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Full-Text Articles in Aquaculture and Fisheries

New Constraints On Coseismic Slip During Southern Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes Over The Past 4600 Years Implied By Tsunami Deposits And Marine Turbidites, Gr Priest, Rc Witter, Yinglong J. Zhang, C Goldfinger, Kl Wang, Jc Allen Jan 2018

New Constraints On Coseismic Slip During Southern Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes Over The Past 4600 Years Implied By Tsunami Deposits And Marine Turbidites, Gr Priest, Rc Witter, Yinglong J. Zhang, C Goldfinger, Kl Wang, Jc Allen

VIMS Articles

This correction stands to correct Figure 7c listing a low minimum slip of 12 m for Case 2 instead of the correct value of 8 m, as stated in the body of the text and depicted on the chart of cumulative slip. The corrected chart explanation and caption are shown below. This error did not affect any of the findings of the paper or the chart itself. This is a correction to the original article.


Spatial Distribution And Morphological Responses To Predation In The Salt Marsh Periwinkle, Aj Rietl, Mg Sorrentino, Bj Roberts Jan 2018

Spatial Distribution And Morphological Responses To Predation In The Salt Marsh Periwinkle, Aj Rietl, Mg Sorrentino, Bj Roberts

VIMS Articles

The salt marsh periwinkle (Littoraria irrorata) is a common and often abundant mollusk in marshes of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States. Several studies have focused on the effects of periwinkles on Spartina alterniflora production and the effects of oil on periwinkle survivability, yet the general ecology of the snail has been underreported. In this study, we measured spatial distributions, biomass, shell repair frequency, and a suite of morphological characteristics of L. irrorata at three sites in each of five regions spanning the southeastern Louisiana Coast between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers. Sampling was conducted along 50 …


Time Trends Of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (Pbdes) In Antarctic Biota, E Markham, Ek Brault, M Khairy, Ar Robuck, Me Goebel, Mg Cantwell, Rm Dickhut, R Lohmann Jan 2018

Time Trends Of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (Pbdes) In Antarctic Biota, E Markham, Ek Brault, M Khairy, Ar Robuck, Me Goebel, Mg Cantwell, Rm Dickhut, R Lohmann

VIMS Articles

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are "emerged" contaminants that were produced and used as flame retardants in numerous consumer and industrial applications for decades until banned. They remain ubiquitously present in the environment today. Here, a unique set of >200 biotic samples from the Antarctic was analyzed for PBDEs, including phytoplankton, krill, fish, and fur seal milk, spanning several sampling seasons over 14 years. PBDE-47 and -99 were the dominant congeners determined in all samples, constituting > 60% of total PBDEs. A temporal trend was observed for Sigma 7PBDE concentrations in fur seal milk, where concentrations significantly increased (R-2 = 0.57, p < 0.05) over time (2000-2014). Results for krill and phytoplankton also suggested increasing PBDE concentrations over time. Trends of PBDEs in fur seal milk of individual seals sampled 1 or more years apart showed no clear temporal trends. Overall, there was no indication of PBDEs decreasing in Antarctic biota yet, whereas numerous studies have reported decreasing trends in the northern hemisphere. Similar PBDE concentrations in perinatal versus nonperinatal milk implied the importance of local PBDE sources for bioaccumulation. These results indicate the need for continued assessment of contaminant trends, such as PBDEs, and their replacements, in Antarctica.


Effects-Based Spatial Assessment Of Contaminated Estuarine Sediments From Bear Creek, Baltimore Harbor, Md, Usa, Se Hartzell, Michael A. Unger, Bl Mcgee, Lt Yonkos Jan 2018

Effects-Based Spatial Assessment Of Contaminated Estuarine Sediments From Bear Creek, Baltimore Harbor, Md, Usa, Se Hartzell, Michael A. Unger, Bl Mcgee, Lt Yonkos

VIMS Articles

The original publication of this paper contains an error. The correct image of figure 5 is shown in this paper.


