Life Sciences Commons^™

Monthly Variability In Florida Bay Benthic Foraminifera Community Structure, C. Featherstone, Patricia Blackwelder

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Florida Bay is a shallow subtropical estuary, which experiences highly variable environmental fluctuations due to natural forces (hurricanes, climatic variations and sea level rise) and anthropogenic influences (agricultural activity, water management and urbanization). Study of short time-scale variability in benthic community population structure and synchronous environmental change is essential to understanding forcing relationships between environment and its effects on population. Benthic foraminifera assemblage variability is an excellent indicator of environmental change in estuarine and coastal areas because populations may respond relatively quickly on spatial and temporal scales (Alve, 1995). Temporal resolution is enhanced because foraminifera may reproduce as often as …

The Case For Selection At Ccr5-Δ32, Pardis Sabeti, Emily C. Walsh, Stephen F. Schaffner, Patrick Varilly, Ben Fry, Holli Hutcheson, Mike Cullen, Tarjei S. Mikkelsen, Jessica Roy, Nick Patterson, Richard Cooper, David Reich, David Altshuler, Stephen J. O'Brien, Eric S. Lander

Biology Faculty Articles

The C-C chemokine receptor 5, 32 base-pair deletion (CCR5-Δ32) allele confers strong resistance to infection by the AIDS virus HIV. Previous studies have suggested that CCR5-Δ32 arose within the past 1,000 y and rose to its present high frequency (5%–14%) in Europe as a result of strong positive selection, perhaps by such selective agents as the bubonic plague or smallpox during the Middle Ages. This hypothesis was based on several lines of evidence, including the absence of the allele outside of Europe and long-range linkage disequilibrium at the locus. We reevaluated this evidence with the benefit …

A Comparison Of Diets And Water Agitation Methods For Larval Culture Of The Edible Sea Urchin, Tripneustes Ventricosus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea), Ray Wolcott, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Tripneustes ventricosus (Lamarck, 1816) has been harvested for human consumption in the Caribbean for centuries, where harvest rates occasionally exceed sustainability. Historically a backreef and grass-bed urchin, the species has recently been observed on the forereef where it appears to control macroalgal growth in the absence of Diadema antillarum (Philippi, 1845) (Woodley and Gayle, 1999). Large-scale culturing has the potential to produce T. ventricosus in sufficient numbers for remediation of degraded coral reefs, restocking of nearshore habitats, and development of an aquaculture industry for one or more Caribbean islands. We report the first successful culturing of T. ventricosus from fertilization …

The Marine Fishes Of Broward County, Florida: Final Report Of 1998-2002 Survey Results, Fleur M. Ferro, Lance K. B. Jordan, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

We inventoried fishes associated with three hardbottom reef tracts that are separated by sand and run parallel to the coast in sequentially deeper water offshore Broward County, Florida. Using SCUBA and the Bohnsack-Bannerot visual point count method, we recorded fish abundance, species richness, sizes (TL), and general habitat characteristics within an imaginary 15m cylinder extending from the substrate to the surface. Sites were sampled along transects at quarter nautical mile intervals along 18 nautical miles of coastline at western and eastern edges, and crest of each of the three reef tracts.

A total of 86,463 fishes belonging to 208 species …

Seroprevalence And Genomic Divergence Of Circulating Strains Of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Among Felidae And Hyaenidae Species, Jennifer L. Troyer, Jill Pecon-Slattery, Melody E. Roelke, Warren E. Johnson, Sue Vandewoude, Nuria Vazquez-Salat, Meredith Brown, Laurence Frank, Rosie Woodroffe, Christiaan Winterbach, Hanlie Winterbach, Graham Hemson, Mitchell Bush, Kathleen A. Alexander, Eloy Revilla, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infects numerous wild and domestic feline species and is closely related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Species-specific strains of FIV have been described for domestic cat (Felis catus), puma (Puma concolor), lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), and Pallas' cat (Otocolobus manul). Here, we employ a three-antigen Western blot screening (domestic cat, puma, and lion FIV antigens) and PCR analysis to survey worldwide prevalence, distribution, and genomic differentiation of FIV based on 3,055 specimens from 35 Felidae and 3 Hyaenidae species. …

