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Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology
Impacts Of Algal Morphology And Water Flow On Macroalgal Microplastic Capture, Cheyenne M. Adams
Impacts Of Algal Morphology And Water Flow On Macroalgal Microplastic Capture, Cheyenne M. Adams
Honors College Theses
Microplastic pollution is a major area of concern in marine environments, especially as microplastics enter the food web. This study used pipe cleaners and two lichen species as algal mimics, and Chaetomorpha sp. and Chondrus crispus as model algal species to test the effects of morphology and biomass on microbead and foam capture. This study also utilized two different water flow methods: vortices and waves. Results suggest that water flow, as well as biomass and morphology, play a role in microplastic capture in macroalgae. For all mimics and algal species, except Cladonia lichens, turfs with increased biomass and length showed …
The Effects Of Boring Sponge Infestation On Condition, Growth, And Sex Change In Crepidula Fornicata, Nicole L. Kleinas
The Effects Of Boring Sponge Infestation On Condition, Growth, And Sex Change In Crepidula Fornicata, Nicole L. Kleinas
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Atlantic slipper limpet, Crepidula fornicata, is a sequential hermaphrodite whose size at sex-change is plastic with respect to social and population cues. As an organism allocates energy between growth, reproduction and maintenance, an increased cost of one process may affect another. In this paper, I evaluate whether the presence of an epibiotic sponge (Cliona celata) affects the growth, condition and sex-change of C. fornicata individuals. Population surveys demonstrate a variable effect of Cliona presence on C. fornicata condition. The results of a twelve-week in situ experiment demonstrated a decrease in growth when C. celata was present. …
Successional Processes In The Benthic Invertebrate Communities At Gray’S Reef National Marine Sanctuary, Alexis A. Bivens
Successional Processes In The Benthic Invertebrate Communities At Gray’S Reef National Marine Sanctuary, Alexis A. Bivens
Honors College Theses
While the process of community development has been studied in terrestrial habitats since the turn of the 20th century, similar information is not as readily available in marine systems. Understanding patterns of community development is essential to predicting recovery potential and to designing effective marine protected areas. In the South Atlantic Bight, invertebrate communities on hard substrata can differ significantly from one rocky outcrop to another, but the factors driving these differences are not well understood. I documented the initial development of the benthic invertebrate community at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS) to address the prediction that this system …
Environmental Factors Affecting Hatch Success In The Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta), Mattie J. Whitesell
Environmental Factors Affecting Hatch Success In The Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta), Mattie J. Whitesell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) is a species federally listed as “threatened” whose global populations are declining. Georgia Department of Natural Resources conservation protocols for this species require the daily monitoring of nesting activity and permit physical relocation of nests which are at risk of being eroded or flooded by storms and high tides in order to increase hatch success--the proportion of hatched to unhatched eggs. Relocated nests are moved to an area with higher elevation in order to avoid flooding, but other variables such as increased temperature and decreased moisture are introduced when relocating. For years temperature …