Cohesive And Mixed Sediment In The Regional Ocean Modeling System (Roms V3.6) Implemented In The Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport Modeling System (Coawst R1234), Cr Sherwood, Al Aretxabaleta, Courtney K. Harris, Jp Rinehimer, R Verney, B Ferre Jan 2018

Cohesive And Mixed Sediment In The Regional Ocean Modeling System (Roms V3.6) Implemented In The Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport Modeling System (Coawst R1234), Cr Sherwood, Al Aretxabaleta, Courtney K. Harris, Jp Rinehimer, R Verney, B Ferre

VIMS Articles

We describe and demonstrate algorithms for treating cohesive and mixed sediment that have been added to the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS version 3.6), as implemented in the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave- Sediment Transport Modeling System (COAWST Subversion repository revision 1234). These include the following: floc dynamics (aggregation and disaggregation in the water column); changes in floc characteristics in the seabed; erosion and deposition of cohesive and mixed (combination of cohesive and non-cohesive) sediment; and biodiffusive mixing of bed sediment. These routines supplement existing noncohesive sediment modules, thereby increasing our ability to model fine-grained and mixed-sediment environments. Additionally, we describe changes to …


The Competing Impacts Of Climate Change And Nutrient Reductions On Dissolved Oxygen In Chesapeake Bay, Id Irby, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, F Da, Ke Hinson Jan 2018

The Competing Impacts Of Climate Change And Nutrient Reductions On Dissolved Oxygen In Chesapeake Bay, Id Irby, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, F Da, Ke Hinson

VIMS Articles

The Chesapeake Bay region is projected to experience changes in temperature, sea level, and precipitation as a result of climate change. This research uses an estuarine-watershed hydrodynamic-biogeochemical modeling system along with projected mid-21st-century changes in temperature, freshwater flow, and sea level rise to explore the impact climate change may have on future Chesapeake Bay dissolved-oxygen (DO) concentrations and the potential success of nutrient reductions in attaining mandated estuarine water quality improvements. Results indicate that warming bay waters will decrease oxygen solubility year-round, while also increasing oxygen utilization via respiration and remineralization, primarily impacting bottom oxygen in the spring. Rising sea …


Estimating Fishing And Natural Mortality Rates, And Catchability Coefficient, From A Series Of Observations On Mean Length And Fishing Effort, Ay Then, Jm Hoenig, Qc Huynh Jan 2018

Estimating Fishing And Natural Mortality Rates, And Catchability Coefficient, From A Series Of Observations On Mean Length And Fishing Effort, Ay Then, Jm Hoenig, Qc Huynh

VIMS Articles

Gedamke and Hoenig (2006) (Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 135: 476-487) developed a non-equilibrium version of the Beverton and Holt estimator of total mortality rate, Z, based on mean length and thereby increased the usefulness of length-based methods. In this study, we extend their model by replacing period-specific Z parameters with the year-specific parameterization Z(y) = qf(y) + M where q is the catchability coefficient, f(y) is the fishing effort in year y, F (= qf) is the fishing mortality rate, and M is the natural mortality rate. Thus, the problem reduces to estimating just three parameters: q, M …


Assimilating Bio-Optical Glider Data During A Phytoplankton Bloom In The Southern Ross Sea, De Kaufman, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Jcp Hemmings, Walker O. Smith Jr. Jan 2018

Assimilating Bio-Optical Glider Data During A Phytoplankton Bloom In The Southern Ross Sea, De Kaufman, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Jcp Hemmings, Walker O. Smith Jr.

VIMS Articles

The Ross Sea is a region characterized by high primary productivity in comparison to other Antarctic coastal regions, and its productivity is marked by considerable variability both spatially (1-50 km) and temporally (days to weeks). This variability presents a challenge for inferring phytoplankton dynamics from observations that are limited in time or space, which is often the case due to logistical limitations of sampling. To better understand the spatio-temporal variability in Ross Sea phytoplankton dynamics and to determine how restricted sampling may skew dynamical interpretations, high-resolution bio-optical glider measurements were assimilated into a one-dimensional biogeochemical model adapted for the Ross …


Saltmarsh Plants, But Not Fertilizer, Facilitate Invertebrate Recolonization After An Oil Spill, David S. Johnson, Jw Fleeger, Mr Riggio, Ia Mendelssohn, Qx Lin, Dr Deis, A Hou Jan 2018

Saltmarsh Plants, But Not Fertilizer, Facilitate Invertebrate Recolonization After An Oil Spill, David S. Johnson, Jw Fleeger, Mr Riggio, Ia Mendelssohn, Qx Lin, Dr Deis, A Hou

