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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Serotonin And Its Effects On The Chronic Stress Response In Crayfish Following Nonylphenol Exposure, Tara M. Olen May 2023

Serotonin And Its Effects On The Chronic Stress Response In Crayfish Following Nonylphenol Exposure, Tara M. Olen

Masters Theses

Current research suggests that stress in both vertebrates and invertebrates is modulated in part by the neurotransmitter serotonin. It has been shown that crayfish can function as a good neurophysiological model, as they have less complex neurological systems than vertebrates, so mechanistic causes for stress can be more readily studied and understood. One potential stressor for aquatic species such as crayfish would be nonylphenol, a hydrophobic chemical used in agricultural products that can make its way into the water supply due to agricultural runoff. Nonylphenol can lead to physiological and behavioral impairments in crayfish and these impairments likely induce stress …


Assessing The Short-Term Effects Of Translocation On Freshwater Mussels: Is Habitat Or Water Quality More Important?, Joshua D. Arnold Aug 2021

Assessing The Short-Term Effects Of Translocation On Freshwater Mussels: Is Habitat Or Water Quality More Important?, Joshua D. Arnold

Masters Theses

Freshwater mussels (Order: Unionida) are very important to the function of aquatic ecosystems and are typically indicators of good water quality. They provide a valuable link between the water column and the benthic substrate in which they live and are a valuable food resource for many species of animals. However, most species native to North America are currently threatened with extinction, to the point that more than 70% of native freshwater mussels are listed as either threatened or endangered at the state or federal level. The cause of this decline can be attributed to historical over exploitation, habitat alteration, and …


Evaluation Of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser Fulvescens) Spawning Success On An Artificial Reef Constructed In The Kalamazoo River, Michigan, Jason P. Lorenz Apr 2021

Evaluation Of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser Fulvescens) Spawning Success On An Artificial Reef Constructed In The Kalamazoo River, Michigan, Jason P. Lorenz

Masters Theses

Since lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens monitoring began on the Kalamazoo River in 2009, there has been no documentation of survival past the egg stage. Spawning has occurred directly below Calkins Dam and, in 2016, an artificial spawning reef was constructed 275-m downstream to improve habitat and increase survival to the larval stage. The site was monitored with egg mats and larval drift nets to document evidence of successful natural reproduction of lake sturgeon one year prior to construction (2016) and three years post-construction of the artificial reef (2017-2019). Fertilized lake sturgeon eggs were captured all four years of the study …


Diel Fish Habitat Selection In A Tributary Stream, Andria K. Salas, Eric B. Snyder Jan 2010

Diel Fish Habitat Selection In A Tributary Stream, Andria K. Salas, Eric B. Snyder

Peer Reviewed Publications

This study investigated the location and diel habitat preferences (at 100 m reach scale) of fish in a small tributary stream in late spring, early summer. During the day, coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) preferred areas with more cover (deeper, greater extent of undercut banks) vs. night when LWD was preferred (Pearson correlation and step-wise MLR). Chinook (O. tshawytscha) exhibited an opposite pattern, preferring LWD during the day vs. higher velocity at night. This suggests these two potadromous species may be partitioning resources. Pooling coho, chinook and rainbow trout (O. mykiss) indicated reaches with more LWD …


Fish Assemblages In Manistee River Tributaries: Longitudinal Distribution Analysis, Seasonal Variation, And Riparian Improvement Evaluation, Nicholas J. Gressick Jun 2009

Fish Assemblages In Manistee River Tributaries: Longitudinal Distribution Analysis, Seasonal Variation, And Riparian Improvement Evaluation, Nicholas J. Gressick

Masters Theses

Sedimentation affects both stream physical and biological integrity. Improperly designed stream passage accompanied with sedimentation and altered hydrology can impede fish passage and reduce fish assemblage integrity. The purpose of this study was to: 1) quantify impacts of poorly constructed road stream crossings and eroding banks on fish assemblages, and 2) assess these sites as sediment sources and connectivity breaks on entire fish assemblages and individual fish species. Electrofishing was conducted during spring and fall 2004 and 2005. A total of 29 electrofishing reaches were sampled which included 5 road-stream and streambank restoration sites. Sickle Creek (1st order) had reduced …


Sublethal Exposure To Two Alkylphenolic Compounds And Their Influence On Development, Growth And Reproductive Behavior Of Crayfish, Steven J. Gauthier, Daniel A. Bergman Jan 2009

