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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Habitat Utilization And Vertical Distribution Of The Great Barracuda Sphyraena Barracuda (Edwards 1771) In The Western North Atlantic Using Electronic Archival Tags, Noah R. Hansen, David W. Kerstetter Dec 2015

Habitat Utilization And Vertical Distribution Of The Great Barracuda Sphyraena Barracuda (Edwards 1771) In The Western North Atlantic Using Electronic Archival Tags, Noah R. Hansen, David W. Kerstetter

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The Great Barracuda Sphyraena barracuda is a large predatory teleost commonly seen in the tropics of the Western North Atlantic. Using pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs), two large Great Barracuda (101 and 104 cm FL) were tagged off South Florida for a 15-day deployment period. Great Barracuda 88094 traveled 471 km minimum straight-line distance (MSLD) over the deployment duration, while Great Barracuda 88095 traveled 1231 km MSLD. Great barracuda 88094 achieved a maximum depth of 145.2 m, while 88095 to a maximum depth of 186.9 m, although such movements were for short time durations. The data obtained indicate significant differences …


Semi-Automated Object-Based Classification Of Coral Reef Habitat Using Discrete Choice Models, Steven Saul, Samuel J. Purkis Dec 2015

Semi-Automated Object-Based Classification Of Coral Reef Habitat Using Discrete Choice Models, Steven Saul, Samuel J. Purkis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

As for terrestrial remote sensing, pixel-based classifiers have traditionally been used to map coral reef habitats. For pixel-based classifiers, habitat assignment is based on the spectral or textural properties of each individual pixel in the scene. More recently, however, object-based classifications, those based on information from a set of contiguous pixels with similar properties, have found favor with the reef mapping community and are starting to be extensively deployed. Object-based classifiers have an advantage over pixel-based in that they are less compromised by the inevitable inhomogeneity in per-pixel spectral response caused, primarily, by variations in water depth. One aspect of …


A Scientific Basis For Regulating Deep-Sea Fishing By Depth, Jo Clarke, Rosanna Milligan, David M. Bailey, Francis Neat Sep 2015

A Scientific Basis For Regulating Deep-Sea Fishing By Depth, Jo Clarke, Rosanna Milligan, David M. Bailey, Francis Neat

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The deep sea is the world’s largest ecosystem, with high levels of biodiversity and many species that exhibit life-history characteristics thatmake them vulnerable to high levels of exploitation. Many fisheries in the deep sea have a track record of being unsustainable. In the northeast Atlantic, there has been a decline in the abundance of commercial fish species since deep-sea fishing commenced in the 1970s. Current management is by effort restrictions and total allowable catch (TAC), but there remain problems with compliance and high levels of bycatch of vulnerable species such as sharks. The European Union is currently considering new legislation …


Leucothoe Eltoni Sp. N., A New Species Of Commensal Leucothoid Amphipod From Coral Reefs In Raja Ampat, Indonesia (Crustacea, Amphipoda), James Darwin Thomas Aug 2015

Leucothoe Eltoni Sp. N., A New Species Of Commensal Leucothoid Amphipod From Coral Reefs In Raja Ampat, Indonesia (Crustacea, Amphipoda), James Darwin Thomas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A new species of leucothoid amphipod, Leucothoe eltoni sp. n., is described from coral reefs in Raja Ampat, Indonesia where it inhabits the branchial chambers of solitary tunicates. With an inflated first gnathopod superficially resembling the genus Paraleucothoe, this new species has a two-articulate maxilla 1 palp characteristic of the genus Leucothoe. While described from coral reef environments in tropical Indonesia and the Philippines, it is an established invasive species in the Hawaiian Islands. The most likely mode of introduction was a US Navy dry dock transported to Pearl Harbor in 1992 from Subic Bay, Philippines.


A New Species Of The Ceratioid Anglerfish Genus Lasiognathus Regan (Lophiiformes: Oneirodidae) From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Theodore W. Pietsch, Tracey Sutton Jul 2015

A New Species Of The Ceratioid Anglerfish Genus Lasiognathus Regan (Lophiiformes: Oneirodidae) From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Theodore W. Pietsch, Tracey Sutton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A new species of the deep-sea ceratioid anglerfish genus Lasiognathus Regan (family Oneirodidae) is described on the basis of three female specimens collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Not especially similar to any of the five previously described members of the genus, the new species is unique in having a cylindrical, internally pigmented, anterior escal appendage and a pair of elongate distal escal appendages. The new species is diagnosed and described, and a revised key to the species of the genus is provided.