VIMS Articles

Foundation species contribute to the recovery of animal communities from disturbance by engineering, by improving habitat quality, and by regulating food availability. In a salt marsh impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, we tested the hypothesis that nutrient subsidies would enhance the positive effects of the foundation species Spartina alterniflora on the initial recolonization of benthic invertebrate communities (e.g., copepods, annelids, nematodes) by augmenting food (i.e., microalgae) availability. After two months, plantings of S.alterniflora significantly elevated the densities of the polychaete Capitella capitata, meiofauna-sized annelids, and total macroinfauna over unplanted plots. After 7months, the significant effect of plantings persisted …


Early-Holocene Greening Of The Afro-Asian Dust Belt Changed Sources Of Mineral Dust In West Asia, A Sharifi, Ln Murphy, A Pourmand, Ac Clement, Elizabeth A. Canuel Jan 2018

Early-Holocene Greening Of The Afro-Asian Dust Belt Changed Sources Of Mineral Dust In West Asia, A Sharifi, Ln Murphy, A Pourmand, Ac Clement, Elizabeth A. Canuel

VIMS Articles

Production, transport and deposition of mineral dust have significant impacts on different components of the Earth systems through time and space. In modern times, dust plumes are associated with their source region(s) using satellite and land -based measurements and trajectory analysis of air masses through time. Reconstruction of past changes in the sources of mineral dust as related to changes in climate, however, must rely on the knowledge of the geochemical and mineralogical composition of modern and paleodust, and that of their potential source origins. In this contribution, we present a 13,000-yr record of variations in radiogenic Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes and …


Performance Of A Low-Cost, Solar-Powered Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tag For Assessing Post-Release Mortality Of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) Caught In The Us East Coast Light-Tackle Recreational Fishery, William M. Goldsmith, Andrew M. Scheld, John Graves Nov 2017

Performance Of A Low-Cost, Solar-Powered Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tag For Assessing Post-Release Mortality Of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) Caught In The Us East Coast Light-Tackle Recreational Fishery, William M. Goldsmith, Andrew M. Scheld, John Graves

VIMS Articles

Pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) are a valuable tool for estimating mortality of pelagic fishes released from commercial and recreational fishing gears. However, the high cost of PSATs limits sample sizes, resulting in low-precision post-release mortality estimates with little management applicability. We evaluate the performance of a lower-cost PSAT designed to enable large-scale post-release mortality studies. The tag uses solar rather than battery power, does not include a depth sensor, and transmits daily summaries of light and temperature data rather than high-resolution habitat profiles, contributing to a substantially lower per-unit price. We assessed the tag’s ability to detect mortality while …


Reef Height Drives Threshold Dynamics Of Restored Oyster Reefs, Allison M. Colden, Robert J. Latour, Rom Lipcius Nov 2017

Reef Height Drives Threshold Dynamics Of Restored Oyster Reefs, Allison M. Colden, Robert J. Latour, Rom Lipcius

VIMS Articles

Nonlinear threshold responses to biotic or abiotic forcing may produce multiple population trajectories dependent upon initial conditions, which can reinforce population recovery or drive local ex - tinction, yet experimental tests of this phenomenon are lacking in marine ecosystems. In field experiments at 4 sites in 2 tributaries of lower Chesapeake Bay, we examined demographic responses (density and survival) of eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica populations to reef height and associated gradients in sediment deposition and habitat complexity. After 2 yr, oyster reefs exhibited diverging trajectories to ward either degradation or persistence, dependent upon initial reef height. Reefs higher than 0.3 …


Bottom-Up Control Of Parasites, David S. Johnson, Richard Heard Oct 2017

Bottom-Up Control Of Parasites, David S. Johnson, Richard Heard

VIMS Articles

Parasitism is a fundamental ecological interaction. Yet we understand relatively little about the ecological role of parasites compared to the role of free-living organisms. Bottom-up theory predicts that resource enhancement will increase the abundance and biomass of free-living organisms. Similarly, parasite abundance and biomass should increase in an ecosystem with resource enhancement. We tested this hypothesis in a landscape-level experiment in which salt marshes (60,000 m2 each) received elevated nutrient concentrations via flooding tidal waters for 11 yr to mimic eutrophication. Nutrient enrichment elevated the densities of the talitrid amphipod, Orchestia grillus, and the density and biomass of its …


