Life Sciences Commons^™

Rapidly Changing Range Limits In A Warming World: Critical Data Limitations And Knowledge Gaps For Advancing Understanding Of Mangrove Range Dynamics In The Southeastern Usa, Rémi Bardou, Michael J. Osland, Steven Scyphers, Christine Shepard, Karen E. Aerni, Jahson B. Alemu I, Robert Crimian, Richard H. Day, Nicholas M. Enwright, Laura C. Feher, Sarah L. Gibbs, Kiera O'Donnell, Savannah H. Swinea, Kalaina Thorne, Sarit Truskey, Anna R. Armitage, Ronald Baker, Josh L. Breithaupt, Kyle C. Cavanaugh, Erik S. Yando, A. Randall Hughes, Et Al.

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate change is altering species’ range limits and transforming ecosystems. For example, warming temperatures are leading to the range expansion of tropical, cold-sensitive species at the expense of their cold-tolerant counterparts. In some temperate and subtropical coastal wetlands, warming winters are enabling mangrove forest encroachment into salt marsh, which is a major regime shift that has significant ecological and societal ramifications. Here, we synthesized existing data and expert knowledge to assess the distribution of mangroves near rapidly changing range limits in the southeastern USA. We used expert elicitation to identify data limitations and highlight knowledge gaps for advancing understanding of …

Levels Of Autotrophy And Heterotrophy In Mesophotic Corals Near The End Photic Zone, Amy Carmignani, Veronica Z. Radice, Kathryn M. Mcmahon, Alex I. Holman, Karen Miller, Kliti Grice, Zoe Richards

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Mesophotic corals live at ~30-150 m depth and can sustain metabolic processes under light-limited conditions by enhancing autotrophy through specialized photoadaptations or increasing heterotrophic nutrient acquisition. These acclimatory processes are often species-specific, however mesophotic ecosystems are largely unexplored and acclimation limits for most species are unknown. This study examined mesophotic coral ecosystems using a remotely operated vehicle (Ashmore Reef, Western Australia at 40–75m depth) to investigate the trophic ecology of five species of scleractinian coral (from genera Leptoseris, Pachyseris, and Craterastrea) using stable isotope analyses (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of host and symbiont tissues …

The Importance Of Winter Dinoflagellate Blooms In Chesapeake Bay— A Missing Link In Bay Productivity, Nicole C. Millette, Sophie Clayton, Margaret R. Mulholland, Leah Gibala-Smith, Michael Lane

OES Faculty Publications

It is widely assumed that phytoplankton abundance and productivity decline during temperate winters because of low irradiance and temperatures. However, winter phytoplankton blooms commonly occur in temperate estuaries, but they are often undocumented because of reduced water quality monitoring in winter. The small body of in situ work that has been done on winter blooms suggests they can be of enormous consequence to ecosystems. However, because monitoring is often reduced or stopped altogether during winter, it is unclear how widespread these blooms are or how long they can last. We analyzed an over 30-year record of monthly phytoplankton monitoring samples …

Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Fire On Saipan, Cnmi, Ilan E. Bubb, Zachary B. Williams

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Sediment core studies from Saipan suggest that fires did not play a prominent role in the disturbance regime of the Mariana Islands and have increased in frequency since human settlement around 4,000 years ago. On Saipan fires are understood to interrupt the pattern of succession leading to the degradation of native limestone forests, the proliferation of grasslands and the eventual creation of badlands. Little baseline data regarding the spatial and temporal patterns of fire on Saipan exist to create effective Fire Management Plans. This project uses Landsat 8 images from April 2013 to July 2020 and the Normalized Burn Ratio …

Unified Methods In Collecting, Preserving, And Archiving Coral Bleaching And Restoration Specimens To Increase Sample Utility And Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Rebecca Vega Thurber, Emily R. Schmeltzer, Andréa G. Grottoli, Robert Van Woesik, Robert J. Toonen, Mark Warner, Kerri L. Dobson, Rowan H. Mclachlan, Katie Barott, Daniel J. Barshis, Justin Baumann, Leila Chapron, David J. Combosch, Adrienne M.S. Correa, Thomas M. Decarlo, Mary Hagedorn, Laetitia Hédouin, Kenneth Hoadley, Thomas Felis, Christine Ferrier-Pagès, Carly Kenkel, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Jennifer Matthews, Mónica Medina, Christopher Meyer, Corinna Oster, James Price, Hollie M. Putnam, Yvonne Sawall

