Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Animal Conservation In St. Louis, Kate O'Sullivan

Undergraduate Research Symposium

St. Louis has a multitude of organizations involved in the natural sciences. But how many of them actually contribute towards animal conservation? The St. Louis Zoo is an organization that focuses a lot of its effort on presentation, so how does that impact the funds that go towards actually saving the animals? I plan to dive into the different animal-based organizations in St. Louis and its surrounding areas, as well as discuss the positives and negatives of each organization. Furthermore, I will provide examples from several sources that I have been reviewing all year to support my claims. I plan …

It’S All About Fishing: Robert Ellis Jenkins (1940-2023) And His Life Among Freshwater Fishes Of Virginia And The Redhorse Suckers, Eric J. Hilton

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

Robert (Bob) Ellis Jenkins passed away in Salem, Virginia, on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Bob was born February 9, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, Bob took an early interest in natural history, and was a particularly avid fisherman. He attended Roanoke College (Salem, VA) as an undergraduate and entered into a Masters degree program at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA), only to leave before finishing for a position at the NOAA Systematics Lab based at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. He eventually became faculty at his alma mater, Roanoke College, where he would spend virtually …

The Effect Of Dietary Thiaminase On Cardiac Function And Morphology In Lake Trout (Salvelinus Namaycush), Peter Baker

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thiamine deficiency from the consumption of invasive, high-thiaminase prey fishes is considered to be a major barrier for lake trout restoration in the Great Lakes. In fishes, an understudied aspect of thiamine deficiency is its effect on cardiac function. I examined the effects of dietary thiaminase on cardiac function and morphology in lake trout, specifically as they relate to thermal tolerance. Two hatchery strains of lake trout (Seneca and Slate) were raised on a control or thiaminase diet for nine months. The thiaminase diet was associated with significant ventricle enlargement, impaired cardiac function, and reduced thermal tolerance; these effects were …

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 …

Optimizing Strategies To Hydraulically Plant Atlantic Salmon Eggs Based On Fry Dispersal Patterns, Ernest J. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic Salmon has suffered from habitat loss and exploitation over the last century. Hatchery supplementation has prevented the extirpation of the species, but stocking methods represent tradeoffs between survival, domestication, and logistics. Egg planting, the use of eyed embryos, maximizes natural rearing opportunities which can be important for adaptation. This method, however, is logistically demanding and requires significant labor over large spatial, but short temporal, scales dictated by the ontogeny of the fish. However, the survival and dispersal behavior of Atlantic Salmon fry immediately after emergence from eggs planted in artificial nests …

Striped Blenny (Chasmodes Bosquianus) Presence And Behavior Between Sunrise And Sunset At Oyster Landing, South Carolina, Madeline Schuetze

Honors Theses

Lunar and diel cycles of fishes can help to interpret their behaviors during their reproductive season. Temperate estuaries are used by many benthic fishes for shelter and reproduction. This study examined the behavior and presence of striped blennies (Chasmodes bosquianus) during diel and lunar cycles. PVC pipe shelters were placed to mimic oyster shell nests, a natural habitat for blennies, and cameras were placed to monitor these shelters in April, May, and June 2022, during the striped blenny reproductive period. Video footage was reviewed and analyzed for the presence and behavior of both male and female blennies. Male presence …

Assessing The Dynamics Of The Southeast Florida Shark Community From 2013-2019 Via Catch Per Unit Effort And Stable Isotope Analysis, Alexandra Barth

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Sharks, as well as other top predators, are in drastic decline worldwide. As apex and near-apex predators, species such as nurse, lemon, and tiger sharks maintain balanced marine ecosystems by enacting top-down trophic control. However, this cascading effect is diminished with exploitation via commercial and recreational fishing. Sharks are generally long-lived, mature late, have long reproductive cycles, and produce few offspring. Much remains to be learned about the community structure, population trends and conservation statuses of shark populations worldwide. Comprehensive studies on the composition of the shark community in Southeast Florida north of Miami have been limited. This study assessed …

Benthic Beasts: The Ecological Significance Of Lake Sturgeon And Blue Catfish In Eastern Appalachian Waterways, Stewart Thacker