Impact Of Disease On The Survival Of Three Commercially Fished Species, John M. Hoenig, Maya L. Groner, Matthew W. Smith, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, David M. Taylor, Donald F. Landers, John T. Swenarton, David T. Gauthier, Philip W. Sadler, Mark A. Matsche, Ashley N. Haines, Hamish J. Small, Roger Pradel, Remi Choquet, Jeffrey D. Shields Oct 2017

Impact Of Disease On The Survival Of Three Commercially Fished Species, John M. Hoenig, Maya L. Groner, Matthew W. Smith, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, David M. Taylor, Donald F. Landers, John T. Swenarton, David T. Gauthier, Philip W. Sadler, Mark A. Matsche, Ashley N. Haines, Hamish J. Small, Roger Pradel, Remi Choquet, Jeffrey D. Shields

VIMS Articles

Recent increases in emergent infectious diseases have raised concerns about the sustainability of some marine species. The complexity and expense of studying diseases in marine systems often dictate that conservation and management decisions are made without quantitative data on population-level impacts of disease. Mark-recapture is a powerful, underutilized, tool for calculating impacts of disease on population size and structure, even in the absence of etiological information. We applied logistic regression models to mark-recapture data to obtain estimates of disease-associated mortality rates in three commercially important marine species: snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in Newfoundland, Canada, that experience sporadic epizootics of bitter …


Community Interactions And Density Dependence In The Southeast United States Coastal Shark Complex, Cassidy D. Peterson, Kristene D. Parsons, Dana M. Bethea, William B. Driggers Iii, Robert J. Latour Sep 2017

Community Interactions And Density Dependence In The Southeast United States Coastal Shark Complex, Cassidy D. Peterson, Kristene D. Parsons, Dana M. Bethea, William B. Driggers Iii, Robert J. Latour

VIMS Articles

Studies aiming to assess intra- and interspecies community relationships in marine habitats are typically limited to accessible, nearshore areas of restricted temporal and spatial scale, within which only segments of the populations of interest are available. Using multivariate first-order auto regressive state-space (MARSS-1) models, we estimated measures of interspecies interactions and density dependence of 7 Atlantic coastal shark species (4 large and 3 small coastal sharks) at 2 spatial scales. Localized analyses were based on data from 4 relatively spatially limited, fishery-independent surveys conducted along the southeast US Atlantic coast and within the Gulf of Mexico. We then compared these …


Spatiotemporal Trends And Drivers Of Fish Condition In Chesapeake Bay, Robert J. Latour, James Gartland, Christopher F. Bonzek Sep 2017

Spatiotemporal Trends And Drivers Of Fish Condition In Chesapeake Bay, Robert J. Latour, James Gartland, Christopher F. Bonzek

VIMS Articles

Measures of condition in fishes are often used to assess the general well-being of fish populations since condition reflects the biotic and abiotic factors experienced by individuals over moderate time scales. Fish condition can also be used as an indicator of ecosystem suitability in the context of ecosystem-based management. From an ecosystem perspective, evaluation of fish condition is best described over multiple spatiotemporal scales and in a multi-species context. This study analyzed 14 yr (2002-2015) of fisheries-independent trawl survey data to evaluate trends in condition for 16 demersal fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the USA. Seasonal and …


Sea Level Rise May Increase Extinction Risk Of A Saltmarsh Ontogenetic Habitat Specialist, David S. Johnson, Bethany L. Williams Aug 2017

Sea Level Rise May Increase Extinction Risk Of A Saltmarsh Ontogenetic Habitat Specialist, David S. Johnson, Bethany L. Williams

VIMS Articles

Specialist species are more vulnerable to environmental change than generalist species. For species with ontogenetic niche shifts, specialization may occur at a particular life stage making those stages more susceptible to environmental change. In the salt marshes in the northeast U.S., accelerated sea level rise is shifting vegetation patterns from flood-intolerant species such as Spartina patens to the flood-tolerant Spartina alterniflora. We tested the potential impact of this change on the coffee bean snail, Melampus bidentatus, a numerically dominant benthic invertebrate with an ontogenetic niche shift. From a survey of eight marshes throughout the northeast U.S., small snails …


History Of The Virginia Oyster Fishery, Chesapeake Bay, Usa, David M. Schulte May 2017

