Life Sciences Commons^™

Natural Resources Outreach Coalition: Coordination And Program Delivery, Frank Mitchell

PREP Reports & Publications

The Natural Resources Outreach Coalition (NROC) is a multi-organizational initiative providing technical and educational assistance to communities in New Hampshire’s coastal watersheds dealing with the effects of growth. The NROC program offered to communities includes an initial educational public presentation, Dealing with Growth, followed by a series of follow-up meetings to help the community develop an action-oriented work plan, and provide the technical and educational assistance needed to help the community meet its goals.

Collaborative Research: Origins Of Cods On Georges Bank: Contributions Of Early Developmental Stages For The Scotian Shelf, David W. Townsend, Irv Kornfield, Linda Kling

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Recent work in the Georges Bank-Gulf of Maine area has documented significant, and apparently episodic, fluxes of Scotian Shelf Water (SSW) from the Nova Scotian continental shelf to Georges Bank. SSW is a relatively cold and fresh water mass with a significant component from the St. Lawrence River, and is commonly identifiable with temperature-salinity analyses of hydrographic data and in satellite images of sea surface temperature. One such flux episode was observed last March (1997) in satellite imagery and from shipboard hydrographic sampling on Georges Bank. Qualitative at-sea analyses of ichthyoplankton sampled on the March cruise revealed a remarkably tight …

Gbcw Support For Shellfish Activities 2003, B Sharon Meeker, Ann S. Reid

PREP Reports & Publications

The Great Bay Coast Watch (GBCW) is a volunteer estuarine monitoring program established in 1989 that includes teachers, students, and local citizens with a diversity of backgrounds. Volunteers participate in a variety of training programs that enable them to monitor water quality parameters in Great Bay and coastal areas, sample for marine phytoplankton blooms and conduct shoreline surveys and habitat evaluations. Since 1997 the New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) has relied on the ability of GBCW to recruit and train volunteers to assist with the implementation of its plan to protect, restore and manage the states estuarine systems. This year …

Support For The 3rd Annual Exeter River Alewife Festival, Exeter River Local Advisory Committee

PREP Reports & Publications

With support from the NH Estuaries Project (NHEP), the Exeter River Local Advisory Committee (ERLAC) held the 3rd Annual Exeter River Alewife Festival on May 31, 2003 in downtown Exeter. NHEP funding enabled ERLAC and the Festival Planning Committee to print and distribute posters and cards advertising the Festival, purchase newspaper advertisements and arrange opportunities for the press to learn more about the event. In addition, ERLAC members worked with area newspapers to write and print eleven articles highlighting aspects of the river and the watershed.

Composition And Function Of A Novel Consortial Endosymbiosis In The Shipworm Lyrodus Pedicellatus, Daniel L. Distel

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Enormous quantities of wood and other woody plant materials
(including leaves, bark, shoots, stems and nuts) are produced annually in
the environment. In fact, cellulose, the major component of woody
materials, is thought to be the most abundant biological material on earth.
This remarkably strong and enduring molecule is a polymer of glucose
(sugar) linked by a type of chemical bond that makes it indigestible to
most living organisms. Therefore, this rich source of food energy is
available to only a few animals (e.g., termites and ruminants) that can
digest cellulose with the aid of microbes living in their guts. …

Number 46 (December 2003), Southern Fishes Council

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

(December 2003) - Fish survey and bioassessment of Station Camp Creek in the Upper Kentucky River Drainage. By Jeffery M. Ray and Patrick A. Ceas

Minutes, Business Meeting, 29th Annual Meeting, Southeastern Fishes Council

Front Matter, Southeastern Fishes Council

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Minutes, Business Meeting, Southeastern Fishes Council

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Fish Survey And Bioassessment Of Station Camp Creek And Sturgeon Creek In The Upper Kentucky River Drainage, Jeffery M. Ray, Patrick A. Ceas

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Reviewed Work(S): Electronic Tagging And Tracking In Marine Fisheries., David W. Kerstetter

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

2002 Coastal Municipal Stormwater Infrastructure Mapping Project, Jillian E. Jones

PREP Reports & Publications

This final report describes the grant program funded by NHEP and administered by DES. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between NHEP and DES created a grant program to provide assistance to coastal communities to develop storm sewer infrastructure maps. DES issued a request for proposals (RFP), chose grant recipients, and managed the grant agreements. This report provides details on the grant projects completed by Portsmouth and Seabrook. The deadline for completion of all grant projects was December 31, 2003.

