Biophysical Factors Affecting Habitat Suitability For Crassostrea Virginica, Jason D. Tilley

Dissertations

Oyster reefs provide a variety of important ecosystem services. However, the mortality rate of eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, the dominant species that produces oyster reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico, is increasing at an alarming rate due to a variety of abiotic and biological factors. I examined how biophysical factors, including the less-studied fatty acid profiles of the suspended particulate matter on which oysters feed, influenced morphometric condition of C. virginica.

I sampled suspended particulate matter (SPM) and oysters in-situ in the western Mississippi Sound, which historically supported the majority of oyster production in Mississippi waters. Sampling …

Biochemical Markers Of Liver Toxicity Among Coal Mine Workers Of Punjab, Pakistan Suffering From Hcv, Aima Iram Batool, Asma Noreen, Naima Huma Naveed, Iram Inayat, Muhammad Fayyaz Ur Rehman, Fariha Idrees, Muhammad Ali Kanwal, Syeda Humaira Jabeen, Hakim Bibi

Journal of Bioresource Management

Hepatitis C is among the leading hepatic disorders in current period through which about 3 % world population has been anguish among them 170 million were diagnosed as persistent carriers. A great range of alteration in liver biochemical parameters were found to be allied with HCV infestation. Current study was designed to evaluate the extent of HCV mediated abnormalities in liver biochemical markers which includes ALT (alanine aminotransferase), AST (Aspartate transaminase), ALP (Alkaline Phosphatase) and serum bilirubin. The study was conducted on coal miners of Punjab province, Pakistan. HCV was primarily diagnosed through one step rapid test device after which …

Determination Of Cadmium Uptake In Crassostrea Virginica Shell Under Controlled Conditions, Joseph John Pavelites Ii

<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>

The objective of this thesis was to meet growing demand for the development of environmental biomonitors that protect ecosystems and public health. To do this, I determined the potential of oyster shell as a bioindicator of cadmium (Cd) in the environment by determining the mode of Cd uptake and relationships between Cd concentrations in the environment, shell, and soft tissues of juvenile eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin). I performed a review of the literature on the ability of oyster shell to retain metal contaminants and the factors that could affect this process (Chapter 2). I then reared C. virginica …

Physiological Impacts Of Lampricides On Invasive Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon Marinus) And Non-Target Fishes, Razvan, Adrian Ionescu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Parasitic sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) ingest large quantities of blood from fishes using their oral disc and rasping tongue, most often killing the host. In the early 1900s, sea lamprey invaded the Laurentian Great Lakes, decimating sport, commercial and culturally significant fisheries. Since the early 1960s, chemical control using the lampricides 3- trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) and niclosamide have helped to reduce sea lamprey populations by 90%. Lampricides are applied to larval lamprey nursery streams targeting many generations of lamprey at once. However, there is concern about the potential adverse effects of lampricides on other fishes, particularly vulnerable lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) …

A Bioinformatic Analysis Of The Biosynthesis Of Carotenoids In The Copepod Tigriopus Californicus, Anchalya Balasubramaniam

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Biological pigments, also called biochromes, are coloured compounds which are displayed by a variety of life forms, including animals, due to selective colour absorption. The combination of light absorption and reflection enables each pigment to portray a distinct colour which results in the broad spectrum of colours we observe in our surroundings. Carotenoids are a large group of yellow, orange, and red biological pigments found in living organisms. Our current biomolecular knowledge of carotenoids is heavily derived from studying the pathway in photosynthetic prokaryotes, bacteria, fungi, and plants. Carotenoid pigments are exceptionally multifunctional as they act as photo-protectors against …

Frontiers In Otolith Chemistry: Insights, Advances And Applications, B. D. Walther, K. E. Limburg, C. M. Jones, J. J. Schaffler

OES Faculty Publications

The rapid proliferation of publications employing chemical assays of fish hard parts, and otoliths in particular, has led to many novel insights into the migration patterns, life history strategies and mixed stock dynamics of fishes across the globe (Campana et al., 2000; Elsdon et al., 2008; Walther & Limburg, 2012). These insights include uncovering diverse migratory strategies within species and populations (Kerr et al., 2009; Hogan et al., 2014; Schoen et al., 2016), quantifying rates of mixing among stocks across management boundaries (Rooker et al., 2008; Walther & Thorrold, 2010) and estimating the relative …