History Of The Virginia Oyster Fishery, Chesapeake Bay, Usa, David M. Schulte

VIMS Articles

Oyster populations in Virginia's waters of Chesapeake Bay were lightly exploited until the early 1800s, when industrial fishery vessels first arrived, driven south from New England due to the collapse of northeastern oyster fisheries. Early signs of overexploitation and habitat degradation were evident by the 1850s. The public fishery, where oyster fishers harvest on state-owned bottom, rapidly developed after the Civil War and peaked in the early 1880s. Declines were noted by the late 1880s and eventually prompted the creation of Virginia's shell-planting and oyster-seed (young-of-the-year, YOY) moving repletion program in the 1920s. Despite management and increasing repletion efforts, the …


Projections Of Climate-Driven Changes In Tuna Vertical Habitat Based On Species-Specific Differences In Blood Oxygen Affinity, Kas Mislan, Ca Deutsch, Richard Brill, Jp Dunne, Jl Sarmiento Jan 2017

Projections Of Climate-Driven Changes In Tuna Vertical Habitat Based On Species-Specific Differences In Blood Oxygen Affinity, Kas Mislan, Ca Deutsch, Richard Brill, Jp Dunne, Jl Sarmiento

VIMS Articles

Oxygen concentrations are hypothesized to decrease in many areas of the ocean as a result of anthropogenically driven climate change, resulting in habitat compression for pelagic animals. The oxygen partial pressure, pO(2), at which blood is 50% saturated (P-50) is a measure of blood oxygen affinity and a gauge of the tolerance of animals for low ambient oxygen. Tuna species display a wide range of blood oxygen affinities (i.e., P-50 values) and therefore may be differentially impacted by habitat compression as they make extensive vertical movements to forage on subdaily time scales. To project the effects of end-of-the-century climate change …


Vaccine Effects On Heterogeneity In Susceptibility And Implications For Population Health Management, Ke Langwig, Ar Wargo, Dr Jones, Jr Viss, Bj Rutan, Et Al. Jan 2017

Vaccine Effects On Heterogeneity In Susceptibility And Implications For Population Health Management, Ke Langwig, Ar Wargo, Dr Jones, Jr Viss, Bj Rutan, Et Al.

VIMS Articles

Heterogeneity in host susceptibility is a key determinant of infectious disease dynamics but is rarely accounted for in assessment of disease control measures. Understanding how susceptibility is distributed in populations, and how control measures change this distribution, is integral to predicting the course of epidemics with and without interventions. Using multiple experimental and modeling approaches, we show that rainbow trout have relatively homogeneous susceptibility to infection with infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus and that vaccination increases heterogeneity in susceptibility in a nearly all-or-nothing fashion. In a simple transmission model with an R-0 of 2, the highly heterogeneous vaccine protection would cause …


Advancing The Link Between Ocean Connectivity, Ecological Function And Management Challenges, M Hidalgo, Dm Kaplan, La Kerr, Jr Watson, Cb Paris, Hi Browman Jan 2017

Advancing The Link Between Ocean Connectivity, Ecological Function And Management Challenges, M Hidalgo, Dm Kaplan, La Kerr, Jr Watson, Cb Paris, Hi Browman

VIMS Articles

Ocean connectivity is a dynamic and rapidly evolving field of research in marine science, partly because there is an increasing demand for information on connectivity that informs effective assessment and management of marine resources. Achieving this will require a better alignment between ocean connectivity tools and developments and the needs and challenges of assessments and conservation. For these reasons, the ICES Journal of Marine Science solicited contributions to the article theme set (TS), "Beyond ocean connectivity." We briefly summarize the nine articles that appear herein, grouping them into four general topics: methodological advances, population dynamics and assessment implications of connectivity, …


Ghost Of Invasion Past: Legacy Effects On Community Disassembly Following Eradication Of An Invasive Ecosystem Engineer, Pl Reynolds, J Glanz, S Yang, C Hann, J Couture, E Grosholz Jan 2017

Ghost Of Invasion Past: Legacy Effects On Community Disassembly Following Eradication Of An Invasive Ecosystem Engineer, Pl Reynolds, J Glanz, S Yang, C Hann, J Couture, E Grosholz

