Life Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Striped Bass Stocks In Virginia, Monitoring And Tagging Studies, 2010-2014 Progress Report, 1 September 2012 - 31 August 2013, Philip W. Sadler, Matthew W. Smith, John M. Hoenig, Shelley E. Sullivan, Robert E. Harris, Lydia M. Goins

Reports

This report presents the results of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) tagging and monitoring activities in Virginia during the period 1 September 2012 through 31 August 2013. It includes an assessment of the biological characteristics of striped bass taken from the 2013 spring spawning run, estimates of annual survival and fishing mortality based on annual spring tagging, and the results of the study that documents the prevalence of mycobacterial infections of striped bass in Chesapeake Bay. The information contained in this report is required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and is used to implement a coordinated management plan for …

Particle Retention In Suspension-Feeding Fish After Removal Of Filtration Structures, Jennifer C. Smith, S. Laurie Sanderson

Arts & Sciences Articles

The suspension-feeding cichlids Oreochromis aureus (blue tilapia) and Oreochromis esculentus (ngege tilapia) are able to selectively retain small food particles. The gill rakers and microbranchiospines of these species have been assumed to function as filters. However, surgical removal of these oral structures, which also removed associated mucus, did not significantly affect the total number of 11–200 μm particles ingested by the fish. This result supports the hypothesis that the branchial arch surfaces themselves play an important role in crossflow filtration. Both species selectively retained microspheres greater than 50 μm with gill rakers and microbranchiospines intact as well as removed, …

Invertebrate Identification Guide For Chesmmap And Neamap Diet Analysis Studies, Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring And Assessment Program

Reports

This is a compilation of identification resources for invertebrates found in stomach samples. By no means is it a complete list of all possible prey types. It is simply what has been found in past ChesMMAP and NEAMAP diet studies.

Use Of Guidance To Preserve And Protect Wetlands, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Rivers & Coast is a periodic publication of the Center for Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The goal of Rivers & Coast is to keep readers well informed of current scientific understanding behind key environmental issues related to watershed rivers and coastal ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay.

Occurrence And Distribution Of The Freshwater Amphipodsgammarus Pseudolimnaeus And Gammarus Fasciatus Insoutheastern Virginia, Randolph Chambers

Arts & Sciences Articles

The freshwater amphipod, Gammarus fasciatus, and a population that keys to Gammarus pseudolimnaeusare broadly sympatric in southeastern Virginia. By documenting the successful formation of pre-copulatory mate-guarding pairs between individuals collected from Virginia and New York, we confirmed the occurrence of a G. pseudolimnaeus population strongly disjunct from the previously described range in the Mississippi and St. Lawrence River drainage basins. Gammarus pseudolimnaeus appears restricted to high-quality, spring-fed streams that occur at low density across an increasingly fragmented natural landscape in Virginia. Gammarus fasciatus, however, occurs in lakes and streams of developed landscapes that typically are more degraded, …

Short Report: Gongylonema Pulchrum Infection In A Resident Of Williamsburg, Virginia, Verified By Genetic Analysis, Jonathan D. Allen, Aurora Esquela-Kerscher

Arts & Sciences Articles

We describe the thirteenth reported case of human infection with Gongylonema spp. in the United States and the first to be confirmed as Gongylonema pulchrum. The parasite described was isolated from the oral cavity of a resident of Williamsburg, Virginia. The identity of the parasite was verified through morphological and genetic approaches, and provided the first genetic confirmation of a Gongylonema sp. in humans.

Dissolved And Particulate Organic Carbon Fluxes From An Agricultural Watershed During Consecutive Tropical Storms, Randolph Chambers

Arts & Sciences Articles

Low‐frequency high‐magnitude hydrologic events mobilize a disproportionate amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from watersheds, but few studies measure the role of extreme storms in exporting organic carbon from croplands. We use high‐resolution measurements of storm runoff to quantify DOC and particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes from an agricultural field during consecutive tropical storms that delivered 41 cm of rainfall to the Virginia Coastal Plain. Over a 2 week period, we measured exports of 22 kg DOC ha−1 and 11.3 kg POC ha−1. Ultraviolet absorbance measurements indicate that the aromatic DOC fraction systematically increased as plant‐derived aliphatic carbon was depleted …

Establishing Field-Based Evidence For The Effects Of Hypoxia On The Reproductive Capacity Of Chesapeake Bay Fishes., Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

No abstract provided.

