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Coastal Carolina University

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Theses/Dissertations

2022

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Microplastic Accumulation In The Digestive Tract Of Young-Of-Year Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks (Rhizoprionodon Terraenovae) In The Grand Strand, Sc, Andrew Curtis Sitlinger Dec 2022

Microplastic Accumulation In The Digestive Tract Of Young-Of-Year Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks (Rhizoprionodon Terraenovae) In The Grand Strand, Sc, Andrew Curtis Sitlinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the presence and accumulation of microplastic fibers in the digestive tract and livers of young-of-year Atlantic Sharpnose Sharks (Rhizopriondon terraenovae) from two sampling locations along the Grand Strand of South Carolina. R. terraenovae is a small, mesopredatory elasmobranch found abundantly along northwestern Atlantic Ocean coastlines. Thirty specimens of R. terraenovae were collected from May through August of 2020. Microplastics were found in all specimens. A total of 672 plastic particles were identified over the course of the study, with an average of 22.4 ± 10.5 (SD) plastics per specimen. The majority of the plastics were classified …


Silting Dynamics And Metal Contaminants In The Georgetown Inner Harbor, Ezekiel Wil Meyers Dec 2022

Silting Dynamics And Metal Contaminants In The Georgetown Inner Harbor, Ezekiel Wil Meyers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Georgetown inner harbor is an abandoned oxbow-like river loop and a vital historic site with a wealth of traditional businesses and heavy local industry located within Winyah Bay. Since the modification of the Sampit River in 1949, chronic rapid silting has plagued the inner harbor. With these substantial amounts of fine-grained material accumulating inside the inner harbor, business operations along the waterfront, navigational and maritime operations, and contamination within the harbor are of major concern. The goals of this study were to (a) understand the silting dynamics inside the inner harbor, (b) identify heavy metals which might be of …


Fine-Scale Site Selection Of Strand-Feeding Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) And Their Prey, Deborah Kleinclaus Dec 2022

Fine-Scale Site Selection Of Strand-Feeding Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) And Their Prey, Deborah Kleinclaus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Strand-feeding is a unique, cooperative foraging strategy used by some common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) at low tide in South Carolina and Georgia salt marshes, where a group of dolphins charges schools of fish, thrusting them onto the bank with their bow wave and then capturing prey items onshore. Strand-feeding dolphins are estuarine residents and frequent predictable stranding sites, suggesting an intimate knowledge of the area. Dolphin behavior prior to stranding suggests they do not herd the fish before charging, but instead prey on fish already shoaling near the bank. The use of active acoustics from strand-feeders in order to …


Extraction, Analysis, And Comparison Of Microplastics In Sc Marsh Substrates, Austin G. Sige Dec 2022

Extraction, Analysis, And Comparison Of Microplastics In Sc Marsh Substrates, Austin G. Sige

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The global, rapid increase in plastic production is a widespread problem for coastal environments such as marshes that present favorable conditions for plastic retention. This study looked at the microplastic abundance within three previously unstudied South Carolina marshes located in Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, and Waties Island. A comparison between the microplastic types and abundances between locations provided knowledge about the impacts of sediment composition (sand, silt, clay, and organic matter) on microplastic sequestration. This study also produced a novel microplastic extraction methodology for cohesive marsh sediment that used elutriation to effectively break apart aggregates prior to chemical digestion and …


Abundance And Growth Of Juvenile Atlantic Sturgeon In The Edisto River, Sc, Molly Katherine Takacs Dec 2022

Abundance And Growth Of Juvenile Atlantic Sturgeon In The Edisto River, Sc, Molly Katherine Takacs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Information on abundance and body growth are important for understanding the status and health of populations, and this information can be used to guide and monitor conservation and recovery efforts for species of conservation concern. The Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) is an anadromous fish native to the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. Due to overfishing and habitat degradation, population levels declined, and Atlantic Sturgeon were placed on the Endangered Species list in 2012. Although there is substantial research on adult Atlantic Sturgeon, knowledge about their early life history is lacking. The objective of this study were …


Improving Near Surface Refractivity Estimates In Marine Environments, Sarah Evelyn Wessinger Dec 2022

Improving Near Surface Refractivity Estimates In Marine Environments, Sarah Evelyn Wessinger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study utilizes in-situ measurements and numerical weather prediction datasets collected during the Coupled Air-Sea Processes Electromagnetic Ducting Research East field campaign to assess how thermodynamic properties in the marine atmospheric surface layer influence evaporation duct shape and to develop a simple near-surface modified refractivity estimation method. This study utilizes a logarithmic linear parametric model, which describes evaporation ducts via three main parameters: evaporation duct height, evaporation duct curvature, and mixed layer slope. Notably, most studies utilizing this type of model assume the curvature, C0, to be a theoretical value derived assuming neutral atmospheric stability; a thermodynamic regime that is …


Arctic Sea Ice Loss In The Pacific Sector And Its Impacts On Sudden Stratospheric Warming Events, Jiarong Zhang Dec 2022