VIMS Articles

By changing ecosystem processes and altering the physical landscape, invasive ecosystem engineers can have substantial impacts on ecosystem functions and human economies and may facilitate other non-native species. Eradication programs in terrestrial and aquatic systems aim to reverse the impacts of invasive species and return the system to its pre-invasion conditions. Despite an extensive focus on the impacts of both native and non-native ecosystem engineers, the consequences of removing invasive ecosystem engineers, particularly in coastal ecosystems, are largely unknown. In this study, we quantified changes in a benthic community following the eradication of the invasive ecosystem engineer, hybrid cordgrass Spartina, …


Assessing Water Quality Of The Chesapeake Bay By The Impact Of Sea Level Rise And Warming, P Wang, L Linker, Harry V. Wang, G Bhatt, G Yactayo, K Hinson, R Tian Jan 2017

Assessing Water Quality Of The Chesapeake Bay By The Impact Of Sea Level Rise And Warming, P Wang, L Linker, Harry V. Wang, G Bhatt, G Yactayo, K Hinson, R Tian

VIMS Articles

The influence of sea level rise and warming on circulation and water quality of the Chesapeake Bay under projected climate conditions in 2050 were estimated by computer simulation. Four estuarine circulation scenarios in the estuary were run using the same watershed load in 1991-2000 period. They are, 1) the Base Scenario, which represents the current climate condition, 2) a Sea Level Rise Scenario, 3) a Warming Scenario, and 4) a combined Sea Level Rise and Warming Scenario. With a 1.6-1.9 degrees C increase in monthly air temperatures in the Warming Scenario, water temperature in the Bay is estimated to increase …


Modeling The Habitat Distribution Of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), By Sex, In Coastal Waters Of The Northeastern United States, Andrea Dell'apa, Maria G. Pennino, Christopher F. Bonzek Jan 2017

Modeling The Habitat Distribution Of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), By Sex, In Coastal Waters Of The Northeastern United States, Andrea Dell'apa, Maria G. Pennino, Christopher F. Bonzek

VIMS Articles

A hierarchical Bayesian approach was used to model the spatiotemporal habitat distribution of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) of both sexes (adults) caught during trawl surveys conducted by the Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program in inshore coastal waters between New England and North Carolina during 2007-2013. The best model for predicting catch per unit of effort (CPUE) for this species includes the following relevant variables: bathymetry, sea surface temperature, salinity, chlorophyll- a (chl-a) concentration, season and time of survey, and a random spatial effect for both sexes. Predicted CPUE was related to depth for both sexes; females occurred in shallower …


Abundance And Local-Scale Processes Contribute To Multi-Phyla Gradients In Global Marine Diversity, Gj Edgar, Tj Alexander, Js Lefcheck, Ae Bates, Sj Kininmonth, Et Al. Jan 2017

Abundance And Local-Scale Processes Contribute To Multi-Phyla Gradients In Global Marine Diversity, Gj Edgar, Tj Alexander, Js Lefcheck, Ae Bates, Sj Kininmonth, Et Al.

VIMS Articles

Among themost enduring ecological challenges is an integrated theory explaining the latitudinal biodiversity gradient, including discrepancies observed at different spatial scales. Analysis of Reef Life Survey data for 4127 marine species at 2406 coral and rocky sites worldwide confirms that the total ecoregion richness peaks in low latitudes, near +15 degrees N and -15 degrees S. However, although richness at survey sites is maximal near the equator for vertebrates, it peaks at high latitudes for large mobile invertebrates. Site richness for different groups is dependent on abundance, which is in turn correlated with temperature for fishes and nutrients for macroinvertebrates. …


Ensemble Modeling Informs Hypoxia Management In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, D Scavia, I Bertani, Dr Obenour, Re Turner, David R. Forrest, A Katin Jan 2017

Ensemble Modeling Informs Hypoxia Management In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, D Scavia, I Bertani, Dr Obenour, Re Turner, David R. Forrest, A Katin

VIMS Articles

A large region of low-dissolved-oxygen bottom waters (hypoxia) forms nearly every summer in the northern Gulf of Mexico because of nutrient inputs from theMississippi River Basin andwater column stratification. Policymakers developed goals to reduce the area of hypoxic extent because of its ecological, economic, and commercial fisheries impacts. However, the goals remain elusive after 30 y of research and monitoring and 15 y of goal-setting and assessment because there has been little change in river nitrogen concentrations. An intergovernmental Task Force recently extended to 2035 the deadline for achieving the goal of a 5,000-km(2) 5-y average hypoxic zone and set …


