Life Sciences Commons^™

Chesapeake Bay Marine Environmental Assessment March 1986 - August 1986, Terry L. Bashore, Karen L. Kelly

Reports

No abstract provided.

Striped Bass Research, Virginia - Annual Report 1986-87, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

The research reported herein is directly in response to priorities established in the "Action Plan" of the Emergency Striped Bass Study (the Chafee Amendment (PL 96-118) of the Anadromous Fish Conservation Act (PL 89-304)). The Amendment was the result of a decline in striped bass landings along the Atlantic Coast that began in the mid-1970's. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) ha~ previously conducted a juvenile striped bass seining program from 1967 through 1973 which was discontinued at that point due to a loss of funding. The program was reinstated in 1980 with funding from the National Marine Fisheries …

A Mark-Recapture Study Of Striped Bass In The James River, Virginia : Annual Report 1987, Joseph G. Loesch, William H. Kriete Jr., Bruce W. Hill

Reports

Internal anchor tags with external tubes were used to tag 1,986 striped bass in the James River in the Spring of 1987. The total number tagged was adjusted (at this time) to 823 because of observed and suspected tagging mortality. The available stock of striped bass in the Spring contained both young resident fish and mature nonresident fish which left the area of capture after spawning, presumably to migrate north in coastal waters. The exodus of the mature fish after spawning and the absence of a commercial fishery resulted in only 42 tag returns as of Spring 1988. This proportion …

Field Validation Of Multi-Species Laboratory Test Systems For Estuarine Benthic Communities, Robert J. Diaz, Mark Luckenbach, Sandra Thornton, Morris H. Roberts Jr., Et Al

Reports

The aim of this project was to evaluate the validity of using multi-species laboratory systems to assess the response of eatuarine benthic communities to an introduced stress. Over a 5- year period experiments in Apalachicola Bay, Florida, and the York River, Virginia, sought to (1) develop criteria for microcosm tests for evaluating the capacity of microcosms to model natural communities in the presence and absence of a pollution-induced stress, and (2) assess the validity of extrapolating test results from one location to another. Procedures for constructing, maintaining and sampling microcosms were tested and refined over the study period. A large …

Monogenetic Trematodes From The Southern Pacific Ocean Polyopisthocotyleids From The Australian Fishes, The Subfamily Polylabrinae And Microcotylinae, W. A. Dillon, William J. Hargis Jr., Antonio E. Harrises

Reports

This eighth of a series of monogenetic trematodes from the Southern Pacific Ocean discusses two species of Monogenea from Australian waters. Polylabroides mylionis n. sp., from the gills of Mylio butcheri, is described. Neobivagina agonostomi (Sandars, 1945} Dillon and Hargis, 1965, from the gills of Aldrichett~ forsteri, is redescribed; a new locality record is reported for Neobivagina agonostomi.

Studies Of Pipefish Foraging In Simulated Seagrass Habitats, Clifford H. Ryer

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Laboratory experiments determined the effects of two levels of habitat complexity upon pipefish (Syngnathus fuscus) foraging for amphipods. Habitats were composed of equal densities of either narrow (low complexity) or wide (high complexity) leafed artificial seagrass. The response to habitat, as measured by rate of encounter with amphipods, probability of attack after encounter, probability of success after attack, and overall rate of amphipod consumption, was determined for combinations of two fish size classes and three amphipod size classes. Small fish did not experience visually inhibitive effects in either habitat, while large fish had their visual fields impinged upon in the …

Population Structure Of The White Perch, Morone Americana, In Lower Chesapeake Bay As Inferred From Mitochondrial Dna Restriction Analysis, Brian W. Bowen

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

System Response Of A Nourished Beach In A Low-Energy Estuarine Environment, Gloucester Point, Virginia, Tracy Eanes Skrabal

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The Respiratory Response Of Busycon Canaliculatum (L) To Seasonal Variation Of Water Temperature, Salinity, And Oxygen, Harry Gregory Polites

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Mortality And Time Constraints On Productivity In Yellow-Crowned Night Herons (Nycticorax Violacea), Bryan David Watts

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Contaminants On Estuarine Zooplankton, Brian P. Bradley, Morrris H. Roberts Jr.

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The objectives of the chapter are (1) to evaluate laboratory studies concerning effects of heavy metals, pesticides and oxidants on copepods, mysids, bivalve and decapod larvae (2) access field studies (mainly with copepods) on these and other contaminants which when coupled with laboratory data provide information on known and potential hazards of contaminants to zooplankton and (3) briefly review some bioassay methods used in these studies.

