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Full-Text Articles in Aquaculture and Fisheries
Microplastic Abundance, Distribution And Impacts On Sargassum-Associated Juvenile Fishes In The Gulf Of Mexico, Olivia Lestrade
Microplastic Abundance, Distribution And Impacts On Sargassum-Associated Juvenile Fishes In The Gulf Of Mexico, Olivia Lestrade
Master's Theses
Microplastics are a concern in marine environments because they are highly durable, ubiquitous, and can be mistaken for food and ingested by small organisms. Pelagic Sargassum, an important habitat for larval and juvenile stages of many fish species, is found in large surface aggregations, and may provide complex structure in which microplastics become trapped. This could lead to greater risk of microplastic ingestion by fish early life stages associated with Sargassum habitats. To better understand the impacts of microplastics within Sargassum communities, this study examined 1) microplastic concentrations and ingestion by juvenile fishes associated with Sargassum; 2) the microbial …
Determining The Trophic Role Of Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) In Mississippi State Waters Using Stomach Content And Stable Isotope Analysis, Branden Kohler
Determining The Trophic Role Of Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) In Mississippi State Waters Using Stomach Content And Stable Isotope Analysis, Branden Kohler
Master's Theses
The goal of this study was to determine the diet composition, trophic position and ecological role of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in Mississippi state waters utilizing stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) and stomach content analysis. Stable isotope analysis of fish and their prey can provide information on species-specific basal resource utilization, diet composition and trophic position which can improve food web models and inform fisheries management decisions. Particulate organic matter (POM), the presumed base of the food web, red snapper muscle tissue, and red snapper stomach contents were collected from 25 sites in 2016 and …
Evaluating Methods To Reduce Humpback Whale (Megaptera Novaeamgliae) Ship Strike Mortality In Nearshore Feeding Habitats Within The San Francisco Bay, Alisa Keenan
Master's Theses
Across our world’s oceans, whales are perpetually stuck and killed by large ships. Sea-based commercial trade is increasing on a global scale; therefore, more large ships are circumnavigating through biologically important whale habitats. This is of grave concern to marine resource managers, especially in the United States where major shipping corridors overlap critical whale habitat. It is feared that in these areas with high whale density, ship strikes are reducing populations of whales to levels below what is sustainable for threatened and endangered species, thereby hindering the recovery of depleted whale populations. Humpback whales, a species that is federally-listed as …
An Analysis Of Dredge Efficiency For Surfclam And Ocean Quahog Commercial Dredges, Leanne Poussard
An Analysis Of Dredge Efficiency For Surfclam And Ocean Quahog Commercial Dredges, Leanne Poussard
Master's Theses
Between 1997 and 2011, The National Marine Fisheries Service conducted 50 depletion experiments to estimate survey gear efficiency and stock density for Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) and ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) populations using commercial hydraulic dredges. The Patch Model was formulated to estimate gear efficiency and organism density from the data. The range of efficiencies estimated is substantial, leading to uncertainty in the application of these estimates in stock assessment. Analysis of depletion experiment simulations showed that uncertainty in the estimates of gear efficiency from depletion experiments was reduced by higher numbers of dredge tows per experiment, more tow overlap …