Lateral Vegetation Growth Rates Exert Control On Coastal Foredune "Hummockiness" And Coalescing Time, Eb Goldstein, Lj Moore, Od Vinent Jan 2017

Lateral Vegetation Growth Rates Exert Control On Coastal Foredune "Hummockiness" And Coalescing Time, Eb Goldstein, Lj Moore, Od Vinent

VIMS Articles

Coastal foredunes form along sandy, low-sloped coastlines and range in shape from continuous dune ridges to hummocky features, which are characterized by alongshore-variable dune crest elevations. Initially scattered dune-building plants and species that grow slowly in the lateral direction have been implicated as a cause of foredune "hummockiness". Our goal in this work is to explore how the initial configuration of vegetation and vegetation growth characteristics control the development of hummocky coastal dunes including the maximum hummockiness of a given dune field. We find that given sufficient time and absent external forcing, hummocky foredunes coalesce to form continuous dune ridges. …


Chemical And Photophysiological Impact Of Terrestrially-Derived Dissolved Organic Matter On Nitrate Uptake In The Coastal Western Arctic, Rachel E. Sipler, Se Baer, Tl Connelly, Me Frischer, Qn Roberts, Pl Yager, Da Bronk Jan 2017

Chemical And Photophysiological Impact Of Terrestrially-Derived Dissolved Organic Matter On Nitrate Uptake In The Coastal Western Arctic, Rachel E. Sipler, Se Baer, Tl Connelly, Me Frischer, Qn Roberts, Pl Yager, Da Bronk

VIMS Articles

The Arctic is warming at a rate nearly twice the global average, leading to thawing permafrost, increased coastal erosion, and enhanced delivery of riverine terrestrially-derived dissolved organic matter (tDOM) to coastal waters. This humic-rich tDOM has the ability to attenuate light required for photosynthesis and stimulate heterotrophic growth by supplying a source of labile organic carbon. Due to tDOM's high carbon to nitrogen (C : N) ratio, additional nitrogen is required for microorganisms to utilize this excess carbon for growth, thus exacerbating competition between autotrophs and heterotrophs for limiting nutrients and potentially reducing primary production. The effect of Arctic tDOM …


Tropical Dead Zones And Mass Mortalities On Coral Reefs, Ah Altieri, Sb Harrison, J Seemann, R Collin, R. J. Diaz, N Knowlton Jan 2017

Tropical Dead Zones And Mass Mortalities On Coral Reefs, Ah Altieri, Sb Harrison, J Seemann, R Collin, R. J. Diaz, N Knowlton

VIMS Articles

Degradation of coastal water quality in the form of low dissolved oxygen levels (hypoxia) can harm biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human wellbeing. Extreme hypoxic conditions along the coast, leading to what are often referred to as "dead zones," are known primarily from temperate regions. However, little is known about the potential threat of hypoxia in the tropics, even though the known risk factors, including eutrophication and elevated temperatures, are common. Here we document an unprecedented hypoxic event on the Caribbean coast of Panama and assess the risk of dead zones to coral reefs worldwide. The event caused coral bleaching and …


Behavioral Analysis Of Microphallus Turgidus Cercariae In Relation To Microhabitat Of Two Host Grass Shrimp Species (Palaemonetes Spp.), Pa O'Leary, Oj Pung Jan 2017

Behavioral Analysis Of Microphallus Turgidus Cercariae In Relation To Microhabitat Of Two Host Grass Shrimp Species (Palaemonetes Spp.), Pa O'Leary, Oj Pung

VIMS Articles

The behavior of Microphallus turgidus cercariae was examined and compared to microhabitat selection of the second intermediate hosts of the parasite, Palaemonetes spp. grass shrimp. Cercariae were tested for photokinetic and geotactic responses, and a behavioral ethogram was established for cercariae in control and grass shrimp-conditioned brackish water. Photo kinesis trials were performed using a half-covered Petri dish, and geotaxis trials used a graduated cylinder. Both photokinesis and geotaxis trials were performed in lighted and unlighted conditions. In 9 of 10 photokinesis experiments, over half of the cercariae swam horizontally under the covered half of a Petri dish in both …