Marine Biology Commons^™

Benthic Community Dynamics And Stony Coral Demographics In Florida In Relation To Acute Disturbances And Chronic Pressures, Nicholas P. Jones

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

The persistence of coral reef communities is threatened by a suite of pressures operating at varying spatial and temporal scales. In general, acute disturbances (short term stochastic events such as marine heatwaves or hurricanes) and chronic pressures, such as ocean warming, have caused the most significant changes to stony coral assemblages (order Scleractinia) and continue to impair recovery potential. Additionally, many coral reefs are subject to local chronic anthropogenic pressures resulting in poor water quality or sedimentation, which further impact stony corals and shape benthic community structure, particularly near urbanized coastlines. For the viability of communities on coral reefs, a …

Ulva Spp. Bloom Dynamics In A Hyper-Eutrophic Estuary: Jamaica Bay, New York, Annesia Lamb

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this dissertation, I present three studies that further our understanding of macroalgae identity, growth, and proliferation. Eutrophication is prevalent in shallow coastal ecosystems world-wide. One of the ecosystem consequences is the development of a bloom forming green marine macroalgae, Ulva spp. Ulva can have negative effects such as Zostera spp. degradation, fish, and shellfish declines. I performed assessments of (1) identity of the bloom-forming Ulva and other macroalgae assemblage, (2) physical, chemical, and biological drivers of Ulva bloom growth and proliferation, and (3) optimal irradiance and temperature requirements for early growth stages in Ulva linza.

The first study …

Next Generation Sequencing Methods For Coastal Zone Water Quality Monitoring, Catherine Iskrenko

HCNSO Student Capstones

When analyzing the water quality of the coastal zone, culture-based techniques have been utilized most often to identify Fecal Indicator Bacteria in samples. Since the advent of the Sanger Method for DNA sequencing, other techniques have arisen that provide significantly more information on the microorganisms in sample, but they are still not the mainstream for water quality analysis. This capstone reviews and compares culture-based techniques, DNA sequencing, RNA sequencing, qPCR for biomarker, and 16S rDNA sequencing to highlight their merits and shortcomings for analyzing environmental water samples. The technique presented that provides the broadest range of information (including the identification …