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Unsung Heroes In Conservation: Evaluating The Limitations Faced By New England Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers And Proposing Solutions For Their Support And Recognition, Shaylee M. Sarmiento

Honors Theses and Capstones

Wildlife rehabilitation is an often-unacknowledged practice within the overarching field of wildlife protection and conservation. This practice involves the treatment and hopeful release of wild animals affected by various ailments. With the continued expansion of and interest in the field, it could be assumed that wildlife rehabilitation is supported and funded by government bodies, but this is not the case. Because of the lack of funding and resources, many wildlife rehabilitation centers cannot achieve their full rehabilitative potential and expand their reach in the conservation world. Additionally, an absence of support leads critics to question the ethical standards of wildlife …

Home Range And Microhabitat Associations Of The Southern Red-Backed Vole (Myodes Gapperi) In New Hampshire Forests, Honora Tisell

Master's Theses and Capstones

Resources, such as food and shelter, are unevenly distributed across the landscape at both macro and micro scales. Home range is one measure of space use that reflects an individual’s resource requirements (e.g., microhabitat characteristics) and competition for those resources (e.g., density dependence). This study focuses on the home range of the southern red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi), comparing field methods for estimating home range and modeling the microhabitat characteristics that define the core area of the home range. Southern red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi) are common to boreal forests, most often found in coniferous or mixed deciduous stands, and in the …

Nest Provisioning And Homing Behavior Of Cerceris Fumipennis (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae): A Useful Tool In The Biosurveillance Of Buprestid Beetles, Eleanor Ann Mccabe

Master's Theses and Capstones

Cerceris fumipennis (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae) is a ground-dwelling wasp that provisions its nest with woodboring jewel beetles (Buprestidae), making it a useful tool in biosurveillance of forest pests. In particular, C. fumipennis aggregations have been used for monitoring the invasive Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera, Buprestidae)) and by using this biosurveillance technique researchers have tracked the spread of this pest into new states and provinces. However, despite its success as a biosurveillance tool, information about much of the biology of Cerceris fumipennis is lacking. This study is focused on the biology and life history of C. fumipennis to better understand …

Discerning Differences Between Zooplankton Communities Based On Lake Trophic Status, Jonathan Dufresne

Master's Theses and Capstones

In 2007 the United States Environmental Protect Agency sampled 1157 lakes to determine the state of the nation’s lakes. The data they collected provided a unique opportunity to study the effects of eutrophication on zooplankton community structure across a range of lakes from a large geographical area. Using this data set two main questions were assessed: 1) what level of taxonomic identification is necessary to detect differences in zooplankton community composition as it relates to patterns in water quality and 2) in a dataset that has extensive spatial and temporal variability, how does one account for regional differences in zooplankton …

Phylogenetic And Phylogeographic Analyses Reveal A Species Complex In The Estuarine Nudibranch Tenellia Adspersa, Amanda Sobel

Master's Theses and Capstones

Until recently, the nudibranch genus Tenellia (Nudibranchia: Fionidae) was thought to include a single or group of species restricted to temperate estuarine waters. Given the addition of numerous other species from recent studies, the genus now encompasses species from polar, temperate, and tropical oceans from oceanic to estuarine salinities. One such fionid, Tenellia adspersa, is found in temperate estuarine waters globally and its presence is ecologically important as its congeners are capable of decimating colonies of their hydroid prey within a single generation (approx. 20-60 days). The literature is historically vague and conflicted on the morphology, taxonomy, and geographic distribution …

Effects Of The Biomedical Bleeding Process On The Behavior And Physiology Of The American Horseshoe Crab, Limulus Polyphemus, Meghan Owings

Master's Theses and Capstones

Horseshoe crabs are harvested by the biomedical industry in order to create Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) to test medical devices, vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs for pathogenic gram-negative bacteria. Previous studies of the impacts of the biomedical bleeding process on horseshoe crabs have primarily focused on mortality rates and sublethal impacts, using animals held in the laboratory. Therefore, the first goal of this project was to determine the effects of the bleeding process on horseshoe crab behavior once they are released back into their natural environment. In addition, previous studies have typically only investigated the impacts of the full bleeding procedure, …

Understanding The Efficacy Of Fish Ladder Use By Alewife (Alosa Pseudoharengus), Kevin M. Sullivan

