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A Filamentous Bacterium On The Brine Shrimp And Its Control, Mobashir A. Solangi, Robin M. Overstreet, Ann L. Gannam

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A strain of a colorless, filamentous bacterium (tentatively identified as Leucothrix mucor) heavily infests the brine shrimp, Artemia salina. Its ultrastructure, unlike that of some other strains, does not reveal a distinct middle layer between its outer cell wall layer and cytoplasmic membrane, irregular blebs extending from the cell layers, or an external sheath. An entire infestation, represented as a mat of the bacterium with associated debris and microorganisms, sloughs from the shrimp when exposed to a variety of treatments. Primarily because most effective treatments are toxic to the shrimp, 100 ppm terramycin provides the treatment of choice.

Macrobenthos Of Simmons Bayou And An Adjoining Residential Canal, James T. Mcbee, Walter T. Brehm

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Species composition, abundance and seasonal variations of benthic macroinvertebrates in Simmons Bayou, Mississippi, and an adjoining dead-end canal were investigated from July 1976 through June 1977. Cluster analysis of the data summed over five stations indicated four major time periods: July, August-November, December-February, and March-June. Polychaetes and oligochaetes were most abundant in the winter and spring, amphipods in the summer, and chironomids in the spring. Temporal changes in abundance of polychaetes, oligochaetes, and chironomids appeared to reflect seasonal reproductive cycles. The peak in amphipod density corresponded with dense growths of Ruppia maritima. Within the dead-end canal, poor water quality …

Records And Range Extensions Of Mycidacea From Coastal And Shelf Waters Of The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico, Kenneth C. Stuck, Harriet M. Perry, Richard W. Heard

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Records of seventeen species of Mysidacea from the Gulf of Mexico are presented. Bowmaniella portoricensis, Pseudomma sp., Siriella thompsonii and Bathymysis renoculata are recorded from the Gulf for the first time. Range extensions within the Gulf are established for Anchialina typica and Mysidopsis furca. Records of Brasilomysis castroi and Mysidopsis almyra from the Atlantic coast of the United States are reported.

Localized Plankton Blooms And Jubilees On The Gulf Coast, Gordon Gunter, Charles H. Lyles

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The writers describe various small types of plankton blooms such as those occurring in boat slips, the head of a large bayou and a strip type bloom of Chaetoceras on the Gulf beach. Oyster kills from “poison water” draining off of marshes are said to be caused by plankton bloom. Small “jubilees” are said to be caused by localized blooms and one of these is described as it occurred.

Studies Of The Southern Oyster Borer, Thais Haemastoma, Gordon Gunter

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Original work was carried on at the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries Laboratory on Apalachicola Bay from August 1935 to April 1936. Since then observations have been made in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Five papers on specific aspects of the biology of the animal have been written since on this and other predatory gastropods. Here all commentaries are drawn together and unpublished matter is presented.

The name Thais haemastoma is used because separations based upon the rugosity of the shells do not hold up. Perfectly smooth and very rugose specimens are found in the same bays, with various shell characteristics being …

Adaptation Of A Brown Water Culture Technique To The Mass Culture Of The Copepod Acartia Tonsa, John Ogle

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The use of bay water, filtered to 5 microns, was found to be sufficiently nutritious to sustain an average of 232,000 adult Acartia tonsa per m³. Copepods survived up to 24 days as adults and produced up to 75 nauplii per adult. Nauplii could be sieved to produce copepods of known age or known parentage. Survival of nauplii to adults ranged from 15 to 88%. Culture water varied from 6 to 28^oC in temperature, and from 1 to 26 ppt in salinity.

Occurrence Of Microalgae In Southwestern Louisiana Coastal Salt Flats, Robert S. Maples, James C. Watson

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A descriptive analysis of the edaphic algal flora in salt flats along the coastline of southwestern Louisiana is provided. Six salt flats containing the angiosperm Salicornia were surveyed in November 1978, and April 1979, for microalgae. Seven genera of Chrysophycophyta, eleven genera of Cyanochloronta, and eighteen genera of the Chlorophycophyta were found. The most abundant alga was Oscillatoria (sensu Drouet). The most common green alga was Chlorosarcinopsis.

First Record Of A Bloom Of Gonyaulax Monilata In Coastal Waters Of Mississippi, Harriet M. Perry, Kenneth C. Stuck, Harold D. Howse

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Data are presented on a bloom of the toxic dinoflagellate Gonyaulax monilata in coastal waters of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. This paper documents the first record of a bloom of this species in Mississippi Sound and adjacent Gulf of Mexico.

