Marine Biology Commons^™

An Intersection Of Science & Art: Vitrification Approaches And Open-Fabricated Tools For The Biomedical Model Sea Hare, Aplysia Californica, Allyssa M. Oune

LSU Master's Theses

The California sea hare (Aplysia californica) is an important biomedical model for molecular neurobiology, electrophysiology, learning, and memory due to their well-mapped and large neurons and well-characterized learning capabilities. The National Resource for Aplysia (NRA, University of Miami) maintains large stocks of live animals and relies on regular shipments of wild-caught individuals to maintain genetic diversity. This is labor and cost-intensive, and environmental changes could alter the availability of wild animals increasing the need to preserve this genetic resource. One solution is vitrification, ultra-fast cooling which produces an amorphous glass that minimizes damage to cells. Aplysia californica presents …

Effects Of Salinity On Eastern Oysters: Locating Lower-Salinity Tolerant Populations And Defining Resource Zones Suitable To Restoration, Fisheries, And Aquaculture., Lauren Swam

LSU Master's Theses

Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) provide valuable ecosystem services and support a productive commercial industry in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Declining abundance from water quality changes and other factors drives development of management and restoration strategies focused on a comprehensive, metapopulation approach. Identifying oyster resource zones based on water quality combined with selective breeding of oysters adapted to specific conditions provides strategies to support aquaculture development and ensure resilient oyster populations and high production. Using 2015-2019 satellite-derived continuous salinity and temperature data for coastal Louisiana, this work created maps defining oyster resource zones supportive of (1) broodstock sanctuary …

Incorporating Life Into Living Shorelines: Can Gulf Ribbed Mussels Reduce Shoreline Erosion And Enhance Restoration Practices?, Jordan Logarbo

LSU Master's Theses

The gulf ribbed mussel (Geukensia granosissima) exists throughout the Gulf of Mexico and influences biotic and abiotic environmental attributes as an ecosystem engineer. Ribbed mussels are an important component of marsh ecosystems providing services including filtering particulate matter, depositing and transforming nutrients in the system, increasing soil strength via byssal threads and providing structure via their shells.

The spatial distribution of mussels along the marsh edge of Sister Lake, LA was investigated via a broad survey of 150 sites, in relation to elevation, exposure and vegetation percent cover. This survey was followed by a second survey at a …

Fish Community Composition And Structure Near A Freshwater River Diversion In Southeastern Louisiana, Rachel L. Snider

LSU Master's Theses

Gulf of Mexico estuaries, particularly in Louisiana, are among the world’s most productive, with landings of commercially- and recreationally-important species exceeding all other contiguous US states. Coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate because they have been impounded from Mississippi River water and sediment. Although controversial, one proposed solution is to re-route the Mississippi River through diversions and siphons to supply the freshwater and sediments necessary to rebuild vanishing wetlands, particularly in Barataria Bay and Breton Sound, LA. This strategy is one approach outlined in the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. This project aimed to describe the composition and structure …

An Evaluation Of Sciaenid Growth In The Gulf Of Mexico, Shane Flinn

LSU Master's Theses

Growth models estimate life history parameters that are used in the management of fisheries stocks. The most commonly used growth model in fisheries is the von Bertalanffy growth model (VBGM), yet it has been shown to provide a poor fit for length-at-age data of some species and other models exist. I reviewed 196 peer-reviewed age and growth studies and 50 NOAA stock assessments to examine temporal trends in the use of growth models and model selection in fisheries. I found that the use of multi-model frameworks has increased since the year 2000 and information theoretic approaches are replacing goodness-of-fit and …

Using Local Fishery Monitoring To Understand Small-Scale Coastal Fisheries In Tanzania, Matthew Robertson

LSU Master's Theses

Nearshore marine fisheries provide the main source of protein for nearly 9 million people in the coastal villages of Tanzania, yet for decades the fisheries have shown signs of overexploitation. These fisheries are small-scale and co-managed by local coastal communities in groups known as Beach Management Units (BMUs). BMUs monitor individual fishing trip data (e.g. gear, vessel, taxa); however, these data have only been analyzed in nationally aggregated statistics and to our knowledge, are not presently used in management decision making. The present thesis aimed to identify the forms of data and information that local fishery monitoring can record about …