Digital Commons Network^™

On The Cohomology Of Spatial Polygons In Euclidean Spaces, Vehbi Emrah Paksoy

Mathematics Faculty Articles

Space of spatial polygons in Euclidean spaces has been studied extensively in [3, 1, 2]. There is a beautiful description of cohomology in [1]. In this paper we introduce another, easy to compute method to obtain the cohomology without using toric variety arguments. We also give a criterion for a polygon space to be Fano, thus, having ample anticanonical class.

Maximal Clifford Semigroups Of Matrices, Edmond W. H. Lee

Mathematics Faculty Articles

All maximal Clifford semigroups of matrices are identified up to isomorphism. If the ground field of the matrices is finite, then there exists a unique Clifford semigroup of maximum order.

Validity, Identification, And Distribution Of The Roundscale Spearfish, Tetrapturus Georgii (Teleostei: Istiophoridae): Morphological And Molecular Evidence, Mahmood S. Shivji, Jennifer E. Magnussen, Lawrence R. Beerkircher, George Hinteregger, Dennis W. Lee, Joseph E. Serafy, Eric D. Prince

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The roundscale spearfish, Tetrapturus georgii Lowe, 1840, is known only from four specimens from the Mediterranean and eastern North Atlantic. Additional specimens have not been identified since 1961, making the validity and distribution of this species unclear. Analysis of 16 billfish specimens from the western North Atlantic on the basis of scale morphology, anus position, and mitochondrial DNA confirms the validity of this species and extends its distribution. Mid-lateral scales are soft, notably rounded anteriorly, and bear 2–3 points distinct from those of the sympatric longbill spearfish (Tetrapturus pfluegeri Robins and de Sylva, 1963) and white marlin (Tetrapturus …

Fall 2006, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Documenting Decadal Spatial Changes In Seagrass And Acropora Palmata Cover By Aerial Photography Analysis In Vieques, Puerto Rico: 1937-2000, Luz Raquel Hernandez-Cruz, Samuel J. Purkis, Bernhard Riegl

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Aerial photographs from 1937–2000 of Bahía Salina del Sur on vieques, Puerto Rico were analyzed to detect and describe spatial changes in the areal cover of sea-grass beds in Bahía Salina del Sur. The images were pre-processed to minimize noise and unsupervised classification was used to detect areas colonized by seagrass. The number of individual seagrass patches, direction, and characteristic of growth were quantified and described. Seagrass coverage increased by 85.8% over the 64-yr period and this increase was best described by a 2nd order polynomial function (r² = 0.91). Between 1937 and 2000, the spatial expression of the …

Morphological And Phylogenetic Description Of An Unusual Amphidinium (Dinophyceae) Species, Tyler Cyronak, Isaac R. Santos

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Amphidinium carterae, an important harmful algal species that produces powerful antifungal and hemolytic compounds (amphidinols) and cytotoxic macrolides (amphidinolides) is ubiquitous in coastal waters. Samples from coral rubble contained an unusual and previously unreported Amphidinium (D2) with a circular outline. Genetic analysis of clone D2 of this species, involving the sequencing of large subunit (LSU) rDNA, revealed a relationship between Amphidinium sp. D2 and both A. carterae and A. massartii. However, morphological and genetic differences suggest that Amphidinium sp. D2 is not conspecific with A. carterae or A. massartii. Further studies to describe this species are presently …

Some Preservation Techniques For (Deep Water) Coral Samples For Subsequent Molecular Studies: A Special Supplement From Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Jose V. Lopez

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

Around the time that the thirteen original Atlantic colonies were fighting for independence from Britain, there existed little agreement among naturalists as to the nature of corals. Were they inanimate (stones), plants, animals, or intermediate between the latter two (zoophytes)? This diversity of definition and opinions undoubtedly produced considerable confusion and disagreement among naturalists interested in such things. The symbiotic nature of algal cells in the tissues of some corals was also not well understood. It was not until the Darwinian period in the nineteenth century that little doubt remained, and therefore it was generally agreed, that corals were actually …