Case 3270: Isometrinae Clark, 1917 (Ecinodermata, Crinoidea): Proposed Emendation Of Spelling To Isometrainae To Remove Homonymy With Isometrinae Kraepelin, 1891 (Arachnida, Scorpiones), Victor Fet, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The purpose of this application, under Articles 55 and 29 of the Code, is to remove the homonymy between the crinoid subfamily name ISOMETRINAE Clark, 1917 (type genus Isometra Clark, 1908; family ANTEDONIDAE) and the scorpion subfamily name ISOMETRINAE Kraepelin, 1891 (type genus Isometrus Ehrenberg in Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1828; family BUTHIDAE). It is proposed that the entire generic name of Isometra should be adopted as the stem, so that the correct spelling of the crinoid subfamily will become ISOMETRAINAE Clark, 1917.

Laboratory Analyses Of Water And Shellfish From Coastal Waters And Watershed Of New Hampshire, Jayne S. Finnigan

PREP Reports & Publications

The Department of Health and Human Services-New Hampshire Public Health Laboratories (DHHS-NHPHL) has participated in providing laboratory analyses as part of the National Estuary Program since it’s inception in New Hampshire in 1995. The NHPHL has continued to carry out various actions dealing with the monitoring program as listed in the NH Estuaries Project Management Plan. Introduction: The NHPHL implemented selected actions from the NH Estuaries Project Management Plan and Year Six workplan to help address the environmental problems affecting the state’s estuarine systems.

Natural Resource Mapping And Land Protection Prioritization For Greenland, Nh, Danna B. Truslow, David Mcgraw

PREP Reports & Publications

This report describes the development of the project team, mapping criteria, and results of natural resource and co-occurrence mapping of the town of Greenland, New Hampshire. Using Geographic Information Systems mapping and analysis, natural resource characteristics were mapped and land parcels were evaluated to determine conservation priorities within the town. Outreach activities were also carried out and planned to distribute information to town decision makers, landowners and citizens and to share the results of the mapping process.

The purpose of the work was to help the Seacoast Land Trust and the Town of Greenland better identify land protection priorities in …

Age, Growth And The Annual Cycles Of Lipogenesis And Reproduction Of Acanthurus Bahianus In Southeastern Florida, Stacy M. Wolfe

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The ocean surgeon, Acanthurus bahianus, is a coral reef fish inhabiting the tropical and subtropical waters of the western Atlantic, including southeastern Florida. This study was a 23-month analysis of the reproductive cycle correlated with the annual build up and depletion of fat reserves in the fish. In addition, an age and growth analysis of this species was conducted. A total of 507 fish were analyzed for length, weight, gonad weight and fat body weight. 478 were aged by microscopic examination of the transverse section of the sagittae otolith. The von Bertalannfy growth equation was used to determine length at …

Evaluation Of Effects Of Wastewater Treatment Discharge On Estuarine Water Quality, Carl H. Bolster, Stephen H. Jones, Jonathan M. Bromley

PREP Reports & Publications

This report marks the completion of a two-year project focused on observed and estimated effects of wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) on estuarine water quality within the New Hampshire (NH) Seacoast region. This study was designed and carried out in an effort to help the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) and NH Estuaries Project (NHEP) evaluate the effects of WWTF effluent quality on bacterial and nutrient concentrations in New Hampshire’s estuarine waters, as well as to help NHDES/NHEP identify related WWTF infrastructure problems. An extensive database of bacterial and nutrient concentrations in effluent collected post-disinfection from 9 NH WWTFs and …

Interannual Volume Variability In The Tropical Pacific, Christina L. Holland, Gary T. Mitchum

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The question of whether or not the volume of the tropical Pacific changes over the course of an El Niño event has potentially important consequences for our understanding of the dynamical mechanisms responsible for El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. In this study, we examine the volume variability of the tropical Pacific, defined as the areal integral of the sea surface height variability, using TOPEX/Poseidon altimetric sea surface heights and the output of a numerical model. We find that volume gradually builds up in the tropical Pacific prior to a typical ENSO event and rapidly decreases during the event due to …

Collaborative Research: Determinants Of Male Reproductive Success In Natural Spawns, Philip O. Yund, Paul Rawson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This proposal is an extension of previous work aimed at understanding the effects of reproductive biology on patterns of life history evolution in a colonial marine tunicate, Botryllus schlosseri. The project will test five hypotheses about factors that may determine male reproductive success in natural spawns of this colonial invertebrate. The five hypotheses specifically aim to explore the effects of timing of sperm release, relatedness of mates, population density, and allocation to male function on fertilization success in field and experimental populations of Botryllus.