Research Day

East Tennessee freshwater ecosystems comprise an abundance of an extremely diverse selection of species. This presentation examines Acipenser fulvescens and Ictalurus furcatus, two of the largest freshwater fish in the Appalachian area, which play significant ecological roles within the benthic dimension of our freshwater environments. Commonly known as “bottom-feeders,” Benthivorous species enjoy a broad range of food sources including other fish, detritus, crustaceans, and more. The extensive variety of food consumed by A. fulvescens and I. furcatus permits population control of other, denser, aquatic populations inhabiting other regions of the water column, as well as other organisms included …

Blanding’S Turtle (Emydoidea Blandingii): Species Conservation Assessment, Melissa J. Panella, Colleen Rothe-Groleau

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The primary goal in development of at-risk species conservation assessments is to compile biological and ecological information that may assist conservation practitioners in making decisions regarding the conservation of species of interest. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project recognizes the Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) as a Tier 1 at-risk species. Some general management recommendations are made here regarding Blanding’s turtles; however, conservation practitioners will need to use professional judgment to make specific management decisions based on objectives, location, and a multitude of variables. This resource was designed to share available knowledge of this at-risk turtle that will aid in the decision-making …

Checklist Of Zooplankton Of The Halda River, Chattogram, Bangladesh, Md. Safiqul Islam, M.A. Azadi, Munira Nasiruddin, Md. Tajul Islam

Journal of Bioresource Management

The River Halda is one of the important natural breeding grounds of Indian major carp (Labeo rohita, Labeo calbasu, Gibelion catla, Cirrhinus mrigala) in Bangladesh for its unique physicochemical and biological properties of water. The productivity of the Halda ecosystem mainly depends on the plankton diversity. Zooplankton directly affects the productivity of the Halda River ecosystem. Research work was conducted for the two years extending from January 2017 to December 2018 to identify the zooplankton community of the Halda River. A total of 71 species of zooplankton under 37 genera belonging to 9 groups were identified. The dominant …

Imaging Technologies Build Capacity And Accessibility In Phytoplankton Species Identification Expertise For Research And Monitoring: Lessons Learned During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sophie Clayton, Leah Gibala-Smith, Kathryn Mogatas, Chanel Flores-Vargas, Kayla Marciniak, Maci Wigginton, Margaret R. Mulholland

OES Faculty Publications

As primary producers, phytoplankton play an integral role in global biogeochemical cycles through their production of oxygen and fixation of carbon. They also provide significant ecosystem services, by supporting secondary production and fisheries. Phytoplankton biomass and diversity have been identified by the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) as Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs), properties that need to be monitored to better understand and predict the ocean system. Phytoplankton identification and enumeration relies on the skills and expertise of highly trained taxonomic analysts. The training of new taxonomic analysts is intensive and requires months to years of supervised training before an analyst …

Spatiotemporal Variation Of An Eastern Tropical Pacific Pelagic Community Assessed With Free-Drifting Bruvs, Tyler Stephen Plum

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Information about pelagic community diversity and ecology generally lags far behind that of coastal communities, and largely derives from fisheries data that do not reflect small and non-target species. We describe spatiotemporal vertebrate species diversity and variability over a 3,486 km² area of highly productive pelagic marine ecosystem in Pacific Panama using drifting baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS), a non-invasive fishery-independent sampling technique. We observed 26 taxa from 17 families, including 1 mammal, 3 reptile, 5 elasmobranch, and 17 teleost species. Community assemblages differed on and off the continental shelf and between wet (April – December) and dry …

Gain-Of-Function Polymorphisms In Human Inflammasomes: Implications For Cystic Fibrosis, Duane Jeansonne, Samithamby Jeyaseelan

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Climate-Driven Impacts On Himalayan Aquatic Biodiversity: A Case Study Involving Snowtrout (Cyprinidae: Schizothorax), Riri Wiyanti Retnaningtyas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monitoring biodiversity, to include its relative dispersal and contraction, has become a conservation task of great importance, particularly given the catastrophic and ongoing loss of habitat due to climate change. However, the timing, direction, and magnitude of these rates vary across taxa and ecosystems. Predicting specific impacts of climate change can thus be difficult and this, in turn, hampers management action. Metrics are needed to not only quantify contemporary requirements of species, but also predict potential distributions that fluctuate in lockstep with climate.

