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Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology
Spatial And Temporal Variation In The Diet Composition Of Zooplankton In Mission Bay, Bryanna Paulson
Spatial And Temporal Variation In The Diet Composition Of Zooplankton In Mission Bay, Bryanna Paulson
Theses
Analyses of quantitative data on zooplankton diets are vital for understanding the drivers of zooplankton abundance within an ecosystem. Such analyses also provide insight into trophic pathways within the lower planktonic food web, which support populations of higher trophic level species. This study used carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of size-fractionated plankton in Mission Bay, San Diego, CA to examine the spatial and temporal variation in zooplankton trophic ecology and determine potential environmental drivers of zooplankton community structure. Carbon stable isotopes reflect primary production sources in an organism’s diet, and nitrogen stable isotope ratios can be used to estimate …
Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Vocal Responses To Sonar And Spectrally Pink Background Noise, Maria Zapetis
Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Vocal Responses To Sonar And Spectrally Pink Background Noise, Maria Zapetis
Dissertations
As human populations rise, the level of man-made noise increases globally. Naval sonar and boat traffic are underwater sound sources of particular concern to marine mammal welfare. To better understand the impact of these noise increases on cetaceans, studies can explore animals’ behavioral changes in response to noise. Studies have investigated the ‘dose-response’ relationship between the received sound pressure level of sonar signals and the behavior of cetaceans in the wild, but exposure studies in controlled environments are limited. The studies in this dissertation examined bottlenose dolphin vocal modifications during various experimental noise treatments. Acoustic recordings previously obtained for bottlenose …
Habitat Usage Patterns Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) In Terrebonne And Timbalier Bays, Louisiana, Mary Allison Manning
Habitat Usage Patterns Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) In Terrebonne And Timbalier Bays, Louisiana, Mary Allison Manning
LSU Master's Theses
I coupled fine-scale environmental data with observed behavior and group composition data to examine overall distribution within the bay system and to characterize the habitat associated with foraging and the presence of calves. Semi-isolated populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) along Louisiana’s coast are undergoing increased risks from boat traffic, oil spills, land subsidence, and planned water diversions (CPRA 2017). Characterizing the habitat use of bottlenose dolphins in Terrebonne and Timbalier bays, Louisiana, is important given the likely high site fidelity, small home ranges, and low exchange of individuals with nearby coastal populations (Lane et al. 2015, McDonald …