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Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology

Cadmium And Salinity Stressor Antagonism On Vallisneria Neotropicalis, Christopher P. Mikolaitis Jul 2023

Cadmium And Salinity Stressor Antagonism On Vallisneria Neotropicalis, Christopher P. Mikolaitis

<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>

Submerged macrophytes form the foundation of freshwater ecosystems. These organisms are sessile and are very susceptible to shifts in their environment. Heavy metals are of particular concern as they can be sequestered indefinitely in sediments and are readily taken up by rooted vegetation. In the presence of saltwater intrusions, these metals can interact with salt ions potentially changing their availability to submerged vegetation. In this study a freshwater macrophyte, Vallisneria neotropicalis, was used as a test species for interactive effects between Cd, a non-essential heavy metal, and salt stress. The metrics used to establish the individual as well as …


Impacts Of Plastic Pollution On A Pelagic Marine Mammal, The Northern Elephant Seal, Lauren M. Kashiwabara Jan 2022

Impacts Of Plastic Pollution On A Pelagic Marine Mammal, The Northern Elephant Seal, Lauren M. Kashiwabara

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

As plastic pollution increases, top marine predators such as marine mammals are becoming increasingly susceptible to plastic particles and their additives. Plastic particles have been found in gastrointestinal tracts and scat of many marine mammals, and quantifying plastic pollution in those that are pelagic can provide insight into plastic pollution in mesopelagic ecosystems that are just beginning to be analyzed. Adapting well-developed laboratory techniques for microplastic (MP) isolation (i.e. density separation and chemical digestion), I isolated MPs from the scat of the deepest diving pinniped, the northern elephant seal (NES), and found that100% of scat samples (n=11) contained high counts …


Prioritizing The Largest, Oldest Corals For Disease Intervention In A Coral Disease-Ravaged Area: Southeast Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Area, Alysha Brunelle Aug 2020

Prioritizing The Largest, Oldest Corals For Disease Intervention In A Coral Disease-Ravaged Area: Southeast Florida Coral Reef Ecosystem Conservation Area, Alysha Brunelle

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Coral diseases appear to be more devastating than ever before. When a virulent disease ravages a coral ecosystem, it can significantly change the population’s demographics and cause local extinctions. Disease intervention response during such an event is impossible at a landscape scale, therefore priorities must be considered. Saving the largest, oldest colonies of reef-building species is a good choice due to their high fecundity and ecological function. Their size, as a proxy for age, is an indicator of their resistance to previous perturbations which may indicate higher fitness. Their size also provides habitat to many organisms and wave resistance in …


Bull Kelp (Nereocystic Lutkeana) Restoration And Management In Northern California, Olivia Johnson May 2020

Bull Kelp (Nereocystic Lutkeana) Restoration And Management In Northern California, Olivia Johnson

Master's Projects and Capstones

Northern California’s coastal marine ecosystems support one of the most productive and biodiverse habitats on the planet. Bull kelp forests (Nereocystic lutkeana) form habitats for an abundance of marine mammals, sea bird, fish, and invertebrates. In recent years, compounding ecological and climatic factors have disrupted the balance of the bull kelp forests and led to an unprecedented loss of bull kelp biomass and canopy cover. These areas that are typically teeming with marine life have shifted into a stable state of sea urchin barrens due to over grazing of bull kelp by purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus pupuratus). These sea urchin …


An Ecopath With Ecosim Analysis On Offshore Petroleum Platform Influences On Gulf Of Mexico Red Snapper, Valentin Gomez Apr 2020

An Ecopath With Ecosim Analysis On Offshore Petroleum Platform Influences On Gulf Of Mexico Red Snapper, Valentin Gomez

LSU Master's Theses

Offshore oil and gas platforms have had a significant presence in the Gulf of Mexico since the 1950s. An important secondary function of these structures is that they provide artificial habitat to fisheries, most notably Red snapper. Policy changes intended to reduce the risk associated with aging infrastructure have reduced the number of standing platforms from 4044 to 1867 from 2001 to 2018. The effect this loss of habitat has on Red snapper was tested by creating three scenarios of platform changes and modeling the perturbation from 2005 to 2050. The simulation was accomplished using the ecological model Ecopath with …


