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Succession Of The Late Summer Phytoplankton Blooms In The York River Estuary, Va, Heather Kathleen Corson
Succession Of The Late Summer Phytoplankton Blooms In The York River Estuary, Va, Heather Kathleen Corson
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
The influence of bottom-up and top-down controls on the formation and persistence of phytoplankton blooms has been well studied. However, the relative importance of these bottom-up and top-down controls vary spatially and temporally. In the tidal tributaries and mainstem of Chesapeake Bay, the summer dinoflagellate population follows a succession of bloom-producing species. The dinoflagellate species Margalefidinium polykrikoides and Alexandrium monilatum are currently considered the end of this succession. These species form near-annual blooms in the lower half of Chesapeake Bay and are considered harmful algal bloom (HAB) species due to their negative ecological impacts. However, analysis of long-term monitoring data …
Reconstructing Coastal Forest Retreat And Marsh Migration Response To Historical Sea Level Rise, Nathalie Schieder
Reconstructing Coastal Forest Retreat And Marsh Migration Response To Historical Sea Level Rise, Nathalie Schieder
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Climate change assessments predict that rates of relative sea level rise will increase in the future, leading to enhanced inundation of low-lying coastal regions and a 20 – 50 % decline in salt marsh area by 2100. Global sea level rise began accelerating in the late 19th to early 20th century, and local rates along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast are twice as fast as global estimates. Frequent flooding and salt stress associated with sea level rise lead to coastal transgression, and the survival of ecosystems depends on their ability to migrate inland faster than they erode and submerge. Here, I …
Myctophid Feeding Ecology And Carbon Transport Along The Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Jeanna M. Hudson
Myctophid Feeding Ecology And Carbon Transport Along The Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Jeanna M. Hudson
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) is the largest topographic feature in the Atlantic Ocean, yet little is known about the food web structure and trophic ecology of fishes inhabiting mesopelagic waters along the MAR. To better understand the food web structure and to compare the feeding ecology of abundant MAR fishes to those in offridge areas, MAR-ECO, a Mid-Atlantic Ridge ecosystem field project of the Census of Marine Life, sampled the pelagic fauna of the northern MAR (Iceland to the Azores) during June-July, 2004. Samples were collected with two midwater trawls outfitted with multiple opening and closing cod ends to sample …
The Life History Of Longnose Gar, Lepisosteus Osseus, An Apex Predator In The Tidal Waters Of Virginia, Patrick E. Mcgrath
The Life History Of Longnose Gar, Lepisosteus Osseus, An Apex Predator In The Tidal Waters Of Virginia, Patrick E. Mcgrath
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) inhabit all of the major tributaries of Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, extending from fresh to estuarine waters. Literature concerning longnose gar from tidal environments is limited and this is study concerns important aspects of the life history (e.g., growth, reproduction, dimorphism, movements, and diet). Age, growth, and reproduction are important life history aspects for understanding the biology of fishes and may be affected by the environment in which an individual lives. This study found no differences in the age, growth, and fecundity parameters between longnose gar from tidal portions of Chesapeake Bay tributaries and previous studies …
Estimating Detection Probabilities In Beach Seine Surveys For Estuarine Fishes, Branson D. Williams
Estimating Detection Probabilities In Beach Seine Surveys For Estuarine Fishes, Branson D. Williams
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Detectability, the probability that a species is encountered if it inhabits a site, is often overlooked in fisheries research despite its potential to obscure habitat use inferences. Detectability can be estimated using models that also provide an estimate of occupancy (Ψ), the probability that a species inhabits a site. I used these models to estimate both probabilities, and to examine factors affecting detectability and occupancy for three fishes in Chesapeake Bay tributaries: young-of-the-year striped bass (Morone saxatilis), yearling Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), and spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius). Occupancy models were fitted to data from a seine survey conducted during summer, …
Variability In Juvenile Growth, Mortality, Maturity, And Abundance Of American Shad And Blueback Herring In Virginia, Troy D. Tuckey
Variability In Juvenile Growth, Mortality, Maturity, And Abundance Of American Shad And Blueback Herring In Virginia, Troy D. Tuckey
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Young-of-year (YOY) population dynamics of American shad and blueback herring in Virginia's rivers were examined with an emphasis on variability in growth and mortality rates. In addition, an analysis was conducted to relate juvenile abundance indices of American shad to adult indices to establish a stock-recruitment relationship. to accomplish the stock recruitment relationship, an additional study that examined maturation schedules and inter-annual variability in maturation schedules among stocks was performed. Results of population dynamics studies found that growth and mortality rates of American shad and blueback herring varied by river and year and that conspecific abundance was an important factor …
Mortality Of Diamondback Terrapins In Blue Crab Traps: Population Changes And Conservation In Southeastern Virginia, Megan Ann Rook
