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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Physiological Response Of The Giant Acorn Barnacle, Balanus Nubilus, To Air Exposure, Emily Jane Resner Nov 2018

Physiological Response Of The Giant Acorn Barnacle, Balanus Nubilus, To Air Exposure, Emily Jane Resner

Master's Theses

The giant acorn barnacle, Balanus nubilus, is a resident of the subtidal and low intertidal rocky shoreline on the Pacific Coast of North America (Alaska to Baja California). B. nubilusis notable for having the largest muscle fibers in the animal kingdom; fiber diameters that can exceed 3mm in adults! At such extreme sizes these muscle cells may be at risk for insufficient oxygen delivery to mitochondria owing to low SA:V ratios and long intracellular diffusion distances. Oxygen limitation to these muscles may be further exacerbated during low tide air exposure (emersion) or environmental hypoxia events, which are increasing …


Spatial Distribution And Stock-Recruitment Analysis Of The Atlantic Surfclam, Spisula Solidissima, In The Mid-Atlantic Bight And On Georges Bank, Jeremy Timbs Aug 2018

Spatial Distribution And Stock-Recruitment Analysis Of The Atlantic Surfclam, Spisula Solidissima, In The Mid-Atlantic Bight And On Georges Bank, Jeremy Timbs

Master's Theses

Atlantic surfclams, Spisula solidissima, are long-lived bivalve molluscs with dispersive larval stages. Surfclam patchiness throughout the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has declined from the 1980’s to the present in all assessed regions (Delmarva, New Jersey, Long Island, Southern New England, and Georges Banks). Warming of Mid-Atlantic bottom waters is driving the surfclam stock into new habitat and extirpating the surfclams from nearshore areas. Based on a species distribution function model, the small surfclams appear to inhabit a greater area than the large market-size surfclams across the entire stock. The wider distribution of recent recruits relative to the fishable …


Creating Renewable Energy Through The Pairing Of Wastewater Remediation And Biofuel Production With Two Species Of Microalgae, Laura Brown Aug 2018

Creating Renewable Energy Through The Pairing Of Wastewater Remediation And Biofuel Production With Two Species Of Microalgae, Laura Brown

Master's Theses

In this study, two species of microalgae, Scenedesmus sp. isolated locally and Chlorella sorokiniana (UTEX 1230) were grown in municipal wastewater collected from Stennis Space Center, MS in order to assess whether or not the microalgae could remediate the wastewater into a clean and usable form while also producing the biomaterials necessary for fuel and other useful byproducts. Each species was cultured in 16 ˚C and 30 ˚C to assess functional variabilities at different times of the year. The microalgae’s ability to decrease nutrient concentrations in the wastewater and produce lipids and protein was assessed at three different growth stages: …


Foraging Ecology Of Parrotfishes In The Greater Caribbean: Impacts Of Specialization And Dietary Preferences On Marine Benthic Communities, Madelyn V. Roycroft Jun 2018

Foraging Ecology Of Parrotfishes In The Greater Caribbean: Impacts Of Specialization And Dietary Preferences On Marine Benthic Communities, Madelyn V. Roycroft

Master's Theses

Coral reefs are one of the world’s most diverse yet heavily impacted marine ecosystems. As a result of many direct and indirect stressors, coral reefs have experienced major degradation over the last several decades. Declines in coral reefs in the Caribbean have been particularly acute and generally associated with the loss of key herbivores and an increase in algae. Herbivorous fishes such as parrotfishes can positively impact coral reefs by removing algae that compete with corals for light and space. However, many parrotfishes are also important coral predators. Predation on corals, known as corallivory, can adversely affect coral growth, reproduction …


Linkages Between Marsh Fragmentation, Prey Availability, And Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) Abundance And Mortality, Lennah Shakeri May 2018

Linkages Between Marsh Fragmentation, Prey Availability, And Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) Abundance And Mortality, Lennah Shakeri