Summer 2006, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Polar Organic Components In Fine Aerosols In The Southeastern United States: Identity, Origin, And Evolution, Song Gao, Jason D. Surratt, Eladio M. Knipping, Eric S. Edgerton, Mona Shahgholi, John H. Seinfeld

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

Filter samples of fine aerosols collected in the Southeastern United States in June 2004 were analyzed for the characterization of polar organic components. Four analytical techniques, liquid chromatography –mass spectrometry, ion trap mass spectrometry, laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry, and high-resolution mass spectrometry, were used for identification and quantification. Forty distinct species were detected, comprising on average 7.2% and 1.1% of the total particulate organic mass at three inland sites and a coastal site, respectively. The relative abundance of these species displays a rather consistent distribution pattern in the inland region, whereas a different pattern is found at the coastal …

Patterns Of Scleractinian Health In Broward County, Florida, Melody J. White

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

This study was survey of disease distribution and abundance relating to coral diseases present in Broward County. Data of the 1330 scleractinian coral individuals found, 88 showed signs of disease. 19 coral species, 3 diseases and bleaching were represented. Diseases affected 9 of the species. Bleaching was the most common disease noted in this survey, followed by dark spot, red band, and yellow band.

Disease distribution appears to be scattered on the reef system. No apparent patterns were found when grouped by reef or corridor locations. MDS cluster analysis revealed a clumping of disease, but this was not correlated with …

Survival Of White Marlin (Tetrapturus Albidus) Released From Commercial Pelagic Longline Gear In The Western North Atlantic, David W. Kerstetter, John E. Graves

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

To estimate postrelease survival of white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus) caught incidentally in regular commercial pelagic longline fishing operations targeting swordfish and tunas, short-duration popup satellite archival tags (PSATs) were deployed on captured animals for periods of 5-43 days. Twenty (71.4%) of 28 tags transmitted data at the preprogrammed time, including one tag that separated from the fish shortly after release and was omitted from subsequent analyses. Transmitted data from 17 of 19 tags were consistent with survival of those animals for the duration of the tag deployment. Postrelease survival estimates ranged from 63.0% (assuming all nontransmitting tags were …

Bathypelagic Fish Association With The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Tracey Sutton, F. Uiblein, I. Byrkjedal, A. Dolgov, M. Heino, J. Horne, N. King, Tone Falkenhaug, O. R. Godo, Odd Aksel Bergstad

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

The bathypelagic zone, Earth’s largest living space, is essentially boundless in three dimensions for most of its extent, structured only by fluid features (e.g., salinity, temperature) of the seawater itself. However, near certain topographic features this zone intersects the seafloor. The mid-ocean ridge system is by far the largest of these features. Unlike the ecosystems of the continental margins, the mid-ocean ridge systems do not receive terrigenous nutrient inputs. Thus, the deep-water fauna associated with mid-ocean ridges ultimately depend on the generally limited local surface production. Despite this limited surface production, there is evidence that near-ridge demersal fish biomass is …

Fall 2006 Nova Southeastern University Farquhar College Of Arts And Sciences Student Catalog, Nova Southeastern University

Undergraduate Programs Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Erratum: A Catalog Of Edge-On Disk Galaxies: From Galaxies With A Bulge To Superthin Galaxies, Stefan Kautsch, E. K. Grebel, F. D. Barazza, J. S. Gallagher

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

Erratum

Gas-Phase Products And Secondary Aerosol Yields From The Ozonolysis Of Ten Different Terpenes, Anita Lee, Allen H. Goldstein, Melita D. Keywood, Song Gao, Varuntida Varutbangkul, Roya Bahreini, Nga L. Ng, Richard C. Flagan, John H. Seinfeld