Mortality Of Diamondback Terrapins In Blue Crab Traps: Population Changes And Conservation In Southeastern Virginia, Megan Ann Rook
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
The Survival Benefit Of Benthic Macroalgae Gracilaria Vermiculophylla As An Alternative Nursery Habitat For Juvenile Blue Crabs, Justin A. Falls
The Survival Benefit Of Benthic Macroalgae Gracilaria Vermiculophylla As An Alternative Nursery Habitat For Juvenile Blue Crabs, Justin A. Falls
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
The Chesapeake Bay blue crab is in decline. One of the threats to it is the loss of its once plentiful nursery habitat, seagrass, due to baywide eutrophication and climate change. The emergence of the non-native benthic macroalga Gracilaria vermiculophylla may offer the blue crab an alternative nursery if it can provide juvenile crabs a refuge from predation. The ability of Gracilaria to protect juvenile blue crabs was investigated in mesocosm and field survival studies, which were combined into a larger dataset. All of these studies used tethering and therefore a tethering validation study in mesocosms accompanied these experiments. In …
Parasitism In Deep-Sea Chemosynthetic Mussels: Parasitism In Bathymodiolus Mussels From Deep-Sea Seep And Hydrothermal Vents, Megan E. Ward
Parasitism In Deep-Sea Chemosynthetic Mussels: Parasitism In Bathymodiolus Mussels From Deep-Sea Seep And Hydrothermal Vents, Megan E. Ward
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
Comparison Of Mussel-Bed Faunas At Blake Ridge And Florida Escarpment Seeps, Kathleen Elizabeth Knick
Comparison Of Mussel-Bed Faunas At Blake Ridge And Florida Escarpment Seeps, Kathleen Elizabeth Knick
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
Tidal Freshwater And Oligohaline Benthos: Evaluating The Development Of A Benthic Index Of Biological Integrity For Chesapeake Bay, Robyn C. Draheim
Tidal Freshwater And Oligohaline Benthos: Evaluating The Development Of A Benthic Index Of Biological Integrity For Chesapeake Bay, Robyn C. Draheim
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
Correspondence Between Environmental Gradients And The Assemblage Structure Of Littoral Fishes In The Tidal Portion Of Three Virginia Coastal Plain Rivers, Clifford Michael Wagner
Correspondence Between Environmental Gradients And The Assemblage Structure Of Littoral Fishes In The Tidal Portion Of Three Virginia Coastal Plain Rivers, Clifford Michael Wagner
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
Habitat Complexity As A Determinant Of Juvenile Blue Crab Survival, Jessica L. Schulman
Habitat Complexity As A Determinant Of Juvenile Blue Crab Survival, Jessica L. Schulman
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
The Role Of Predation On Zostera Marina L (Eelgrass) Seed Abundance, James Fishman
The Role Of Predation On Zostera Marina L (Eelgrass) Seed Abundance, James Fishman
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
Mitochondrial Dna Variation In Striped Bass, Morone Saxatilis, From The Rappahannock River, Virginia, Carol Furman
Mitochondrial Dna Variation In Striped Bass, Morone Saxatilis, From The Rappahannock River, Virginia, Carol Furman
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
The Respiratory Response Of Busycon Canaliculatum (L) To Seasonal Variation Of Water Temperature, Salinity, And Oxygen, Harry Gregory Polites
The Respiratory Response Of Busycon Canaliculatum (L) To Seasonal Variation Of Water Temperature, Salinity, And Oxygen, Harry Gregory Polites
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
Effects Of Disruptive Grazing By The Mud Snail Ilyanassa Obsoleta On Mudflat Nematode Populations, David Ludwig
Effects Of Disruptive Grazing By The Mud Snail Ilyanassa Obsoleta On Mudflat Nematode Populations, David Ludwig
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Population densities of the mud snail Ilyanassa obsoleta were manipulated in caging experiments on a salt marsh mudflat and in laboratory microcosms. Mud snails outcompete nematodes for food resources, but may increase resources available to deposit feeding groups. Mud snails reduce annelid (polychaete and oligochaete) populations by substrate disruption. Reduced annelid densities provide the nematode community with some release from predation and competition. In mudflat sediments, the nematode community responds to both primary (predation) and secondary (envirorm1ental release, food competition) interactions. Multiple levels of interactive coupling should be considered in any systems level investigation in this habitat.
Benthic Infaunal Community Formation In Dredged Areas In Hampton Roads, Virginia, Thomas Karl Duncan
Benthic Infaunal Community Formation In Dredged Areas In Hampton Roads, Virginia, Thomas Karl Duncan
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
The macrobenthic fauna in three dredged areas in Hampton Roads, Virginia was sampled for 14 months. Repopulation occurred very rapidly after the cessation of dredging, but the dominant species were generally not those previously recorded as mud-bottom dominants in the Hampton Roads area. The faunal changes through time somewhat agreed with those reported in classical successional sequences. This dissertation is from the Joint Program Degree from the College of William & Mary and University of Virginia and awarded by the University of Virginia.
Benthic Fish Associations On The Continental Slope Of The Middle Atlantic Bight, Douglas F. Markle
Benthic Fish Associations On The Continental Slope Of The Middle Atlantic Bight, Douglas F. Markle
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
The Distribution And Ecology Of The Gammaridea (Crustacea, Amphipoda) Of The Lower Chesapeake Estuaries, James B. Feeley
The Distribution And Ecology Of The Gammaridea (Crustacea, Amphipoda) Of The Lower Chesapeake Estuaries, James B. Feeley
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.