of the seafloor but support more than 25% of all marine species, making them critical to ocean biodiversity. In the Caribbean, reefs are especially threatened because major reef-building corals are no longer reproducing successfully, and restoration efforts have had mixed results. Professor Misha Matz (Integrative Biology) warns that losing coral reefs would be both an environmental and societal disaster, affecting marine life, food supplies, shoreline protection, and tourism. To help prevent reef collapse, Matz and colleagues have proposed introducing resilient non-native corals from other regions to help rebuild Caribbean reef ecosystems.
https://cns.utexas.edu/news/features/can-scientists-proposal-save-coral-reefs-our-hemisphere