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Coral reefs are declining worldwide primarily because of bleaching and subsequent mortality resulting from thermal stress. Currently, extensive efforts to engage in more holistic research and restoration endeavors have considerably expanded the techniques applied to examine coral samples. Despite such advances, coral bleaching and restoration studies are often conducted within a specific disciplinary focus, where specimens are collected, preserved, and archived in ways that are not always conducive to further downstream analyses by specialists in other disciplines. This approach may prevent the full utilization of unexpended specimens, leading to siloed research, duplicative efforts, unnecessary loss of additional corals to research …

A Global Agenda For Advancing Freshwater Biodiversity Research, Alain Maasri, Sonja C. Jähnig, Hendrik Freitag, 93 Co-Authors

Biology Faculty Publications

Global freshwater biodiversity is declining dramatically, and meeting the challenges of this crisis requires bold goals and the mobilisation of substantial resources. While the reasons are varied, investments in both research and conservation of freshwater biodiversity lag far behind those in the terrestrial and marine realms. Inspired by a global consultation, we identify 15 pressing priority needs, grouped into five research areas, in an effort to support informed stewardship of freshwater biodiversity. The proposed agenda aims to advance freshwater biodiversity research globally as a critical step in improving coordinated actions towards its sustainable management and conservation.

Drivers Of Extracellular Polysaccharide Production By A Mat-Forming Diatom, Kaitlin A. Stansbury

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microbial biofilms are held together by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which can be secreted by many organisms. EPS production can facilitate intercellular communication and inter-guild microbial mutualisms, intraspecific gamete exchange, nutrient sequestration, and desiccation resistance. Benthic microbial mats (periphyton) of the Florida Everglades and other karstic wetlands contain abundant EPS generated by mat-producing filamentous blue-green algae and many other species of mat-dwelling algae, cyanobacteria, and bacteria, including the most abundant Everglades diatom, Mastagloia calcarea. The benthic diatom genus Mastogloia is characterized by several morphological and physiological features that foster production of a ‘halo’ of EPS around the frustule, but the …

Temperature Stress And Disease Drives The Extirpation Of The Threatened Pillar Coral, Dendrogyra Cylindrus, In Southeast Florida, Nicholas P. Jones, Lystina Kabay, Kathleen Semon Lunz, David S. Gilliam

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Rare species population dynamics can elucidate the resilience of an ecosystem. On coral reefs, climate change and local anthropogenic stressors are threatening stony coral persistence, increasing the need to assess vulnerable species locally. Here, we monitored the threatened pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, population in southeast Florida, USA, in relation to consecutive heat stress events in 2014 and 2015. In the fall of each year, D. cylindrus colonies bleached following intense thermal stress and by June 2020 all monitored colonies died from a white-syndrome type disease. This resulted in the ecological extinction of D. cylindrus in the Southeast Florida Coral …

Editorial: Deep Pelagic Ecosystem Dynamics In A Highly Impacted Water Column: The Gulf Of Mexico After Deepwater Horizon, Tracey Sutton, Kevin M. Boswell, Heather Bracken-Grissom, Jose V. Lopez, Michael Vecchione, Marsh Youngbluth

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The intermediate-sized midwater fauna (fishes, shrimps, and cephalopods; “micronekton” collectively) are dominant components of the pelagic ocean, which is by far the largest ecosystem type on Earth by several metrics (volume, organismal numbers, biomass, and productivity). Deep-pelagic micronekton, those animals residing in the water column below 200 m depth during the day, are the direct link between plankton and oceanic top predators, and through the linked processes of feeding and daily vertical migration facilitate one of Earth's most important ecosystem services to humans, carbon sequestration. Despite increasing recognition of this importance, a disconnect exists between stewardship and human impact; only …

Thermal Acclimation Of Tropical Coral Reef Fishes To Global Heat Waves, Jacob L. Johansen, Lauren E. Nadler, Adam Habary, Alyssa J. Bowden, Jodie Rummer

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

As climate-driven heat waves become more frequent and intense, there is increasing urgency to understand how thermally sensitive species are responding. Acute heating events lasting days to months may elicit acclimation responses to improve performance and survival. However, the coordination of acclimation responses remains largely unknown for most stenothermal species. We documented the chronology of 18 metabolic and cardiorespiratory changes that occur in the gills, blood, spleen, and muscles when tropical coral reef fishes are thermally stressed (+3.0°C above ambient). Using representative coral reef fishes (Caesio cuning and Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus) separated by >100 million years of evolution and …

