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Articles 31 - 42 of 42
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Patterns In Caribbean Coral Spawning, Anna C. Jordan
Patterns In Caribbean Coral Spawning, Anna C. Jordan
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Most corals worldwide are broadcast spawners that rely on synchronous gamete release for successful fertilization. Spawning synchrony may also decrease the probability of heterospecific fertilization that may produce maladaptive hybrids. Despite the importance of reproductive timing, researchers have only recently begun to collect spawning data across coral species in the Caribbean, but these data remain to be analyzed. This study investigates interannual, seasonal, and environmental patterns that may influence Caribbean scleractinian spawning times. The number of spawning observations varies widely among location and species. Most spawning observations were collected in Florida, Curaçao, and Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Acropora …
Genetic Population And Evolutionary Dynamics Of The Angel Sharks, Squatina Spp., Cristin Keelin Fitzpatrick
Genetic Population And Evolutionary Dynamics Of The Angel Sharks, Squatina Spp., Cristin Keelin Fitzpatrick
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Once so abundant as to be called the ‘common’ angelshark, Squatina squatina has been extirpated from nearly the entirety of its historical range, from the eastern North Atlantic, to the Mediterranean Sea [International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List: Critically Endangered]. The angelshark now only occurs in any abundance in the waters surrounding the Canary Islands. I present the first genetic assessment of the angelshark’s population dynamics and diversity from three locations within the Canary Islands archipelago: Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and Lanzarote. Using a suite of individual mitochondrial genome regions [Control region (CR), NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 …
Biological And Abiotic Factors Influencing Cetacean Mass Strandings In The Northeastern United States, Octavia Williams
Biological And Abiotic Factors Influencing Cetacean Mass Strandings In The Northeastern United States, Octavia Williams
HCNSO Student Capstones
Marine mammal strandings are frequent occurrences along many coastal areas around the world. The significance of stranded cetaceans has been of interest since around 300 B.C. when philosophers, like Aristotle, pondered why marine mammals, including whales, dolphins and porpoise beach themselves; and famous authors, like Henry David Thoreau, whose fascination in mammal strandings lead him to write a book about these mass occurrences off the coast of Cape Cod. Numerous hypothetical theories have been developed to explain these mass stranding phenomena. Though the causes of mass strandings remain unresolved, recent investigations suggest contributing factors could include environmental elements. Less emphasis …
Trophic Ecology And Parasitism Of A Mesopelagic Fish Assemblage, Matthew Woodstock
Trophic Ecology And Parasitism Of A Mesopelagic Fish Assemblage, Matthew Woodstock
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Mesopelagic (open ocean, 200-1000 m depth) fishes are important consumers of zooplankton and are prey of oceanic predators. Some mesopelagic fishes (e.g., myctophids and stomiids) undertake a diel vertical migration where they ascend to the near-surface waters during the night to feed and descend into the depths during the day to avoid predators. Other mesopelagic fishes (e.g., Sternoptyx spp.) do not vertically migrate and remain at deep depths throughout the day. While in the epipelagic zone (surface – 200 m depth), vertically migrating fishes become prey to upper-trophic level predators, such as: tunas and billfishes. Benthic fishes (e.g., macrourids) often …
Identification And Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Tuna (Family: Scombridae; Tribe: Thunnini) Early Life Stages In The Oceanic Gulf Of Mexico, Nina Pruzinsky
Identification And Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Tuna (Family: Scombridae; Tribe: Thunnini) Early Life Stages In The Oceanic Gulf Of Mexico, Nina Pruzinsky
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Fishes within the family Scombridae (i.e. tunas, mackerels and bonitos) are of high ecological and economic value, as they are heavily targeted by commercial and recreational fisheries. In coastal and open-ocean environments, adults are high-level predators, while larvae and juveniles serve as prey for numerous species. Much is known about the distribution and abundance of adult tunas, but high taxonomic uncertainty and limited knowledge regarding the distributional patterns of larval and juvenile tunas have led to an “operational taxonomic unit” gap in our understanding of tuna ecology. Scombrids were collected across the Gulf of Mexico (GoM, hereafter) during seven research …
Toxicological Effects Of Commercial Sunscreens On Coral Reef Ecosystems: New Protocols For Coral Restoration, Emilie C. Johnsen
Toxicological Effects Of Commercial Sunscreens On Coral Reef Ecosystems: New Protocols For Coral Restoration, Emilie C. Johnsen
HCNSO Student Capstones
The primary purpose of consumer-grade sunscreen is to protect skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays. This market has grown during the past 80 years, and environmental contamination from increasing amounts of sunscreen compounds have created concern. In particular, impacts on ocean ecosystems have inspired investigations and toxicological research on their effects on marine life. Unfortunately, such studies using marine flora and fauna are scarce, and the impact of chemical exposure to consumer sunscreens is neither adequately measured nor completely understood. In a pilot study by the Coral Restoration Foundation, in situ toxicity exposure to 10 different brands of sunscreens …