Montane ecosystems in the Himalayas are highly impacted by climate change, yet remain largely understudied due to …

Habitat Partitioning And Associated Morphological Differences Among Three Species Of Catostomidae (Teleostei: Actinopterygii) In The South Fork Roanoke River, Virginia, Steven L. Powers, Dakota R. Spruill

Virginia Journal of Science

The upper Roanoke River has 11 species of Catostomidae including Thoburnia rhothoeca, Torrent Sucker; Moxostoma cervinum, Blacktip Jumprock; and Moxostoma ariommum, Bigeye Jumprock. Resource partitioning appears to be a key component of maintaining diverse fish assemblages with habitat and food partitioning cited as especially important in communities containing members of the same family. The diets of these species have been documented in previous work revealing only modest differences among them. Snorkeling observations and subsequent quantification of microhabitat were conducted to illuminate habitat partitioning among these morphologically and ecologically similar species. Thoburnia rhothoeca inhabited the shallowest, fastest water, over the …

Global Extinction Risk For Seahorses, Pipefishes And Their Near Relatives (Syngnathiformes), Riley A. Pollom, Gina M. Ralph, Caroline M. Pollock, Amanda C.J. Vincent

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Few marine taxa have been comprehensively assessed for their conservation status, despite heavy pressures from fishing, habitat degradation and climate change. Here we report on the first global assessment of extinction risk for 300 species of syngnathiform fishes known as of 2017, using the IUCN Red List criteria. This order of bony teleosts is dominated by seahorses, pipefishes and seadragons (family Syngnathidae). It also includes trumpetfishes (Aulostomidae), shrimpfishes (Centriscidae), cornetfishes (Fistulariidae) and ghost pipefishes (Solenostomidae). At least 6% are threatened, but data suggest a mid-point estimate of 7.9% and an upper bound of 38%. Most of the threatened species are …

Assessing Habitat Suitability Of Ribbed Mussels (Geukensia Demissa) In Georgia Salt Marshes By Examining Predicted Mussel Densities And Mussel Population Parameters, William K. Annis Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Geukensia demissa (ribbed mussel) is an ecology important bivalve that has the potential to contribute to salt marsh restoration. Understanding the factors that contribute to the distribution of mussels can help inform managers on choosing locations to optimize the survivorship of mussels in restoration projects. This study sought to model mussel densities across the coast of Georgia and to compare predicted mussel densities with mussel population parameters as means to gauge habitat suitability. Mussel densities were collected through field surveys across a range of salt marshes along the coast of Georgia and were compared with spatial data such as distance …

Status Of The Blackstripe (Fundulus Notatus) And Blackspotted (F. Olivaceus) Topminnows In The Ozark Uplands Of Central Missouri, Nathaniel Steffensmeier, Naznin Sultana Remex, Robert Hrabik, David D. Duvernell

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

The topminnow species Fundulus notatus and F. olivaceus have broadly overlapping geographic distributions that extend throughout much of the central and southern United States. In the northern portion of their respective ranges, in Missouri, the regional distributions of the two species coincide largely with recognized ecoregions. In the unglaciated southern half of Missouri, F. olivaceus is distributed throughout Ozark upland habitats while F. notatus is abundant in marginal large river and prairie habitats along the Ozark borders. An exception to this partitioning is the historical report of abundant F. notatus in the Bourbeuse and upper Meramec River drainages within the …

Status Of The Blackstripe (Fundulus Notatus) And Blackspotted (F. Olivaceus) Topminnows In The Ozark Uplands Of Central Missouri, Nathaniel Steffensmeier, Naznin Sultana Remex, Robert Hrabik, David D. Duvernell

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

The topminnow species Fundulus notatus and F. olivaceus have broadly overlapping geographic distributions that extend throughout much of the central and southern United States. In the northern portion of their respective ranges, in Missouri, the regional distributions of the two species coincide largely with recognized ecoregions. In the unglaciated southern half of Missouri, F. olivaceus is distributed throughout Ozark upland habitats while F. notatus is abundant in marginal large river and prairie habitats along the Ozark borders. An exception to this partitioning is the historical report of abundant F. notatus in the Bourbeuse and upper Meramec River drainages within the …