Anthropogenic Change On The Distribution Of Marine Megafauna And Their Prey, Baylie Fadool

Honors Theses

Anthropogenic change is impacting the distribution and survival of marine megafauna and their prey. Humans are changing every aspect of the marine environment, with effects reaching as large as changing the composition of marine environments to directly overexploiting species through the fishing industry. The role that marine megafauna play in balancing ecosystems, including as top apex predators, leads to detrimental results in the absences and population declines of these species. Migrations and declines due to threats on marine apex predator species will alter their environments by causing mesopredator release and changes in community structure, which is often associated with reduced …

Examination Of Parasite Assemblages In Killifish Of The Genus Fundulus Across The Atlantic Coast Of The United States And Canada, Derek Garvey

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Killifish of the genus Fundulus were examined to assess the factors shaping parasite community structure at a genus level. A database of previous parasite surveys on Fundulus species across the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada was created from a literature review. The database included parasite and environmental factor data from 15 sources. Additional sites from New Brunswick, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and South Carolina were sampled for Fundulus species. The resulting database includes data for 10 species from a total of 57 unique geographic sites. Data on the diversity and abundance of metazoan parasites were …

White Sharks As A Novel Threat To Sea Otter Populations In California, Kimberly S. Schmutz

Scientific Communication News

No abstract provided.

Creative Citizen Science Illuminates Complex Ecological Responses To Climate Change, Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, Amanda S. Gallinat, Richard B. Primack

Biology Faculty Publications

Climate change is causing the timing of key behaviors (i.e., phenology) to shift differently across trophic levels and among some interacting organisms (e.g., plants and pollinators, predators and prey), suggesting that interactions among species are being disrupted (1, 2). Studying the phenology of interactions, however, is difficult, which has limited researchers’ ability to zero in on changes in specific interactions or on the consequences of mismatches. In PNAS, Hassall et al. (3) use a combination of citizen science techniques to investigate the effects of climate change on dozens of specific interactions. They focus on a Batesian mimicry complex involving stinging …

Molecular Fossils From Phytoplankton Reveal Secular Pco2 Trend Over The Phanerozoic, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Johan W. H. Weijers, Brian S. Blais, Stefan Schouten, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté

Science and Technology Department Faculty Journal Articles

Past changes in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (PCO2) have had a major impact on earth system dynamics; yet, reconstructing secular trends of past PCO2 remains a prevalent challenge in paleoclimate studies. The current long-term PCO2reconstructions rely largely on the compilation of many different proxies, often with discrepancies among proxies, particularly for periods older than 100 million years (Ma). Here, we reconstructed Phanerozoic PCO2 from a single proxy: the stable carbon isotopic fractionation associated with photosynthesis (Ɛp) that increases as PCO2 increases. This concept has been widely applied to alkenones, but here, we …

A Hemimysis Driven Novel Ecosystem At A Modified Boulder Breakwall, Eric John Geisthardt

Theses and Dissertations

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is mandated to maintain and repair aging breakwall structures in all commercial ports on the Great Lakes. In May of 2014, the construction of Milwaukee Harbor USACE “green” breakwall (GBW) reconciliation created complex rocky aquatic habitat by depositing cobble-sized stone as a veneer over standard 6-10 ton boulders, thus creating “control” (boulder) and “treatment” (cobble) habitats. The breakwall is home to a prolific population of Hemimysis anomala, the introduced Ponto-Caspian mysid, which is significantly more abundant on cobble versus boulders (p<0.05, using a novel trap for Hemimysis). Fish and forage communities were sampled in 2015 and 2016 using a combination of experimental and micromesh gill nets, night scuba diving surveys, and a novel Hemimysis trap. This nearshore lithophilic mysid appears to provide a significant new seasonal food resource in the Milwaukee Harbor for pelagic prey fishes during inshore spawning migrations and upwelling events. Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax) fed heavily on Hemimysis with some individuals consuming hundreds of mysids. Night scuba diving surveys and gill netting confirmed that rainbow smelt preferred to forage on the cobble section (p<0.05), and also consumed more Hemimysis there than they did at the control breakwall site (p<0.05). Hemimysis were also the primary food item consumed by nearshore game fishes such as YOY yellow perch (Perca flavescens), YOY largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), and juvenile rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) caught at the breakwall. This study provides the first documented evidence that where abundant in the Laurentian Great Lakes, Hemimysis do have the ability to significantly impact local food webs and drive the feeding ecology of both pelagic transient and nearshore resident fishes.

