Life Sciences Commons^™

Assessment Of Organic And Metal Contaminants In Lower Back Bay And Upper Currituck Sound, Kate Benkert

V. Poster Abstracts

Studies were conducted at Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge in 1988 and 1989 to provide baseline data for an assessment of organic chemicals and metal contaminants in the aquatic ecosystem. Longnose gar, gizzard shad, snapping turtles, common rangia clams and sediments were collected from sites in lower Back Bay and upper Currituck Sound for contaminant analyses.

Composite sediment samples were analyzed for the presence of metals, organochlorine pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Organochlorine pesticides were not detected in the sediments. Various PAH compounds were detected in the sediments, although at trace concentrations which just exceeded the analytical detection limit …

Environmental Education: A Chance For The Future, Ben Mathias

V. Poster Abstracts

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to providing environmental education opportunities for the Nation's student body. Local, regional and national educators are invited to investigate and utilize the resources of Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge with their colleagues and students. Teacher workshops at the Refuge provide orientation to Refuge lands, outdoor classroom sites, trails, interpretive facilities and equipment, and potential field activities. Refuge staff members are available to assist with: • Preliminary planning • Group scheduling • Library research • Workshop registration • Trip logistics and • On-site group orientation. Most classroom sites, associated trails/boardwalks, and Visitor Contact …

Observations Of The Phytoplankton Standing Crop At The Shelf Margin Of The Mid Atlantic Bight, Bruce B. Wagoner, Harold G. Marshall

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

A comparison of the total percentage cell abundance and cell biovolume relationships of major phytoplankton categories was made between two station sets across the shelf margin. Diatom values for abundance and biovolume were greater at oceanic stations compared to the outer shelf stations, with dinoflagellates having the reverse pattern. The composite contributions to biovolume and abundance in the standing crop from other phytoplankton categories were greater over the outer shelf than beyond the shelf margin. The major source of biovolume (biomass) from the outer shelf and these oceanic stations came from the diatoms and dinoflagellates, with an average mean of …

Development And Evaluation Of Tracer Particles For Use In Microzooplankton Herbivory Studies, Mary Putt

OES Faculty Publications

Two methods of preparing algae for use as tracer particles in single species measurements of microzooplankton herbivory were evaluated. Algae were either heat-killed and labelled with 5-(4,6-dichlorotriazin-2-yl amino fluorescein) (DTAF) (Rublee & Gallegos 1989; Mar, Ecol. Prog. Ser. 51: 221-227) or stained with hydroethidine (HYD). Both DTAF and HYD-stained algae were readily visible within the digestive vacuoles of most microzooplankton collected in estuarine and coastal waters of Massachusetts (USA) and preserved with Lugol's iodine. However, DTAF was ineffective at staining several chromophytic algae and the heat-kill process reduced cell volume by ≥ 50% in several of the algae which were …

Cell Surface-Binding Sites For Progesterone Mediate Calcium Uptake In Human Sperm, Peter F. Blackmore, Joseph Neulan, Frank Lattanzio, Stephen J. Beebe

Bioelectrics Publications

Recent studies (e.g. Blackmore, P. F., Beebe, S. J., Danforth, D. R., and Alexander, N.) (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 1376-1380) have shown that in human sperm, progesterone produces a rapid increase in intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i) and an induction of the acrosome reaction (e.g. Osman, R. A., Andria, M. L., Jones, A. D., and Meizel, S. (1989) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 160, 828-833). In this study, the location of progesterone receptors on the cell surface of human sperm was identified using progesterone immobilized on bovine serum albumin (BSA) (progesterone 3-(O-carboxymethyl)oxime:BSA) as well as progesterone and its 3-O-carboxymethyloxime derivative. Using …

Rx For Success At Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge: Take Two Committed Partners-Add Water, Janet Taylor, Julia Herrick, Ben Mathias

V. Poster Abstracts

As part of a major effort to improve habitats for waterfowl and other wetland-dependent wildlife, Ducks Unlimited, Inc. is contributing $187,500 in matching funds to help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rehabilitate wetland impoundments at Back Bay NWR.

The three-year project will increase Refuge management capabilities on existing wetland areas, create 300 acres of new marsh habitat and increase water management flexibility throughout the impoundment system. Components of the project include:

• Raising and re-sloping 8 miles of existing dikes
• Installing 13 new water control structures
• Constructing 6,000 feet of new dikes
• Creating two storage pools totalling 53 acres and …

U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Back Bay Initiative: Goals And Objectives, David A. Stilwell

V. Poster Abstracts

Back Bay has historically been noted for its abundant wildlife and fisheries. A testimony to this fact has been the establishment of two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuges (Back Bay and Mackey Island National Wildlife Refuges), three Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Waterfowl Management Areas (Pocahontas, Barbours's Hill, and Trojan Waterfowl Management Areas) and a State park (False Cape State Park). Back Bay has been a major stopover point for waterfowl in the North Atlantic flyway, it had prodigious submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) beds and an outstanding fisheries. Since the l 920's these resources have …

Refuge Land Acquisition: Helping Preserve Back Bay's Wildlife Heritage, Julia Herrick, Ben Mathias, Janet Taylor

V. Poster Abstracts

The once-renowned waterfowl populations and bass fishery of Back Bay, Virginia have declined dramatically in recent years. Lands surrounding Back Bay are increasingly threatened by on-going and potential land development. These lands serve as an important filter for pollutant and sediment-laden runoff from adjacent areas. The boundary of the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge was expanded in 1989 to include an additional 6,340 acres of brackish marsh, forested swamp, and "critical edge" upland habitat, important to a variety of wildlife species and for its natural filtering effect. Within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's policy of working with willing sellers, …

Feeding By Reticulitermes Spp., Deborah A. Waller

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Activator-Inhibitor Control Of Tissue Growth, John A. Adam

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

This note develops a simple model for the competition between activator and inhibitor control mechanisms in one-dimensional tissue growth. The pedagogic usefulness of such a model is that it is easily accessible to undergraduate applied mathematicians and is suggestive of behavior known to occur in more realistic biological systems (e.g., some types of cancer). The limitations of the model are obvious and can provide a basis for discussion of the applicability of complementary levels of description in mathematical modeling.

Seasonal Phytoplankton Assemblages Associated With The Chesapeake Bay Plume, Harold G. Marshall

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Waters associated with the Chesapeake Bay plume were highly variable, unstable, and subject to the influence of flow patterns into and out of the Bay. Seasonal phytoplankton assemblages were identified for this region, with the phytoplankton development similar to the seasonal spring-fall growth maxima over the shelf, yet influenced by the multi-pulsed patterns often noted in the lower Bay. Major dominants included species common to both the shelf and lower Chesapeake Bay.

Sediment Denitrification Potential In The Elizabeth River, Virginia, Surena Fazeli-Matin, Andrew S. Gordon, Harold G. Marshall

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Sediment denitrification potential from two sites in the Elizabeth River estuary was studied over a nine-month period using the acetylene blockage method. Rates of microbial processes in this environment are of interest because of the high concentration of toxics present in some parts of the system. Highest rates were found in the highly polluted Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River with nitrate amended sediment ranging from 2-262 nmol N₂0/h per 20ml of sediment and exhibiting maximal rates during spring and fall. Rates in the Main Stem of the Elizabeth River were lower, with less than 1-85 nmol N …