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Articles 1 - 30 of 210
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Nekton Community Responses To Living Shoreline Restorations In Alabama, Shelby Kuck, Christopher Grant, Matheus De Barros, Alexandra Rodriguez, Ronald Baker
Nekton Community Responses To Living Shoreline Restorations In Alabama, Shelby Kuck, Christopher Grant, Matheus De Barros, Alexandra Rodriguez, Ronald Baker
Gulf and Caribbean Research
No abstract provided.
Integrating Remote Sensing With Ground-Based Observations To Quantify The Effects Of An Extreme Freeze Event On Black Mangroves (Avicennia Germinans) At The Landscape Scale, Melinda Martinez, Michael J. Osland, James B. Grace, Nicholas M. Enwright, Camille L. Stagg, Camille L. Stagg, Simen Kaalstad, Gordon H. Anderson, Elena A. Flores, Alejandro Fierro-Cabo
Integrating Remote Sensing With Ground-Based Observations To Quantify The Effects Of An Extreme Freeze Event On Black Mangroves (Avicennia Germinans) At The Landscape Scale, Melinda Martinez, Michael J. Osland, James B. Grace, Nicholas M. Enwright, Camille L. Stagg, Camille L. Stagg, Simen Kaalstad, Gordon H. Anderson, Elena A. Flores, Alejandro Fierro-Cabo
School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations
Climate change is altering the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Quantifying ecosystem responses to extreme events at the landscape scale is critical for understanding and responding to climate-driven change but is constrained by limited data availability. Here, we integrated remote sensing with ground-based observations to quantify landscape-scale vegetation damage from an extreme climatic event. We used ground- and satellite-based black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) leaf damage data from the northern Gulf of Mexico (USA and Mexico) to examine the effects of an extreme freeze in a region where black mangroves are expanding their range. The February 2021 …
An Ecological Assessment Of The Deep-Pelagic Fish Genus Cyclothone (Gonostomatidae; Stomiiformes), Possibly The World’S Most Abundant Fishes, In The Gulf Of Mexico, Olivia C. North-Menthonnex
An Ecological Assessment Of The Deep-Pelagic Fish Genus Cyclothone (Gonostomatidae; Stomiiformes), Possibly The World’S Most Abundant Fishes, In The Gulf Of Mexico, Olivia C. North-Menthonnex
All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations
The fish genus Cyclothone is considered the most abundant vertebrate taxon on Earth. Despite this assertion, very few detailed ecological studies of this genus exist for any site in the World Ocean, largely due to the lack of expertise (and willingness) to identify specimens from existing sample sets. This study will provide a species-level description of the abundance, vertical distribution, and size structuring of the genus Cyclothone in the Gulf of Mexico, a hyper-diverse, deep-pelagic ecosystem that is increasingly impacted by anthropogenic disturbances. As the putative most-abundant fishes in the ecosystem, this characterization is critically needed for a holistic understanding …
Morphological And Transcriptional Effects Of Crude Oil And Dispersant Exposure On The Marine Sponge Cinachyrella Alloclada, Yvain Desplat, Jacob F. Warner, Emily J. Blake, Nidhi Vijayan, Marie Cuvelier, Patricia Blackwelder, Jose V. Lopez
Morphological And Transcriptional Effects Of Crude Oil And Dispersant Exposure On The Marine Sponge Cinachyrella Alloclada, Yvain Desplat, Jacob F. Warner, Emily J. Blake, Nidhi Vijayan, Marie Cuvelier, Patricia Blackwelder, Jose V. Lopez
Biology Faculty Articles
Marine sponges play important roles in benthic ecosystems. More than providing shelter and food to other species, they help maintain water quality by regulating nitrogen and ammonium levels in the water, and bioaccumulate heavy metals. This system, however, is particularly sensitive to sudden environmental changes including catastrophic pollution event such as oil spills. Hundreds of oil platforms are currently actively extracting oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico. To test the vulnerability of the benthic ecosystems to oil spills, we utilized the Caribbean reef sponge, Cinachyrella alloclada, as a novel experimental indicator. We have exposed organisms to crude …
Can Larvae Of A Deep-Sea Gastropod, Thalassonerita Naticoidea, Swim To The Surface To Find Food In The Gulf Of Mexico?, Mitchell Hebner
Can Larvae Of A Deep-Sea Gastropod, Thalassonerita Naticoidea, Swim To The Surface To Find Food In The Gulf Of Mexico?, Mitchell Hebner
WWU Graduate School Collection
