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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Success Of Glover’S Reef Marine Reserve On Queen Conch (Strombus Gigas) Populations In Belize, Gianna Fanelli, Ciera Jarrett, Sara Joralemon Mar 2021

Success Of Glover’S Reef Marine Reserve On Queen Conch (Strombus Gigas) Populations In Belize, Gianna Fanelli, Ciera Jarrett, Sara Joralemon

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The queen conch (Strombus gigas) provides important economic, ecological, and societal benefits to local communities throughout the Caribbean. The species, however, has fallen victim to commercial exploitation and overfishing in many areas. In Belize, even with restricted harvesting seasons, size restrictions, and regulations set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), harvesting practices have significantly depleted populations. Marine reserves, including the Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve, were established to protect biodiversity and maintain populations of Belize’s natural coral reefs. Utilizing size, frequency, and evidence of harvesting (shell notches), the 2018 Tropical Marine Biology (BSC 3355) course …


Elevating Dissolved Oxygen—Reflections On Developing And Using Long-Term Data, Nancy N. Rabalais Jan 2021

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 …


Oldest Indo-Pacific Lionfish (Pterois Volitans/P. Miles) Recorded From The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Raven D. Blakeway, Alexander Q. Fogg, Glenn A. Jones Jan 2021

Oldest Indo-Pacific Lionfish (Pterois Volitans/P. Miles) Recorded From The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Raven D. Blakeway, Alexander Q. Fogg, Glenn A. Jones

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) were first detected off the coast of Florida in the 1980s, with aquaria release being the most likely mechanism for introduction. Since then, lionfish have proliferated through the Western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Here, we report the oldest lionfish aged on record in the Western Atlantic, removed from Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) in the GOM. In August 2018, a research expedition removed 745 lionfish from FGBNMS, of which a subset were retained for age and growth estimation. The oldest lionfish was a 10 y old male, …


Patterns Of Dispersion, Movement And Feeding Of The Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, And The Potential Implications For Grazing Impact On Live Seagrass, Adrianna Parson, Joseph M. Dirnberger, Troy Mutchler Jan 2021

Patterns Of Dispersion, Movement And Feeding Of The Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, And The Potential Implications For Grazing Impact On Live Seagrass, Adrianna Parson, Joseph M. Dirnberger, Troy Mutchler

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus is a known grazer of both living and dead tissue of turtlegrass, Thalassia testudinum, occasionally denuding large areas of seagrass. Field studies have attempted to assess effects of herbivory on seagrass by enclosing urchins at various densities. However, it is unclear how unrestricted urchins affect seagrass at lower densities more typically observed in the field. This study describes movement, feeding, and distribution of L. variegatus within beds of T. testudinum in St. Joseph Bay, Florida (USA) to quantify this urchin’s impact as a seagrass grazer. Urchins were absent from portions of seagrass beds closest to …