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Ecological Dynamics Of Livebottom Ledges And Artificial Reefs On The Inner Central West Florida Shelf, Jennifer Maria Dupont
Ecological Dynamics Of Livebottom Ledges And Artificial Reefs On The Inner Central West Florida Shelf, Jennifer Maria Dupont
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The West Florida Shelf (WFS) is one of the largest and most diversely-used continental shelf/slope systems in the world. The presence of paleoshorelines and scarped hardbottom outcrops (up to 4 m in relief) along the inner shelf (10-30 m depth) provide important habitat for a variety of infaunal, epifaunal, and fish assemblages that contribute to the productivity of the region. This dissertation will present a comprehensive overview of the geological, physical, and chemical settings of the inner West Florida Shelf, with particular focus on biological and ecological community dynamics of epibenthic macroinvertebrates, algae, and fish assemblages. Baseline and comparative data …