For larvae of benthic organisms living in the deep-sea, the location where they begin their dispersal influences their vector of travel because ocean currents affect larval dispersal when the larvae are in the water column during a possible vertical migration. The deep-sea is food-poor when compared to the food-rich surface waters, but planktotrophic (feeding) larval development of deep-sea benthic organisms is common. Despite the potential need for planktotrophic larvae of deep-sea organisms to access more nutrient-rich food sources and knowing a larva’s position in the water column can impact larval transport, we have very little understanding of where in the …
Effects Of Net Type On The Quantification Of Pelagic Shrimp And Krill In The Gulf Of Mexico, Eric J. Lee
Effects Of Net Type On The Quantification Of Pelagic Shrimp And Krill In The Gulf Of Mexico, Eric J. Lee
All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations
Trawls are an effective and widely used method for collecting micronekton because they can sample large volumes of sparsely distributed organisms, as well as allow for direct species identification of collected samples. However, net sampling methods are known to be highly variable in terms of design and catchability, and comparisons of deep-sea trawl data from two different types of nets over the same spatial and temporal scale are relatively rare. The current study is unique because it provides such an analysis for micronektonic crustaceans in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) by comparing the trawling efficacy of a smaller 10 m …
Size Structuring Of Myctophids In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico In The Years Following The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Adam Warren
Size Structuring Of Myctophids In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico In The Years Following The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Adam Warren
All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations
Body size is one of the main determinants of marine ecosystem structure and is correlated with many behavioral processes such as diel vertical migration (DVM). Myctophidae, a highly abundant, speciose, and globally distributed fish family, perform diel vertical migrations between the epipelagic zone at night and the mesopelagic zone during the day with vertical distributions varying with ontogeny, and therefore body length. Understanding how DVM contributes to an ecosystem’s structure is important to understanding ecosystem functioning, especially in response to anthropogenic impacts such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in myctophid …
Population Genomic Dynamics Of Mesopelagic Lanternfishes Diaphus Dumerilii, Lepidophanes Guentheri, And Ceratoscopelus Warmingii (Family: Myctophidae) In The Gulf Of Mexico, Andrea Bernard, Kimberly A. Finnegan, Tracey Sutton, Ron Eytan, Max Weber, Mahmood Shivji
Population Genomic Dynamics Of Mesopelagic Lanternfishes Diaphus Dumerilii, Lepidophanes Guentheri, And Ceratoscopelus Warmingii (Family: Myctophidae) In The Gulf Of Mexico, Andrea Bernard, Kimberly A. Finnegan, Tracey Sutton, Ron Eytan, Max Weber, Mahmood Shivji
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
Assessing the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS) on deep-sea fish assemblages of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has been hindered by an absence of baseline (pre-spill) data concerning the population genetic dynamics of these fishes. The lanternfishes (Myctophidae) are a speciose, yet understudied, taxonomic group, that comprise a significant portion of the global deep-sea biomass, making them integral members of meso- and bathy-pelagic food webs. Herein, we used a genomic approach (double digest restriction site associated DNA sequencing) to investigate the temporal genetic dynamics of three species of lanternfishes within the northern GOM in the region of …
Assemblage Composition And Vertical Distributions Of Deep-Sea Anglerfishes (Suborder: Ceratioidei) Of The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Kimberly S. Schmutz
Assemblage Composition And Vertical Distributions Of Deep-Sea Anglerfishes (Suborder: Ceratioidei) Of The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Kimberly S. Schmutz
All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations
The bathypelagic zone, despite being the largest cumulative ecosystem on the planet, represents the largest data gap in biological oceanography. In a deep environment with no solar light and pressures so high that survival is impossible for most marine organisms, some species have been able to adapt and overcome these challenges to radiate into diverse and successful taxa. Among the most notable of these successful taxa are the deep-sea anglerfishes (Lophiiformes: Ceratioidei). Ceratioid anglerfishes possess unique adaptations such as a symbiotic bioluminescent lure (females) and extreme dwarfism (males) that make them a particularly interesting group to study. Despite this research …
