Marine Biology Commons^™

Disease Prevalence And The Population Genetic Structure Of Crassostrea Virginica Along The Georgia Coast, Sarah Batchelor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica, is an ecologically important species that plays a role in protecting shorelines, water filtration, and providing habitat and food for various fish species. Perkinsus marinus and Haplosporidium nesloni are two pathogens currently affecting oyster populations. These pathogens have both been documented as causes of mass mortality events along the East coast. They greatly diminish the health of oysters, resulting in the degradation of oyster tissue, reduction in growth and reproductive ability, and may cause death. In this study, wild oysters were collected from eleven locations along the Georgia coast to investigate the presence, intensity, …

Relative Abundances Of The Recently Introduced Barnacles, Megabalanus Coccopoma And An Unidentified Species Of Megabalanus, In The Southeastern U.S., Jennifer L. Tyson

Honors College Theses

ABSTRACT

Megabalanus coccopoma is a prominent invasive species off the coast of Georgia. Recently, among collected samples thought to be M. coccopoma, several individuals of an unidentified species of barnacle were found. The species has been identified as a Megabalanus species, but is still unidentified to the species level. Species identification is difficult due to morphological variation, inconsistent taxonomic keys, and unknown origin. In this study I developed a method to accurately distinguish M. coccopoma from the unidentified Megabalanus sp. using sequence differences in the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene. This study will provide an accurate estimate of …

The Role Of Artificial Structures In Facilitating Range Expansion Of The Introduced Barnacle Megabalanus Coccopoma In The Southeastern U.S.A., Alicia M. Reigel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The barnacle Megabalanus coccopoma is a recent invader of the southeastern U.S.A. from the tropical eastern Pacific. In Georgia, M. coccopoma populations along the immediate coastline often suffer extensive mortality during the winter, but population rebuilding is common after these events suggesting that there may be nearby larval sources. I investigated the hypothesis that artificial structures (i.e., buoys, towers), occurring far enough offshore of Georgia for water temperatures to be moderated by the Gulf Stream, provide refuges for breeding adults of M. coccopoma and can serve as the larval source. I investigated this hypothesis by first developing thirteen microsatellite primer …

Variation In Egg Components: A Study Of Maternal Investment And Resource Partitioning In The Nesting Loggerhead Sea Turtle; Estimating Genic Variation And Mapping Genetic Lineage Of A Rare Captive Helodermatid Population: Heloderma Horridum Charlesbogerti, Ketan V. Patel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Loggerhead sea turtles have the highest egg yields of any oviparous non-avian reptiles. Blood urea nitrogen levels increased as the season progressed while total blood albumen and total protein levels decreased. Wet egg mass (H = 1.7719 df = 2 p = 0.0375*) and albumen mass (H = 6.0507 df = 2 p = 0.0485*) significantly decreased across the nesting season however, wet yolk did not. Analysis of dried egg components showed that dry yolk and albumen did not differ across the nesting season. In addition on no seasonal change in dried egg components, hatchling size was conserved across the …