Master's Theses and Capstones

River herring, the collective name given to North American populations of Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and Blueback Herring (A. aestivalis), are iteroparous, anadromous members of the family Clupeidae, with similar morphology, ecological roles, and overlapping distributions. Once abundant in coastal rivers of New Hampshire, many factors including commercial fishing, habitat degradation, and dam construction resulted in a precipitous decline of the species along the entire coast. Successful efforts to restore populations have included the construction of fish ladders at dams. However, fish ladders require constant operation and maintenance to efficiently pass river herring, and only provide access to spawning habitat up …

Channeled Whelk (Busycotypus Canaliculatus) Ecology In Relation To The Fishery In Vineyard And Nantucket Sounds, Massachusetts, Shelley Ann Edmundson

Doctoral Dissertations

Channeled whelks (Busycotypus canaliculatus) are predatory marine gastropods that support lucrative commercial fisheries along the east coast of the United States, with areas around Massachusetts supplying the largest landings. In the absence of a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of channeled whelk biology, it is unclear how to sustainably manage their fisheries. Within this dissertation, various aspects of whelk ecology were investigated to determine how to protect this species, while effectively managing the local fishery.

Early life history experiments revealed channeled whelk egg strings may incubate for 8 to 9 months in MA water temperatures. Incubation period decreased with increasing …

Cuticular Hydrocarbons Of The Small Carpenter Bee Ceratina Calcarata Robertson (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Xylocopinae), Nicholas James Pizzi

Master's Theses and Capstones

The formation and maintenance of eusocial insect groups, in which there are overlapping generations, cooperative brood care, and reproductive division of labor is a major evolutionary transition. To understand the origins of eusociality, simple societies must be studied. Subsociality is the simplest form of social behavior and is defined as prolonged maternal care for offspring. Studies with subsocial species can provide powerful insights into the transition from basic to advanced social behaviors. In this thesis I use the subsocial small carpenter bee Ceratina calcarata Roberton (Hymenoptera: Xylocopinae) as a model organism. Specifically I study cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of this species …

Oxytetracycline And Thermal Marking Of Alewife (Alosa Pseudoharengus) Otoliths, Steven M. Luell

Master's Theses and Capstones

Alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) are anadromous clupeids native to the east coast of North America. With their population in decline, there is increasing interest in releasing hatchery-reared alewives for stock enhancement. As a result, techniques are needed to produce long-lasting marks to identify stocked fish. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the efficacy of marking alewives using oxytetracycline immersion and thermal marking techniques. Oxytetracycline marking trials consisted of immersing alewife larvae in three concentrations of oxytetracycline (200, 400, and 600 mg/L) for two durations (4 and 6 hours). Sagittal otoliths were removed and examined for marks with an epifluorescence …

Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) Recruitment Studies In The Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire, Robert Lee Eckert

Master's Theses and Capstones

Oyster populations in New Hampshire’s Great Bay Estuary have experienced dramatic declines similar to populations along the east coast. These declines have caused ecosystem degradation in estuaries and prompted a focus on oyster reef restoration. Despite the large use of procured funds dedicated for oyster reef restoration, few quantifiable successes have occurred. Currently, there is no rigorous method for determining where a restored reef would have the highest probability for long-term success. However, consistent and substantial natural recruitment is a major factor to consider.

In this research, I identify historic trends in oyster populations, quantify the success and failures of …

Effects Of Substrate Material On Marine Fouling Community Composition And Ascidian Larval Settlement, Anna Lindsey Chase

Master's Theses and Capstones

Driven by the rising global population and shoreline development, man-made marine structures are becoming ubiquitous in coastal areas. These alterations may have enormous ecological consequences, as anthropogenic structures provide novel habitat for marine organisms and often host communities that differ from those on natural substrates. These community differences are frequently driven by non-native species, which can be more prevalent on man-made marine structures than on adjacent natural surfaces. Although multiple factors, including light intensity, surface orientation, predation exposure, and habitat type, are known to contribute to these patterns, relatively few studies have directly examined the influence of substrate material on …

The Effects Of Temperature On Cyp19a1a, Foxl2, Dmrt1 And Amh Expression During Sex Differentiation In Summer Flounder (Paralichthys Dentatus), Catherine Curro Caruso