Previous work has shown that there is a narrow temporal window in which fertilization can result …

Peirce Island Pool Discharge Elimination, Natalie Landry

PREP Reports & Publications

The Peirce Island Pool is owned by the City of Portsmouth and serves approximately 19,000 swimmers each summer. The pool was originally constructed in the 1930s and updated in the 1970s and again in the mid 1990s. The pool’s 800,000 gallons of water were cleaned through a rapid sand filter. The filter was then cleaned through a backwash process and that wastewater was discharged directly into the Piscataqua River which is part of the Great Bay Estuary. The City sought and was awarded funds through the New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) to eliminate the direct discharge to the River. The …

A Hot-Vent Gastropod With Iron Sulfide Biomineralized Dermal Sclerites, Anders Waren, Stefan Bengtson, Shana K. Goffredi, Cindy L. Van Dover

Shana Goffredi

No abstract provided.

Increasing Diversity In The Marine Sciences Through The Minorities In Marine Science Undergraduate Program, Brian L. Bingham, Stephen D. Sulkin, Suzanne L. Strom, Gisèle Muller-Parker

Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

The Minorities in Marine Science Undergraduate Program (MIMSUP) is an academic program at Western Washington University’s Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC) that seeks to increase the representation of minority individuals in the marine sciences. For the past 13 years, groups of students have spent two 10-week quarters at SPMC studying marine science, doing independent research, and developing the skills needed for success as marine scientists/educators. Program elements include formal coursework in marine science, supervised independent research, training in up-to-date field and laboratory investigative techniques, experience developing scientific and personal job-related skills, and introduction to the career options open to marine …

Large Scale Ocean Circulation From The Grace Ggm01 Geoid, B. D. Tapley, D. Chambers, S. Bettadpur, J. C. Ries

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The GRACE Gravity Model 01 (GGM01), computed from 111 days of GRACE K-band ranging (KBR) data, is differenced from a global mean sea surface (MSS) computed from a decade of satellite altimetry to determine a mean dynamic ocean topography (DOT). As a test of the GGM01 gravity model, large-scale zonal and meridional surface geostrophic currents are computed from the topography and are compared with those derived from a mean hydrographic surface. Reduction in residual RMS between the two by 30–60% (and increased correlation) indicates that the GGM01 geoid represents a dramatic improvement over older geoid models, which were developed from …

Habitat Use Of Sympatrically Nesting Fish Crows And American Crows, Brook Lauro, John Tanacredi Ph.D.

Faculty Works: CERCOM

We examined habitat use of sympatric Fish Crows (Corvus ossifragus) and American Crows (C. brachyrhynchos) nesting in the vicinity of waterbird breeding locations at the Rockaway Peninsula, New York City. Fish Crows nested significantly more often at natural habitats, including coastal dunes and salt marsh islands; American Crows nested significantly more often at residential and recreational areas. In regard to potential foraging areas, Fish Crows nested closer to waterbird colonies and to the water's edge while American Crows nested closer to a garbage source and to lawns. Fish Crows nested significantly more often in deciduous trees …

The Maintenance Of Conservative Physical Laws Within Data Assimilation Systems, G.A. Jacobs, H.E. Ngodock

Faculty Publications

In many data assimilation applications, adding an error to represent forcing to certain dynamical equations may be physically unrealistic. Four-dimensional variational methods assume either an error in the dynamical equations of motion (weak constraint) or no error (strong constraint). The weak-constraint methodology proposes the errors to represent uncertainties in either forcing of the dynamical equations or parameterizations of dynamics. Dynamical equations that represent conservation of quantities (mass, entropy, momentum, etc.) may be cast in an analytical or control volume flux form containing minimal errors. The largest errors arise in determining the fluxes through control volume surfaces. Application of forcing errors …