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

The ozonolyses of six monoterpenes (α-pinene, β-pinene, 3-carene, terpinolene, α-terpinene, and myrcene), two sesquiterpenes (α-humulene and β-caryophyllene), and two oxygenated terpenes (methyl chavicol and linalool) were conducted individually in Teflon chambers to examine the gas-phase oxidation product and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) yields from these reactions. Particle size distribution and number concentration were monitored and allowed for the calculation of the SOA yield from each experiment, which ranged from 1 to 54%. A proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) was used to monitor the evolution of gas-phase products, identified by their mass to charge ratio (m/z). …

Spring 2006, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Testing The Effectiveness Of Pollution Control Measures At The South Dade Landfill: The Reduction Of Un-Ionized Ammonia In Landfill Leachate, Matt Mitchell

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the pollution control measures in place at the South Dade Landfill, located in Miami, Florida. Pollution control measures in place at the landfill include the lining and capping of landfill cells, a landfill wetland retention basin and a groundwater remediation interceptor trench (GWRIT). This study was performed over a ten (10) month span beginning in October, 2002 and ending in July, 2003. This study dealt specifically with the effectiveness of the GWRIT and landfill wetlands in reducing the amount of un-ionized ammonia (NH₃) in the landfill …

The Influence Of High Temperature And Two Hurricanes On The Success Of Late Season Loggerhead Nests In Broward County, Florida, In 2005, Stefanie Ouellette, Curtis M. Burney

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

The success of loggerhead nests, defined as the percentage of the eggs per nest resulting in live released hatchlings, declined to unusually low levels during the latter part of the 2005 season. The mean successes were 81.1, 61.1, 32.8 and 13.4 percent for nests deposited in May, June, July and August, respectively. Many eggs from the August nests appeared to be unusually dried. There was a significant inverse relationship (P < .0001) between the daily air temperature anomaly on the day of nest deposition and the average daily success rate of loggerhead nests in 2005. The daily temperature anomaly is the deviation of the average air temperature each day from the daily climatological average values. There was also a highly significant inverse relationship between maximum daily air temperature and nest success rate in 2005. These relationships were not found in the previous two years. The actual average temperature during August in 2005 was 29.7°C, compared to 28.9 and 29.2°C in 2004 and 2003, respectively. The 2005 average was statistically different from the other two years (one way ANOVA, P < .001) and also from the climatological average temperature of 28.6°C. Mean daily success rates were less than 50 percent for nests deposited during the 50 days preceding the impact of Hurricane Katrina on August 25. Nests deposited in the first two weeks of August were also impacted by Hurricane Rita. Mean daily success rates were less than 10 percent on 7 days during this period.

Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation And Monitoring Project 2005 Year 3 Final Report, Jennifer Wheaton, Carl Beaver, Walter Jaap, Michael Callahan, Selena Kupfner, Shannon Wade, David S. Gilliam, B. D. Ettinger, Daniel P. Fahy, Shaun M. Gill, Lindsey Habakuk Klink, Jamie A. Monty, M. A. Philips, Lauren F. Shuman, Nicole R. Stephens, Brian K. Walker, Joanna C. Walczak, Richard E. Dodge, Tim Mcintosh, Steven Blair, Kenneth Banks, Louis E. Fisher, David Stout, Joe Ligas, Janet Phipps

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

A Fish Habitat Classification Model For The Upper And Middle Sections Of The Bay Of Quinte, Lake Ontario, C. K. Minns, Andrea Bernard, C. N. Bakelaar, M. Ewaschuk

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

A fish habitat classification model was developed and applied to the upper and middle sections of the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario. Available habitat inventories were assembled in a GIS database, bringing bathymetric, shoreline, substrate, and vegetation data together in a series of layers. The classification model was developed in four steps. In the first step, the Defensible Methods (DM) model developed by Minns et al. (2000) was used to estimate suitability values in all habitat patches for a set of nine fish groups each with three life stages. The fish groups were formed from the assemblage of fish species …