Master's Theses and Capstones

Female summer flounder grow considerably faster and larger than males, and a tremendous increase in performance can therefore be realized through production of monosex female populations. Rearing temperature has been shown to affect sex differentiation in other teleost species by influencing expression of genes encoding transcription factors, hormones or enzymes involved in endocrine function such as cyp19a1a, foxl2, dmrt1 and amh. These genes have been linked to female (cyp19a1a, foxl2) or male (dmrt1, amh) development, and exhibit sexually dimorphic expression in some species. In the present study, summer flounder (37 days post hatch; DPH) were raised at 13°C, 16°C or …

Space Use And Habitat Affinities Of The Singing Vole On The Northern Foothills Of The Brooks Range, Alaska, Andrew Maguire

Master's Theses and Capstones

Arctic tundra is being affected by a rapidly warming climate, which is accompanied by shifts in plant community composition and structure. Shrub expansion, a predominant consequence of this warming, is linked with changes in nutrient cycling and has direct implications to global change biology. Habitats are being altered across the landscape, with subsequent changes to arctic faunal communities. While herbivory has been noted as important in contributing to plant community composition in the arctic, with the potential to both exacerbate and mitigate shifts toward shrub-dominated tundra landscapes, little research has been conducted on herbivore dynamics. Microtine rodents (i.e., voles and …

Maturity And Growth Of The Acadian Redfish (Sebastes Fasciatus) In The Gulf Of Maine, Kristin Lynn Duclos

Master's Theses and Capstones

Acadian redfish (Sebastes fasciatus) are a long-lived, slow growing, live-bearing fish species found in the Gulf of Maine region. Historically, this species once supported a substantial commercial fishery, however, overexploitation coupled with low reproductive output decimated natural populations. Strict regulatory measures were implemented and the population eventually recovered, however, knowledge of the current population status is essential to ensure that the population continues to be harvested at a sustainable rate. This study utilized otolith age readings and histological analysis of gonad tissue to determine current growth and maturity patterns in the Gulf of Maine S. fasciatus population. Growth functions obtained …

Will The Exploratory Behavior Of Lobsters Decrease As They Become Familiar With Their Environment?, Marissa Cuda

Honors Theses and Capstones

Previous studies have shown that most lobsters have a home range in which they reside on a daily basis. The tendency for lobsters to reside in a particular area suggests that they have the ability to learn the characteristics of an area using exploratory behavior. We hypothesize that the exploratory behavior of juvenile lobsters will decrease as time spent in a novel environment increases; specifically exploratory behavior will decrease as the lobsters continuously learn the environment. Exploratory activity of juvenile lobsters was monitored in six lobsters using two separate maze complexities. Lobsters were video recorded and activity was measured based …

Characterization Of The Prokaryotic Community Associated With The Giant Barrel Sponge, Xestospongia Muta Across The Caribbean, Cara L. Fiore

Doctoral Dissertations

Sponges have long been known to be ecologically important members of the benthic fauna on coral reefs. Recently, it has been shown that sponges, and their symbiotic microbes, are also important contributors to the nitrogen biogeochemistry of coral reefs. Here, I investigate the ecology and physiology of the microbial community associated the ecologically dominant sponge, Xestospongia muta. A natural experiment was conducted with X. muta form three different locations (Florida Keys, USA; Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas, and Little Cayman, Cayman Islands) to compare nitrogen cycling and prokaryotic community composition. The dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) fluxes of sponges were studied using …

The Effects Of Biotic And Abiotic Factors On Byssogenesis, Growth And Movement Patterns Of The Blue Mussel, Mytilus Edulis, Yvette Louise Garner

Doctoral Dissertations

Blue mussels create extensive aggregations on intertidal and low subtidal shores in the Gulf of Maine, in which they modify habitat, trap sediments and create microclimates for many organisms. Mussels are an important aquaculture species worldwide, and play a major part of the economy of New England. Blue mussels produce collagenous byssal threads to anchor themselves to the substrate on wave swept shores. Byssogenesis, growth and movement abilities of mussels are influenced by a host of biotic and abiotic factors. In this dissertation I quantified byssogenesis and growth of the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, affected by wave exposure, temperature, and …

Movements, Dive Behavior And Trophic Ecology Of Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys Coriacea) In The Northwest Atlantic, Kara Dodge

