Marine Biology Commons^™

Fishing Industry And Misidentification Leading To Angel Sharks Decline, Gretchen M. Spencer

Scientific Communication News

No abstract provided.

Flamboyant Cuttlefish: Camouflage Tactics And Colorful Behavior, Shaquilla M. Hamlett

Scientific Communication News

No abstract provided.

Distribution Of Polar Bear Dens In The Canadian Arctic, Brice Schrenkel

Scientific Communication News

No abstract provided.

Additions To Philippine Slender Skinks Of The Brachymeles Bonitae Complex (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae) Iv: Resurrection And Redescription Of Brachymeles Burksi, Cameron D. Siler, Elyse S. Freitas, Jennifer A. Sheridan, Stephanie N. Maguire, Drew R. Davis, Jessa L. Watters, Kai Wang, Arvin C. Diesmos, Rafe M. Brown

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The diversity of Philippine amphibians and reptiles has increased over the last few decades, in part due to re-evaluation of species formerly believed to be widespread. Many of these investigations of widespread species have uncovered multiple closely related cryptic lineages comprising species complexes, each restricted to individual Pleistocene Aggregate Island Complexes (PAICs). One group in particular for which widespread cryptic diversity has been common is the clade of Philippine skinks of the genus Brachymeles. Recent phylogenetic studies of the formerly recognized widespread species Brachymeles bonitae have indicated that this species is actually a complex distributed across several major PAICs and …

Ants Increase Cloverworm Herbivory Via Nonconsumptive Pathways, Hannah J. Penn, Kacie J. Athey

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Generalist arthropod predators often exhibit a range of intraguild interactions reducing their potential efficacy as biological control agents. These interactions may include consumptive or nonconsumptive effects that mediate the impacts of herbivores. We examined interactions among 2 generalist predators, the striped lynx spider (Oxyopes salticus Hentz; Araneae: Oxyopidae) and an ant (Lasius neoniger Emery; Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and a herbivore, the green cloverworm (Hypena scabra F.; Lepidoptera: Erebidae), all prevalent in central Kentucky soybean agroecosystems. We hypothesized that individual predator treatments would reduce green cloverworm survival and resultant leaf damage, but that predators would interfere with each other when both were …

Lake Or Estuary? Sedimentary And Benthic Foraminiferal Characterization Of A Gulf Of Mexico Coastal Dune Lake, Kaylyn C. Bellais, Samuel T. Barber, Donald A. Beebe, Murlene W. Clark

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Coastal dune lakes are shallow estuaries located within dune environments that share a permanent or intermittent connection with the sea. Because coastal dune lakes are found in few locations worldwide (e.g. Australia, New Zealand, Florida, etc.) they represent unique environments worthy of protection. However; there is a distinct lack of scientific data related to the function and ecology of coastal dune lakes, especially in the Gulf of Mexico. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to characterize the sedimentology and foraminifera of a representative coastal dune lake in Walton County, FL (i.e. Eastern Lake) and determine whether it shares geologic …

Architectonica Karsteni Rutsch, 1934 (Gastropoda: Architectonicidae) In Seamounts Of The Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park: First Evidence Of An Extant Population In Chilean Waters Since The Miocene, Cynthia M. Asorey, Javier Sellanes, Erin E. Easton, Rüdiger Bieler, Ariadna Mecho

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The presence of Architectonicidae in Chile was previously recorded only from fossil material of eight species present during the Lower Miocene, when Architectonica karsteni had a geographic range that extended from Costa Rica to central Chile (34°S). No evidence of the presence of the family in Chile after the Lower Miocene have been reported. As part of this study, we report the discovery of A. karsteni at four seamountsat ~200 m water depth in the recently created Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park, located ~900 km west of continental Chile. Morphological identification was based on protoconch diameter, coloration patterns, and teleoconch sculpture. We …

What's In The Muck? Benthic Sediment Characterization And Community Structure, Cristin Wright

Reports

Grades: 9-12 Subjects: Biology | Environmental Science | Oceanography

Sediment classification and grain size can affect the types of organisms that live in the sediment. Some organisms prefer sandier sediment, while others love the fine-grained mud.