Beyond Zar: The Use And Abuse Of Classification Statistics For Otolith Chemistry, C. M. Jones, M. Palmers, J. J. Schaffler

OES Faculty Publications

Classification method performance was evaluated using otolith chemistry of juvenile Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus when assumptions of data normality were met and were violated. Four methods were tested [linear discriminant function analysis (LDFA), quadratic discriminant function analysis (QDFA), random forest (RF) and artificial neural networks (ANN)] using computer simulation to determine their performance when variable-group means ranged from small to large and their performance under conditions of typical skewness to double the amount of skewness typically observed. Using the kappa index, the parametric methods performed best after applying appropriate data transformation, gaining 2% better performance with LDFA performing slightly better …

An Investigation Of Juvenile Alewife (Alosa Pseudoharengus) Habitat Use And Growth Using Natural Markers, Gregory Norman Labonte Ms

All Student Scholarship

This research attempts to connect patterns in growth and migration of an anadromous species. The goal of this research was to understand habitat movements and growth of juvenile alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) in the Penobscot Estuary and Bay through the use of otolith microchemistry, otolith growth increments, and a laboratory stable isotope turnover study. Understanding the connection between growth and movement of juvenile alewives may lead to more accurate and sophisticated conservation and restoration methods for anadromous species.

Linking Old Librarianship To New: Aligning 5-Steps Of The Innovator's Dna In Creating Thematic Discovery Systems For The Everglades, L. Bryan Cooper, Margarita Perez Martinez

Works of the FIU Libraries

This poster presentation from the May 2015 Florida Library Association Conference, along with the Everglades Explorer discovery portal at http://ee.fiu.edu, demonstrates how traditional bibliographic and curatorial principles can be applied to: 1) selection, cross-walking and aggregation of metadata linking end-users to wide-spread digital resources from multiple silos; 2) harvesting of select PDFs, HTML and media for web archiving and access; 3) selection of CMS domains, sub-domains and folders for targeted searching using an API.

Choosing content for this discovery portal is comparable to past scholarly practice of creating and publishing subject bibliographies, except metadata and data are housed in …

Biological And Physiological Condition Of Juvenile California Halibut (Paralichthys Californicus) Exposed To A Contamination Gradient In Mission Bay, Ca, Kevin Stolzenbach

Theses

Contaminated sediments in marine environments have been shown to be good indicators of ecological risk and a means to assess anthropogenic impacts on marine habitats and the animals that inhabit them (Long et al. 1995, Rattner 2009). Estuarine sediments are especially complex media with regard to physical, chemical, and biological characteristics that trap, store, modify and sometimes release contaminants to the biota (Long et al. 1995). Especially vulnerable are animals that are in constant contact with the sediments, such as flatfishes that partially bury themselves for camouflage (Costa et al. 2011). Impacts can be assessed in a number of ways, …

Estrogenic Effects On A Protandrous Hermaphroditic Species: Amphiprion Percula, Randall Burns, Katie Dose

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Estrogen concentrations are increased in aquatic environments due to the addition of pharmaceutical drugs (i.e. birth control) through runoff water. This manipulates maturation of sexes within many species that inhabit aquatic enviornments, including fresh and marine habitats. Amphiprion percula exhibit a hierarchal system behavioral pattern, which determines the social status of individuals within a group. Multiple clown anemonefish, A. percula were studied via a controlled environment and hierarchal succession was observed under estrogenic additions. From this study, data on sex change of a hermaphroditic protandrous species was observed under the influence of three concentrations of natural estrogen. Based on sex …

Distribution And Elimination Of 3-Trifluoromethyl-4-Nitrophenol (Tfm) By Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon Marinus) And Non-Target, Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) And Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser Fulvescens), Michael W. Le Clair

