Marine research and science education at Dauphin Island Sea Lab are a key piece of solving the conservation puzzle on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

The barrier islands off the Alabama Gulf Coast serve as ideal nesting habitat for shorebirds. But their populations are declining amid human development and climate change.

Human development has put diamondback terrapins at risk along Alabama's Gulf Coast. The turtles are a keystone species, so scientists are working to save them.

Oyster populations have dropped more than 80 percent in Mobile Bay since the 1950s. Marine scientists are working to revive the oysters amid ongoing threats.