Life Sciences Commons^™

Pre-Juvenile Naked Goby (Gobiosoma Bosc) Age And Growth, Annamaria Deitz, Juliana Harding

Honors Theses

Due to the abundance of larval naked gobies, Gobiosoma bosc, within the estuarine ichthyoplankton, it is important to understand their age and growth. Naked gobies are a largely distributed, both geographically and within an estuary, small, benthic fish species. There are 3 pairs of otoliths, calcium carbonate structures within the ear canal, that detect vibrations and record the age of the fish, both daily and annually. Using laboratory-reared gobies of a known age (Tremont et al. 2015), daily signatures on the sagittal otoliths were first validated to be daily, then a growth curve for the wild caught larvae was …

Indirect Effects Of Ocean Warming And Acidification On The Realized Recruitment Of Agaricia Agaricites, Allan Anderson

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few decades, coral cover has declined worldwide due to overfishing, disease, and storms, and these effects have been exacerbated by ocean warming and acidification. Corals are extremely susceptible to these changes because they are already living close to their thermal and aragonite saturation thresholds. Ocean warming and acidification (OAW) may also impact coral survival and growth by impacting their settlement cues. Coral larvae use crustose coralline algae (CCA) and their associated biofilms as cues for settlement, i.e., habitat selection. Settlement cues can also be negatively affected by increased water temperature and acidity. It was hypothesized that the …

Optimization Of Light Irradiance During The Early Life Of Sexually-Produced Porites Astreoides And Agaricia Agaricites Recruits, Nicholas J. Mcmahon

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Current solutions of coral restoration rely mainly on fragmentation. Though a reliable technique, this asexual form of reproduction does not benefit the genetic diversity of the coral reef. With many global and local stressors threatening corals’ existence, the resiliency of corals to future ocean conditions depends highly on sexual reproduction to produce new genotypes. New technology allows coral spawning/larval release, larval settlement and rearing to be carried out in an aquarium system. Many of the techniques necessary to maintain coral recruits are well-established, however the effects of light intensity remain to be studied for these early life stages. Newly …

Effects Of Ocean Warming And Acidification On Fertilization Success And Early Larval Development In The Green Sea Urchin, Lytechinus Variegatus, Brittney L. Lenz

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is predicted to affect the larval stages of many marine organisms. Ocean warming can reduce larval survival and hasten larval development, whereas ocean acidification can delay larval development. Ocean acidification is especially concerning for marine organisms that develop and grow calcified shells or skeletons in an environment undersaturated with calcium carbonate minerals. This study assessed the effects of ocean warming and acidification on the fertilization and larval development of the green sea urchin, Lytechinus variegatus, a tropical species common in Florida and the Caribbean. After spawning, gametes were fertilized and embryos/larvae were reared at: 1) 28°C and …

Transgenerational Effects Of Thermal Stress: Impacts On And Beyond Coral Reproduction, Alyson Kuba

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Ocean warming causes stress to corals and records reveal that periods of thermal stress are increasing in frequency and severity. Previous studies show that thermal stress negatively impacts the reproductive output of corals. However, the transgenerational impacts of coral bleaching have never been quantified. As a consequence, it is unclear how ocean warming may alter population dynamics due to effects on reproduction and recruitment. This study quantified the transgenerational impacts of thermal stress in Montastraea cavernosa. To assess transgenerational effects of temperature stress during gametogenesis, colonies were exposed to elevated temperature for two weeks four months prior to spawning, …

Natural Vs. Anthropogenic Sedimentation: Does Reducing A Local Stressor Increase Coral Resilience To Climate Change?, Francesca Fourney

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Corals face serious worldwide population declines due to global climate change in combination with direct anthropogenic impacts. Global climate change is difficult to manage locally, but policy makers can regulate the magnitude of local stressors affecting reefs. The objective of this experiment is to investigate if reducing sedimentation will enable reef corals to better endure global climate change. It has been shown that some coral species can handle climate change stress when provided with additional energy resources. Here I tested if the capacity of corals to cope with climate change can be improved when their ability to feed and photosynthesize …

Understanding Basin Specific Life History Characteristics Of Lake Mead Quagga Mussels (Dreissena Bugensis) And A Potential Treatment Using Uv Radiation In Laboratory Studies, Melissa Thaw

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The quagga mussel (Dreissena bugensis) is an aquatic invasive species that is spreading throughout Lake Mead and other western waterways. Unlike their native waters in Eurasia, Lake Mead exhibits year round warm temperatures, high calcium levels and a lack of natural predators, all of which are very favorable conditions for their growth and spread. Dreissena bugensis reproduce and colonize hard surfaces rapidly, where they filter large amounts of water. They disrupt the aquatic food chain and interfere with infrastructure that is exposed to lake water. There is an urgent need to understand Dreissena bugensis life history characteristics within this new …

Limb Regeneration After Multiple Autotomy And Coxae Removal In The Blue Crab Callinectes Sapidus, Jennifer Ambler

OES Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated limb regeneration in the juvenile blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, specifically the role of the coxa and pedal nerve innervation of the regenerative limb bud over time. The coxa is a leg segment that has been defined as the source of positional, cellular, and neuronal information needed for limb regeneration in brachyuran crabs. This study indicates that removal of coxae under regenerative and non-regenerative conditions did not deter limb regeneration. The coxa is not the exclusive location of limb regenerative information since limbs re-grew with normal positional and functional arrangement in 86% of crabs showing regeneration at removal …

The Growth And Bioenergetics Of Callinectes Sapidus Larvae And The Effects Of Diet Quality On Larval Physiology, James J. Pletl

OES Theses and Dissertations

Food quality, especially ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), can affect the physiology and metabolic efficiency of larvae of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. These affects may correlate with success in development and juvenile recruitment.

Larvae were exposed to two diets differing quantitatively in ω3 PUFA and respiration, excretion, growth, and feeding rates were measured for each larval stage and the megalopal stage. The energy partitioned to molts and specific dynamic action was also measured. T

he ω3 PUFA enriched diet resulted in a lower respiration rate when compared to the unsupplemented diet, but there was little differences in excretion …

The Effect Of Crowding On Growth Of The Cichlid Fish, Oreochromis Mossambicus, Bonnie A. Barrows

OES Theses and Dissertations

It has been reported that the Java tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus, displays hypersensitivity to a substance it produces when biomass levels in a flow-through culture system exceed 20 g/1, resulting in reduced growth and high mortality. Experiments on the growth of this species in small tanks were conducted in order to determine whether O. mossambicus produces a growth-inhibiting compound under crowded conditions. This species was successfully maintained at biomass levels of 38 g/1 and 57 g/1 with a total mortality of only 4.5%.

The Java tilapia can grow rapidly in small aquaria, as indicated by the data taken during Experiment …