Marine Biology Commons^™

Effects Of A Dispersed And Undispersed Crude Oil On Mangroves, Seagrasses And Corals, T. G. Ballou, Richard E. Dodge, S. C. Hess, A. H. Knap, Thomas D. Sleeter

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the application of dispersant to spilled oil as a means of reducing adverse environmental effects of oil spills in nearshore, tropical waters. The results of numerous laboratory and field studies have suggested that dispersants may play a useful role in reducing adverse impacts on sensitive and valued environments such as mangroves, seagrasses, and corals. However, the use of dispersants has not been allowed thus far in most situations because of a lack of direct experimental data on the various effects of dispersants and the environmental trade-offs presumed to occur as a …

Molting In The Mature Female Blue Crab, Callinectes Sapidus, Rathbun, Kirk J. Havens

OES Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines the hypothesis that mature female blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, do not have a terminal anecdysis. Induced molting via eyestalk ablation, size frequency distributions and gonad and limb regeneration indices from field collected animals are used as indicators of potential post maturity molts.

Eyestalk ablation of mature females resulted in ecdysis approximately 51 days after ablation, indicating a physiological ability if mature females to complete ecdysis. Analysis of size frequency distributions indicates two distinct shifts from smaller to larger females, one in early spring and a second in early fall. While migration of larger females into …

Phytoplankton Dynamics In The Very Low Salinity Region Of The James River Estuary, Virginia, U.S.A., Changho Moon

OES Theses and Dissertations

During summer and autumn discharge from the James River estuary, Virginia, was less than 120 _m³sec^-1. There was a peak phytoplankton biomass in the very low salinity region (defined as the location where surface salinity measured less than 0.5$ 0/00) and this peak represented five to ten times greater biomass than adjacent waters. The peak biomass occurred independent of the tidal state and the location of nutrient inputs. It disappeared during winter and spring, and nutrient limitation was not responsible for the low phytoplankton biomass, indicating there were physical, not chemical controlling factors.

The peak biomass …

Growth Rate Of Stony Corals Of Broward County, Florida: Effects From Past Beach Renourishment Projects, Richard E. Dodge, Broward County Erosion Prevention District Environmental Quality Control Board

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

The skeletal growth of hermatypic (reef-building) corals is a sensitive indicator of environmental conditions and perturbations. In particular, excessive sedimentation and turbidity act to depress coral growth because energy expenditure is required to remove sediment and because turbidity reduces light energy necessary for coral health and nutrition.

Normalized annual growth (linear skeletal extension) rates of Broward County, Florida reef-building corals were over 16 years (1985-1970). Star corals (Montastrea annularis) and brain corals (Diploria labyrinthiformis) were collected from each of four reef sites at two depths (9m and 18m). Collection areas were located in the vicinity of …

Submerged And Emergent Aquatic Vegetation Of The Chesapeake Bay, Carl Hershner, Richard L. Wetzel

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Chesapeake Bay supports a diverse assemblage of submerged and emergent aquatic vegetation. The distribution of species of each kind of vegetation is governed largely by salinity. The functions of both submerged and emergent vegetation in the Bay ecosystem includes contributing to total net primary production, service a habitat and performance in both water quality and sedimentation processes. Research on submerged aquatic vegetation is focused on its role in the estuarine system and determinants of its distribution and abundance. Research on emergent vegetation still concerns basic questions of structure and function, but has also branched into methodologies for utilization by man …

Tropical Oil Pollution Investigations In Coastal Systems (Tropics): Final Report, T. G. Ballou, Richard E. Dodge, S. C. Hess, A. H. Knap, T. D. Sleeter

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Summer 1987, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Fall 1987, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Acceleration Of Nutrient Uptake By Phytoplankton In A Coastal Upwelling Ecosystem: A Modeling Analysis, Richard C. Zimmerman, James N. Kremer, Richard C. Dugdale

OES Faculty Publications

Studies of upwelling centers in the eastern Pacific suggest that maximum rates of nitrate uptake (light and nutrient saturated) increase, or shift-up, as newly upwelled water moves downstream. The rate of shift-up appears to be related to irradiance and the ambient concentration of limiting nutrient at the time of upwelling. A mathematical model was developed to evaluate effects of irradiance and initial nitrate concentration on temporal patterns of shift-up and subsequent time scales of nutrient utilization over a range of simulated upwelling conditions. When rates consistent with field studies were used, complete shift-up was possible only under certain conditions, and …