Final Report An Inventory Of The Sea Scallop Resource In The Georges Bank Closed Area Ii And Surrounds, David Rudders, William D. Dupaul, Jessica Bergeron

Reports

No abstract provided.

Final Report An Assessment Of Sea Scallop Abundance And Distribution In A Selected Closed Area: Nantucket Lightship Closed Area, David Rudders, William D. Dupaul, Jessica Bergeron

Reports

No abstract provided.

Final Report An Assessment Of Sea Scallop Abundance And Distribution In Selected Areas: The Hudson Canyon And Delmarva Closed Area And Inshore Areas Of The New York Bight, David B. Rudders, William D. Dupaul, Jessica Bergeron

Reports

No abstract provided.

Final Report Discrimination Of Cownose Ray, Rhinoptera Bonasus, Stocks Based On Microsatellite Dna Markers, Jan R. Mcdowell, Robert A. Fisher

Reports

No abstract provided.

Economic Activity Associated With Shellfish Aquaculture In Virginia – 2012, Thomas J. Murray, Karen Hudson

Reports

No abstract provided.

2013 Annual Report Estimating Relative Juvenile Abundance Of Ecologically Important Finfish In The Virginia Portion Of Chesapeake Bay Project Number: F‐104‐R‐17, Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

No abstract provided.

Does Presence Of A Mid-Ocean Ridge Enhance Biomass And Biodiversity?, Ig Priede, Oa Bergstad, Pi Miller, M Vecchione, A Gebruk, Et Al, Tt Sutton

VIMS Articles

In contrast to generally sparse biological communities in open-ocean settings, seamounts and ridges are perceived as areas of elevated productivity and biodiversity capable of supporting commercial fisheries. We investigated the origin of this apparent biological enhancement over a segment of the North Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) using sonar, corers, trawls, traps, and a remotely operated vehicle to survey habitat, biomass, and biodiversity. Satellite remote sensing provided information on flow patterns, thermal fronts, and primary production, while sediment traps measured export flux during 2007-2010. The MAR, 3,704,404 km 2 in area, accounts for 44.7% lower bathyal habitat (800-3500 m depth) in the …

Annual Report - 2012 Data Collection And Analysis In Support Of Single And Multispecies Stock Assessments In Chesapeake Bay:The Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring And Assessment Program, Christopher F. Bonzek, James Gartland, Debra J. Gauthier, Robert J. Latour

Reports

Historically, fisheries management has been based on the results of single-species stock assessment models that focus on the interplay between exploitation level and sustainability. There currently exists a suite of standard and accepted analytical frameworks (e.g., virtual population analysis (VPA), biomass dynamic production modeling, delay difference models, etc.) for assessing the stocks, projecting future stock size, evaluating recovery schedules and rebuilding strategies for overfished stocks, setting allowable catches, and estimating fishing mortality or exploitation rates. A variety of methods also exist to integrate the biological system and the fisheries resource system, thereby enabling the evaluation of alternative management strategies on …

Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2012, Susanna Musick, Lewis Gillingham

Reports

Through 2012, the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program has maintained a 18-year database of records for tagged and recaptured fish. The program is a cooperative project of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (under the Virginia Marine Resources Commission-VMRC) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) of the College of William and Mary (under the VIMS Marine Advisory Program).