Sponges Of Navassa, Janie L. Wulff, Timothy D. Swain

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

This photographic guide was compiled from data collected during the 2004 NOAA survey of the coral reefs of Navassa and does not represent a comprehensive list of all Porifera in Navassa. Specifically missing are taxa that inhabit caves, overhangs, vertical walls; species that live in the interstices of the reef framework; and species found at depths greater than 50 meters. Specimens were identified by Janie Wulff and Timothy Swain of Florida State University using a combination of digital photography, field observations, and microscopic examination of siliceous spicules. Genera are organized into higher taxa according to Systema Porifera, Hooper & van …

An Experimental Histopathological Rating Scale Of Sedimentation Stress In The Caribbean Coral Montastraea Cavernosa, Bernardo Vargas-Ángel, Bernhard Riegl, David S. Gilliam, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Colonies of Montastraea cavernosa were exposed to daily applications of approx. 200–225 mg cm– 2 sediments, during a four-week period, in order to investigate coral responses to increased sedimentation. Effects were assessed based on the histopathological condition of specimen tissues. Mild stress responses were noted as early as week one, including tissue swelling and polyp retraction, as well as changes in size and appearance of mucous secretory cells. As stress progressed, further inflammation of the mucous secretory cells was observed. Severe effects were observed in weeks 3 and 4, including atrophy of the outer epidermis, increased granularity and debris in …

Visual_Hea: Habitat Equivalency Analysis Software To Calculate Compensatory Restoration Following Natural Resource Injury, Kevin E. Kohler, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA) is a means to determine the amount of compensatory restoration required to provide services that are equivalent to the interim loss of natural resource services following an injury. HEA includes a discounting procedure to account for asset valuation in that the total asset value is equal to the discounted value of the future stream of all services from the natural resource or the compensatory resource. Discounting is used to include the relative valuation of loss and gain of ecological services of the resources over time. Visual_HEA is a computer program developed to calculate the amount of …

Growth And Survivorship Of Scleractinian Coral Transplants And The Effectiveness Of Plugging Core Holes In Transplant Donor Colonies, Elizabeth Glynn Fahy, Richard E. Dodge, Daniel P. Fahy, T. Patrick Quinn, David S. Gilliam, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Replicate scleractinian coral transplants were obtained from the species Meandrina meandrites and Montastrea cavernosa on a natural reef, off Dania Beach, Florida, using a hydraulic drill fitted with a 4 in. (~10 cm) core barrel. The transplants were fixed to Reef Ball™ substrates using an adhesive marine epoxy. Drill holes in the donor corals (core holes) were filled with concrete plugs. Control corals, of comparable size to both donor colonies and transplant corals, were monitored for comparison. Transplant corals, donor corals, and controls on the natural reef were monitored for growth and survivorship. Core holes were monitored for tissue regrowth …

Spatial Patterns In Arabian Gulf Coral Assemblages (Jebel Ali, Dubai, U.A.E.) In Response To Temperature-Forcing, Bernhard Riegl, Samuel J. Purkis, Kevin E. Kohler, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

We evaluated spatial and temporal patterns using maps from Ikonos satellite imagery in combination with 8 years of line transects and photosquares and the HadISST1 sea-surface temperature data set to explain why coral assemblages in the southern Arabian Gulf (Dubai) are impoverished and mostly do not build framework reefs. Analysis of archive sea surface temperature (SST) data confirms that the area is subjected to recurrent temperature anomalies. Frequencies of anomalies might suggest at least a partial link to the El Niño Southern Oscillation possibly via the Indian Ocean Zonal Mode. The dominant driver of local temperature was oscillations in the …

Fractal Patterns Of Coral Communities: Evidence From Remote Sensing (Arabian Gulf, Dubai, U.A.E.), Samuel J. Purkis, Bernhard Riegl, Richard E. Dodge (Editor)