Desalination Concentrate Disposal: Ecological Effects And Sustainable Solutions, Ryan Hanley Jun 2018

Desalination Concentrate Disposal: Ecological Effects And Sustainable Solutions, Ryan Hanley

Global Honors Theses

Freshwater availability is a growing global concern, and desalination is often presented as the solution, but from this important technology comes issues of toxic waste. Ecosystems are delicate areas that contain species adapted to that specific location, and any chemical or physical changes can disrupt the fitness of species. The concentrate byproduct waste from desalination plants is toxic to species if the concentrate is not compatible with the receiving water body. A critical review of scientific articles, industry-leading books, conversations with industry experts, and information from the American Membrane Technology Association conference was used to analyze the current knowledge. Species …


Investigating The Effects Of Decreased Ph On The Intertidal Shore Crab, Hemigrapsus Nudus, Avni Gandhi May 2017

Investigating The Effects Of Decreased Ph On The Intertidal Shore Crab, Hemigrapsus Nudus, Avni Gandhi

Honors Theses

Ocean acidification has emerged as an issue for marine organisms, due to increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. In particular, invertebrates with calcium carbonate exoskeletons seem to be at risk. Our research investigates the potential effect of decreased pH on the weight of Hemigrapsus nudus, a species of intertidal crab found in Northern California. Over a 6 week period, crabs were maintained in individual containers with recirculating chilled seawater at 12.7°C. The control aquaria was maintained at 8.1 pH, while the experimental aquaria averaged a pH of 7.5. Crabs were weighed at two week intervals, preliminary information shows the …


Multiscale Habitat Suitability Modeling For Canary Rockfish (Sebastes Pinniger) Along The Northern California Coast, Portia N. Saucedo Jan 2017

Multiscale Habitat Suitability Modeling For Canary Rockfish (Sebastes Pinniger) Along The Northern California Coast, Portia N. Saucedo

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Detailed spatially-explicit data of the potential habitat of commercially important rockfish species are a critical component for the purposes of marine conservation, evaluation, and planning. Predictive habitat modeling techniques are widely used to identify suitable habitat in un-surveyed regions. This study elucidates the predicted distribution of canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) along the largely un-surveyed northern California coast using data from visual underwater surveys and predictive terrain complexity covariates. I used Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modelling software to identify regions of suitable habitat for S. pinniger greater than nine cm in total length at two spatial scales. The results of …


Gene Flow And Genetic Structure Of The Seagrass Thalassia Hemprichii In The Indo-Australian Archipelago, Udhi Eko Hernawan Jan 2016

Gene Flow And Genetic Structure Of The Seagrass Thalassia Hemprichii In The Indo-Australian Archipelago, Udhi Eko Hernawan

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

How genetic variation is distributed across space (genetic structure) and what factors influence the spatial genetic structuring is one of the primary questions in population genetics. The interaction between species biology (e.g. life-history traits) and physical processes operating in the seascape over time, including palaeo-historical events (e.g. sea level fluctuations) and contemporary processes (e.g. ocean currents), have been predicted to influence the extent of gene flow and the spatial genetic structuring in marine organisms. However, the relative contribution of each factor in governing the genetic pattern remains unclear. This study examined the pattern of genetic structure and the factors influencing …


Management Recommendations For Restoration Of The Degraded Olympia Oyster, Ostrea Lurida Carpenter 1864 In Tomales Bay, Ca, Carolyn M. Gibson May 2015

Management Recommendations For Restoration Of The Degraded Olympia Oyster, Ostrea Lurida Carpenter 1864 In Tomales Bay, Ca, Carolyn M. Gibson

Master's Projects and Capstones

This research addresses the effective restoration of Olympia oyster populations in Tomales Bay, Marin County, California. Chapter 2 provides background information on the Tomales Bay estuary, regional history, and ecology of the Olympia oyster. Following this background discussion, each of the three aforementioned degraders of Olympia oyster populations in Tomales Bay is presented: ocean acidification (Chapter 3), sedimentation (Chapter 4), and invasive species (Chapter 5). Each of these issues creates numerous barriers that require the attention of resource protection managers. Chapter 6 presents overall Research Conclusions and Chapter 7 identifies management recommendations to effectively begin the restoration of the Olympia …