Monitoring Relative Abundance Of American Shad In Virginia Rivers 2012 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Rob Latour, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

Concern about the decline in landings of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) along the Atlantic coast prompted the development of an interstate fisheries management plan (FMP) under the auspices of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Management Program (ASMFC 1999). Legislation enables imposition of federal sanctions on fishing in those states that fail to comply with the FMP. To be in compliance, coastal states are required to implement and maintain fishery-dependent and fishery-independent monitoring programs as specified by the FMP. For Virginia, these requirements include spawning stock assessments, the collection of biological data on the spawning run (e.g., age-structure, sex ratio, and …

Ecosystem Effects Of Shell Aggregations And Cycling In Coastal Waters: An Example Of Chesapeake Bay Oyster Reefs, G G. Waldbusser, E N. Powell, Roger L. Mann

VIMS Articles

Disease, overharvesting, and pollution have impaired the role of bivalves on coastal ecosystems, some to the point of functional extinction. An underappreciated function of many bivalves in these systems is shell formation. The ecological significance of bivalve shell has been recognized; geochemical effects are now more clearly being understood. A positive feedback exists between shell aggregations and healthy bivalve populations in temperate estuaries, thus linking population dynamics to shell budgets and alkalinity cycling. On oysterreefs a balanced shell budget requires healthy long-lived bivalves to maximize shell input permortality event thereby countering shell loss. Active and dense populations of filter-feeding bivalves …

The Launch: Comprehensive Coastal Resource Management Plans For Local Governments, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Rivers & Coast is a periodic publication of the Center for Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The goal of Rivers & Coast is to keep readers well informed of current scientific understanding behind key environmental issues related to watershed rivers and coastal ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay.

Photochemical And Microbial Alteration Of Dissolved Organic Matter In Temperate Headwater Streams Associated With Different Land Use, Randolph Chambers

Arts & Sciences Articles

Photochemical and microbial transformations of DOM were evaluated in headwater streams draining forested and human‐modified lands (pasture, cropland, and urban development) by laboratory incubations. Changes in DOC concentrations, DOC isotopic signatures, and DOM fluorescence properties were measured to assess the amounts, sources, ages, and properties of reactive and refractory DOM under the influence of photochemistry and/or bacteria. DOC in streams draining forest‐dominated watersheds was more photoreactive than in streams draining mostly human‐modified watersheds, possibly due to greater contributions of terrestrial plant‐derived DOC and lower amounts of prior light exposure in forested streams. Overall, the percentage of photoreactive DOC in stream …

Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation And Outlook Report : Results Of The 2012 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey, Thomas J. Murray, Karen Hudson

Reports

The shellfish aquaculture industry in Virginia continues to grow, adding significant value to the state’s seafood marketplace. Today, watermen continue to harvest both hard clams and oysters from the state’s public resources, albeit at diminished rates. At the same time, Virginia’s watermen-farmers are providing growing quantities of additional quality shellfish to consumers. In recent years, folliowing the lead of the hard clam industry, a significant transition to intensive aquaculture of native oysters is underway. The once-extensive oyster planting utilizing wild seed has contracted primarily as a result of endemic oyster diseases and increasing wildlife predation of seed oysters. In its …

Estimating Relative Abundance Of Young-Of-Year American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Virginia Tributaries Of Chesapeake Bay (Spring 2012), Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) adopted the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the American Eel in November 1999. The FMP focuses on increasing coastal states’ efforts to collect American Eel data through both fishery-dependent and fishery-independent studies. Consequently, member jurisdictions agreed to implement an annual survey for young-of-year (YOY) American Eels. The survey is intended to “…characterize trends in annual recruitment of the YOY eels over time [to produce a] qualitative appraisal of the annual recruitment of American Eel to the U.S. Atlantic Coast” (ASMFC 2000). The development of these 4 surveys began in 2000 with full …

Northeast Area Monitoring And Assessment Program (Neamap) 2012 Data Collection And Analysis In Support Of Single And Multispecies Stock Assessments In The Mid-Atlantic: Northeast Area Monitoring And Assessment Program Near Shore Trawl Survey Final Report, Christopher F. Bonzek, James Gartland, Debra J. Gauthier, Robert J. Latour

Reports

Concerns regarding the status of fishery-independent data collection from continental shelf waters between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and the U.S. / Canadian border led the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Management and Science Committee (MSC) to draft a resolution in 1997 calling for the formation of the Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (NEAMAP) (ASMFC 2002). NEAMAP is a cooperative state-federal program modeled after the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP), which has been coordinating fishery-independent data collection south of Cape Hatteras since the mid1980s (Rester 2001). The four main goals of this new program directly address the …

High Levels Of Maternally Transferred Mercury Do Not Affect Reproductive Output Or Embryonic Survival Of Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia Sipedon), S Y. Chinn, J D. Willson, Daniel A. Cristol, D V.V. Drewett, W A. Hopkins

Arts & Sciences Articles

No abstract provided.