Doctoral Dissertations

The endangered leatherback turtle is a highly migratory predator that feeds exclusively on gelatinous zooplankton. Leatherbacks spend most of their lives submerged or offshore, and their at-sea biology (particularly that of males and sub-adults) is poorly understood throughout much of their range. I used satellite telemetry to monitor movements and dive behavior of nine adult and eleven sub-adult leatherbacks captured off Massachusetts, USA, and tracked throughout the NW Atlantic. Leatherback movements and environmental associations varied by oceanographic region, with slow, sinuous, area-restricted search behavior and shorter, shallower dives occurring in cool, productive, shallow shelf habitat at temperate latitudes. Leatherbacks were …

Characterizing Winter Flounder (Pseudopleuronectes Americanus) Nursery Areas Using Otolith Microstructure And Microchemical Techniques, David Bailey

Master's Theses and Capstones

A preliminary study, using young-of-the-year winter flounder from 12 nursery areas from New Jersey to New Hampshire, evaluated indirect and direct measurements of nursery quality. Growth and condition indices (length d --1, weight d--1, Fulton's K and relative weight) were calculated from otolith microstructure to indirectly evaluate nursery quality. Boston Harbor, MA and Great Bay, NH were found to be the healthiest nurseries and the Niantic River, CT was found to be the least healthy nursery. In addition to these indirect indices, we conducted a study to determine the effectiveness of otolith microchemistry as a direct measurement of nursery habitat. …

The Failed Introduction Of The Sea Anemone Sagartia Elegans In Salem Harbor, Massachusetts, Christopher David Wells

Master's Theses and Capstones

Many studies have reported the arrival and subsequent range expansion of foreign species within the marine ecosystems, but few studies have documented species that arrive and fail to establish. In 2000, the sea anemone Sagartia elegans (Dalyell, 1848) was first found in Salem, MA and persisted seasonally until the winter of 2010-2011 after which it has not been found. In both laboratory and field based temperature growth studies, S. elegans began regressing in size at 11 °C, stopped asexually reproducing at 9 °C, and died by 4 °C; these temperatures are far above the average winter sea surface temperature in …

Investigation Of Sex Change, Sex Differentiation And Stress Responses In Black Seabass (Centropristis Striata), Danielle C. Duquette

Master's Theses and Capstones

Black sea bass (Centropristis striata) have been the focus of research as an aquaculture species for several years due to their high consumer demand and limited seasonable availability. As protogynous hermaphrodites, black sea bass initially develop as females in the wild, and undergo sex reversal between 2 and 6 years of age. Previous studies demonstrated that in captivity, however, a significant number of fish differentiate initially as males, and sex reversal is hastened in females. Full control of reproduction is required for successful commercial culture. Since captive environments pose several sources of stress upon the cultured species, this research investigates …

Productivity And Physical Condition Of White-Tailed Deer In New Hampshire, Nicholas Lucian Fortin

Master's Theses and Capstones

This study assessed productivity and nutritional condition of deer in New Hampshire, and physical condition, productivity, and recruitment in northeastern North America. In New Hampshire, few fawns bred, but pregnancy rate and productivity of older deer were high and stable since the 1980s, despite substantially higher population density. Productivity increased due to a higher proportion of adults in 2011-2013; however, recruitment declined steadily suggesting that summer fawn mortality has increased. Nutritional condition declined throughout winter, and regardless of winter severity, most deer had depleted energy reserves and were in poor condition after April 1. These findings emphasize the need to …

Predation As A Vehicle To Aid Tunicate Invasion In The Biofouling Community, Helen Day

Master's Theses and Capstones

Competition for space can influence community dynamics in the sessile biofouling community. Within recent decades, community dynamics have shifted towards a community dominated by tunicates. This research proposed predation as a mechanism driving this shift.

In the Gulf of Maine, the non-native species Botrylloides violaceous became abundant when predators (i.e. the benthic fish Tautogolabrus adspersus and the sea star Asterias rubens) removed the cryptogenic (i.e. native) tunicate Molgula citrina. Moreover, B. violaceus was present in higher amounts in habitats with low abundances of M. citrina than it was in areas in which the two tunicate species were both abundant. Furthermore, …

The Impact Of Seasonal Movements By Ovigerous American Lobsters (Homarus Americanus) On Egg Development And Larval Release, Jason Seth Goldstein