Mercury is the most toxic heavy metal by weight, followed by copper, silver and cadmium. Pesticides have been tested much less extensively than heavy metals. In general, bivalve larvae seem less sensitive than the …

Mollusk Culture For The Chesapeake Bay, Michael Castagna

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The water quality of the Chesapeake Bay has suffered a decline over the last 5 decades due to anthropomorphic activities. Insidious additions of industrial and farm pollutant to the Bay have created a situation where in many areas there are periodic sub lethal levels of chemicals. Although the juveniles and adults seem to survive these levels, they are obviously interfering with some early life stage of the living organisms that make up the bay fauna. Species whose early life history takes place out of the Bay (i.e. Cal!inectes sapidus) are less affected by this problem than those species whose eggs, …

Oyster Spatfall In Virginia Rivers: 1986 Annual Summary, James Whitcomb

Reports

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) conducts weekly surveys from June through early October to obtain oyster spatfall information. Spat counts are made on oyster shells strung on wire and suspended from stakes on public and private beds. The number of spat on shells is counted each week of the spawning season to determine the potential of a particular area for receiving a strike and to predict the most likely period the strikes will occur.

The Assessment Of Commercial Fishing Effort In Virginia 1987, Joice S. Davis, James C. Owens, William H. Kriete Jr., Joseph G. Loesch

Reports

This report summarizes the assessment of commercial fishing effort in Chesapeake Bay and its Virginia tributaries during the period January 1, 1987 through December 31, 1987. Objectives of this study were: 1) to assess pound net fishing effort in Chesapeake Bay, and in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers; and 2) to assess anchor, drift, and stake gill net fishing effort in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers.

The study period covered the calendar year which represents a natural break in fishing effort in Virginia. Data for fyke net and haul seine fisheries, when available, have also been included.

The Use Of Brewers Condensed Solubles In Bivalve Mariculture, David S. Gussman

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Brewers Condensed Solubles (BCS), a by-product of the brewing industry, was evaluated as a nutrient source for rearing juvenile oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and clams (Mercenaria mercenaria). The BCS was used to culture bacteria which were fed to colorless flagellates which were in turn fed to the oysters and clams. The overall growth efficiency of oysters on BCS was 473 mg of oyster (whole weight) per g of BCS (dry weight). Fourteen isolates representing nine genera of bacteria were isolated from BCS enrichment cultures. Specific growth rates of the isolates at &24\sp\circ{lcub}\rm C{rcub}& on a BCS medium ranged from 0.48 &{lcub}\rm …

A Systematic Revision Of Atlantic Tonguefishes (Symphurus: Cynoglossidae: Pleuronectiformes) With A Preliminary Hypothesis Of Species Group Relationships, Thomas A. Munroe

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Four of 29 previously described nominal species of Symphurus are junior synonyms; one sub-species (S. p. plagusia) is accorded full species status (S. tessellatus); two undescribed dwarf species are present in the eastern Atlantic; three new species were found among western Atlantic material; and several Atlantic forms are represented in the eastern Pacific by cognate species. Detailed and expanded descriptions, differential diagnoses, artificial keys and updated ecological information are provided for 29 species occurring in the Atlantic Ocean. Preliminary evidence based upon osteological characters, including interdigitation patterns (ID) of dorsal pterygiophores with neural spines, urohyal shape, caudal skeleton, dentition and …

Tolerance To Soil Type In Rock Outcrop Plants, Nora Ann Coyne Bennett

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Taking Stock: The Import Of European Livestock Into Virginia And Its Impact On Colonial Life, Louise Horowitz Tincher

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Aspects Of The Ecology Of Estuarine Light With Special Reference To Seagrasses Of The Chesapeake Bay: Measurements And Models, Robin Francis Van Tine

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The temporal spectral light environment of shallow areas of the lower Chesapeake Bay was characterized by cosine collection of downwelling diffuse irradiance at 12 wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm. An extensive monthly and site comparison of spectral attenuation coefficients is presented and compared with previous measurements of the light quality environment of the Chesapeake Bay and other estuaries and marine waters. Spectral irradiance and attenuation of light in a mangrove creek and Thalassia testudinum bed of Laguna de Terminos, Campeche, Mexico and their relationships to wind-driven suspension of particulate matter, and dissolved substances from the mangrove swamp is also …

Identification And Distribution Of Urophycis (Gill) And Phycis (Artedi) Larvae And Pelagic Juveniles In The Middle Atlantic Bight, Bruce Henry Comyns

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Degradation And Mineralization Of Chitin In An Estuary, Joseph N. Boyer

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

A method for measuring microbial degradation and mineralization of radiolabeled native chitin is described. ('14)C-labeled chitin was synthesized in vivo by injecting shed blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) with N-acetyl-D- ('14)C -glucosamine, allowing for its incorporation into the exoskeleton. The cuticle had a total organic content of 0.48 mg C mg('-1) with a specific radioactivity of 6762 DPM mg('-1). Glucosamine i.e. chitin content, as determined colorimetrically, was 22% (w/w). Rates of chitin degradation and mineralization in estuarine water and sediments were determined as functions of temperature, inoculum source, and oxygen condition. Significant differences in rates between temperature treatments were evident. Q(,10) …