Spatial Variability Of Microzooplankton Grazing On Phytoplankton In Coastal Southern Florida, Usa, Nicole C. Millette, Christopher Kelble, Ian Smith, Kelly Montenero, Elizabeth Harvey
Spatial Variability Of Microzooplankton Grazing On Phytoplankton In Coastal Southern Florida, Usa, Nicole C. Millette, Christopher Kelble, Ian Smith, Kelly Montenero, Elizabeth Harvey
VIMS Articles
Microzooplankton are considered the primary consumers of phytoplankton in marine environments. Microzooplankton grazing rates on phytoplankton have been studied across the globe, but there are still large regions of the ocean that are understudied, such as sub-tropical coastal oceans. One of these regions is the coastal area around south Florida, USA. We measured microzooplankton grazing rates in two distinct environments around south Florida; the oligotrophic Florida Keys and the mesotrophic outflow from the Everglades. For 2-years from January 2018 to January 2020, we set up 55 dilution and light-dark bottle experiments at five stations to estimate the microzooplankton community grazing …
Dna Barcoding Enhances Large-Scale Biodiversity Initiatives For Deep-Pelagic Crustaceans Within The Gulf Of Mexico And Adjacent Waters, Carlos Varela
Dna Barcoding Enhances Large-Scale Biodiversity Initiatives For Deep-Pelagic Crustaceans Within The Gulf Of Mexico And Adjacent Waters, Carlos Varela
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
In this dissertation I investigate the biodiversity of marine deep-water crustaceans of the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent waters, focusing on pelagic crustaceans. Taxonomic and molecular techniques were utilized to document adult and larval crustacean specimens to better under their taxonomy, life history, evolutionary relationships and cryptic biodiversity. The use of molecular techniques to study organisms from habitats with limited accessibility provides tremendous potential. With prevalent anthropogenic threats and the delicate nature of deep-water habitats, the need to improve our understanding of these systems is clear. Molecular techniques can act as a fundamental tool to complement traditional taxonomy. The application …
Investigating Local Adaptation To Hypoxia Stress In The Eastern Oyster Through Comparative Transcriptomics, Heather Nichole Smith
Investigating Local Adaptation To Hypoxia Stress In The Eastern Oyster Through Comparative Transcriptomics, Heather Nichole Smith
LSU Master's Theses
Climate change represents one of the most important challenges to biodiversity, therefore it is important to understand the mechanisms that allow species to respond to rapid environmental change. Here, we compared two populations of eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, from the Gulf of Mexico to study the mechanisms underlying hypoxia tolerance. Using a common garden experiment and comparative transcriptomics, we identified sets of genes involved in the hypoxia response and found differences in both the timing and baseline expression of hypoxia-responsive genes between tolerant and sensitive populations, consistent with a scenario of local adaptation. These genes include the signaling transcription factor …
Applications And Mechanisms Of Near Infrared Spectroscopy For Age Estimation In Otoliths Of Red Snapper Lutjanus Campechanus, Michelle S. Passerotti
Applications And Mechanisms Of Near Infrared Spectroscopy For Age Estimation In Otoliths Of Red Snapper Lutjanus Campechanus, Michelle S. Passerotti
Theses and Dissertations
Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a light spectroscopy method useful for non-invasively discriminating and quantifying chemical composition of a wide variety of substances. Recently-developed applications of NIRS to fish age estimation across a range of taxa have sparked intense interest in exploring the feasibility of its use for rapid age estimation in fisheries population management. In this pursuit, development of species-specific calibration models relating traditionally-derived age estimates (i.e., those estimated from growth band counts) to NIR spectral signatures from ageing structures is required to derive predictive models that can then estimate age from rapid scans of whole ageing structures alone. …
A Synthesis Of Deepwater Horizon Impacts On Coastal And Nearshore Living Marine Resources, Steven A. Murawski, Joshua P. Kilborn, Adriana C. Bejarano, David Chagaris, David Donaldson, Frank J. Hernandez, Timothy C. Macdonald, Craig Newton, Ernst Peebles, Kelly L. Robinson
A Synthesis Of Deepwater Horizon Impacts On Coastal And Nearshore Living Marine Resources, Steven A. Murawski, Joshua P. Kilborn, Adriana C. Bejarano, David Chagaris, David Donaldson, Frank J. Hernandez, Timothy C. Macdonald, Craig Newton, Ernst Peebles, Kelly L. Robinson
Marine Science Faculty Publications