An Annotated Key To The Mysidacea Of The North Central Gulf Of Mexico, Kenneth C. Stuck, Harriet M. Perry, Richard W. Heard

Gulf and Caribbean Research

An annotated key is provided to 17 species in 11 genera of the order Mysidacea from the north central Gulf of Mexico. All species are illustrated. The occurrence of Bowmaniella dissimilis is reviewed in light of Holmquist’s (1975) renaming of E. dissimilis sensu Brattegard (1970). Reports of several species of Metamysidopsis are discussed. The possible hybridization of two species of Taphromysis is considered.

Marine Fishes Of Panama As Related To The Canal, Gordon Gunter

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Recent papers by Eskinazi, compared to studies made on the Texas and Louisiana coasts 35 to 45 years ago and on the south Atlantic coast 15 years ago, show remarkable similarities of the estuarine fishes of northeastern Brazil and the northern Gulf of Mexico. Forty-five of 48 families of the two areas are in common and about 35% of the species are in common. On the west coast even greater correspondence might be expected between fishes of Peru and southern California, were it not for the restriction of tropical fishes by the Humboldt and California currents.

When the lithospheric plate …

Patterns Of Suspended Particle Transport In A Mississippi Tidal Marsh System, Courtney T. Hackney, Armando A. De La Cruz

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The flux of suspended particulate organic detritus (POD) and suspended inorganic detritus (PID) was studied during ten diurnal tidal periods (24-hour) and three semidiurnal tidal periods (12-hour) between May 1975 and April 1976. The concentration of POD ranged from 1.50 to 19.79 mg/l, while the PID ranged from 3.20 to 99.61 mg/l. There was a net export of POD during four of 13 tidal periods and a net export of PID during five tidal periods. There was a total net movement of 39.32 and 292.51 kg of POD and PID, respectively, into the marsh. On an annual basis, this is …

A Study Of Four Oyster Reefs In Mississippi, John Ogle

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A study of four oyster populations in Mississippi over 13 months (May 1978-May 1979) indicates that although oysters are sexually developed during most of the year (10 months), setting was variable in intensity, dependent upon location, and limited in all cases to one or two months. Mortality was variable, dependent upon location and was attributed to high predation at one station and to harvesting and fresh water at the other stations studied. Suggestions for management are discussed.

Notes On Sea Beach Ecology. Food Sources On Sandy Beaches And Localized Diatom Blooms Bordering Gulf Beaches, Gordon Gunter

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Food production along sandy beaches is much different from that of rocky beaches. No large algae grow on sand beaches. Small filamentous green algae find footholds upon molluscs, mole crabs, strands of Leptogorgia and logs. Basic food along the sand beach is made up of diatoms, bacteria, unicellular algae and detritus; diatoms are probably the most abundant autotrophic organism; the beach bacteria are largely heterotrophic. Most food on sandy beaches comes from the sea. The sandy shore seems to be barren, but it swarms with plant and animal life. Food production has a seasonal aspect. Food strands more abundantly on …

Notes On The Genus Probythinella Thiele, 1928 (Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae) In The Coastal Waters Of The Northern Gulf Of Mexico And The Taxonomic Status Of Vioscalba Louisianae Morrison, 1965, Richard W. Heard

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The gastropod genus Probythinella Thiele, 1928, is considered a senior synonym of Vioscalba Morrison, 1965. Probythinella louisianae (Morrison, 1965) n. comb. tentatively is recognized as a valid species distinct from the closely related P. lacustris (Baker, 1928) and P. protera Pilsbry, 1953. The eastern range of P. louisianae is extended to Mobile Bay, Alabama. Limited observations on the habitat and reproduction of P. louisianae are reported.

Diet Of The Periwinkle Littorina Irrorata In A Louisiana Salt Marsh, Steve K. Alexander

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The diet of the periwinkle Littorina irrorata was examined. The food substrate utilized most frequently in the field was dead Spartina alterniflora. The primary component of the stomach and feces was vascular plant particles. Plant particles, even though a major portion of the diet, were egested unaltered in feces. Other food substrates contributed significantly to the diet. Marsh sediment was utilized by 37% of all snails observed to be feeding, while 4% grazed on live S. alterniflora. Algal mats, present on several occasions during the study, were utilized extensively. Comparison of microbial components in dead S. alterniflora and …