Multiple Predator Species Alter Prey Behavior, Population Growth, And A Trophic Cascade In A Model Estuarine Food Web, Pl Reynolds, Jf Bruno

VIMS Articles

Predators can influence prey population dynamics by affecting prey behaviors with strong fitness consequences, with cascading effects on lower trophic levels. Here, we demonstrate that multiple predator species can nonconsumptively influence prey population growth and the strength of a trophic cascade in a model marine community. We exposed the herbivorous amphipod Ampithoe longimana to olfactory and visual cues from three common predators (pinfish, mud crabs, brown shrimp) singly and together in a multiple-predator assemblage to quantify the nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) of predator identity and the presence of multiple predators on prey population and community-level metrics. The presence of predator cues, …

Temporal Shifts In Top-Down Vs. Bottom-Up Control Of Epiphytic Algae In A Seagrass Ecosystem, Ma Whalen, Je Duffy, Jb Grace

VIMS Articles

In coastal marine food webs, small invertebrate herbivores (mesograzers) have long been hypothesized to occupy an important position facilitating dominance of habitat-forming macrophytes by grazing competitively superior epiphytic algae. Because of the difficulty of manipulating mesograzers in the field, however, their impacts on community organization have rarely been rigorously documented. Understanding mesograzer impacts has taken on increased urgency in seagrass systems due to declines in seagrasses globally, caused in part by widespread eutrophication favoring seagrass overgrowth by faster-growing algae. Using cage-free field experiments in two seasons (fall and summer), we present experimental confirmation that mesograzer reduction and nutrients can promote …

A Novel Report Of Hatching Plasticity In The Phylum Echinodermata, A Frances Armstrong, Holly N. Blackburn, Jonathan D. Allen

Arts & Sciences Articles

Hatching plasticity occurs in response to a wide range of stimuli across many animal taxa, including annelids, arthropods, mollusks, and chordates. Despite the prominence of echinoderms in developmental biology and more than 100 years of detailed examination of their development under a variety of conditions, environmentally cued hatching plasticity has never been reported in the phylum Echinodermata. Here we report plasticity in the timing and stage of hatching of embryos of the sand dollar Echinarachnius parma in response to reductions in salinity. Embryos of E. parma increased their time to hatching more than twofold in response to ecologically relevant salinity …

Evaluation Of Striped Bass Stocks In Virginia, Monitoring And Tagging Studies, 2010-2014 Progress Report, 1 September 2011 - 31 August 2012, Philip W. Sadler, Mathew W. Smith, John M. Hoenig, Shelley E. Sullivan, Robert E. Harris, Lydia M. Gions

Reports

This report presents the results of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) tagging and monitoring activities in Virginia during the period 1 September 2011 through 31 August 2012. It includes an assessment of the biological characteristics of striped bass taken from the 2012 spring spawning run, estimates of annual survival and fishing mortality based on annual spring tagging, and the results of the study that documents the prevalence of mycobacterial infections of striped bass in Chesapeake Bay. The information contained in this report is required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and is used to implement a coordinated management plan for …

Marine Resource Bulletin Vol. 45, No. 1, Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Virginia Marine Resource Bulletin

In This Issue

Taking Stock of Working Waterfronts 2

An inventory of Virginia’s working waterfronts will help communities maintain the water access that is crucial to a variety of marine business and recreational uses.

Up Close 6

Virginia Sea Grant researcher Jessica Thompson and her students are taking a careful look at how an important little fish uses man-made living shorelines.

Global Aquaculture Starts at Home 8

Aquaculture is an important component of the future world food supply, and VASG staff are helping ensure it will be profitable and safe —in Virginia and around the world.

Virginia Sea Grant News …