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico began on April 20, originating in the deep sea 66 km off the Louisiana coast. By early June, DWH oil had spread to coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and western Florida. An estimated 2,113 km of shoreline were oiled, making DWH the largest marine oil spill in global history by length of affected shoreline. Additionally, a series of oil spill response measures were deployed, including diversions of Mississippi River discharge to forestall oil coming ashore, and the establishment of large-scale fishery closures, with both affecting coastal resources to varying …
Elevating Dissolved Oxygen—Reflections On Developing And Using Long-Term Data, Nancy N. Rabalais
Elevating Dissolved Oxygen—Reflections On Developing And Using Long-Term Data, Nancy N. Rabalais
Gulf and Caribbean Research
This prospectus took me about as long to generate as my 36—year record of working on the issue of northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) oxygen deficiency, or so I felt. There was so much to cover, but I focused on the issue of hypoxia on the Louisiana continental shelf from the early 1980s to present and my participation in the research and outreach. Not that I was ignoring other aspects of my academic research career (e.g., stone crab populations and their differences in physiology and larval development along the nGOM coast; settlement of crab megalopae, especially blue crabs, on artificial …
Importance Of Low-Relief Nursery Habitat For Reef Fishes, Michael A. Dance, Ray R. Rooker, Richard J. Kline, Antonietta Quigg, Gregory R. Stunz, R. J. David Wells, Kirsten Lara, Jessica Lee, Bobbie Suarez
Importance Of Low-Relief Nursery Habitat For Reef Fishes, Michael A. Dance, Ray R. Rooker, Richard J. Kline, Antonietta Quigg, Gregory R. Stunz, R. J. David Wells, Kirsten Lara, Jessica Lee, Bobbie Suarez
School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations
Coastal restoration projects to mitigate environmental impacts have increased global demand for sand resources. Unfortunately, these resources are often extracted from sand/shell banks on the inner continental shelf, resulting in significant alteration or loss of low-relief reefs in coastal oceans. Experimental reefs (oyster shell, limestone rubble, composite) were deployed in the western Gulf of Mexico to assess their potential value as nurseries for newly settled reef fishes. Occurrence, abundance, and species richness of juvenile fishes were significantly higher on all three types of low-relief reefs compared with unconsolidated sediment. Moreover, reefs served as nursery habitat for a range of reef …
Trophic Structure And Sources Of Variation Influencing The Stable Isotope Signatures Of Meso- And Bathypelagic Micronekton Fishes, Travis M. Richards, Tracey Sutton, R. J.David Wells
Trophic Structure And Sources Of Variation Influencing The Stable Isotope Signatures Of Meso- And Bathypelagic Micronekton Fishes, Travis M. Richards, Tracey Sutton, R. J.David Wells
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
To better understand spatiotemporal variation in the trophic structure of deep-pelagic species, we examined the isotope values of particulate organic matter (POM) (isotopic baseline) and seven deep-pelagic fishes with similar diet compositions but contrasting vertical distributions across mesoscale features in the Gulf of Mexico using stable isotope and amino acid compound-specific isotope analyses. Species examined included four migratory (Benthosema suborbitale, Lepidophanes guentheri, Melamphaes simus, Sigmops elongatus) and three non-migratory zooplanktivorous fishes (Argyropelecus hemigymnus, Cyclothone obscura, Sternoptyx pseudobscura). Isotopic values of POM increased with depth, with meso- and bathypelagic samples characterized by higher δ C and δ N values relative to …
First Insights Into The Vertical Habitat Use Of The Whitespotted Eagle Ray Aetobatus Narinari Revealed By Pop‐Up Satellite Archival Tags, L. R. Brewster, B. V. Cahill, M. N. Burton, C. Dougan, J. S. Herr, L. Issac Norton, S. A. Mcguire, M. Pico, E. Urban-Gedamke, K. Bassos-Hull, J. P. Tyminski, R. E. Hueter, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Mahmood S. Shivji, N. Burnie, M. J. Ajemian
First Insights Into The Vertical Habitat Use Of The Whitespotted Eagle Ray Aetobatus Narinari Revealed By Pop‐Up Satellite Archival Tags, L. R. Brewster, B. V. Cahill, M. N. Burton, C. Dougan, J. S. Herr, L. Issac Norton, S. A. Mcguire, M. Pico, E. Urban-Gedamke, K. Bassos-Hull, J. P. Tyminski, R. E. Hueter, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Mahmood S. Shivji, N. Burnie, M. J. Ajemian
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
