Life Sciences Commons^™

Diatoms In The Gills Of The Commercial White Shrimp, Robin M. Overstreet, Susan Safford

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A white shrimp from Galveston, Texas, is the first reported case of a crustacean internally infected by a diatom. Even though more than one species occurred in debris on and between gill filaments, only individuals of Amphora sp. occurred within gills. To determine if a related diatom would easily reproduce within the shrimp and cause. a host-response similar to that observed, we injected cultured specimens of A. coffaeformis into white shrimp. Under the experimental conditions, individuals of that species did not divide, but they elicited an extensive melanistic host-response.

A Partial Bibliography Of Cyprinodon Variegatus (Osteichthyes: Cyprinodontidae), David A. Bengtson

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A partial bibliography of the sheepshead minnow Cyprinodon variegatus Lacépède, 1803, is presented. Scientific works related to systematics and general biology are listed along with references to recent work involving toxicological bioassays. An extensive search of the literature on parasites of C. variegatus was not conducted.

Studies On Amyloodinium Ocellatum (Dinoflagellata) In Mississippi Sound: Natural And Experimental Hosts, Adrian R. Lawler

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Four species of parasitic dinoflagellates have been found to occur naturally on the gills and fins of Mississippi Sound fishes: Amyloodinium ocellatum (Brown 1931) Brown and Hovasse 1946, Oodinium cyprinodontum Lawler 1967, and two undescribed species. Sixteen of 43 species of fishes examined had natural gill infections of A. ocellatum. Seventy-one of 79 species of fishes exposed to A. ocellatum dinospores were susceptible, and succumbed, to the dinoflagellate. Eight did not die even though exposed to numerous dinospores. The most common signs in an infested fish were spasmodic gasping and uncoordinated movements. Trophonts of A. ocellatum were found on …

Vertebral Anomaly In Fundulus Similis, Charles S. Manning

Gulf and Caribbean Research

On May 11, 1978, a longnose killifish, Fundulus similis. exhibiting an extreme lordotic, scoliotic condition was collected on the north shore of Big Lagoon in Escambia County, Florida. The specimen was held for observation in a flow-through seawater aquarium for several weeks prior to being preserved and placed in the Gulf Breeze Environmental Research Laboratory Museum (No. AN-2146).

Notes On The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Occurrence Of Sagitta Friderici Ritter-Zahony (Chaetognatha), Jerry A. Mclelland

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The neritic chaetognath Sagitta friderici Ritter-Zahony, 1911 was identified in plankton samples from the northern Gulf of Mexico in June 1974. Specimens analyzed from two groups of adults ranged from 6 to 13.7 mm long. Meristic values did not appear to be a function of body length except for individuals in the 12.4 to 13.7 mm range that had larger numbers of hooks and teeth.

Adults of Sagitta friderici and the closely related S. tenuis Conant, 1896 were compared and found to be distinguishable chiefly by (1) the number of ova per unit length of the ovary, and (2) the …

Growth And Residency Of Juvenile Fishes Within A Surf Zone Habitat In The Gulf Of Mexico, Timothy Modde

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Over a 32-month study period, 154,469 fish representing 76 species were collected from the Gulf shore of Horn Island, Mississippi. Fishes collected were identified as either resident or migrant species according to length frequency data. The migrant component, dominated numerically by Anchoa lyolepis, represented the greatest number of species and individuals collected. Resident fishes constituted only six species but comprised 42.0% of all fish captured. The more abundant species residing within the Horn Island surf zone, Trachinotus carolinus, Menticirrhus littoralis, and Harengula jaguana, appeared to utilize this habitat as a nursery for approximately 3 months throughout …

Observations On The Genus Vaucheria (Xanthophyceae, Vaucheriales) From The Gulf Of Mexico, Richard A. Pecora

