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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Nearshore Physical Processes And Bio-Optical Properties In The New York Bight, G. C. Chang, T. D. Dickey, O. M. Schofield, A. D. Weidemann, E. Boss, W. S. Pegau, M. A. Moline, S. M. Glenn Sep 2002

Nearshore Physical Processes And Bio-Optical Properties In The New York Bight, G. C. Chang, T. D. Dickey, O. M. Schofield, A. D. Weidemann, E. Boss, W. S. Pegau, M. A. Moline, S. M. Glenn

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Temporal and spatial variability of physical, biological, and optical properties on scales of minutes to months and meters to ∼50 km are examined using an extensive data set collected on the New York Bight continental shelf during the Hyperspectral Coastal Ocean Dynamics Experiment. Measurements from a midshelf mooring and bottom tripod (∼25 km offshore, 24 m water depth) and two nearshore profiling nodes (∼5 km offshore, 15 m water depth) are utilized to quantify and correlate midshelf and nearshore variability. Towed shipboard undulating profilers and a high-frequency radar (CODAR) array provide complementary spatial data. We show that phytoplankton and dissolved …


Food Substrates And Digestive Capabilitites Of Marine Deposit Feeders, Lawrence M. Mayer Jul 2002

Food Substrates And Digestive Capabilitites Of Marine Deposit Feeders, Lawrence M. Mayer

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Deposit feeders play several important roles in determining whether organic material is demineralized or buried. These animals function to make surfaces available for microbial growth and move particles both horizontally and vertically within the seabed at a pace that far exceeds sedimentation. The central problem in understanding deposit feeders is to identify the materials that they utilize and to determine the sources of those materials. The interdisciplinary approach of this project is to combine a chemical reactor theory of digestion with measurements of the processing of enzymatically available amino acids, focusing on rates of hydrolysis in, and absorption from, the …


The Effect Of Gamete Competition On Levels Of Gamete Production In A Marine Invertebrate, Kevin J. Eckelbarger Jul 2002

The Effect Of Gamete Competition On Levels Of Gamete Production In A Marine Invertebrate, Kevin J. Eckelbarger

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Previous work suggests that high population densities result in more intense male gamete competition and select for increased levels of production of these gametes. This hypothesis will be tested by examining spatial and temporal correlations between density and male gamete production levels in natural populations of a colonial ascidian. Two additional considerations which might modify the effect that male gamete competition has on levels of male gamete production will also be explored. First, natural selection can only act on the genetic portion of total phenotypic variance. Secondly, selection acts simultaneously on the entire phenotype, and so the effect of selection …


Fsml: Construction Of Visiting Investigator/Classroom Building At Darling Marine Center, Kevin J. Eckelbarger May 2002

Fsml: Construction Of Visiting Investigator/Classroom Building At Darling Marine Center, Kevin J. Eckelbarger

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Since 1991, the University of Maine has made significant financial investments in its marine laboratory, the Darling Marine Center to equally benefit both University personnel and visiting colleges and researchers. During 1997-99 alone, the University supported improvements including a student dormitory/dining hall. New flowing seawater facilities (construction to begin spring 2000), a new 42' coastal research vessel (under construction), and more classroom microscopes and computers (delivered and in use) have also been supported. All of these improvements directly benefit visitors and they reflect a stated policy of encouraging increased use of the facilities by visiting investigators and outside colleges. Extensive …


Ocean Color Observations Of Eddies During The Summer In The Gulf Of California, W. Scott Pegau, Emmanuel Boss, Antonio Martínez May 2002

Ocean Color Observations Of Eddies During The Summer In The Gulf Of California, W. Scott Pegau, Emmanuel Boss, Antonio Martínez

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Using SeaWiFS ocean color satellite images collected during 1997-2001, a series of eddies have been observed in the Gulf of California. These eddies are not clearly seen in the summertime sea surface temperature images. The surface circulation between the midriff islands and the mouth of the gulf appears to be dominated by this series of eddies that have an alternating sense of rotation. An eddy pair is observed to extend from Cabo Lobos in each of the three years, suggesting that the eddies are topographically locked. The formation mechanism of the eddies remains unknown; however, we suspect the most likely …


Powre: A Pilot Study Of Chemoreception Mechanisms In Deposit-Feeding Polychaetes, Sara M. Lindsay Mar 2002

Powre: A Pilot Study Of Chemoreception Mechanisms In Deposit-Feeding Polychaetes, Sara M. Lindsay

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This proposal was submitted to the NSF-wide Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) program. The PI proposes to begin research on the sensory mechanisms coordinating chemoreception in spionid polychaetes, a common deposit-feeding invertebrate. These worms are widely distributed in soft-sediment benthic marine environments and, along with other deposit-feeders, are responsible for the bioturbation that is important to this environment. Some evidence indicates that chemoreception may coordinate sediment ingestion rate and other aspects of deposit-feeding in a variety of species. The proposed research will attempt to identify some of the physiological and molecular mechanisms used by the worms …


Phase Function Effects On Oceanic Light Fields, Curtis D. Mobley, Lydia K. Sundman, Emmanuel Boss Feb 2002

Phase Function Effects On Oceanic Light Fields, Curtis D. Mobley, Lydia K. Sundman, Emmanuel Boss

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Numerical simulations show that underwater radiances, irradiances, and reflectances are sensitive to the shape of the scattering phase function at intermediate and large scattering angles, although the exact shape of the phase function in the backscatter directions (for a given backscatter fraction) is not critical if errors of the order of 10% are acceptable. We present an algorithm for generating depth–and wavelength-dependent Fournier–Forand phase functions having any desired backscatter fraction. Modeling of a comprehensive data set of measured inherent optical properties and radiometric variables shows that use of phase functions with the correct backscatter fraction and overall shape is crucial …


Growth Increment Analysis Of Marine Bivalves From The North, Stephen D. Houk Jan 2002

Growth Increment Analysis Of Marine Bivalves From The North, Stephen D. Houk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study aids in developing a sea surface temperature (SST) proxy with monthly temporal resolution using a combination of growth increment and stable isotope analyses of marine bivalves from the north coast of Peru. Faunal assemblages from the Siches and Ostra Base Camp archaeological sites contain shells of warm-tropical mollusks that currently live farther north in Ecuador. The presence of warm-tropical species in these sites and others as far south as 10"s latitude and dating prior to 5730 cal yr B.P. indicates a stable warm-water regime in the eastern tropical Pacific which subsequently changes to a modern temperate-water regime after …