A Trophic Resource Analysis Of Dominant Benthic Microfauna Of The Lower Chesapeake Bay, Douglas Vernon Huggett

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Primary Production And Temporal Variation In The Macrophytic Community Of A Tidal Freshwater Swamp, Bryan Keith Fowler

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

The Respiratory Response Of Busycon Canaliculatum (L) To Seasonal Variation Of Water Temperature, Salinity, And Oxygen, Harry Gregory Polites

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Contaminant Effects On Chesapeake Bay Finfishes, Ronald J. Klauda, Michael E. Bender

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Habitat deterioration is consistent with perceived population declines for several resident and anadromous finfish species in Chesapeake Bay that are subjected to different levels of fishing pressure (e.g., striped bass versus blueback herring). Diminution of habitat quality has natural and anthropogenic roots that are difficult to separate. Recent contaminant effects studies focused on Chesapeake Bay fishes can be grouped as follows: (a) mathematical and statistical modeling studies aimed at elucidating contaminant and stock trend relationships using extant data and theoretical insights, (b) biological and chemical field surveys in selected areas to demonstrate spatio-temporal associations between levels of toxic organic and …

Contaminants In Chesapeake Bay: The Regional Perspective, George R. Helz, Robert J. Huggett

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Industrial and municipal point sources of contaminants are scattered along the shores of Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, but reach especially high density at Norfolk, Va., and Baltimore, Md. Sedimentation and various chemical processes in many cases conspire to restrict the water-borne transport of contaminant away from point source . Kepone, residual chlorine, volatile halogenated hydrocarbons, and anthropogenic trace metals are well-studied example of point-source contaminants. For the most part, their concentration in water and sediment drop to nearly immeasurable values within a distance of a few kilometers, or sometimes a few tens of kilometers, from their source .

On …

A Mark-Recapture Study Of Striped Bass In The James River, Virginia : Annual Report 1987, Joseph G. Loesch, William H. Kriete Jr., Bruce W. Hill

Reports

Internal anchor tags with external tubes were used to tag 1,986 striped bass in the James River in the Spring of 1987. The total number tagged was adjusted (at this time) to 823 because of observed and suspected tagging mortality. The available stock of striped bass in the Spring contained both young resident fish and mature nonresident fish which left the area of capture after spawning, presumably to migrate north in coastal waters. The exodus of the mature fish after spawning and the absence of a commercial fishery resulted in only 42 tag returns as of Spring 1988. This proportion …

Monogenetic Trematodes From The Southern Pacific Ocean Polyopisthocotyleids From The Australian Fishes, The Subfamily Polylabrinae And Microcotylinae, W. A. Dillon, William J. Hargis Jr., Antonio E. Harrises

Reports

This eighth of a series of monogenetic trematodes from the Southern Pacific Ocean discusses two species of Monogenea from Australian waters. Polylabroides mylionis n. sp., from the gills of Mylio butcheri, is described. Neobivagina agonostomi (Sandars, 1945} Dillon and Hargis, 1965, from the gills of Aldrichett~ forsteri, is redescribed; a new locality record is reported for Neobivagina agonostomi.

System Response Of A Nourished Beach In A Low-Energy Estuarine Environment, Gloucester Point, Virginia, Tracy Eanes Skrabal

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of The Relative Sediment Transport Of Quartz And Aragonite Sand For Use As Beach Renourishment Materials In South Florida, Brian Lewis Lipsitz

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

An evaluation of the relative rates of sediment transport of an oolitic aragonite sand and a quartz quarry sand as possible beach renourishment materials has been conducted. When comparing equal volumes, the aragonite experienced less transport than the quartz in both the longshore and in the onshore-offshore directions. When comparing equal size fractions, in sizes 0.35mm and smaller, aragonite was less transportable. The quartz was less transportable in the sizes greater than 0.35mm. This trend was observed in two separate experiments and is attributed to the effective density ratio of aragonite to quartz, dissimilarities in roundness and sphericity, and to …

Coliphage As An Indicator Of Fecal Pollution In Marine Waters: Assay, Validation, And Application, Donald S. Mccorquodale Jr.

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Escherichia coli, the preferred bacterial indicator for fecal pollution in fresh waters, does not conform to the concept of an indicator microorganism because it is rapidly killed or inactivated by seawater. This series of papers investigated the value of coliphage, a virus which infects E. coli, as an indicator of pollution in saline waters. In order to be an accurate indicator an organism must (1) be ubiquitous in wastewater, (2) survive and be detectable at least as long as the harmful organisms, and (3) be easy to isolate and identify.