The whitespotted eagle ray Aetobatus narinari is a tropical to warm‐temperate benthopelagic batoid that ranges widely throughout the western Atlantic Ocean. Despite conservation concerns for the species, its vertical habitat use and diving behaviour remain unknown. Patterns and drivers in depth distribution of A. narinari were investigated at two separate locations—western North Atlantic (Islands of Bermuda) and Eastern Gulf of Mexico (Sarasota, Florida, USA). Between 2010 and 2014, seven pop‐up satellite archival tags (PSATs) were attached to A. narinari using three methods: a through‐tail suture; external tail‐band; and through‐wing attachment. Retention time ranged from 0–180 days, with tags attached via …
Taxonomic Richness And Diversity Of Larval Fish Assemblages In The Oceanic Gulf Of Mexico: Links To Oceanographic Conditions, Corinne R. Meinert, Kimberly Clausen-Sparks, Maëlle Cornic, Tracey Sutton, Jay R. Rooker
Taxonomic Richness And Diversity Of Larval Fish Assemblages In The Oceanic Gulf Of Mexico: Links To Oceanographic Conditions, Corinne R. Meinert, Kimberly Clausen-Sparks, Maëlle Cornic, Tracey Sutton, Jay R. Rooker
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
Biodiversity enhances the productivity and stability of marine ecosystems and provides important ecosystem services. The aim of this study was to characterize larval fish assemblages in pelagic waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGoM) and identify oceanographic conditions associated with areas of increased taxonomic richness (T ) and Shannon diversity (H’). Summer ichthyoplankton surveys were conducted in the NGoM in 2015 and 2016 using neuston net (surface layer; upper 1 m) and oblique bongo net (mixed layer; 0–100 m) tows. Over 17,000 fish larvae were collected over the two-year study, and 99 families of fish larvae were present. Catch …
Combined Edna And Acoustic Analysis Reflects Diel Vertical Migration Of Mixed Consortia In The Gulf Of Mexico, Cole G. Easson, Kevin M. Boswell, Nicholas Tucker, Joseph D. Warren, Jose V. Lopez
Combined Edna And Acoustic Analysis Reflects Diel Vertical Migration Of Mixed Consortia In The Gulf Of Mexico, Cole G. Easson, Kevin M. Boswell, Nicholas Tucker, Joseph D. Warren, Jose V. Lopez
Biology Faculty Articles
Oceanic diel vertical migration (DVM) constitutes the daily movement of various mesopelagic organisms migrating vertically from depth to feed in shallower waters and return to deeper water during the day. Accurate classification of taxa that participate in DVM remains non-trivial, and there can be discrepancies between methods. DEEPEND consortium (www.deependconsortium.org) scientists have been characterizing the diversity and trophic structure of pelagic communities in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM). Profiling has included scientific echosounders to provide accurate and quantitative estimates of organismal density and timing as well as quantitative net sampling of micronekton. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) can …
The Expanded Footprint Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico Deep-Sea Benthos, Michael G. Reuscher, Jeffrey G. Baguley, Paul A. Montagna
The Expanded Footprint Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico Deep-Sea Benthos, Michael G. Reuscher, Jeffrey G. Baguley, Paul A. Montagna
C-IMAGE Publications
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout off the coast of Louisiana caused the largest marine oil spill on record. Samples were collected 2–3 months after the Macondo well was capped to assess damage to macrofauna and meiofauna communities. An earlier analysis of 58 stations demonstrated severe and moderate damage to an area of 148 km2. An additional 58 archived stations have been analyzed to enhance the resolution of that assessment and determine if impacts occurred further afield. Impacts included high levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the sediment, low diversity, low evenness, and …
Hiding In Plain Sight: Elopomorph Larvae Are Important Contributors To Fish Biodiversity In A Low-Latitude Oceanic Ecosystem, Jon A. Moore, Dante Fenolio, April Coan, Tracey Sutton
Hiding In Plain Sight: Elopomorph Larvae Are Important Contributors To Fish Biodiversity In A Low-Latitude Oceanic Ecosystem, Jon A. Moore, Dante Fenolio, April Coan, Tracey Sutton
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
Leptocephalus larvae of elopomorph fishes are a cryptic component of fish diversity in nearshore and oceanic habitats. However, identifying those leptocephali can be important in illuminating species richness in a region. Since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, sampling of offshore fishes in the epi-, meso-, and upper bathypelagic depth strata of the northern Gulf of Mexico resulted in 8989 identifiable specimens of leptocephalus larvae or transforming juveniles, in 118 taxa representing 83 recognized and established species and an additional 35 distinctive leptocephalus morphotypes not yet linked to a known described species. Leptocephali account for ∼13% of the total …