Mannose Binding Lectin Genotypes Influence Recovery From Hepatitis B Virus Infection, Chloe L. Thio, Timothy L. Mosbruger, Jacquie Astemborski, Spencer Greer, Gregory D. Kirk, Stephen J. O'Brien, David L. Thomas

Biology Faculty Articles

Mannose binding lectin (MBL) is a central component of the innate immune response and thus may be important for determining hepatitis B virus (HBV) persistence. Since single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene encoding MBL (mbl2) alter the level of functional MBL, we hypothesized that mbl2 genotypes are a determinant of HBV persistence or recovery from viral infection. We tested this hypothesis by using a nested case control design with 189 persons with HBV persistence matched to 338 individuals who had naturally recovered from HBV infection. We determined genotypes of two promoter and three exon 1 SNPs in mbl2 …

Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation And Monitoring Project 2004 Year 2 Final Report, Jennifer Wheaton, Carl Beaver, Walter Jaap, Michael Callahan, Selena Kupfner, Shannon Wade, Jim Kidney, Stopher Slade, Erin Mcdevitt, Eric Ault, Fred Voss, David S. Gilliam, B. D. Ettinger, Daniel P. Fahy, Elizabeth Glynn Fahy, Shaun M. Gill, Jamie A. Monty, Lauren F. Shuman, Brian K. Walker, Richard E. Dodge, Tim Mcintosh, Steven Blair, Kenneth Banks, Louis E. Fisher, David Stout, Joe Ligas, Janet Phipps

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Development Of An Underwater Infrared Camera To Detect Manatees, Edward O. Keith

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

In calendar year 2004, watercraft related mortality was the second leading cause of death of the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) accounting for 25% of total known manatee deaths. In an attempt to reduce this significant cause of manatee mortality, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute has instituted two rounds of Manatee Avoidance Technology grants. Herein I report the results of an evaluation of the ability of underwater infrared video cameras to detect captive manatees and other non-living targets. If such cameras could detect manatees at sufficient distances, they could be mounted in the bows of watercraft …

Coral Recruitment Patterns In The Florida Keys, Alison L. Moulding

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

This study examines scleractinian zooxanthellate coral recruitment patterns in the Florida Keys to determine if differences in density or community composition exist between regions. From July to September 2002, nine patch reefs, three in each of the upper, middle and lower Keys, were surveyed for coral recruits (colonies <5 cm in diameter) using randomly placed quadrats and transects. Coral recruits were enumerated, measured, and identified to genus. Fourteen genera of corals were observed across all sites and ranged from five to 13 per site. Densities ranged from 6.29 ± 1.92 (mean ± SE) to 39.08 ± 4.53 recruits m-2, and there were significant site and regional differences in recruit densities. The density of recruits in the upper Keys was significantly lower than in the middle and lower Keys. In addition, the upper Keys were less diverse and had a different recruit size-frequency distribution. The majority of recruits were non-massive scleractinian species that contribute relatively little to overall reef-building processes, a finding that is similar to previous studies. Fewer recruits of massive species were found in the upper Keys compared to the middle and lower Keys. The recruitment patterns of the reefs in the upper Keys could potentially hinder their ability to recover from stress and disturbances.

Insertional Polymorphisms Of Endogenous Feline Leukemia Viruses, Alfred L. Roca, William G. Nash, Joan C. Menninger, William J. Murphy, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

The number, chromosomal distribution, and insertional polymorphisms of endogenous feline leukemia viruses (enFeLVs) were determined in four domestic cats (Burmese, Egyptian Mau, Persian, and nonbreed) using fluorescent in situ hybridization and radiation hybrid mapping. Twenty-nine distinct enFeLV loci were detected across 12 of the 18 autosomes. Each cat carried enFeLV at only 9 to 16 of the loci, and many loci were heterozygous for presence of the provirus. Thus, an average of 19 autosomal copies of enFeLV were present per cat diploid genome. Only five of the autosomal enFeLV sites were present in all four cats, and at only one …