A review of the literature determined that coliphage …

Effects Of Contaminants On Estuarine Zooplankton, Brian P. Bradley, Morrris H. Roberts Jr.

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The objectives of the chapter are (1) to evaluate laboratory studies concerning effects of heavy metals, pesticides and oxidants on copepods, mysids, bivalve and decapod larvae (2) access field studies (mainly with copepods) on these and other contaminants which when coupled with laboratory data provide information on known and potential hazards of contaminants to zooplankton and (3) briefly review some bioassay methods used in these studies.

Mercury is the most toxic heavy metal by weight, followed by copper, silver and cadmium. Pesticides have been tested much less extensively than heavy metals. In general, bivalve larvae seem less sensitive than the …

Mollusk Culture For The Chesapeake Bay, Michael Castagna

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

The water quality of the Chesapeake Bay has suffered a decline over the last 5 decades due to anthropomorphic activities. Insidious additions of industrial and farm pollutant to the Bay have created a situation where in many areas there are periodic sub lethal levels of chemicals. Although the juveniles and adults seem to survive these levels, they are obviously interfering with some early life stage of the living organisms that make up the bay fauna. Species whose early life history takes place out of the Bay (i.e. Cal!inectes sapidus) are less affected by this problem than those species whose eggs, …

Is Growth Of Eelgrass Nitrogen Limited? A Numerical Simulation Of The Effects Of Light And Nitrogen On The Growth Dynamics Of Zostera Marina, Richard C. Zimmerman, Robert D. Smith, Randall S. Alberte

OES Faculty Publications

A numerical model of nitrogen uptake and growth was developed for the temperate seagrass Zostera marina L. Goals were to evaluate the relative effects of light and nitrogen availability on nitrogen uptake and partitioning between leaf and root tissue, and to estimate nitrogen concentrations in the sedment and water column required to saturate growth. Steady-state predictions are quite robust with respect to a range of parameter values justified by available data The calculations indicated that roots are probably more important in overall nitrogen acquisition in most light and nitrogen environments encountered in situ, but may contribute less than 50 …

New Species Of Neomegamphopus From Tropical America (Crustacea: Marine Amphipoda), J. L. Barnard, James Darwin Thomas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Neomegamphopus hiatus is described from Venezuela and the Florida Keys, N. pachiatus and N. heardi from Pacific Panama, and N. kalanii from eastern Florida. Neomegamphopus hiatus and N. pachiatus differ from a close congener, N. roosevelti (tropical eastern Pacific), in the much larger coxa 1 of mature males, the less setose gnathopods, and the broader carpus of the first gnathopod bearing a much deeper incision defining the posterior tooth; the carpus is much shorter and stouter in N. hiatus and N. pachiatus than in N. roosevelti. Neomegamphopus heardi differs from the other species in the bifid tooth on the …

A New Species Of Chevalia From The Caribbean Sea (Crustacea: Amphipoda), J. L. Barnard, James Darwin Thomas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A new Caribbean species, Chevalia carpenteri is described; heretofore only one species of the genus was known, but we have examined material that suggests morphs may represent distinct species or subspecies. We report C. mexicana and extend its range from the northern Gulf of Mexico to Belize. Our new species differs from the world complex of C. aviculae morphs in the ovate article 2 of pereopods 5-7 and the posteriorly flat epimera with large notches.

The Indo-Pacific Audulla Chelifera Reported From The Caribbean Sea (Crustacea: Amphipoda), James Darwin Thomas, J. L. Barnard

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Audulla chelifera Chevreux is reported for the first time outside of the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. It has now been found in the western Caribbean inhabiting the alga Turbinaria turbinata (Linneaus) Kuntze in backreef regions of the Belize barrier reef.

Identification And Distribution Of Urophycis (Gill) And Phycis (Artedi) Larvae And Pelagic Juveniles In The Middle Atlantic Bight, Bruce Henry Comyns

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Population Structure Of The White Perch, Morone Americana, In Lower Chesapeake Bay As Inferred From Mitochondrial Dna Restriction Analysis, Brian W. Bowen

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Potential Fish Egg Production By Mnemiopsis Leidyi Determined By Hydrography At The Chesapeake Bay Mouth, Harry D. Johnson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.