Doctoral Dissertations

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) supports one of the most economically successful fisheries in the Gulf of Maine. The continued success of this fishery is attributed in part to vigilant broodstock conservation through the preservation of ovigerous (egg-bearing) females. Previous studies of ovigerous lobster movements indicate that some, if not most, display seasonal inshore-to-offshore movement patterns. While it has been assumed that these movements serve to expose eggs to thermal regimes that are optimal for development, this theory has never been rigorously tested. In Chapter 1, I present results from ultrasonic tracking studies designed to determine if lobsters in coastal …

An Investigation Of Non-Spatial Cognitive Abilities In An Asocial Corvid, The Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga Columbiana), Jan K. Tornick

Doctoral Dissertations

A great deal of research suggests that the cognitive abilities of birds in the family Corvidae (crows and jays) are comparable in many aspects to that of apes. Scientists have posited competing hypotheses to explain how complex cognitive abilities arise in a species or group of animals. One such hypothesis, the social-intelligence hypothesis, states that the demands of living in a large, dynamic group drive an animal's need for complex cognitive skills. The ecological-intelligence hypothesis, predicts that generalist foragers develop more highly flexible behaviors and a wider cognitive repertoire than specialist foragers. To date, cognitive research on corvids has focused …

Flatfish Stock Enhancement: Examining Conditioning Strategies To Promote Success, Michelle Lynn Walsh

Doctoral Dissertations

Conditioning is the process of providing individuals reared for stock enhancement with some degree of "wild" experience prior to release. Flatfish trained for "wild" conditions may more easily and successfully transition to natural environments. This dissertation identifies strategies that optimize feeding-related performance of flatfish in the hatchery and subsequently post release in the wild.

The influence of live feed conditioning on feeding performance of juvenile winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, was investigated. In the hatchery, fish reared on live feeds exhibited significantly higher survival (P < 0.0001) and growth (P < 0.01) than those reared on formulated feed. Once released into cages in the wild, amphipodreared fish had higher mean Stomach Contents Index and RNA/DNA of all feed types, including wild fish. Wild and worm-reared fish exhibited the most similar survival, baseline RNA/DNA values, overall stomach fullness, and diet composition profiles over time.

Pre-release, experimental cage conditioning was conducted for stocking Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, in Wakasa Bay, Japan. …

The Use Of Multibeam And Split-Beam Echo Sounders For Assessing Biomass And Distribution Of Spring-Spawning Atlantic Cod In The Gulf Of Maine, Christopher William Damon Gurshin

Doctoral Dissertations

This research focused on advancing the application of split-beam and multibeam echo sounding to remotely locate and describe spatial distribution, and to provide a relative measure of abundance of the spring-spawning Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the western Gulf of Maine. Specifically, the main objectives of this research were 1) to test the feasibility of a multibeam echo sounder to detect changes in volume backscatter proportional to incrementally decreasing quantities of cod held in a submerged cage, and to compare results to a split-beam echo sounder; 2) to describe the spatio-temporal distribution and estimate biomass of spring-spawning cod in the …

Cryopreservation Spermiation Induction And Computer Assisted Analysis Of Summer Flounder (Paralicthys Dentatus) Spermatozoa, Ryan T. Brown

Master's Theses and Capstones

The objective of this thesis was to improve the aquaculture practices for summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus. The experiments in this thesis examined male reproduction. First a practical method for summer flounder sperm cryopreservation was developed. These experiments examined the various parameters required to successfully freeze and store summer flounder spermatozoa. Success of cryopreservation was measured by examining post thaw viability and fertility.

One of the problems facing summer flounder aquaculture is sexually dimorphic growth rates, with females growing larger than males. To overcome this, meiogynogenetic summer flounder were developed, allowing the production of all female stocks. The second set of …

Field And Laboratory Observations Of Two Gulf Of Maine Sacoglossans, Seth W. Goodnight

Master's Theses and Capstones

The ecology of the sacoglossan Alderia modesta and its ability to retain active chloroplasts from the yellow-green alga Vaucheria spp. was examined with field and laboratory studies. Field surveys found no A. modesta, because Vaucheria spp. was absent or sparse in surveyed marshes. A grass removal experiment tested whether interspecific competition was causing the algal absence. The alga appeared in some plots, but did not promote A. modesta settlement. Absence of Vaucheria spp. is likely due to factors other than competition. Lack of animals prevented laboratory studies.

Placida dendritica and its food Codium fragile ssp. fragile were then chosen for …