The Impact Of Nicotine Accumulation Exposure On Lithobates Catebeianus Larvae Mortality, Luke Micek

UCARE Research Products

Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world and contain over 4,000 chemicals, including the organic compound nicotine (Slaughter et al. 2011). Billions of cigarette butts are littered each year which may wash into bodies of water, impacting the local wildlife. To determine how introduced chemicals impact the environment, it is important to study its effects on indicator species. Amphibians, such as Lithobates catebeianus, act as indicator species due to their extreme sensitivity to chemical changes in its environment. The purpose of this research project was to obtain data to help determine the impact nicotine accumulation has …

First Records For Spawning Of Caribbean Acropora Species In Colombian Mpas, David M. Hudson, Barrett L. Christie, Luis A. Gómez-Lemos, Camilo Valcarcel, Diego Duque, Juan C. Zárate Arévalo, Jaime Rojas, Otto Reyes, Milena Marrugo, Maria Rosa, Israel A. Caicedo Torrado, Diana Tarazona, Carlos Zuluaga

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Estimates of Colombian Caribbean coral percent cover in the Southern Caribbean are consistent with those throughout the Caribbean Sea, which has declined to about 10% of historical levels in the last few decades. Human activities like destructive fishing techniques in the marine parks have degraded the reefs over the last few decades. Colombia’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have thousands of square kilometers to map and patrol and few resources to devote to scientific and restoration efforts. Efforts to implement sexual reproduction techniques for restoration are starting to successfully propagate and settle corals on ceramic plates for reef deployment in the …

Sampling The Local Fare: Fishes At The Sam Israel House Pit (45gr76), Soap Lake, Washington, Adam Fruge

All Master's Theses

The Sam Israel site is a precontact archaeological complex with numerous fish bones at the north end of Soap Lake, Washington. Excavated in 1976, the fish remains recovered from there were never fully analyzed prior to this research. Since this inland Columbia Plateau site had thousands of fish bones, it contained untapped potential for our understanding of ancient local fish procurement. As such, I conducted a detailed analysis of 2,862 fish bone specimens from the Sam Israel House Pit locus to: study a larger sample of fish bones in greater detail than was done before; compare the distribution of fishes …

Diet Of A Recently Reintroduced River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) Population In Taos County, New Mexico, Gabriela Alexandra Wolf-Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

North American river otters (Lontra canadensis), native to every U.S. state and Canada, experienced extensive population decreases and range reduction until the mid-20th century as a result of overexploitation and habitat loss during European colonization. The last known river otter in New Mexico was killed on the Gila River in 1953, although unverified reports continued thru 2008. After a nearly 60-year absence from New Mexico, 33 adult river otters were reintroduced to the Rio Pueblo de Taos in the northern part of the state between 2008-2010; however, they were not subsequently monitored or studied. I characterized diet of …

Artificial Intelligence And Covid-19: Deep Learning Approaches For Diagnosis And Treatment, M. B. Jamshidi, A. Lalbakhsh, J. Talla, Z. Peroutka, F. Hadjilooei, P Lalbakhsh, M. Jamshidi, L. La Spada, M. Mirmozafari, M. Dehghani, A. Sabet, Sa. Roshani, So. Roshani, N. Bayat-Makou, B. Mohamadzade, Z. Malek, A. Jamshidi, S. Kiani, H. Hashemi-Dezaki, W. Mohyuddin

Faculty Publications

COVID-19 outbreak has put the whole world in an unprecedented difficult situation bringing life around the world to a frightening halt and claiming thousands of lives. Due to COVID-19 & x2019;s spread in 212 countries and territories and increasing numbers of infected cases and death tolls mounting to 5,212,172 and 334,915 (as of May 22 2020), it remains a real threat to the public health system. This paper renders a response to combat the virus through Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some Deep Learning (DL) methods have been illustrated to reach this goal, including Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), …

Morphology And Systematics Of Batrachoidiformes (Percomorphacea: Teleostei), Diego Francisco Biston Vaz