Repeated, Long-Distance Migrations By A Philopatric Predator Targeting Highly Contrasting Ecosystems, James S. E. Lea, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Nuno Queiroz, Neil Burnie, Choy Aming, Lara L. Sousa, Gonzalo R. Mucientes, Nicolas E. Humphries, Guy Harvey, David W. Sims, Mahmood S. Shivji Jun 2015

Repeated, Long-Distance Migrations By A Philopatric Predator Targeting Highly Contrasting Ecosystems, James S. E. Lea, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Nuno Queiroz, Neil Burnie, Choy Aming, Lara L. Sousa, Gonzalo R. Mucientes, Nicolas E. Humphries, Guy Harvey, David W. Sims, Mahmood S. Shivji

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Long-distance movements of animals are an important driver of population spatial dynamics and determine the extent of overlap with area-focused human activities, such as fishing. Despite global concerns of declining shark populations, a major limitation in assessments of population trends or spatial management options is the lack of information on their long-term migratory behaviour. For a large marine predator, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier, we show from individuals satellitetracked for multiple years (up to 1101 days) that adult males undertake annually repeated, roundtrip migrations of over 7,500km in the northwest Atlantic. Notably, these migrations occurred between the highly disparate …


An International Assessment Of Mangrove Management: Incorporation In Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Haille N. Carter, Steffen W. Schmidt, Amy Hirons Jun 2015

An International Assessment Of Mangrove Management: Incorporation In Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Haille N. Carter, Steffen W. Schmidt, Amy Hirons

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Due to increasing recognition of the benefits provided by mangrove ecosystems, protection policies have emerged under both wetland and forestry programs. However, little consistency remains among these programs and inadequate coordination exists among sectors of government. With approximately 123 countries containing mangroves, the need for global management of these ecosystems is crucial to sustain the industries (i.e., fisheries, timber, and tourism) and coastal communities that mangroves support and protect. To determine the most effective form of mangrove management, this review examines management guidelines, particularly those associated with Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). Five case studies were reviewed to further explore …


Coral Settlement On A Highly Disturbed Equatorial Reef System, Andrew G. Bauman, James R. Guest, Glenn Dunshea, Jeffrey Low, Peter A. Todd, Peter D. Steinberg May 2015

Coral Settlement On A Highly Disturbed Equatorial Reef System, Andrew G. Bauman, James R. Guest, Glenn Dunshea, Jeffrey Low, Peter A. Todd, Peter D. Steinberg

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Processes occurring early in the life stages of corals can greatly influence the demography of coral populations, and successful settlement of coral larvae that leads to recruitment is a critical life history stage for coral reef ecosystems. Although corals in Singapore persist in one the world’s most anthropogenically impacted reef systems, our understanding of the role of coral settlement in the persistence of coral communities in Singapore remains limited. Spatial and temporal patterns of coral settlement were examined at 7 sites in the southern islands of Singapore, using settlement tiles deployed and collected every 3 months from 2011 to 2013. …


Nitrous Oxide And Methane Dynamics In A Coral Reef Lagoon Driven By Pore Water Exchange: Insights From Automated High‐Frequency Observations, Chiara O'Reilly, Isaac R. Santos, Tyler Cyronak, Ashly Mcmahon, Damien T. Maher Apr 2015

Nitrous Oxide And Methane Dynamics In A Coral Reef Lagoon Driven By Pore Water Exchange: Insights From Automated High‐Frequency Observations, Chiara O'Reilly, Isaac R. Santos, Tyler Cyronak, Ashly Mcmahon, Damien T. Maher

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Automated cavity ring down spectroscopy was used to make continuous measurements of dissolved methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide in a coral reef lagoon for 2 weeks (Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef). Radon (222Rn) was used to trace the influence of tidally driven pore water exchange on greenhouse gas dynamics. Clear tidal variation was observed for CH4, which correlated to 222Rn in lagoon waters. N2O correlated to 222Rn during the day only, which appears to be a response to coupled nitrification‐denitrification in oxic sediments, fueled by nitrate derived from bird guano. The lagoon was …