Master's Theses

Coastal marshes are important nursery habitats for many commercially important invertebrate species, yet these marshes are being lost worldwide at an unprecedented rate due to subsidence, erosion, climate change, and human activity. As marsh is lost, it creates the opportunity for submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) colonization and establishment in newly created open water areas. Blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, use both marsh edge and SAV habitat during the juvenile stages and support one of the largest fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, worth over $70 million in 2015. This thesis studied the linkages between habitat type, SAV cover, benthic prey …


Life-History Characteristics And Fishery Dynamics Of Red Drum (Sciaenops Ocellatus), In The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Corbin Bennetts May 2018

Life-History Characteristics And Fishery Dynamics Of Red Drum (Sciaenops Ocellatus), In The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Corbin Bennetts

Master's Theses

Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) are highly targeted recreationally in the Gulf of Mexico, and support a small commercial fishery in Mississippi. Despite their popularity, the stock is assessed using data limited approaches that necessitate accurate life history information. I estimated the year-specific and year-aggregated escapement rates for the Mississippi stock (years 2004 to 2015), which were sensitive to mortality estimation methods; year-aggregated estimates were 6.9 to 28.2 % depending on the method, but temporal patterns were consistent. I then addressed concerns with previously estimated life-history characteristics by describing the sex-specific growth and reproductive dynamics. The three-parameter von Bertalanffy …


Regional Variation In Migratory Behavior And Reproductive Output Of The Gulf Of Mexico Blue Crab Spawning Stock, Adam Kemberling May 2018

Regional Variation In Migratory Behavior And Reproductive Output Of The Gulf Of Mexico Blue Crab Spawning Stock, Adam Kemberling

Master's Theses

The overarching goal of this research was to better understand the structure and boundaries of the blue crab stock(s) in the Gulf of Mexico, focusing on large-scale movements of spawning female crabs. Because spawning location is a primary determinant of larval transport pathways, understanding spawning locations and offshore movements of female blue crabs can inform stock identification and potentially clarify the somewhat conflicting population genetic information available for blue crabs. A large-scale mark-recapture study was conducted through the partnership of state/federal management agencies, the commercial fishing industry, recreational fisherman, tourists, and numerous academic institutions to shed light on the timing …


Spatial Variation In Basal Resources And Trophic Position Of Selected Fishes Of The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Christopher Fleming May 2018

Spatial Variation In Basal Resources And Trophic Position Of Selected Fishes Of The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Christopher Fleming

Master's Theses

The North-central Gulf of Mexico is a complex hydrologic environment with freshwater influx that varies on spatial and temporal scales. Freshwater input exerts influence on the isotope values of organisms living in coastal ecosystems. The objectives of this study were to determine relationships between total length and isotope value, estimate basal resource usage and trophic position of target species from Mississippi Sound, reef, and pelagic environments, and identify differences and similarities in spatial patterns of collection. Muscle tissue samples were collected from October 2014 through September 2015. Stable isotope analysis identified a trophic gradient extending from nearshore to offshore, with …


Evaluating Recruitment Seasonality Of Red Abalone (Haliotis Rufescens) To Inform Fisheries Management And Conservation Policy, Leslie Christine Hart Mar 2018

Evaluating Recruitment Seasonality Of Red Abalone (Haliotis Rufescens) To Inform Fisheries Management And Conservation Policy, Leslie Christine Hart

Master's Theses

Recruitment, the addition of new individuals to a population, must be understood to make predictions about population growth of marine invertebrates. Red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) represent a former important commercial fishery in California, and until recently, supported a major recreational fishery. However, there have been statewide declines since the 1960s due to overfishing, disease, and climatic factors. Thus, understanding population dynamics to inform management and population restoration is critical. Recruitment dynamics of red abalone are poorly understood, with no prior knowledge of seasonal trends. To address this knowledge gap, I assessed monthly (July 2016-June 2017) and annual (2012-2016) …