GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies and Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine will work together to study the health of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Sun Herald reports (http://bit.ly/RkjtGF ) representatives from each group announced Wednesday a formal partnership to research protected, threatened and endangered species in the Gulf, especially after recent hurricanes and the BP oil spill.

Officials say the goal is to improve the ecological health of the Gulf and to find out how natural and man-made disasters have affected 1 of the largest ecosystems in the world.

IMMS and MSU have worked together for about 25 years on various projects, but officials said the partnership needed structure in order to fully study the Gulf and the species that live in it.

Information from: The Sun Herald, http://www.sunherald.com

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