Hyperdominance In Amazonian Forest Carbon Cycling, Sophie Fauset, Michelle O. Johnson, Manuel Gloor, Timothy R. Baker, Abel Monteagudo M., Roel J. W. Brienen, Ted R. Feldpausch, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Yadvinder Malhi, Hans Ter Steege, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Christopher Baraloto, Julien Engel, Pascal Petronelli, Ana Andrade, Jose Luis C. Camargo, Susan G. W. Laurance, William F. Laurance, Jerome Chave, Elodie Allie, Percy Nunez Vargas, John W. Terborgh, Kalle Ruokolainen, Marcos Silveira, Gerardo A. Aymard C., Luzmila Arroyo, Damien Bonal, Hirma Ramirez-Angulo, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, David Neill, Bruno Herault, Aurelie Dourdain, Armando Torres-Lezama, Beatriz S. Marimon, Rafael P. Salomao, James A. Comiskey, Maxime Rejou-Mechain, Marisol Toledo, Juan Carlos Licona, Alfred Alarcon, Adriana Prieto, Agustin Rudas, Peter J. Van Der Meer, Timothy J. Killeen, Ben-Hur Marimon Jr., Lourens Poorter, Rene G. A. Boot, Basil Stergios, Emilio Vilanova Torre, Flavia R. C. Costa, Carolina Levis, Juliana Schietti, Priscila Souza, Nikee Groot, Eric Arets, Victor Chama Moscoso, Wendeson Castro, Euridice N. Honorio Coronado, Marielos Pena-Claros, Clement Stahl, Jorcely Barroso, Joey Talbot, Ima Celia Guimaraes Vieira, Geertje Van Der Heijden, Raquel Thomas, Vincent A. Vos, Everton C. Almeida, Esteban Alvarez Davila, Luiz E. O. C. Aragao, Terry L. Erwin, Paulo S. Morandi, Edmar Almeida De Oliveira, Marco B. X. Valadao, Roderick J. Zagt, Peter Van Der Hout, Patricia Alvarez Loayza, John J. Pipoly Iii, Ophelia Wang, Miguel Alexiades, Carlos E. Ceron, Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, Anthony Di Fiore, Julie Peacock, Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho, Ricardo K. Umetsu, Plinio Barbosa De Camargo, Robyn J. Burnham, Rafael Herrera, Carlos A. Quesada, Juliana Stropp, Simone A. Vieira, Marc Steininger, Carlos Reynel Rodriguez, Zorayda Restrepo, Adriane Esquivel Muelbert, Simon L. Lewis, Georgia C. Pickavance, Oliver L. Phillips Apr 2015

Hyperdominance In Amazonian Forest Carbon Cycling, Sophie Fauset, Michelle O. Johnson, Manuel Gloor, Timothy R. Baker, Abel Monteagudo M., Roel J. W. Brienen, Ted R. Feldpausch, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Yadvinder Malhi, Hans Ter Steege, Nigel C. A. Pitman, Christopher Baraloto, Julien Engel, Pascal Petronelli, Ana Andrade, Jose Luis C. Camargo, Susan G. W. Laurance, William F. Laurance, Jerome Chave, Elodie Allie, Percy Nunez Vargas, John W. Terborgh, Kalle Ruokolainen, Marcos Silveira, Gerardo A. Aymard C., Luzmila Arroyo, Damien Bonal, Hirma Ramirez-Angulo, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, David Neill, Bruno Herault, Aurelie Dourdain, Armando Torres-Lezama, Beatriz S. Marimon, Rafael P. Salomao, James A. Comiskey, Maxime Rejou-Mechain, Marisol Toledo, Juan Carlos Licona, Alfred Alarcon, Adriana Prieto, Agustin Rudas, Peter J. Van Der Meer, Timothy J. Killeen, Ben-Hur Marimon Jr., Lourens Poorter, Rene G. A. Boot, Basil Stergios, Emilio Vilanova Torre, Flavia R. C. Costa, Carolina Levis, Juliana Schietti, Priscila Souza, Nikee Groot, Eric Arets, Victor Chama Moscoso, Wendeson Castro, Euridice N. Honorio Coronado, Marielos Pena-Claros, Clement Stahl, Jorcely Barroso, Joey Talbot, Ima Celia Guimaraes Vieira, Geertje Van Der Heijden, Raquel Thomas, Vincent A. Vos, Everton C. Almeida, Esteban Alvarez Davila, Luiz E. O. C. Aragao, Terry L. Erwin, Paulo S. Morandi, Edmar Almeida De Oliveira, Marco B. X. Valadao, Roderick J. Zagt, Peter Van Der Hout, Patricia Alvarez Loayza, John J. Pipoly Iii, Ophelia Wang, Miguel Alexiades, Carlos E. Ceron, Isau Huamantupa-Chuquimaco, Anthony Di Fiore, Julie Peacock, Nadir C. Pallqui Camacho, Ricardo K. Umetsu, Plinio Barbosa De Camargo, Robyn J. Burnham, Rafael Herrera, Carlos A. Quesada, Juliana Stropp, Simone A. Vieira, Marc Steininger, Carlos Reynel Rodriguez, Zorayda Restrepo, Adriane Esquivel Muelbert, Simon L. Lewis, Georgia C. Pickavance, Oliver L. Phillips