Arctic Sea Ice Loss In The Pacific Sector And Its Impacts On Sudden Stratospheric Warming Events, Jiarong Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Arctic sea ice is a critical indicator of climate change. The extent of sea ice coverage over the Arctic Ocean has dramatically declined over the past few decades. The impact has been extensively studied through observations suggesting a linkage between the anomalously warm Arctic surface associated with the Arctic sea ice loss and the mid-latitude surface cooling in the subsequent boreal winter. This linkage could involve the wintertime stratospheric circulation by enhancing the upward planetary wave activity and weakening the polar vortex. With recent advances in climate model, more relevant studies relied on numerical simulations and some suggested that …


Next-Generation Sequencing Shows Increasing Temperatures Affect Stream Fungal Communities, Regan Hodgson Dec 2022

Next-Generation Sequencing Shows Increasing Temperatures Affect Stream Fungal Communities, Regan Hodgson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Under climate change predictions, surface air temperature is expected to continue to rise and will likely affect functioning of stream ecosystems and microbial communities. Aquatic hyphomycetes are key fungal decomposers of plant litter in headwater streams controlling carbon, energy, and nutrient flows to higher trophic levels. This project addressed the effects of temperature on stream fungal communities in two recently conducted experiments (microcosm and streamside channel studies) using Illumina sequencing. The objectives were to determine (1) if temperature affects community structure of stream fungi based on relative abundances of ITS2 rDNA sequences, (2) if the effects of temperature on aquatic …


Teacher And School Leader Perspectives On Factors That Impact Relationships And Recidivism Among Black Or African American Girls: A Mixed Methods Study, Amber Jan Lasalle Dec 2022

Teacher And School Leader Perspectives On Factors That Impact Relationships And Recidivism Among Black Or African American Girls: A Mixed Methods Study, Amber Jan Lasalle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate teacher and school leader perspectives on how relationships with Black or African American girls' impacted recidivism in an alternative school setting. The following research questions were used to guide this study to examine the viewpoint of alternative school teachers and school leaders regarding factors that impact teacher and student relationships and preventing recidivism among African American girls: What factors do alternative school teachers and leaders feel contribute to recidivism among Black or African American girls? What are alternative school teachers’ and school leaders’ perspectives on how relationships impact recidivism among Black …


Winter Use Of Winyah Bay, Sc By The Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), And Their Movements South Of Cape Hatteras, Nc, Meredith L. Langford May 2022

Winter Use Of Winyah Bay, Sc By The Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), And Their Movements South Of Cape Hatteras, Nc, Meredith L. Langford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

South of Cape Hatteras, NC, little is known about the coastal distribution and movement of the Spiny Dogfish, Squalus acanthias. Between January 2018 and March 2020 this study conducted winter demersal longline sampling in Winyah Bay, SC to investigate habitat use by Spiny Dogfish. In addition to monitoring Winyah Bay use through catch-and-release, 13 individuals were outfitted with implanted Vemco™ acoustic transmitters to monitor large scale movements along the U.S. East Coast. Across three sampling seasons 84 female Spiny Dogfish were captured within lower Winyah Bay. No males were observed over the course of the study. The mean fork length …


Quantifying Population-Level Effects Of Warm-Water Catch-And-Release Mortality On Muskellunge (Esox Masquinongy) In The James River, Virginia, Cory J. Bauerlien May 2022

Quantifying Population-Level Effects Of Warm-Water Catch-And-Release Mortality On Muskellunge (Esox Masquinongy) In The James River, Virginia, Cory J. Bauerlien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Catch-and-release (C&R) has become a popular practice in many fisheries, both as a management strategy and as an angler ethic. The practice has been used to both increase the abundance and size structure of fish populations but relies heavily on the assumption that released fish survive the encounter. The Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) is a large-bodied, coolwater predatory game fish that is highly prized by many anglers. Many Muskellunge fisheries have transitioned to almost exclusively C&R angling. Muskellunge fisheries have increased in both number and popularity, particularly in southern and mid-Atlantic rivers. However, there is little information on population characteristics for …


Loggerhead Shrike Detectability And Occurrence In Coastal South Carolina Urban Areas, Michelle Krauser May 2022

Loggerhead Shrike Detectability And Occurrence In Coastal South Carolina Urban Areas, Michelle Krauser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Grassland birds, such as the loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), are threatened by extensive land-use change, including urbanization. Loggerhead shrikes have been declining since the early 1900s and are rare or extirpated in portions of their former range. Obtaining reliable population estimates of loggerhead shrikes is important to identify demographic trends and ensure conservation decisions are based on an accurate assessment of their current status. Imperfect detection, or the inability to detect every shrike during a survey, can result in biased population estimates. Estimating detection probability is labor-intensive and requires assumptions that are difficult to satisfy in most field studies. Understanding …


Aerodynamics And Turbulent Wake-Flow Characteristics Of Owls During Flapping Flight, Krishnamoorthy Krishnan May 2022

Aerodynamics And Turbulent Wake-Flow Characteristics Of Owls During Flapping Flight, Krishnamoorthy Krishnan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Owls exhibit unique flight capabilities in the low Reynolds number flow regime which is prone to complex viscous flow phenomena. They possess unique feather features and flexible wing structures which are postulated to help them fly nearly silently and stably at low speeds in a complex flow setting. Understanding the aerodynamics of owls could pave the way to enhance the future designs of small flying vehicles. Though it has been a focus of research over multiple decades, no conclusive agreement has been attained on the aerodynamic mechanisms associated with owl flight. Particularly, the aerodynamics of flapping owl flight is severely …