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

In this study, the spatial character of benthic communities is investigated in an Arabian Gulf shallow subtidal carbonate ramp setting, using IKONOS satellite imagery. The patchy distribution of three assemblages of live and dead corals on extensive (but also fragmented) hardground pavements was investigated using a variety of spatial statistics. It was found that the spatial expression of the benthic groups display characteristics that approximate to power-law distributions over several orders of magnitude to an extent that suggests fractal behaviour. Pronounced anisotropy was observed between the spatial patterns in the near-shore and off-shore region which is attributed to different mechanisms …

Implications Of Natural Variation Of Fish Assemblages To Coral Reef Management, Lance K. B. Jordan, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

In order to evaluate the impact of a planned beach renourishment project we obtained baseline data on hardbottom coral reef fish assemblages adjacent to the beach. During the summers of 2001 and 2003 we conducted 92 and 89 visual transect-counts, respectively, each 30x2x1m. Fish were recorded by species, abundance, and size class. Fish exhibited a 62.8% decrease in abundance between the 2001 and 2003 surveys. Juvenile Haemulon spp. (<5cm total length, TL) alone decreased 72.8% in abundance and, due to their predominance, primarily drove the decrease seen for total abundance. The second most abundant species Halichoeres bivittatus, also primarily juveniles (<5cm TL), contributed 8% of the total abundance and also showed a significant decrease between the 2001 and 2003 surveys. Even after removal of the two most abundant taxa, total abundance remained significantly lower the second survey year, suggesting the possibility of a community-wide decrease in abundance. However, the decrease between years was mainly due to a decrease in juveniles. When fish less than 5cm TL were removed from the dataset, no significant difference in abundance between years was detected. Species richness also declined significantly with fewer species noted in 2003 and eight fewer total species between years. Nonetheless, multivariate examination of assemblage structure did not indicate a difference between years. These results have important implications for determining potential anthropogenic change in fish assemblages (e.g. caused by beach renourishment).

A Faculty Development Handbook For Quality Online Instruction, Joan Carol Frese

CCE Theses and Dissertations

The offering of online classes has been growing at an incredible rate. Many institutions coerce their instructors into teaching online classes even if they are not prepared. If teachers are unprepared when they teach, there is a negative effect on the students and can jeopardize the reputation of the institution. In order to teach over the Internet, instructors need to learn new competencies. Students in online classes are usually not traditional students. In addition, there can be miscommunication in online classes, because there are no visual cues. Instructors need to learn new communication strategies as well as teaching strategies for …

Using Neural Networks To Develop A New Model To Screen Applicants For Apartment Rentals, Michael T. Furick

CCE Theses and Dissertations

Credit scoring is a mathematical means of summarizing a consumer's credit and financial history into a three-digit number. This number provides an easy means of identifying and sorting consumer behavior into categories based on their financial history. To select applicants for loans and to set interest rates on loans, banks and financial institutions routinely use credit scoring. Auto insurance companies also use scoring to decide which consumers will be offered auto insurance and to set the price for auto insurance. Despite success in these two industries, scoring does not appear to be effective in the apartment rental industry in picking …

Information Policies And Practices Of Knowledge Management(Km) As Related To The Development Of The Global Aviation Information Network(Gain)- An Applied Case Study And Taxonomy Development, Jeffrey S. Forrest

CCE Theses and Dissertations

The Global Aviation Information Network (GAIN) was initiated in response to U.S. Government policies seeking to reduce airline accidents. GAIN was to disseminate airline or aviation safety information in environments where public disclosure impedes the diffusion of information. Government legislation such as the U.S. Freedom of Information Act and other information policies create risks of public disclosure to those reporting information. Therefore, the problem investigated in this research was to identity and evaluate potential solutions to policy issues in public disclosure that prevent the collection and sharing of aviation safety information.

Interactions between GAIN, information policy, and knowledge management (KM) …