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

While Amazonian forests are extraordinarily diverse, the abundance of trees is skewed strongly towards relatively few ‘hyperdominant’ species. In addition to their diversity, Amazonian trees are a key component of the global carbon cycle, assimilating and storing more carbon than any other ecosystem on Earth. Here we ask, using a unique data set of 530 forest plots, if the functions of storing and producing woody carbon are concentrated in a small number of tree species, whether the most abundant species also dominate carbon cycling, and whether dominant species are characterized by specific functional traits. We find that dominance of forest …


Dynamics Of Marine Bacterial Community Diversity Of The Coastal Waters Of The Reefs, Inlets, And Wastewater Outfalls Of Southeast Florida, Alexandra Mandina Campbell, Jay Fleisher, Christopher D. Sinigalliano, James R. White, Jose V. Lopez Mar 2015

Dynamics Of Marine Bacterial Community Diversity Of The Coastal Waters Of The Reefs, Inlets, And Wastewater Outfalls Of Southeast Florida, Alexandra Mandina Campbell, Jay Fleisher, Christopher D. Sinigalliano, James R. White, Jose V. Lopez

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Coastal waters adjacent to populated southeast Florida possess different habitats (reefs, oceanic inlets, sewage outfalls) that may affect the composition of their inherent microbiomes. To determine variation according to site, season, and depth, over the course of 1 year, we characterized the bacterioplankton communities within 38 nearshore seawater samples derived from the Florida Area Coastal Environment (FACE) water quality survey. Six distinct coastal locales were profiled – the Port Everglades and Hillsboro Inlets, Hollywood and Broward wastewater outfalls, and associated reef sites using culture-independent, high-throughput pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA V4 region. More than 227,000 sequences helped describe longitudinal taxonomic …


3d Dynamics Of Freshwater Lenses In The Near-Surface Layer Of The Tropical Ocean, Alexander Soloviev, Cayla Whitney Dean, Atsushi Fujimura Mar 2015

3d Dynamics Of Freshwater Lenses In The Near-Surface Layer Of The Tropical Ocean, Alexander Soloviev, Cayla Whitney Dean, Atsushi Fujimura

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Convective rains in the Intertropical Convergence Zone produce lenses of freshened water on the ocean surface. Due to significant density differences between the freshened and saltier seawater, strong pressure gradients develop, resulting in lateral spreading of freshwater lenses in the form of gravity currents. Gravity currents inherently involve three-dimensional dynamics. As a type of organized structure, gravity currents may also interact with, and be shaped by, the ambient oceanic and atmospheric environment. Among the important environmental factors are background stratification and wind stress. Under certain conditions, a resonant interaction between a propagating freshwater lens and internal waves in the underlying …


Dihydrolipoic Acid Conjugated Carbon Dots Accelerate Human Insulin Fibrillation, Sheba J. Kuruvilla, Shanghao Li, Lorenzo Sansalone, Blake Fortes, Ian Zheng, Patricia Blackwelder, Cyrus Pumilia, Miodrag Micic, Jhony Orbulescu, Roger M. Leblanc Mar 2015

Dihydrolipoic Acid Conjugated Carbon Dots Accelerate Human Insulin Fibrillation, Sheba J. Kuruvilla, Shanghao Li, Lorenzo Sansalone, Blake Fortes, Ian Zheng, Patricia Blackwelder, Cyrus Pumilia, Miodrag Micic, Jhony Orbulescu, Roger M. Leblanc

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Protein fibrillation is believed to play an important role in the pathology and development of several human diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and type 2 diabetes. Carbon dots (CDs), as a new type of nanoparticle have recently been extensively studied for potential biological applications, but their effects on protein fibrillation remain unexplored. In reality, any application in biological systems will inevitably have “contact” between proteins and CDs. In this study, human insulin was selected as a model protein to study the effects of CDs on protein fibrillation, as proteins may share a common mechanism to form fibrils. Hydrophobic …


Migration Strategies Vary In Space, Time, And Among Species In The Smallfish Metacommunity Of The Everglades, J. Matthew Hoch, Eric R. Sokol, Aaron D. Parker, Joel C. Trexler Mar 2015

Migration Strategies Vary In Space, Time, And Among Species In The Smallfish Metacommunity Of The Everglades, J. Matthew Hoch, Eric R. Sokol, Aaron D. Parker, Joel C. Trexler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Spatial ecology and movement strategies of aquatic organisms may limit their response to human-caused drying of wetland habitats. We characterized the movement strategies of the most abundant species of fish in the wetlands of the Everglades (USA) to better understand how they cope with annual fluctuations in aquatic habitat size. Over a six-year period, we used a sampling method designed to measure the density, activity levels, and movement direction of small fishes. We estimated changes in displacement speed and directional bias to identify patterns of movement that different fishes use to disperse over the gradient of disturbance in this environment. …