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Investigations of algal mats from several locations along the Gulf of Mexico from Cameron Parish, Louisiana, to Manatee County, Florida, were conducted from February 1979 to February 1980. Habitat preference, distribution, and morphology are reported herein for nine species and one variety of Vaucheria de Candolle. Five taxa–V. arcassionensis, V. aversa, V. coronata, V. prolifera var. reticulospora, and V. pseudogeminata–are first reports for the Gulf of Mexico coastal region. Vaucheria velutina (=V. thuretii), the most abundant taxon identified in the region, is common in diverse habitats. Vaucheria prolifera var. reticulospora is reported for …

Origins And Effects Of Spartina Wrack In A Virginia Salt Marsh, Thomas G. Reidenbaugh, William C. Banta

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Movements of mats of tidal wrack (dead Spartina alterniflora) and impacts of the wrack were followed in color infrared aerial photographs of a sloping foreshore salt marsh on Wallops Island, Virginia. Tidal wrack may be stranded in high marsh, where it decomposes, or it may be temporarily stranded at lower elevations. The wrack kills underlying Spartina alterniflora in low marsh and in the transition zone from low to high marsh. Wrack is the major cause of devegetated areas within the marsh, but these areas eventually revegetate, and do not evolve into pans. There are substantial short-term reductions in S. …

Occurrence And Seasonality Of Perkinsus Marinus (Protozoa: Apicomplexa) In Mississippi Oysters, John Ogle, Katherine Flurry

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Oysters from four reefs in Mississippi Sound, sampled over a period of 25 months, were found to have a low prevalence of the protozoan parasite Perkinsus marinus. The greatest values were 80% prevalence, and 0.88 weighted incidence recorded for oysters from Biloxi Bay, Mississippi.

Enterovirus And Bacterial Evaluation Of Mississippi Oysters, R.D. Ellender, D.W. Cook, V.L. Sheladia, R.A. Johnson

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The numbers of enteric viruses and fecal coliform bacteria in oysters and water samples collected along the Mississippi Gulf coast during 1979 were determined. Ten viral isolates, representing members of the poliovirus group, were identified from an approved oyster harvesting site. The number of virus isolations increased to 51 when oysters were collected from a prohibited harvesting location. The majority of isolates were identified as poliovirus type 1 or 2, coxsackievirus B3 and B4, and echovirus type 24. Fecal coliforms in water samples collected at approved and prohibited locations confirmed the classification assigned to each area by the Mississippi State …

New Records Of Hyperiidea (Crustacea: Amphipoda) From The North Central Gulf Of Mexico, Kenneth C. Stuck, Harriet M. Perry, A. Geoffrey Fish

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Records of 54 species of amphipods of the suborder Hyperiidea from the Gulf of Mexico are presented. Forty-seven species are recorded from the Gulf for the first time. Previous records of occurrence in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and associated North Atlantic waters are provided for each species.

Lepidactylus Triarticulatus N. Sp., A New Haustoriid Amphipod From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Philip B. Robertson, Charles R. Shelton

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A new haustoriid amphipod, Lepidactylus triarticulatus n. sp., from the northern Gulf of Mexico is described and illustrated. The known range is from northern Padre Island, Texas, to Grand Isle, Louisiana. The species is ecologically plastic. On surf-exposed sandy beaches it is most abundant at the highest intertidal levels, but in fine-grained sands of wave-sheltered localities it occurs throughout the intertidal region into shallow subtidal depths. In central Texas bays it has been collected subtidally at salinities as low as 10 ppt. There are differences in morphological details of peraeopod 7 between the intertidal and subtidal populations which we regard …

Prevalence Of Fimeria Funduli (Protozoa: Eimeriidae) In The Longnose Killifish Fundulus Similis From Horn Island, Mississippi, John W. Fournie, Mobashir A. Solangi

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Eimeria funduli occurred in Fundulus similis from Horn Island, Mississippi, during 1980, in contrast with its apparent absence during 1978 and 1979. Prevalence of the parasite appears to be related to the unusually low salinity in Mississippi Sound, and in ponds and off the beaches of Horn Island. The low salinity may have promoted the migration of infective intermediate hosts from inshore waters to the island.