Microbial Community Richness Distinguishes Shark Species Microbiomes In South Florida, Rachael Cassandra Karns

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The microbiome (microbial community) of individuals is crucial when characterizing and understanding processes that are required for organism function and survival. Microbial organisms, which make up an individual’s microbiome, can be linked to disease or function of the host organism. In humans, individuals differ substantially in their microbiome compositions in various areas of the body. The cause of much of the composition diversity is yet unexplained, however, it is speculated that habitat, diet, and early exposure to microbes could be altering the microbiomes of individuals (Human Microbiome Project Consortium, 2012b, 2012a). To date, only one study has reported on microbiome …

Weights And Balances: Integrating Models For Prevention And Response To Southern California Offshore Oil Spills, Carmen Watts Clayton, Amoret Bunn

STAR Program Research Presentations

Licensing offshore oil and gas reserves in the United States waters are overseen by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Enforcement (BSEE). The licensing application includes planning for any worst-case oil spill scenario between BSEE and the applicant based on lessons learned from historic offshore spills such as the Deepwater Horizon (2010), Exxon Valdez (1989), and the Union Oil Platform Blowout (1969). The process for planning to respond to oil spills involves coordination with multiple agencies, trustees, and stakeholders to ensure that oil spill responses consider multiple factors, including ecologically sensitive species, commercial transportation and fisheries, …

Reef Fish Spatial Distribution And Benthic Habitat Associations On The Southeast Florida Reef Tract, Dana Fisco

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The Florida Reef Tract (FRT) extends from the tropical Caribbean up the southeast coast of Florida into a temperate environment where tropical reef assemblages diminish with increasing latitude. This study used data from a three-year comprehensive fishery-independent survey to quantify reef fish spatial distribution along the Southeast FRT and define where the assemblage shifts from tropical to temperate. A total of 1,676 reef fish visual census samples were conducted to assess the populations on a stratified-random selection of sites of marine hardbottom habitats between the Miami River and St. Lucie inlet. Multivariate analyses were used to investigate differences in assemblages …

Finding Them Before They Find Us: Informatics, Parasites, And Environments In Accelerating Climate Change, Daniel R. Brooks, Eric P. Hoberg, Walter A. Boeger, Scott Lyell Gardner, Kurt E. Galbreath, David Herczeg, Hugo H. Mejía-Madrid, S. Elizabeth Rácz, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Parasites are agents of disease in humans, livestock, crops, and wildlife and are powerful representations of the ecological and historical context of the diseases they cause. Recognizing a nexus of professional opportunities and global public need, we gathered at the Cedar Point Biological Station of the University of Nebraska in September 2012 to formulate a cooperative and broad platform for providing essential information about the evolution, ecology, and epidemiology of parasites across host groups, parasite groups, geographical regions, and ecosystem types. A general protocol, documentation–assessment–monitoring–action (DAMA), suggests an integrated proposal to build a proactive capacity to understand, anticipate, and respond …

Integrating, Developing, And Testing Methods To Generate More Cohesive Approaches To Biogeographic Inference, Mallory Elizabeth Eckstut

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As a fundamental component of the developing discipline of conservation biogeography, broadscale analyses of biotic assembly and disassembly across multiple temporal and spatial scales provide an enhanced understanding of how geologic transformations and climate oscillations have shaped extant patterns of biodiversity. As with any scientific field, there are limitations in the case of biogeographic historical reconstructions. Historical reconstructions are only as robust as the theoretical underpinnings of the methods of reconstruction (including data collection, quality, analysis, and interpretation). Nevertheless, historical reconstructions of species distributions can help inform our understanding of how species respond to environmental change.