Sublethal Exposure To Two Alkylphenolic Compounds And Their Influence On Development, Growth And Reproductive Behavior Of Crayfish, Steven J. Gauthier, Daniel A. Bergman

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

Invertebrates make up much of the world's biological diversity. Their survival is fundamental to the maintenance of all life, and their ubiquitous distribution is useful when using them as biological indicators of pollution. Many invertebrate species are under threat of extinction due to exposure to various chemical pollutants. Crayfish are an important invertebrate that is affected by chemical pollutants, such as pesticide/herbicide runoff and industrial waste effluents. Crayfish are considered keystone species because they are an important resource for other species and consequently influence diversity and abundance. For these reasons, crayfish are important in terms of better understanding the effects …


Population Structure Of The Invasive Round Goby In Lake Michigan, Elizabeth A. Larue, Carl Ruetz Iii, Ryan Thum Jan 2009

Population Structure Of The Invasive Round Goby In Lake Michigan, Elizabeth A. Larue, Carl Ruetz Iii, Ryan Thum

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

The recent establishment of the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), an invasive fish in Lake Michigan, provides a model system to view fine scale evolutionary and ecological processes that can create genetic structure within a population. We used seven nuclear polymorphic microsatellite markers (N = 11-17 per site) and measurements of fish total length, weight, and sex (N = 20-74 per site) on round gobies captured by minnow traps and angling among 12 sites around the entire shore of Lake Michigan to determine if evolutionary processes are present in Lake Michigan by characterizing population structure of the round goby. Specific objectives …


Community Response To Habitat Restoration In Sickle And Bear Creeks, With Emphasis On Mottled Sculpin In Sickle Creek, Jason Andrew Deboer Apr 2008

Community Response To Habitat Restoration In Sickle And Bear Creeks, With Emphasis On Mottled Sculpin In Sickle Creek, Jason Andrew Deboer

Masters Theses

Habitat restoration is employed by biologists and managers to improve the natural functionality and value of aquatic resources. Systems suffer impairment from many sources, including excessive fine sediment, which negatively affects substrate composition, channel morphology, aquatic invertebrate habitat, and fish reproduction and recruitment. Primary objectives included monitoring the biophysical response to sediment abatement in the Big Manistee River watershed. Secondary objectives included (1) placing the biophysical response to the restoration in the context of a much larger watershed plan, (2) quantifying seasonal mottled sculpin movement and habitat use in Sickle Creek for 1-year, and (3) determining habitat variables which may …


Examination Of Crayfish Biodiversity And Distribution Within The Grand River, Michigan, Norrissa M. Thomas, Daniel A. Bergman Jan 2008

Examination Of Crayfish Biodiversity And Distribution Within The Grand River, Michigan, Norrissa M. Thomas, Daniel A. Bergman

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

Invertebrates make up a large part of the world's biological diversity and perform essential ecological functions. Many invertebrates are under threat of extinction due to extreme transformations of habitats. Crayfish are one such threatened invertebrate. Crayfish are keystone species in many freshwater systems. Keystone species are those species most important in shaping the ecology of a system. Crayfish are an important resource for many animals and affect species diversity and abundance. Specifically, crayfish can adversely affect ecosystems by removing plants, making the water turbid. They also prey on fish eggs reducing their numbers. There are 415 species of crayfish in …


Sampling A Littoral Fish Assemblage: Comparison Of Small-Mesh Fyke Netting And Boat Electrofishing, Carl R. Ruetz Iii, Donald G. Uzarski, Damon M. Krueger, Edward S. Rutherford Jul 2007

Sampling A Littoral Fish Assemblage: Comparison Of Small-Mesh Fyke Netting And Boat Electrofishing, Carl R. Ruetz Iii, Donald G. Uzarski, Damon M. Krueger, Edward S. Rutherford

Peer-reviewed scientific publications

We compared small-mesh (4-mm) fyke netting and boat electrofishing for sampling a littoral fish assemblage in Muskegon Lake, Michigan. We hypothesized that fyke netting selects for small-bodied fishes and electrofishing selects for large-bodied fishes. Three sites were sampled during May (2004 and 2005), July (2005 only), and September (2004 and 2005). We found that the species composition of captured fish differed considerably between fyke netting and electrofishing based on nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). Species strongly associated with fyke netting (based on NMDS and relative abundance) included the brook silverside Labidesthes sicculus, banded killifish Fundulus diaphanus, round goby Neogobius melanostomus, mimic …