Pelagic Habitat Partitioning Of Late-Larval And Juvenile Tunas In The Oceanic Gulf Of Mexico, Nina Pruzinsky, Rosanna Milligan, Tracey Sutton
Pelagic Habitat Partitioning Of Late-Larval And Juvenile Tunas In The Oceanic Gulf Of Mexico, Nina Pruzinsky, Rosanna Milligan, Tracey Sutton
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
Tunas are ecologically important in pelagic ecosystems, but due to their high economic value, large-bodied species are overfished. Declines in fishery landings of large-bodied tuna species in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) are expected to increase fishing pressures on unmanaged, small-bodied tuna species, whose life history traits are less known. While predicting spawning stocks and recruitment success typically focuses on estimates of larval abundances, juveniles may provide a better estimate of future adult stock sizes, as they are more likely to survive to adulthood because mortality rates scale inversely with body size. However, distributional studies on juveniles are rare, leading …
The Southern Gulf Of Mexico: A Baseline Radiocarbon Isoscape Of Surface Sediments And Isotopic Excursions At Depth, Samantha H Bosman, Patrick Schwing, Rebekka A. Larson, Natalie E. Wildermann, Gregg R. Brooks, Isabel Romero, Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza, Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernández, Maria Luisa Machain-Castillo, Adolfo Gracia, Elva Escobar-Briones, Steven Murawski, David Hollander, Jeffrey P. Chanton
The Southern Gulf Of Mexico: A Baseline Radiocarbon Isoscape Of Surface Sediments And Isotopic Excursions At Depth, Samantha H Bosman, Patrick Schwing, Rebekka A. Larson, Natalie E. Wildermann, Gregg R. Brooks, Isabel Romero, Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza, Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernández, Maria Luisa Machain-Castillo, Adolfo Gracia, Elva Escobar-Briones, Steven Murawski, David Hollander, Jeffrey P. Chanton
C-IMAGE Publications
The southern Gulf of Mexico (sGoM) is home to an extensive oil recovery and development infrastructure. In addition, the basin harbors sites of submarine hydrocarbon seepage and receives terrestrial inputs from bordering rivers. We used stable carbon, nitrogen, and radiocarbon analyses of bulk sediment organic matter to define the current baseline isoscapes of surface sediments in the sGoM and determined which factors might influence them. These baseline surface isoscapes will be useful for accessing future environmental impacts. We also examined the region for influence of hydrocarbon deposition in the sedimentary record that might be associated with hydrocarbon recovery, spillage and …
Feeding Ecology Of Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) And Vermilion Snapper (Rhomboplites Aurorubens) Coexisting At The Louisiana Shelf-Edge Banks, Katherine M. Ellis
Feeding Ecology Of Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) And Vermilion Snapper (Rhomboplites Aurorubens) Coexisting At The Louisiana Shelf-Edge Banks, Katherine M. Ellis
LSU Master's Theses
Niche partitioning, the process by which competing species use different subsets of the available resources, is commonly used to explain the coexistence of closely related species. In the northwest Gulf of Mexico on the shelf-edge banks, red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) and vermilion snapper (Rhomboplites aurorubens) are two coexisting closely related species. Yet, little is known about how these species partition resources. In this study, niche partitioning of red snapper and vermilion snapper was investigated using gut contents and stable isotopes. While dietary niche partitioning was apparent, the species relied upon similar prey and displayed isotopic niche overlap, …
Complete Mitochondrial Genome Of Carijoa Riisei (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860) (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea: Stolonifera: Clavulariidae), Erin E. Easton, David Hicks
Complete Mitochondrial Genome Of Carijoa Riisei (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860) (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea: Stolonifera: Clavulariidae), Erin E. Easton, David Hicks
School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations
We report the first complete Stolonifera mitochondrial genome. Carijoa riisei (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860) isolate CLP2_A03 was collected by scuba at 32 m on the USTS Texas Clipper (27° 53.7827′N, 93° 36.2702′W). The complete mitogenome has the ancestral octocoral gene order for its 14 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, and one tRNA gene. It is 18,714 bp (30.7% A, 15.8% C, 18.8% G, and 34.7% T). Of the Alcyonacea mitogenomes published to date, it is most genetically similar (94% uncorrected) to Sinularia ceramensis Verseveldt, 1977 (NC_044122).