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The pesticide, 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM), has been highly successful in the control of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) populations in the Great Lakes. Treatments with TFM involve applying it to streams, where it targets larval sea lamprey which live burrowed in the stream substrate. While the toxic mechanism of TFM has been elucidated, and its effects on sea lamprey described, its effects on non-target fish species such as rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) are not as well understood. The present work demonstrated that rainbow trout show a great capacity to detoxify the lampricide using glucuronidation, when exposed to …

Validation Of Antibodies Used To Study Hypoxia Inducible Factors In Two Species Of Fundulus, Jenna D. Hill

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) are transcription factors and the master regulators of oxygen-dependent gene expression in animals. The focus of this thesis is the distribution of HIF protein in tissues of the fish Fundulus heteroclitus and F. grandis, two widespread species that occur in naturally hypoxic waters. Polyclonal antibodies against HIF-1α, HIF-2α, and HIF-3α were tested on proteins made in vitro and on extracts made from several tissues of normoxic and hypoxic fish. Antibodies against HIF-1α and 3α bound specifically to full length protein made in vitro, and produced bands on western blots of nuclear extracts of near …

Effect Of Anthraquinone Dyes On The Carbohydrate, Protein And Lipid Content In The Muscle Of Channa Punctatus And Cyprinus Carpio, Rajee Olaganathan, Jamila Patterson

Publications

Channa punctatus and Cyprinus carpio was exposed to sub lethal concentrations viz., 6.15 and 6.60 mg/l of vat blue 4 and vat green 1 respectively for a period of thirty days. The cumulative effect of these two dyes on the total carbohydrate, protein and lipid levels in the muscle of both the fishes were assayed on 7th, 18th and 30th day of exposure. The mean carbohydrate content of C. punctatus (both control and treated fish) collected on 18th and 30th day showed a significant difference (P < 0.01 to 0.04). In the case of control and treated C. carpio the data collected on 30th day showed significant variation (P < 0.04) in the carbohydrate content of the muscle. Student’s ‘t’ test analysis conducted on the protein content of C. punctatus during different occasions registered a significant decrease; in case of lipid content, except between the 1st and 30th day in all other cases the ‘t’ value is not significant. In case of C. carp protein and lipid content were observed to increase during the 7th day and thereafter a marked decrease was recorded on the 18th and 30th day of exposure. When the data was subjected to student’s ‘t’ test, both in protein and lipid, significant difference could not be recorded.

Accumulation Of Polonium-210 In Different Species Of Fish In Lake Mead, Suraj Ghevarghese John, Shungmugam Nallaperumal, Vernon Hodge

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Discovered by Pierre Curie and Marie Skłodowska-Curie in 1898, polonium is a chemical element with an atomic number of 84. This rare naturally occurring radioactive element is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and forms in uranium ores. Polonium-210 is an naturally occurring radioactive element with a half-life of 138.376 days(1). This element is found in trace amounts in most organisms. Our research is focused on the accumulation of polonium-210 in fish that occupy in Lake Mead.

The sample species is chosen based on varying lake stratification (layers of the lake). This gives us a good idea of the difference …

Letter From The Dean, Lalit Verma

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Stable Isotope Dynamics In Summer Flounder Tissues, With Application To Dietary Assessments In Chesapeake Bay, Andre Buchheister

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Stable isotope techniques were applied to summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, in Chesapeake Bay to elucidate the relative importance of different prey groups on the growth and productivity of this species. Prior to field application, a laboratory diet-shift study was conducted to evaluate methodological assumptions and obtain necessary isotopic parameters. Specifically, the goals of the laboratory study were to 1) determine isotopic turnover rates and fractionations of δ13C and δ15N in liver, whole blood, and white muscle and 2) estimate the relative importance of growth and metabolic processes on isotopic turnover. Groups of captive juvenile summer flounder (130-255mm total length) were …

Accumulation Of Phycotoxins In The Mussel Mytilus Galloprovincialis From The Central Adriatic Sea, Maja Pavela-Vrančić, Ivana Ujević, Živana Ninčević Gladan, Ambrose Furey

