Life Sciences Commons^™

Efficacy Of Sediment Contaminant Remediation Of The Benthos In A Segment Of The Southern Branch Of The Elizabeth River, Colton Martin

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The bottom sediment of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay, was historically contaminated with hydrocarbons from industrial sources especially wood treatment facilities. The Elizabeth River Project selected a section of the bottom off Money Point in the Southern Branch for a sediment contaminant remediation effort. Prior to initiation of remediation efforts, a survey occurred in summer 2010 to characterize the ecological condition of the benthic communities off Money Point compared to benthic communities of a benthic region across the channel and northwest of Money Point near Blows Creek. That study characterized the benthos of …

Estimating The Risk Of Future Plastic Marine Debris Resulting From The Urban Coastal Built Environment, Kelly C. Jones

OES Theses and Dissertations

The growing urban built environment in the coastal zone poses an unknown risk to the marine biosphere as a source of marine debris. Plastic, since its introduction in the mid- 1900s, is now used in nearly all aspects of human life. Growth in human population and urbanization in coastal zones has resulted in the accumulation of large stocks of plastic in the coastal built environment, and these stocks are still growing exponentially. The coastal zone is exposed to a number of hazards including storms, tsunamis, and sea level rise, and most of these hazards are expected to change in the …

Physiological And Molecular Responses Of Eurythermal And Stenothermal Populations Of Zostera Marina L (Eelgrass) To Climate Change, Carmen C. Zayas-Santiago

OES Theses and Dissertations

As CO₂ levels in Earth’s atmosphere and oceans steadily rise, varying organismal responses may produce ecological losers and winners. Increased ocean CO₂ can enhance seagrass productivity and thermal tolerance, providing some compensation for climate warming. However, the consistency of this CO₂ effect across populations of cosmopolitan species such as Zostera marina L. (eelgrass) remains largely unknown. This study analyzed whole-plant performance metabolic profiles and gene expression patterns of distinct eelgrass populations in response to CO₂ enrichment. Populations were transplanted from Nisqually Landing and Dumas Bay, two cold water environments in Puget Sound, WA (USA) that rarely …

Rainfall-Runoff Mechanisms And Flood Mitigation In A Coastal Watershed With Numerous Wetlands And Ponds, Homa Jalaeian Taghadomi

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This study analyzed mechanisms of flooding in Blackwater River Watershed, located in coastal Virginia and hydraulically connected with mid-Atlantic Ocean. The analysis was based on the examination and simulation of the rainfall-runoff relationship, and such an analysis is very important for conventional water resource management and dealing with hydrologic extremes (e.g., floods and droughts, as well as ecological and pollution discharges). The rainfall-runoff relationship is a quantitative description of the hydrologic cycle, a dynamic process that can be interactively influenced by various factors, namely climate, topography, soils, land use and land cover, and land management practice.

In the past 60 …

The Role Of Backreef Soundscapes And Their Spatial Structure For Recruitment Of Tropical Marine Larvae, Emily R. Anderson

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Underwater sound is a cue used by many marine larvae to orient to coastal habitats including backreef, sponge-dominated hardbottom habitat in the Florida Keys (Florida, USA) – a particularly “noisy” coastal habitat. However, the distance over which acoustic cues are attractive to settlement-stage larvae - is generally unknown. I examined this phenomenon in a region of the Florida Keys where mass sponge die-offs have diminished both underwater soundscapes and larval settlement. The absence of pronounced hardbottom-associated sound over such a large area allowed me to experimentally test in situ the response of fish and invertebrate larvae to broadcasted sounds at …

Population Dynamics And Dispersal Coalitions In The Cooperatively Breeding Acorn Woodpecker, Natasha Hagemeyer

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Dispersal is a critical life-stage with consequences not only for the individual, but for population dynamics and thus the fate of the whole species. The creation of dispersal coalitions can lead to complex outcomes and affect how changes in abundance occur on the landscape. I examined population dynamics and dispersal coalitions in a population of cooperatively breeding acorn woodpeckers in central California, USA. Using a 34-year dataset on occupancy and abundance, I determined that increases in abundance were determined by dispersal to new locations. This resulted in increased occupancy, rather than increases in group size and larger coalitions. I then …

A Test Of Rad Capture Sequencing On Ethanol-Preserved Centennial And Contemporary Specimens Of Philippine Fishes, Madeleine I. Kenton

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Understanding the relationship between ecological characteristics and genetic change in natural populations in different time scales can reveal how anthropogenic stressors affect natural populations and can improve the success of conservation strategies. The purpose of the Philippines Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) project is to examine levels of genetic change between historical fish samples collected by the USS Albatross expedition in the early 1900s in the Philippines and contemporary populations collected at the same localities. This study tests genetic protocols to process historical and contemporary DNA for simultaneous comparison. Two DNA library preparation methods, single digest RADseq (“un-baited” …