My dissertation takes a …

Freshwater Phytoplankton Populations Detected Using High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (Hplc) Of Taxon-Specific Pigments, Lauren Jeanne Simmons

Theses and Dissertations

Phytoplankton are key primary producers in aquatic ecosystems, and the principle food source for primary consumers. Individual phytoplankton species respond to different physical, chemical and biological parameters, so monitoring taxonomic composition of the phytoplankton community is a means to monitor changes in environmental conditions. Phytoplankton community changes have frequently been monitored by estimating biomass (using chlorophyll a, measured fluorometrically), and taxonomic data obtained from cell counts. While such methods are useful, they are time-consuming. I hypothesized that high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods, which have been frequently used in marine systems, would allow separation and identification of key pigments. …

Climate And Vegetation Change In The Newberry Mountains, Southern Clark County, Nevada, Ross Joseph Guida

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Ecological studies have shown worldwide that vegetation is being affected by climate change. Species are shifting to new elevations and physiographic positions to adapt to changes in their environment. More specifically, paleoecology studies in the Mojave Desert have shown shifting vegetation patterns in response to past warming and precipitation changes. Recent studies have shown mortality among desert plants related to extended drought and warming. However, few studies have shown how the geographic distribution of Mojave Desert species has changed during this most recent period of warming. This study addresses this gap in the literature by focusing on several plant species …

Slides: "Mitaku Oyasin" Means "We Are All Related", Bob Gough

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Bob Gough, NativeEnergy, Inc.

72 slides

Time Post-Hatch Caloric Value Of Artemia Salina, Jessie M. Sanders

Senior Honors Projects

In aquatic animal collections, such as those in the collection of Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration’s Fish & Invertebrate department, live food is an essential part of the diet of animals that are on display, used in education, and kept in reserve for exhibits. For Mystic Aquarium’s Fish & Invertebrate department, newly hatched Artemia salina, or brine shrimp, are fed to an assortment of fishes and invertebrates, including soft corals and jellyfish. Hatch brine is an important source of fatty acids, which are essential for proper growth and development. Hatch brine starts encapsulated in a cyst form and are …

Historical Evolution And Future Of Natural Resources Law And Policy: The Beginning Of An Argument And Some Modest Predictions, Sally K. Fairfax, Helen Ingram, Leigh Raymond

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

8 pages.

Includes bibliographical references

"Sally Fairfax, UC-Berkeley, Helen Ingram, UC-Irvine, and Leigh Raymond, Purdue University" -- Agenda

Private Rights And Collective Governance: A Functional Approach To Natural Resources Law, Eric T. Freyfogle

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

4 pages.

"Eric T. Freyfogle, Max L. Rowe Professor of Law, University of Illinois College of Law"

Interannual Variation Of Stratification In Lower Chesapeake Bay, Christopher S. Katzenmiller

OES Theses and Dissertations

Stratification in the water column can prove to be an important indicator to the state of the water column and ecosystem. The focus of this research is to evaluate trends in stratification in the Lower Chesapeake Bay. Detailed analysis was performed on a 14 year data set to study interannual variation in the region of study. Potential energy anomaly was used to quantify stratification. Potential energy anomaly is the amount of energy required to mix a water column. It is determined from the vertical density structure of density. Potential energy anomaly is the departure of potential energy from climate conditions. …

Historical Changes In Mid-Water Stands Of Common Reed In The Winnebago Pool Lakes, Wisconsin, Anthony O. Gabriel, Leo R. Bodensteiner

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Despite the tolerance of common reed grass to environmental extremes, mid-water stands in the Winnebago pool lakes of central Wisconsin appear to be diminishing. Formerly occupying shoreline locations, water level manipulations subsequent to dam construction beginning in the 1850's have isolated reed stands off shore. These stands have persisted but casual observations indicate that stand size has been declining. To address this perception we obtained an approximately decadal series of aerial photographs dating back to 1937 for four stands in Lake Poygan. Annual records were available for 1986–94. Using image analysis software, we determined shape and size metrics. Changes in …

A Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Riparian Vegetation Along Satus Creek On The Yakama Indian Reservation, Kathryn Gellenbeck

All Master's Theses

Satus Creek provides critical habitat for the Yakima River Basin steelhead. A diverse community of riparian vegetation is important for healthy fish habitat; vegetation changes can affect shade, cover, channel structure, water quality, and food availability. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and illustrate riparian vegetation change, both temporally and spatially, along three separate reaches of Satus Creek. A Geographic Information Systems approach was applied to assess the vegetation change by comparing plant species composition and density on 1949 and 1995 aerial photographs. The GIS approach allowed patterns and trends in the vegetation to be identified. In less …