Life Sciences Commons^™

Precise And Accurate Determination By Infrared Photometry Of Co2 Dynamics In Marine Ecosystems, Kenneth M. Johnson, Curtis M. Burney, John Mcn. Sieburth

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Preliminary studies with an ampule analyzing unit and infrared (IR) detector showed that procedures for standardization and determination of total carbon dioxide (ΣCO₂), while often precise, lacked the accuracy required to estimate the net productivity and respiration of aquatic ecosystems during studies in which sampling over diel cycles was used. Scaling down sample and standard volumes to the µl range and the use of a commercial sodium carbonate standard without dilution before and after replicate sample injections gave accurate results as shown by comparison with indirect (pH-alkalinity) ΣCO₂, determinations with a standard error of ±3 µmoles …

Environmental Correlates Of Hermatypic Coral (Montastrea Annularis) Growth On The East Flower Gardens Bank, Northwest Gulf Of Mexico, Richard E. Dodge, Judith C. Lang

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Time series of annual linear growth increments from 12 Montastrea annularis (E. and S.) collected at the East Flower Gardens Bank reef in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico have a common pattern. This is best expressed in an index master chronology (average by year of the annual percentage deviations from the mean of each coral.)

Comparisons with time series of environmental data indicate that coral extension rates vary positively with seasonal (February through May - 4 months) surface water temperature and negatively with annual discharge of the Atchafalaya River. We propose that secular variations of water temperature and other parameters …

Curidia Debrogania, A New Genus And Species Of Amphipod (Crustacea: Ochlesidae) From The Barrier Reefs Of Belize, Central America, James Darwin Thomas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The family Ochlesidae is amended to include the new genus Curidia, which differs from all other members by possessing maxiIIipedal palps. Curidia debrogania is described and compared to other genera and species within the family Ochlesidae.

Curidia debrogania is plesiomorphic by possession of maxillipedal palps, suggesting this member of the small, cryptic family might have originated in the tropical Western Atlantic. Distribution records and ecological notes are included.

Quantitative Reef Assessment Studies In Bermuda: A Comparison Of Methods And Preliminary Results, Richard E. Dodge, Alan Logan, Arnfried Antonius

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

To compare in quantitative terms both ecological characteristics of the stony coral fauna at various reef sites in Bermuda and available assessment methodologies, we present a study of four separate methods at each of three reef sites. Three plotless (Intersected-length, Quarter point, Point) and one quadrat (Belt-quadrat) methods were employed. Each technique gave similar results but had inherent advantages and disadvantages which involve trade-offs in quantity and type of information generated and time required for use.

Pooling of method results revealed that total coral coverage was highest at North Rock (26%), intermediate at Three Hill Shoals (17%), and lowest at …

Notes On Recent Changes In Tanaidacean Terminology, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

no abstract available

Mouthpart Morphology And Feeding Strategies Of The Commensal Amphipod, Anamixis Hanseni Stebbing, James Darwin Thomas, George W. Taylor

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The lack of the information on the biology of the commensal amphipod family Anamixidae prompted investigations into mouthpart ultrastructure, feeding biology, and host specificity of Anamixis hanseni Stebbing, 1897. Earlier investigators presented conflicting reports on the structural composition of the buccal region and feeding modes in anamixids. Scanning electron microscope analysis of A. hanseni showed a complete set of mouthparts to be present, although much modified and reduced, except for the well-developed maxilliped palps. Feeding is not parasitic (piercing and sucking host tissue) as previously believed but is accomplished while A. hanseni rests inside its host. Minute food particles are …

Habitat Effects On The Occurrence Of Parasites Inhabiting The Sergeant Major, Abudefduf Saxatilis (Linnealus), With A List Of Parasites Of Caribbean Damselfishes, Steven E. Yeo, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

In June 1976 the parasitic faunas of sergeant majors, Abudefduf saxatilis, from a coral reef habitat near Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico and from an estuarine habitat in the adjacent caleta at Yalku were compared. The frequencies of occurrence of the nematode Spirocamallanus, the hemiurid trematode Genolinea the haplosplanchnid trematode Schikhobalotrema, and the copepod Holobomolochus nothrus, were dependent on collection locality. The residency of the damselfish in habitats with radically different salinity regimes, as well as the associated biotic communities within these habitats, are suspected causes of the observed differences.

X-Rays Provide Researchers With Views Of Coral Growth Patterns, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

A Redescription Of The Wood-Rasping Amphipod Trophichelura Gomezi Ortiz, 1976 (Cheluridae) From The Florida Keys, With Notes On Its Distribution And Ecology, James Darwin Thomas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The wood-rasping amphipod, Tropichelura gomezi Ortiz, 1976, is redescribed from the Florida Keys to include diagnostic characters omitted in the original description. Morphological characters and distributional patterns of T. gomezi are compared with those of the other member of the genus, Tropichelura insulae (Caiman, 1910). Laboratory studies show that T. gomezi defends its burrow entrance from other members of its species, but tolerates the presence of limnoriid isopods with which it cooccurs. A lectotype for Tropichelura insulae is designated .

A New Species Of Cerapus Say, 1817 (Crustacea: Amphipoda) From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, With Notes On Its Ecology, James Darwin Thomas, Richard W. Heard

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

During research in coastal marshes of the Mississippi Delta region in 1975, a large, undescribed amphipod belonging to the genus Cerapus was discovered in tidal channels. This new species, C. benthophilus, is characterized by its large size and 7-12 segmented antennal flagella. Habitat preference is muddy silt bottoms upon which it constructs conspicuous mats or "tufts" of interwoven tubes in shallow coastal bays and marshes from Louisiana to the panhandle areas of northern Florida.