Physical Sciences Publications

Surveys of DSP (Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning) toxin profiles in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis from coastal waters of the central Adriatic Sea, over the years 1995 to 2001, demonstrate that incidents of shellfish toxicity in this area are dominated by the occurrence of okadaic acid (OA) and a PTX derivative, 7-epi-pectenotoxin-2-seco acid (7-epi-PTX-2SA). Toxin composition and the relative ratio of toxic components in shellfish is in correlation with the occurrence of DSP producing organisms from the Dinophysis species along with Prorocentrum micans and Lingulodinium polyedrum. The occurrence of D. sacculus shortly before the appearance of OA in shellfish implicates its possible …

Vaccines For Infection Salmon Anemia Virus, Nathan Edward Charles Brown

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus is an emerging pathogen of fanned Atlantic salmon. Due to the massive economic losses inflicted by the ISA virus, effective measures to control future outbreaks are necessary. An attractive method for preventing ISA virus from infecting stocks of Atlantic salmon is vaccination. DNA vaccination is a proven cheap, effective means of protecting fish from aquatic viruses. In this thesis DNA vaccination of Atlantic salmon was investigated. Three different strains of ISA virus were cultured and purified by density gradient ultracentrifugation. ISA virus RNA was isolated and used to amplify full-length cDNAs of five ISA virus …

Demographic Assessment Of The Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) In Chesapeake Bay Using Extractable Lipofuscins As Age Markers, Se-Jong Ju, David H. Secor, H. Rodger Harvey

OES Faculty Publications

The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) plays an important economic and ecological role in estuaries and coastal habitats from the Gulf of Mexico to the east coast of North America, but demographic assessments are limited by length-based methods. We applied an alternative aging method using biochemical measures of metabolic byproducts (lipofuscins) sequestered in the neural tissue of eyestalks to examine population age structure. From Chesapeake Bay, subsamples of animals collected from the 1998-99 (n-769) and 1999-2000 (n=367) winter dredge surveys were collected and lipofuscin was measured. Modal analysis of the lipofuscin index provided separation into three modes, whereas carapace-width …

Comparison Of Water Quality, Zooplankton Density, And Cover In Razorback Sucker (Xyrauchen Texanus [Abbott]) Spawning Areas Of Lake Mead And Lake Mohave, Michael E. Golden, Paul B. Holden, Southern Nevada Water Authority

Publications (WR)

Las Vegas Bay and Echo Bay in Lake Mead have small, self-sustaining populations of razorback sucker (Xyrauchen texanus [Abbot]). Increased productivity and cover have been hypothesized as reasons for successful recruitment of razorback sucker in Lake Mead. Conversely, reproduction has been documented on Lake Mohave, another lower Colorado River reservoir, but no recruitment has been observed. In 2000, BIO-WEST, Inc. was contracted by the Southern Nevada Water Authority to design and implement a study to examine nutrient levels, zooplankton density, and cover in areas with and without razorback sucker recruitment success. We sampled Echo Bay, Las Vegas Bay, and …

Diet And Growth Of Larval And Juvenile Grass Pickerel, Esox Americanus Vermiculatus, And Central Mudminnow, Umbra Limi, In The Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area, Cabell County, West Virginia, Erica Midkiff

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The grass pickerel, Esox americanus vermiculatus, is listed as Undetermined on the Vertebrate Species List of Concern in West Virginia. The central mudminnow, Umbra limi, is a disjunct population in Green Bottom Swamp. The lentic, vegetated areas that are required for spawning for the grass pickerel and the central mudminnow have been reduced by residential, agricultural, and industrial developments. Green Bottom Swamp, a naturally occurring wetland of 58 ha, and a nearby mitigated wetland of 29 ha, provides spawning habitat for the grass pickerel and the mudminnow. Fishes were collected in beds of Potamogetan crispus and Ceratophyllum demursum …

Estuarine Studies : An Activities Text For Maine Schools, Education Division - Department Of Marine Resources

Maine Collection

Estuarine Studies : An Activities Text for Maine Schools

Fisheries Education Unit #16 - Produced by The Education Division, Department of Marine Resources, State House Station 21, Augusta, Maine 04333-0021.

Revised 1990. Printed Under Appropriation No. 3140.3260.