The Linkage Disequilibrium Maps Of Three Human Chromosomes Across Four Populations Reflect Their Demographic History And A Common Underlying Recombination Pattern, Francisco M. De La Vega, Hadar Isaac, Andrew Collins, Charles R. Scafe, Bjarni V. Halldorsson, Xiaoping Su, Ross A. Lippert, Yu Wang, Marion Laig-Webster, Ryan T. Koehler, Janet S. Ziegle, Lewis T. Wogan, Junko F. Stevens, Kyle M. Leinen, Sheri J. Olson, Karl J. Guegler, Xiaoqing You, Lily H. Xu, Heinz G. Hemken, Francis Kalush, Mitsuo Itakura, Yi Zheng, Guy De The, Stephen J. O'Brien, Andrew G. Clark, Sorin Istrail, Michael W. Hunkapiller, Eugene G. Spier, Dennis A. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Articles

The extent and patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD) determine the feasibility of association studies to map genes that underlie complex traits. Here we present a comparison of the patterns of LD across four major human populations (African-American, Caucasian, Chinese, and Japanese) with a high-resolution single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) map covering almost the entire length of chromosomes 6, 21, and 22. We constructed metric LD maps formulated such that the units measure the extent of useful LD for association mapping. LD reaches almost twice as far in chromosome 6 as in chromosomes 21 or 22, in agreement with their differences in recombination …

The State Of Coral Reef Ecosystems Of Florida, Katherine Andrews (Ed.), Larry Nall (Ed.), Chris Jeffrey (Ed.), Simon Pittman (Ed.), Kenneth Banks, Carl Beaver, James A. Bohnsack, Richard E. Dodge, David S. Gilliam, Walter Jaap, Brian Keller, V. R. Leeworthy, Tom Matthews, Ramon Ruiz-Carus, Deborah Santavy, Richard E. Spieler, Jerald Ault, Gabriel Delgado, Fleur M. Ferro, Carol R. Fretwell, Bill Goodwin, Doug Harper, John Hunt, Margaret Miller, Christy Pattengil-Semmens, Bill Sharp, Steve Smith, Jennifer Wheaton, Dana Williams

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Sea Turtle Conservation Program, Broward County, Fl 2005 Report, Curtis M. Burney, Stefanie Ouellette

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Fish Colonization Of A Newly Deployed Vessel-Reef Off Southeast Florida: Preliminary Results, Paul T. Arena, Lance K. B. Jordan, Patrick Quinn, Arlo H. Hemphill, David R. Bryan, Brian Buskirk, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Fish colonization on the Ebenezer II, a 25.5m merchant marine vessel, was studied from May 2002 - July 2003. The ship was scuttled in May 2002 off Broward County, Florida at a depth of 21m and was censused 10 times during the study period using a modified Bohnsack and Bannerot visual census method. Adjacent natural reefs and the Mcallister, a nearby, 30m tugboat deployed in June 1998, were censused during the same period.

Distinct changes in the fish assemblage on the Ebenezer II were observed throughout the sample period. A pioneer assemblage was observed during the first three months, characterized …

An Str Forensic Typing System For Genetic Individualization Of Domestic Cat (Felis Catus) Samples, Marilyn A. Menotti-Raymond, Victor A. David, Leslie L. Wachter, John M. Butler, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

A forensic genotyping panel of 11 tetranucleotide STR loci from the domestic cat was characterized and evaluated for genetic individualization of cat tissues. We first examined 49 candidate STR loci and their frequency assessment in domestic cat populations. The STR loci (3-4 base pair repeat motifs), mapped in the cat genome relative to 579 coding loci and 255 STR loci, are well distributed across the 18 feline autosomes. All loci exhibit Mendelian inheritance in a multi-generation pedigree. Eleven loci that were unlinked and were highly heterozygous in cat breeds were selected for a forensic panel. Heterozygosity values obtained for the …