Biogeochemical Analysis Of Ancient Pacific Cod Bone Suggests Hg Bioaccumulation Was Linked To Paleo Sea Level Rise And Climate Change, Maribeth S. Murray, C. Peter Mcroy, L. K. Duffy, Amy Hirons, J. M. Schaaf, Robert P. Trocine, John Trefry Feb 2015

Biogeochemical Analysis Of Ancient Pacific Cod Bone Suggests Hg Bioaccumulation Was Linked To Paleo Sea Level Rise And Climate Change, Maribeth S. Murray, C. Peter Mcroy, L. K. Duffy, Amy Hirons, J. M. Schaaf, Robert P. Trocine, John Trefry

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Deglaciation at the end of the Pleistocene initiated major changes in ocean circulation and distribution. Within a brief geological time, large areas of land were inundated by sea-level rise and today global sea level is 120 m above its minimum stand during the last glacial maximum. This was the era of modern sea shelf formation; climate change caused coastal plain flooding and created broad continental shelves with innumerable consequences to marine and terrestrial ecosystems and human populations. In Alaska, the Bering Sea nearly doubled in size and stretches of coastline to the south were flooded, with regional variability in the …


Water Column Productivity And Temperature Predict Coral Reef Regeneration Across The Indo-Pacific, Bernhard Riegl, Peter W. Glynn, Evie A. Wieters, Samuel J. Purkis, C. D'Angelo, Joerg Wiedenmann Feb 2015

Water Column Productivity And Temperature Predict Coral Reef Regeneration Across The Indo-Pacific, Bernhard Riegl, Peter W. Glynn, Evie A. Wieters, Samuel J. Purkis, C. D'Angelo, Joerg Wiedenmann

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Predicted increases in seawater temperatures accelerate coral reef decline due to mortality by heat-driven coral bleaching. Alteration of the natural nutrient environment of reef corals reduces tolerance of corals to heat and light stress and thus will exacerbate impacts of global warming on reefs. Still, many reefs demonstrate remarkable regeneration from past stress events. This paper investigates the effects of sea surface temperature (SST) and water column productivity on recovery of coral reefs. In 71 Indo-Pacific sites, coral cover changes over the past 1-3 decades correlated negative-exponentially with mean SST, chlorophyll a, and SST rise. At six monitoring sites …


Using The West Indian Manatee (Trichechus Manatus) As A Mechanism For Invasive Aquatic Plant Management In Florida, Aarin Conrad Allen, Edward O. Keith Feb 2015

Using The West Indian Manatee (Trichechus Manatus) As A Mechanism For Invasive Aquatic Plant Management In Florida, Aarin Conrad Allen, Edward O. Keith

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

West-Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus L.) are opportunistic, herbivorous aquatic mammals that occupy the warm, shallow coastal waters throughout the southeastern United States. Manatees are known to feed on large quantities of diverse plant types. Presently within the state of Florida, manatees are an endangered species facing environmental and anthropogenic threats. Several different organizations work to rescue and rehabilitate these animals for an eventual return to the wild. Also within Florida, invasive aquatic plants are becoming increasingly problematic, creating both negative economic and environmental impacts. Each year, efforts are made to control these exotic plant species through several different …


Growth, Injury, And Population Dynamics In The Extant Cyrtocrinid Holopus Mikihe (Crinoidea, Echinodermata) Near Roatan, Honduras, V. J. Syverson, Charles G. Messing, Karl Stanley, Tomasz K. Baumiller Jan 2015

Growth, Injury, And Population Dynamics In The Extant Cyrtocrinid Holopus Mikihe (Crinoidea, Echinodermata) Near Roatan, Honduras, V. J. Syverson, Charles G. Messing, Karl Stanley, Tomasz K. Baumiller

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The crinoid order Cyrtocrinida is known mainly from Mesozoic fossils; its few surviving members, all from bathyal environments, are among the most peculiar living crinoids. Cyrtocrinids attributed to Holopus mikihe Donovan and Pawson, 2008, have been observed in large numbers via submersible off the western coast of Roatán, Honduras, on vertical and overhanging walls at depths between 430 and 640 m. Observations in 2012, 2013, and 2014 have permitted the first estimates of population structure, growth, and regeneration. Two size modes were observed; the flat barnacle-like “juvenile” stage resembles confamilial and co-occurring Cyathidium pourtalesiAméziane, 1999, whereas the larger “adults” …