Characterization Of The Aquatic Environment In Lake Mead Near The Proposed Spring Canyon Pumped-Storage Project, And Assessment Of Potential Aquatic Impacts, Charles R. Liston, Stephen J. Grabowski, Bureau Of Reclamation

Publications (WR)

A pumped storage system consists of an upper reservoir and lower reservoir separated by an elevation difference. During low demand energy periods such as nights and weekends water is pumped from the lower to the upper reservoir using available energy from conventional steam electric power plants. During high energy demand periods, such as mornings and afternoons of weekdays, upper reservoir water is allowed to drop back down through the same system of water conduits and turbines, generating electricity to conveniently meet abrupt electrical energy requirements. The same water turbines thus act both as pumps and as conventional hydroelectric turbines.

Because …

Lake Mead Cover Enhancement Project, Jennifer Stevens Haley, Suzanne Leavitt, Larry Paulson, Donald H. Baepler

Publications (WR)

Ninety-three wildlife agencies were surveyed for information on their attempts to improve fish habitat. In addition, an annotated bibliography including over 100 summaries was completed on:

1. largemouth bass cover requirements and preferences,

2. use and effectiveness of artificial cover,

3. aquatic plant introduction and species requirements for germination and establishment,

4. terrestrial plant introduction and species requirements for germination and establishment, and

5. nutrient exchange between sediment, aquatic plants, and water.

A reconnaissance of existing terrestrial and aquatic vegetation was completed in June 1986 including the production of a video tape of the Nevada shoreline of Lake Mead.

Cover …

Historical Patterns Of Phytoplankton Productivity In Lake Mead, Richard T. Prentki, Larry J. Paulson

Publications (WR)

Lake Mead was impounded in 1935 by the construction of Hoover Dam. The Colorado River was unregulated prior to then and therefore was subjected to extreme variations in flows and suspended sediment loads. Hoover Dam stabilized flows and reduced suspended sediment loads downstream, but Lake Mead still received silt-laden inflows from the upper Colorado River Basin. The Colorado River contributed 97% of the suspended sediment inputs to Lake Mead, and up to 140 x 1O⁶ metric tons (t) entered the reservoir in years of high runoff. Most of the sediments were deposited in the river channel and formed an …

Aspects Of Larval Ecology Of Squilla Empusa (Crustacea, Stomatopoda) In Chesapeake Bay, Steven G. Morgan

OES Faculty Publications

Larvae of Squilla empusa were collected from the plankton and were laboratory-reared in 16 combinations of temperature and salinity to determine their tolerances. Larvae survived longer and molted more frequently when reared at 25%, and 20° or 25° C, which corresponds to the natural conditions of Chesapeake Bay when the larvae were collected.

A 2 year planktonic survey conducted in the lower region of the bay by the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences was compared with a survey made at the bay mouth in 1976. The seasonal occurrence of Squilla empusa larvae extended from the last week of July until …

Potential Use Of Hydroelectric Facilities For Manipulating The Fertility Of Lake Mead, Larry J. Paulson, John R. Baker, James E. Deacon

Publications (WR)

Analysis of historical nutrient data for Lake Mead indicates that the fertility of the reservoir has decreased which may be the cause for a corresponding decline in the largemouth bass population. However, it appears that fertility can be manipulated by altering the operation of the dam. The depletion of nutrients in the euphotic zone by phytoplankton and subsequent accumulation in the hypolimnion during summer and fall provide a natural nutrient gradient from which water of varying fertility can be drawn for discharge. This combined with alterations in the depth or seasonal pattern of discharge can possibly be used to enhance …

A Conceptual Draft Of A Dynamic Hydro-Biological Model For Lake Mead, L. G. Everett, Bureau Of Reclamation

Publications (WR)

Food and energy transformation in an aquatic system must be understood in order to develop a simulation approach. This report provides a comprehensive study of an aquatic ecosystem. The objectives of this report are to show:

(1) the biological relationships in an aquatic system

(2) the role of nutrients in the biological cycle

(3) the role of abiotic factors in a limnetic environment

(4) the status of the art of "Eutrophication modeling".