A 200 Year Record Of Carbon-13 And Carbon-14 Variations In A Bermuda Coral, Y. Nozaki, D. M. Rye, K. K. Turekian, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A 200 year old brain coral, captured in Bermuda in 1976 was slabbed and x-rayed. Using the annual growth bands sequential, dated samples were taken over the entire growth period of the coral and analyzed for Δ¹⁴C, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O. During the past 80 years atmospheric variations in Δ¹⁴C and δ¹³C due to human effects, such as release of bomb C-14 and dilution of both C-14 and C-13 by fossil fuel burning, are closely tracked by the coral. Prior to 1900 divergences between the coral and tree Δ¹⁴C …

Serologic And Hematologic Values Of Bison In Colorado, Edward O. Keith, James Ellis, Robert W. Phillips, Maxine M. Benjamin

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Recent economic and aesthetic interest in North American bison (Bison bison) has lead to increased interstate transport of these animals. Serologic and hematologic standards for bison are needed to detect disease in transported animals as well as within herds. This paper describes variation in blood physiological parameters in bison caused by variations in diet and season. Blood was taken from six bison and analyzed for serologic and hematologic parameters. Significant variation was found in blood urea nitrogen, chloride, cholesterol, creatinine, eosinophil, glucose, hemoglobin, lactic dehydrogenase, leukocyte, packed cell volume, potassium, serum globulin, serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, SGPT, and …

Zoogeography Of Tropical Western Atlantic Crinoidea (Echinodermata), David L. Meyer, Charles G. Messing, Donald B. Macurda Jr.

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Recent collections of crinoids from the intertidal zone to 1,650 m in the tropical western Atlantic have provided significant range extensions for more than half of the 44 comatulid and stalked species known from the region. Of the 34 comatulid species, over 60% are endemic to the region; of the 10 stalked species, 90% are endemic. At the familial level, this fauna has its strongest affinities with the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Comatulids are most abundant above 300 m, while stalked species occur primarily between 100 and 700 m. Species that occur primarily above 600 m (the deepest penetration of the …

A Revision Of The Comatulid Genus Comactinia A. H. Clark (Crinoidea: Echinodermata), Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The formerly monotypic genus Comactinia is found to comprise two valid species. One of these is further divided into two subspecies. The variability of the genus is examined and illustrated. A discussion of ecology, affinities, and zoogeography is included.

Neotanais Persephone, A New Species Of Hadal Tanaidacean (Crustacea: Peracarida), Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Neotanais persephone, a new species of tanaidacean and the first reported from the Puerto Rico Trench, is described and figured. The material represents the greatest depth record for the order from the Atlantic Ocean and for the genus worldwide. The species is placed within the americanus group of species and is most similar to N. hadalis Wolff. Rudimentary oostegites are present on several copulatory males.

Mouthless Cypriniform Fishes From Louisiana And Arkansas, Patrick S. Hambrick, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract is provided for this brief article.

Coral Populations And Growth Patterns: Responses To Sedimentation And Turbidity Associated With Dredging, Richard E. Dodge, J. Rimas Vaisnys

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Analysis of coral growth patterns and populations in Bermuda reveals that living coral abundance on the reefs of Castle Harbor, a location where extensive dredging occurred during 1941- 1943, is much reduced in comparison to external North-South reefs. Dead corals, sampled in the harbor, have skeletal patterns of growth which are similar and which show a marked decline in growth for several years prior to death. For the brain coral genus Diploria, both D. strigosa and D. labyrinthiformis are fairly evenly represented on contemporary North-South reefs and in the assemblages of dead corals from Castle Harbor, while D. labyrinthiformis, …

Photoperiodic Effects On Salinity Selection In The Gulf Killifish, Fundulus Grandis, Richard E. Spieler, Albert H. Meier, Harold C. Loesch

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Handling And Methylpentynol Anaesthesia On Serum Glucose Levels In Goldfish, Carassius Auratus Linnaeus, Richard E. Spieler, Max Allen Nickerson

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

In comparison to "pre-stress" levels, goldfish anesthetized with methylpentynol and "handled" showed a significant increase in serum glucose level one day after handling, and apparent continued effects for the next three days. Fish handled but not anesthetized, and control fish which were neither anesthetized nor handled did not exhibit similar changes.

Shell Growth In The Scallop Argopecten Irradians. I. Isotope Incorporation With Reference To Diurnal Growth, Alfred P. Wheeler, Patricia Blackwelder, Karl M. Wilbur

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

1. Incorporation of calcium and carbonate into shell has been studied in the scallop Argopecten irradians using ⁴⁵Ca and ¹⁴C-bicarbonate.

2. The incorporation of ⁴⁵Ca and ¹⁴C-carbonate into shell was linear with time after a lag period of 1 to 2 hours. The shell-forming mantle tissue attained a steady state with respect to ⁴⁵Ca in the sea water medium within 2 hours.

3. The molar ratio of ⁴⁵Ca to ¹⁴C-carbonate deposited in shell was not significantly different from unity during 5 hours.

4. The rate of incorporation of ¹⁴C-carbonate into shell was …

Animal-Sediment Relations In A Tropical Lagoon: Discovery Bay, Jamaica, Robert C. Aller, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The distribution of many macrobenthic species in the back-reef lagoon of Discovery Bay, Jamaica can be related to a gradient in bottom stability. This gradient is defined by increasing rates of biogenic reworking and sediment resuspension in the western part of the lagoon. Infaunal diversity and coral growth decrease in the western, unstable areas. The infauna of the carbonate sand consists mainly of deposit feeders. In the western lagoon, the feeding activities of this group result in high biogenic reworking rates (up to 6-7 cm/week) producing loose surface sediment easily resuspended by waves. A maximum, mean resuspension rate of 19 …

A Carp-Goldfish Hybrid With No Caudal Fin, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.