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Batrachoidiformes, the toadfishes, are benthic fishes that inhabit nearshore subtidal and intertidal habitats, characterized by their dorsoventrally flattened bodies and large pectoral fins. These fishes lack dispersive larvae, and larval development is retained in nests guarded by their parents. To date, 82 species and 23 genera are accepted as valid. Previous studies recognized a single family, Batrachoididae, with four subfamilies: Batrachoidinae, Porichthyinae, Thalassophryninae, and Halophryninae. Interrelationships among subfamilies, however, are unresolved and interrelationships among species are problematic. Despite being a conspicuous member of the coastal fauna, the internal morphology of most species of Batrachoidiformes is unknown, being intraspecific and ontogenetic …

Anthropomorphic Denial Of Fish Pain, Lynne U. Sneddon, Matthew C. Leach

Lynne Sneddon, PhD

Key (2016) affirms that we do not know how the fish brain processes pain but denies — because fish lack a human-like cortex — that fish can feel pain. He affirms that birds, like fish, have a singly-laminated cortex and that the structure of the bird brain is quite different from that of the human brain, yet he does not deny that birds can feel pain. In this commentary we describe how Key cites studies that substantiate mammalian pain but discounts the same kind of data as evidence of fish pain. We suggest that Key's interpretations are illogical, do not …

Stress And Body Composition Of Juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys Temminckii), Brandon Scott Tappmeyer

MSU Graduate Theses

The alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii), is a species of conservation concern that is the subject of multiple head-start and reintroduction efforts across its range. In captive propagation programs, producing offspring that are in optimal physiological condition maximizes the likelihood of success after release. The purpose of my study was to compare stress and body composition between one free-ranging reintroduced population and two captive populations. The two captive populations were both housed in southern Oklahoma, but one group was reared indoors whereas the other inhabited outdoor ponds at a national fish hatchery. I used circulating glucocorticoid (corticosterone) concentrations as an …

Virginia Shark Identification Guide, Multispecies Research Group, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Illustrated with distribution maps and species characteristics.

Table of Contents:

Atlantic Sharpnose Shark | Bigeye Thresher Shark | Bignose Shark | Blacknose Shark | Blacktip Shark | Blue Shark | Bluntnose Sixgill Shark | Bonnethead Bull Shark | Dusky Shark | Finetooth Shark | Great Hammerhead Shark | Great White Shark | Gulper Shark | Lemon Shark | Longfin Mako Shark | Night Shark | Oceanic Whitetip Shark | Porbeagle | Sandbar Shark | Sand Tiger Shark | Scalloped Hammerhead Shark | Sharpnose Sevengill Shark | Shortfin Mako Shark | Silky Shark | Smooth Dogfish | Smooth Hammerhead Shark | …

Distribution And Habitat Use Of Benthic Fishes In The Lower Kanawha River, West Virginia, Nathaniel V. Owens

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Kanawha River in West Virginia is a historically diverse system in terms of ichthyofauna although, like many other large rivers, it has been subjected to a suite of anthropomorphic perturbations. These include this system being modified to allow the passage of commercial vessels for industry thus altering flow regimes, increased sedimentation, water depth, and channelization, and decreased interactions with its floodplain. Additionally, the fishes of this system have suffered from deleterious historical water quality issues caused by intensive timber operations, mining, and industrial waste. Post Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act water …

Novel Information On The Morphology, Phylogeny And Distribution Of Camallanid Mematodes From Marine And Freshwater Hosts In South Africa, Including The Description Of Camallanus Sodwanaensis N. Sp., Roman Svitin, Marliese Truter, Olena Kudlai, Nico J. Smit, Louis Du Preez

Harold W. Manter Laboratory: Library Materials

Four species of previously known nematodes from the family Camallanidae were found from different hosts in South Africa: Batrachocamallanus xenopodis from the frog Xenopus muelleri, Paracamallanus cyathopharynx, and Procamallanus pseudolaeviconchus from the catfish Clarias gariepinus and Spirocamallanus daleneae from the catfish Synodontis zambezensis. In the material collected from various marine fishes, several specimens of nematodes from the genus Camallanus clearly differed from all previously known species. Based on morphological differences these specimens are assigned to a new species, C. sodwanaensis. Molecular data of 18S and 28S rDNA and COI sequences are provided for the collected species …