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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Trophic Plasticity In An Obligate Corallivorous Butterflyfish, David A. Feary, Andrew G. Bauman, James R. Guest, Andrew S. Hoey Oct 2018

Trophic Plasticity In An Obligate Corallivorous Butterflyfish, David A. Feary, Andrew G. Bauman, James R. Guest, Andrew S. Hoey

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Changes in the abundance and/or taxonomic composition of corals are having direct impacts on the structure of reef fish assemblages, with those species that rely directly on live coral for food or shelter being most affected. Despite this, many specialist coral feeders persist on reefs where preferred coral taxa are rare. We examined feeding selectivity of the obligate corallivorous butterflyfish Chaetodon octofasciatus, a species known to feed predominantly on Acropora spp. corals, between a heavily urbanized coral reef system (Singapore) with low Acropora spp. cover, and a relatively intact reef system containing high Acropora spp. cover (Pulau Tioman, eastern …


Connecting The Physiological And Behavioral Response To Heat Stress On A Warming Planet, Anastasia Kalyta May 2016

Connecting The Physiological And Behavioral Response To Heat Stress On A Warming Planet, Anastasia Kalyta

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Intertidal communities are considered good models of the biological effects of climate change on ecosystems, as their resident organisms are subjected to heat spells during daytime low tides. The increasing heat exposure can elicit behavioral as well as physiological responses in intertidal organisms. We studied the relationship between these responses to heat stress in the blue-banded hermit crab, Pagurus samuelis, by inducing a “heat shock” with elevated water temperature of 29 °C for 2.5 h. The behavioral effect of heat-shock was quantified using a 30-minute feeding assay, measuring the mass of a standard squid pellet consumed by individual hermit crabs. …


Fussy Feeders: Phyllosoma Larvae Of The Western Rocklobster (Panulirus Cygnus) Demonstrate Prey Preference, M I Saunders, P A Thompson, A G Jeffs, Christin Sawstrom, N Sachlikidis, L E Beckley, A M Waite Jan 2012

Fussy Feeders: Phyllosoma Larvae Of The Western Rocklobster (Panulirus Cygnus) Demonstrate Prey Preference, M I Saunders, P A Thompson, A G Jeffs, Christin Sawstrom, N Sachlikidis, L E Beckley, A M Waite

Research outputs 2012

The Western Rocklobster (Panulirus cygnus) is the most valuable single species fishery in Australia and the largest single country spiny lobster fishery in the world. In recent years a well-known relationship between oceanographic conditions and lobster recruitment has become uncoupled, with significantly lower recruitment than expected, generating interest in the factors influencing survival and development of the planktonic larval stages. The nutritional requirements and wild prey of the planktotrophic larval stage (phyllosoma) of P. cygnus were previously unknown, hampering both management and aquaculture efforts for this species. Ship-board feeding trials of wild-caught mid-late stage P. cygnus phyllosoma in the eastern …


Food Limitation In Larval Fish: Ontogenetic Variation In Feeding Scope And Its Potential Effect On Survival, Alexander B. Bochdansky, Peter Grønkjær, Pierre Pepin, William C. Leggett Jan 2008

Food Limitation In Larval Fish: Ontogenetic Variation In Feeding Scope And Its Potential Effect On Survival, Alexander B. Bochdansky, Peter Grønkjær, Pierre Pepin, William C. Leggett

OES Faculty Publications

We used the radiated shanny Ulvaria subbifurcataas a model species to explore the relative gut fullness from hatch to metamorphosis of wild larvae, and compared these values with those of laboratory-reared larvae fed at maximum rates. Ingestion rates of most wild larvae were above starvation levels but below the maximum feeding levels of laboratory-reared larvae. Twenty-six percent of freshly-hatched wild larvae and 11% of large, pre-settlement wild larvae had insufficient food in their stomach to satisfy metabolic requirements. These results, taken on their own, are consistent with the much hypothesized increased foraging performance and survival of larger larvae relative …


Grazing Impacts Of Diverse Zooplankton Taxa On Thin Layers, Alexander Bochdansky Jan 2007

Grazing Impacts Of Diverse Zooplankton Taxa On Thin Layers, Alexander Bochdansky

OES Faculty Publications

The US Navy needs to know how distributions and abundances of light-scattering and sound-scattering organisms in the ocean vary in space and time, particularly in the vertical dimension. Recent field observations have shown that many biological properties may vary substantially over small e.g. centimeter scales, commonly referred to as thin layers e.g. Cowles et al. 1998, 1999, Hanson Donaghay 1998, Holliday et al. 1999, Dekshenieks et al. 2001, Alldredge et al. 2002, Rines et al. 2002. Our previous ONR-funded research has allowed us to begin to understand how zooplankton interact with thin layers and how they can take advantage of …


A Comparison Of Diets And Water Agitation Methods For Larval Culture Of The Edible Sea Urchin, Tripneustes Ventricosus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea), Ray Wolcott, Charles G. Messing Sep 2005