A Study Of Enso Prediction Using A Hybrid Coupled Model And The Adjoint Method For Data Assimilation, Eli Galanti, Eli Tziperman, Matthew Harrison, Anthony Rosati, Ziv Sirkes

Faculty Publications

An experimental ENSO prediction system is presented, based on an ocean general circulation model (GCM) coupled to a statistical atmosphere and the adjoint method of 4D variational data assimilation. The adjoint method is used to initialize the coupled model, and predictions are performed for the period 1980-99. The coupled model is also initialized using two simpler assimilation techniques: forcing the ocean model with observed sea surface temperature and surface fluxes, and a 3D variational data assimilation (3DVAR) method, similar to that used by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) for operational ENSO prediction. The prediction skill of the coupled …

Evaluation Of Striped Bass Stocks In Virginia, Monitoring And Tagging Studies, 1999-2003 Annual Report, 1 August 2002 - 31 August 2003, Philip W. Sadler, Robert J. Latour, Robert E. Harris, Julia Ellis, John E. Olney

Reports

This report presents the results of striped bass (Marone saxatilis) tagging and monitoring activities in Virginia during the period 1 August 2002 through 31 August 2003. It includes an assessment ofthe biological characteristics of striped bass taken from the 2003 spring spawning run, estimates of annual survival based on annual spring tagging, and the results ofthe fall2002 directed mortality study that is cooperative with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The information contained in this report is required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and is used to implement a coordinated management plan for striped bass in Virginia, and …

Coastal Observatory Investigates Energetic Current Oscillations On Southeast Florida Shelf, Alexander Soloviev, Rebekah J. Walker, Robert H. Weisberg, Mark E. Luther

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Coastal circulation along the southeast Florida shelf is strongly related to the dynamics of the Florida Current. The current follows the steep bottom terrain along the shelf break separating the deep ocean from the coastal zone (Figure 1 a, b). Energetic and complex flow regimes arise along the current's western edge, causing transient features such as sub-meso-scale eddies [Lee and Mayer, 1977; Shay et al., 2000] and energetic internal oscillations [Mooers, 1975; Soloviev et al., 2003], which affect mixing between the shelf and deeper ocean waters. Understanding of these regimes is important for modeling and prediction of the …

Environmental Indicator Report: Shellfish, Phil Trowbridge

PREP Reports & Publications

During the fall and winter of 2001-2002, the New Hampshire Estuaries Project’s Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) developed a suite of environmental indicators to track progress toward the NHEP’s management goals and objectives. These indicators were fully described in terms of their performance criteria, statistical methods, and measurable goals in the NHEP’s Monitoring Plan published in March 2003 (NHEP, 2003). From September 2002 to April 2003, the NHEP Coastal Scientist prepared four “Indicator Reports” that summarized the available information and results of statistical tests for each of the indicators. The TAC reviewed and commented on these reports, and then recommended a …

Energetics Of Swimming And Crawling In The Lion Nudibranch, Melibe Leonina, Sandra L. Caldwell, Deborah A. Donovan

Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

The opisthobranch Melibe leonina both swims and crawls. Elective response between these two modes makes M. leonina a model organism for studies of gastropod locomotion. The effect of activity on the metabolic rate of M. leonina was investigated in three phases: (1) oxygen consumption rates were measured during alert, crawling, and swimming states; (2) anaerobic energy output was investigated by measuring whole-body levels of anaerobic enzymes; and (3) estimates of net cost of transport (COT_net) for swimming and crawling were established. Melibe leonina exhibited a two-fold increase in oxygen consumption between alert (234 µL 0₂ h^{-1 …}

Predicting Fish Species Diversity In Lotic Freshwaters Of Greece, Eugene G. Maurakis, David V. Grimes

Virginia Journal of Science

Objectives were to test the hypothesis that stream order and stream width alone account for species diversity in drainages of Greece, and to create a mathematical model that predicts fish diversity in small and medium sized freshwater streams in the southern Balkan Peninsula in accord with the stream classification system proposed by the European Environmental Agency (EEA). Thirty-seven species of fishes in 12 families (Petromyzontidae, Anguillidae, Cyprinidae, Moronidae, Centrarchidae, and Blenniidae) were collected in five stream orders (1-5) from 19 river drainages in Greece in 1993 and from 2000-2002. Numbers of species were significantly correlated with stream order (+), width …