Dynamics Of The Loop Current System And Its Effects On Surface And Subsurface Properties In The Gulf Of Mexico, Richard James Brokaw
Dynamics Of The Loop Current System And Its Effects On Surface And Subsurface Properties In The Gulf Of Mexico, Richard James Brokaw
Theses and Dissertations
Surface circulation in the Gulf of Mexico is dominated by the Loop Current System (LCS), including the Loop Current (LC) and its associated eddies. The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) also displays long-term surface gradients of temperature and salinity due to climatological features including the intrusion of warm, saline waters from the Caribbean Sea and the seasonal deposition of freshwater from the Mississippi River System caused by seasonal increases in snow melt and precipitation over the watershed. This research aims to increase the understanding of the LCS through the investigation of its relationship with these surface gradients. A classification system of …
The Vertical And Horizontal Distribution Of Deep-Sea Crustaceans In The Order Euphausiacea In The Vicinity Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Tamara Frank, Charles Douglas Fine, Eric A. Burdett, April Cook, Tracey Sutton
The Vertical And Horizontal Distribution Of Deep-Sea Crustaceans In The Order Euphausiacea In The Vicinity Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Tamara Frank, Charles Douglas Fine, Eric A. Burdett, April Cook, Tracey Sutton
Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles
The vertical and horizontal distributions of Euphausiacea in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), including the location of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, were analyzed from 340 trawl samples collected between April and June 2011. This study is the first comprehensive survey of euphausiid distributions from depths deeper than 1000 m in the GOM and includes stratified sampling from five discrete depth ranges (0–200 m, 200–600 m, 600–1000 m, 1000–1200 m, and 1200–1500 m), and expands the depth ranges of 30 species. In addition, this study demonstrates significantly higher abundance and biomass of the euphausiid assemblage from slope vs. offshore …
Oceanographic Structure And Light Levels Drive Patterns Of Sound Scattering Layers In A Low-Latitude Oceanic System, Kevin M. Boswell, Marta D'Elia, Matthew Johnston, John A. Mohan, Joseph D. Warren, R. J. David Wells, Tracey Sutton
Oceanographic Structure And Light Levels Drive Patterns Of Sound Scattering Layers In A Low-Latitude Oceanic System, Kevin M. Boswell, Marta D'Elia, Matthew Johnston, John A. Mohan, Joseph D. Warren, R. J. David Wells, Tracey Sutton
Biology Faculty Articles
Several factors have been reported to structure the spatial and temporal patterns of sound scattering layers, including temperature, oxygen, salinity, light, and physical oceanographic conditions. In this study, we examined the spatiotemporal variability of acoustically detected sound scattering layers in the northern Gulf of Mexico to investigate the drivers of this variability, including mesoscale oceanographic features [e.g., Loop Current-origin water (LCOW), frontal boundaries, and Gulf Common Water]. Results indicate correlations in the vertical position and acoustic backscatter intensity of sound scattering layers with oceanographic conditions and light intensity. LCOW regions displayed consistent decreases, by a factor of two and four, …
Chronic Pah Exposures And Associated Declines In Fish Health Indices Observed For Ten Grouper Species In The Gulf Of Mexico, Erin Pulster, Adolfo Gracia, Maickel Armenteros, Brigid Carr, Justin Mrowicki, Steven Murawski
Chronic Pah Exposures And Associated Declines In Fish Health Indices Observed For Ten Grouper Species In The Gulf Of Mexico, Erin Pulster, Adolfo Gracia, Maickel Armenteros, Brigid Carr, Justin Mrowicki, Steven Murawski
C-IMAGE Publications
Ten grouper species grouper (n = 584) were collected throughout the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) from 2011 through 2017 to provide information on hepatobiliary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. Liver and bile samples were analyzed for PAHs and their metabolites using triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-F), respectively. Data were compared among species and sub-regions of the GoM to understand spatiotemporal exposure dynamics in these economically and ecologically important species. Significant differences in the composition and concentrations of PAHs were detected spatially, …