A Comparison Of Diets And Water Agitation Methods For Larval Culture Of The Edible Sea Urchin, Tripneustes Ventricosus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea), Ray Wolcott, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Tripneustes ventricosus (Lamarck, 1816) has been harvested for human consumption in the Caribbean for centuries, where harvest rates occasionally exceed sustainability. Historically a backreef and grass-bed urchin, the species has recently been observed on the forereef where it appears to control macroalgal growth in the absence of Diadema antillarum (Philippi, 1845) (Woodley and Gayle, 1999). Large-scale culturing has the potential to produce T. ventricosus in sufficient numbers for remediation of degraded coral reefs, restocking of nearshore habitats, and development of an aquaculture industry for one or more Caribbean islands. We report the first successful culturing of T. ventricosus from fertilization …


Burrow Morphology And Behavior Of The Mud Shrimp Upogebia Omissa (Decapoda: Thalassinidea: Upogebiidae), Vania Rodrigues Coelho, Roland Arthur Cooper, Sergio De Almeida Rodrigues Jul 2000

Burrow Morphology And Behavior Of The Mud Shrimp Upogebia Omissa (Decapoda: Thalassinidea: Upogebiidae), Vania Rodrigues Coelho, Roland Arthur Cooper, Sergio De Almeida Rodrigues

Collected Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The burrow morphology, burrowing behavior and feeding mechanisms of the thalassinidean shrimp Upogebia omissa were studied. Twenty burrow casts were made in situ with epoxy resin, and an overall 'Y' shape was most frequently observed. Several burrows consisted of a single, oblique tunnel; burrow diameter was positively correlated with burrow length, maximum depth and distance between openings. Additionally, burrow length was positively associated with maximum depth, indicating that as burrow length increased burrow depth increased; i.e. burrows spread vertically rather than horizontally. Total sediment displacement by the burrows accounted for 2.6 % of sediment to a depth of 30 cm. …


Feeding Mechanism And Functional Morphology Of The Jaws Of The Lemon Shark Negaprion Brevirostris (Chondrichthyes, Carcharhinidae), Philip J. Motta, Timothy C. Tricas, Robert E. Hueter, Adam P. Summers Jan 1997

Feeding Mechanism And Functional Morphology Of The Jaws Of The Lemon Shark Negaprion Brevirostris (Chondrichthyes, Carcharhinidae), Philip J. Motta, Timothy C. Tricas, Robert E. Hueter, Adam P. Summers

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

This study tests the hypothesis that preparatory, expansive, compressive and recovery phases of biting behavior known for aquatically feeding anamniotes are conserved among extant elasmobranch fishes. The feeding mechanism of the lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris is examined by anatomical dissection, electromyography and high-speed video analysis. Three types of feeding events are differentiated during feeding: (1) food ingestion primarily by ram feeding; (2) food manipulation; and (3) hydraulic transport of the food by suction. All feeding events are composed of the expansive, compressive and recovery phases common to aquatically feeding teleost fishes, salamanders and turtles. A preparatory phase is occasionally observed …


Development And Lipid Composition Of The Harpacticoid Copepod Nitocra Spinipes Reared On Different Diets, Gregory M. Weiss, George B. Mcmanus, H. Rodger Harvey Jan 1996

Development And Lipid Composition Of The Harpacticoid Copepod Nitocra Spinipes Reared On Different Diets, Gregory M. Weiss, George B. Mcmanus, H. Rodger Harvey

OES Faculty Publications

We reared the harpacticoid copepod Nitocra spinipes on diets of bacteria, a diatom, or a macroalga, evaluating survivorship and growth in short-term (≤ 1 generation) experiments. Lipid content of the copepods and their diets was measured and used as an index of nutrition. Although growth, survivorship and lipid content of N. spinipes were significantly greater when fed the diatom, which had the highest lipid content of the 3 diets, the copepod was able to develop from egg to adult when fed a lipid- poor bacterial diet. Furthermore, this species was able to go through developmental molts without the addition of …


Structure And Trophic Ecology Of A Low Latitude Midwater Decapod And Mysid Assemblage, Thomas L. Hopkins, Mark E. Flock, John V. Gartner Jr, Joseph J. Torres Jun 1994

Structure And Trophic Ecology Of A Low Latitude Midwater Decapod And Mysid Assemblage, Thomas L. Hopkins, Mark E. Flock, John V. Gartner Jr, Joseph J. Torres

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The micronektonic crustacean assemblage in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is an extension of the low latitude Atlantic and Caribbean faunas. Species showed highly varying diel distribution patterns ranging from a strong vertical migration to the epipelagic zone to absence of any migration resulting in a permanent residence deep in the mesopelagic zone. As in other low latitude areas, decapod species with variegated pigment patterns centered above 650 m during the day, whereas 'all-red' species centered below this depth. Standing stocks were estimated at 0.18 g dry wt m-2 and 3 ind. m-2 in the upper 1000 m. Diet analysis …