Life Sciences Commons^™

Cranial Morphology Of The Stellate Sturgeon, Acipenser Stellatus Pallas 1771 (Acipenseriformes, Acipenseridae), With Notes On The Skulls Of Other Sturgeons, Eric J. Hilton, Casey B. Dillman, Marian Paraschiv, Radu Suciu

VIMS Articles

Extant members of Acipenseridae are generally classified in four genera: Scaphirhynchus, Pseudoscaphirhynchus, Huso and “Acipenser,” which is widely recognized to be paraphyletic. Advances have been made in understanding the systematic relationships among sturgeons based on both morphological and molecular data. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA data suggested that Pseudoscaphirhynchus should be regarded as nested within “Acipenser,” specifically as sister group to the Stellate Sturgeon, A. stellatus. Recent morphological analyses also recovered this relationship, supported by a number of osteological synapomorphies, although these results were based on few and relatively small individuals. Here we describe …

A Subtropical Nudibranch, Polycera Hummi (Abbott 1952), Described For The First Time From Virginia, Wissan A. Jawad, Stacy A. Kruger-Hadfield, Paige G. Ross

VIMS Articles

We collected an individual Polycera hummi, a subtropical nudibranch, in association with a green macroalga Ulva sp. from an intertidal oyster reef in Burtons Bay, Wachapreague, VA. The established range of P. hummi is based solely on a handful of records from Mississippi and Florida in the Gulf of Mexico and the Carolinas in the Atlantic Ocean. This finding marks the highest latitude that this species has been found, 350 km north of its previously established range from Mississippi to Beaufort, NC. We observed the individual actively navigate the Ulva thallus which had encrusting bryozoans (unidentified genus) and arborescent …

A Taxonomic Review Of The Family Trachipteridae (Lampridiformes), With An Emphasis On Taxa Distributed In The Western Pacific Ocean, Jennifer Martin, Eric J. Hilton

VIMS Articles

The family Trachipteridae—the Ribbonfishes, Dealfishes, and their relatives—has a circumglobal distribution, with at least 10 species in three genera (Zu Walters & Fitch 1960, Desmodema Walters & Fitch 1960, and Trachipterus Goüan 1770) that are characterized by elongate, extremely laterally compressed bodies, large eyes, absence of ribs, spines on lateral-line scales, greatly protrusible mouths, and a lack of pelvic fins in adults. They are also known for the drastic morphological changes that occur during ontogeny. Trachipterids are poorly represented in collections due to the fragile nature of their bodies. Most studies of the Trachipteridae have been limited by the …

A Common Love Of Science: The One-Hundredth Meeting Of The American Society Of Ichthyologists And Herpetologists, Eric J. Hilton, Aaron M. Bauer, Katherine E. Bemis, Et Al

VIMS Articles

One of the most important functions of an academic society such as the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) is to host conferences for colleagues to directly share and debate ideas and data. Academic society meetings have a long history that grew from social meetings of the privileged in the 16^th and 17^th centuries during which scientific topics were discussed. Scientific meetings of any nature can provide a stimulating environment to discuss and argue points (Unglow, 2002), as alluded to by Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) in the epigraph, which was written with fond memory of the Lunar Society …

Effects Of Embryonic Exposure To Salinity Stress Or Hypoxia On Post-Metamorphic Growth And Survival Of The Polychaete Capitella Teleta, Ja Pechenik, Or Chaparro, A Pilnick, M Karp, M Acquafredda, R Burns

VIMS Articles

Although a good number of studies have investigated the impact of larval experience on aspects of post-metamorphic performance, only a few have considered the potential impact of stresses experienced by brooded embryos. In this study we separately investigated the impact of salinity stress (as low as 10) and hypoxia (1 ml O2 1 sub-1) experienced by brooded embryos of the deposit-feeding polychaete Capitella teleta on hatching success, metamorphosis, post-metamorphic survival, and post-metamorphic growth. Salinity reduction from 30 to 10 or 15 reduced relative hatching success, presumably by reducing embryonic survival, but generally had no negative latent effects on juvenile survival …

Relative Strengths Of Competition For Space And Food In A Sessile Filter Feeder, David P. Lohse

VIMS Articles

Previous workers have demonstrated that sessile filter feeders compete for food and space, but little is known about the relative strengths of these two processes. To determine this, the density and position of barnacles (Balanus improvisus) in a unidirectional current were manipulated to alter the amount of competition for space and food, respectively. Results indicated that competition for space significantly reduced growth, and marginally reduced survivorship. Competition for food was also detected, but only among uncrowded individuals; thus, it appears to be the weaker of the two interactions. However, under crowded conditions, downstream individuals actually grew more than those upstream. …

Rhynchocoela: Nemerteans From Marine And Estuarine Waters In Virginia, William E. Mccaul

VIMS Articles

This paper presents twenty-two species of nemerteans collected from various habitats in the York River, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Eastern Shore of Virginia during the summer of l962. For the presentation of supplementary descriptions, this number includes those already reported from the Chesapeake area (Ferguson and Jones, 1949) , besides seventeen species not previously reported from this region and two newly described species.

Monogenetic Trematodes Of Gulf Of Mexico Fishes. Part Xii. The Family Gastrocotylidae Price, 1943, William J. Hargis Jr.

VIMS Articles

This paper is the twelfth installment of the present series presenting the data concerning monogenetic trematodes collected during the years 1951-1954 at the Alligator Harbor Marine Laboratory of Florida State University. It comprises an emendation of the family Gastrocotylidae Price, 1943 and the subfamily Gastrocotylinae Sproston,1946 and descriptions and/or discussions of several species.

The new genera Scomberocotyle and Neothoracocotyle have been diagnosed with Scomberocotyle scomberomori (Koratha, 1955) n. comb. and Neothoracocotyle coryphenae (Yamaguti, 1938) n. comb., respectively as their type species. Emendations have been made in Gotocotyla Ishii, 1933, Thoracocotyle MacCallum, 1913, and Lithidocotyle Sproston, 1946. Pseudaxine mexicana Meserve, 1938, …

The Freshwater Medusa, Craspedacusta Sowerbii, In Matoaka Lake, Williamsburg, Virginia, Ernest F. Tresselt

VIMS Articles

The freshwater jellyfish, Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester, has been described from at least 19 of the 48 states (Schmitt, '39). In spite of an apparently widespread distribution it is sufficiently rare that records of its occurrence are noteworthy. Approximately 200 medusae of this species were seen in Matoaka Lake, Williamsburg, Va., on July 18, 1949.