Pathogen Transmission Techniques And Genotypic Resistance To Disease In The Threatened Coral, Acropora Cervicornis, Megan Bock
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Unprecedented population losses of the staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, since the 1970s have been attributed primarily to disease. Although a positive linear relationship between disease prevalence and increased water temperature has been described, the pathogen(s) causing disease and whether they are spread through the water or vectors is still poorly understood. Additionally, an increase in disease outbreaks and severity has provided an urgent need to identify natural genotypic resistance to disease in Caribbean acroporids. Studies to date have explored a variety of pathogen transmission methods, but prior to this study, there has been no examination of differences among common techniques. …
The Role Of Ontogenetic Habitat Shifts On The Parasite Communities Of Five South Florida Fishes, Brittany Nicole White
The Role Of Ontogenetic Habitat Shifts On The Parasite Communities Of Five South Florida Fishes, Brittany Nicole White
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Many reef fishes initially recruit into mangroves, and then migrate out to reef habitats as they grow and mature. Each ontogenetic habitat shift exposes migrants to previously unencountered parasite taxa, potentially increasing parasite species richness and driving changes in parasite community structure. However, studies on this topic rarely attempt to distinguish between the location effects of habitat shifts versus a simple increase in physical size. Therefore we contrasted parasite community richness and structure in Great Barracuda Sphyraena barracuda (N=84), Atlantic Needlefish Strongylura marina (N=49), Crevalle Jack Caranx hippos (N=59), White Mullet Mugil curema (N=90), and Yellow-fin Mojarra Gerres cinnerus (N=60) …
Identifying Disease-Resistant And Thermal-Tolerant Genotypes In The Threatened Staghorn Coral, Acropora Cervicornis, Morgan V. Hightshoe
Identifying Disease-Resistant And Thermal-Tolerant Genotypes In The Threatened Staghorn Coral, Acropora Cervicornis, Morgan V. Hightshoe
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Since the 1970s, loss of herbivores, coral bleaching, pollution, and disease epidemics have reshaped the ecological framework of coral reefs. Staghorn coral, Acropora cervicornis, was a major reef-building scleractinian coral found throughout Florida and the Caribbean that experienced unprecedented population declines primarily due to disease and coral bleaching. These two stressors are coupled; the highest coral disease prevalence occurs after periods of thermal stress caused by increased sea surface temperature. Previous research documented three disease-resistant A. cervicornis genotypes in Panama, but it is unknown if disease-resistant genotypes exist in the Florida Keys. Thermal tolerance has been found to be …
Age And Growth Of Hogfish (Lachnolaimus Maximus) In Southeast Florida, Ian A. Towne
Age And Growth Of Hogfish (Lachnolaimus Maximus) In Southeast Florida, Ian A. Towne
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus; Walbaum 1792) from Southeast Florida were aged using sectioned otoliths and growth rates were calculated using the von Bertalanffy growth equation. The samples were collected from Broward County (n=209); other regions of Southeast Florida (n=18), the Florida Keys (n=35) and Bahamas (n=43). Growth rates were determined for each of these areas and were then compared to previously reported growth rates from other regions including the eastern Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys. There was significant separation at the 95% confidence level between growth rates from each reagion. The average maximum fork length increased, from the Florida …
Rare Parthenogenic Reproduction In A Common Reef Coral, Porites Astreoides, Alicia A. Vollmer
Rare Parthenogenic Reproduction In A Common Reef Coral, Porites Astreoides, Alicia A. Vollmer
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Multiple stressors have caused a decline in coral populations. Broadcast spawning corals once dominated the Florida Reef Tract (FRT), but since their decline, smaller brooding corals, soft corals, and macroalgae are replacing them. Brooding corals are more resilient to current threats in part because they are reproductive throughout much of the year and their larvae are competent to settle after release. Despite the ubiquity of brooders on Florida reefs, much of their reproductive strategy remains unknown. This study aimed to examine paternity as a function of colony size and density in Porites astreoides, a common brooding coral in the …
Impact Of An Exercise Program On Stress, Fatigue, And Quality Of Life For Individuals Living With Primary Immunodeficiency Disease, Kerri Sowers
Department of Physical Therapy Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
Background: There are over 300 Primary Immunodeficiency diseases (PID) that are a result of a genetic or idiopathic dysfunction of any aspect of the immune system. These conditions result in a higher frequency of infections, autoimmune conditions, or malignancies. Moderate intensity exercise is thought to help the immune system, while high intensity exercise may have a negative impact on immune function. The impact of exercise on individuals with an impaired immune system due to PID is not yet understood. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a low to moderate intensity exercise program would have an effect …