In this activity, students will classify sediment samples by grain size and plot their findings on a ternary plot. The students will then further investigate which benthic organisms live in the different sediments and which may be more resilient to a change in sediment classification.

The Potential Impact Of Nuclear Conflict On Ocean Acidification, Nicole S. Lovenduski, Cheryl S. Harrison, Holly Olivarez, Charles G. Bardeen, Owen B. Toon, Joshua Coupe, Alan Robock, Tyler Rohr, Samantha Stevenson

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

We demonstrate that the global cooling resulting from a range of nuclear conflict scenarios would temporarily increase the pH in the surface ocean by up to 0.06 units over a 5-year period, briefly alleviating the decline in pH associated with ocean acidification. Conversely, the global cooling dissolves atmospheric carbon into the upper ocean, driving a 0.1 to 0.3 unit decrease in the aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) that persists for ∼10 years. The peak anomaly in pH occurs 2 years post conflict, while the Ωarag anomaly peaks 4- to 5-years post conflict. The decrease in Ωarag would exacerbate a primary threat …

Effects Of Integrated Application Of Plant-Based Compost And Urea On Soil Food Web, Soil Properties, And Yield And Quality Of A Processing Carrot Cultivar, A. Habteweld, D. Brainard, A. Kravchencko, Parwinder Grewal, H. Melakeberhan

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Soil nutrient management system characterized by reduced input of inorganic fertilizers integrated with organic amendments is one of the alternatives for reducing deleterious environmental impact of synthetic fertilizers, suppressing soil-borne pests and diseases, and improving soil health and crop yield. A hypothesis of the present study was that lower rates of urea mixed with higher rates of plant compost (PC) would improve nematode community structure, soil food web condition, soil biological, and physiochemical properties, and yield and quality of a processing carrot (Daucus carota) cultivar. Urea and PC were each applied at 135kg nitrogen (N)/ha alone or at 3:1, 1:1, …

Coral Reefs In The Gulf Of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem: Conservation Status, Challenges, And Opportunities, Diego L. Gil-Agudelo, Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro, Jorge Brenner, Patricia Gonzalez-Diaz, William Kiene, Caitlin Lustic, Horacio Perez-Espana

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The importance of coral reefs (CR) within marine ecosystems has become widely recognized. Although shallow CR are not as abundant in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) as in other areas such as the Caribbean, their uniqueness, singularity, isolation, and conservation status make their conservation highly important. Corals and CR, both shallow and deep, are more widely distributed throughout the GoM than previously thought, providing new venues of research but also new challenges for their sustainable management. They are widely present in the three countries circumscribing the GoM (Cuba, Mexico, and the United States). Corals are also distributed throughout different depths, …

New County Records Of Amphibians And Reptiles From South Texas, Usa, Clinton J. Guadiana, Padraic S. Robinson, Matthew S. Schalk, Drew R. Davis

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Several species of amphibians and reptiles reach their northern range limit in south Texas, USA. Herpetological research in the area, as well as frequent visits from amphibian and reptile enthusiasts, have helped to form a more complete understanding of amphibian and reptile distributions across the region. However, gaps in the recognized distribution of many species remain. Efforts to better document species occurrence are confounded by the lack of public land and the fact that most of south Texas is privately owned, making access to suitable habitat difficult (Schmidly et al. 2001)

Mitochondrial Genomes And Genetic Structure Of The Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys Kempii), Hilary R. Frandsen, Diego F. Figueroa, Jeff A. George

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) is the world's most endangered sea turtle species and is primarily distributed in the Gulf of Mexico. In the United States, South Padre Island, Texas serves as a key nesting ground for the species. Genetic studies of the Kemp's ridley have been used to aid in conservation and management practices, with the mitochondrial control region as the most commonly used marker due to its perceived hypervariability and ease of sequencing. However, with the advent of next generation sequencing technology, targeting complete mitochondrial genomes is now feasible. Here, we describe a more complete mitochondrial genome for …