Kenneth H. Dunton is Professor and Chair of the Department of Marine Science in the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, based at the Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas. He earned his B.S. from the University of Maine-Orono in 1975, M.S. from Western Washington University in 1977, and Ph.D. from the University of Alaska in 1985. Dunton's research centers on coastal ecosystem processes and aquatic plant physiological ecology, spanning tropical to polar latitudes. He evaluates ecosystem resilience through studies of plant species composition, carbon storage, benthic community structure, and carbon transfer to benthos in lagoons, bays, and estuaries, utilizing stable isotopic signatures to trace organic carbon sources assimilated by consumers. His work also examines light and nutrient requirements for photosynthesis and growth in seaweeds, seagrasses, and emergent vascular plants, alongside environmental stressors regulating productivity and distribution of foundation species.

Current projects encompass Arctic investigations of watershed-shelf linkages in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea, benthic community structure and trophic energetics in the Chukchi Sea, and biology of isolated Arctic kelp communities; in the Gulf of Mexico, a statewide Texas seagrass monitoring program, indicators of seagrass condition based on plant and water quality indices, and impacts of drought and freshwater inflows on subtropical estuarine marsh and mangrove production. As Project Leader for the NSF-funded Beaufort Lagoon Ecosystems LTER (2023-2028), he directs interdisciplinary land-ocean studies. Dunton has mentored 31 graduate students (10 Ph.D., 21 M.S.) across Gulf of Mexico, Norway, Arctic, and Antarctic regions and leads outreach initiatives including the Scientist in Residence program and Kaktovik Oceanography Program for native Inupiat youth. His accolades include the 2016 Ramón Margalef Award for Excellence in Education from ASLO, 2015 President’s Award for Conservation and Environmental Stewardship from the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation, multiple UT Austin Teaching Excellence and Outreach Awards (2000, 2003, 2005, 2012), 2013 Director’s Excellence Award from USF&WS Alaska Region 7, and U.S. Antarctic Service Medals (1990, 1999). With over 100 peer-reviewed publications, key works include "Sclerochronological records of environmental variability and bivalve growth in the Pacific Arctic" (Progress in Oceanography, in press), "Marine Pelagic Ecosystem Responses to Climate Variability and Change" (Bioscience, in press), and "Kelp carbon sink potential decreases with warming due to accelerating decomposition" (PLOS Biology, 2022). He has contributed to books such as "Biology of Polar Benthic Algae" (2011) and served as guest editor for Deep-Sea Research Part II.

Professional Email: ken.dunton@utexas.edu