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Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology

Basal Food Web Dynamics In A Natural Eelgrass (Zostera Marina) Community: Cage-Free Field Experimentation, Matthew A. Whalen Jan 2011

Basal Food Web Dynamics In A Natural Eelgrass (Zostera Marina) Community: Cage-Free Field Experimentation, Matthew A. Whalen

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The relative strength of bottom-up and top-down processes operating within food webs is a fundamental determinant of community structure and function. In marine systems, inconspicuous but often highly abundant invertebrate herbivores (mesograzers) are implicated as strong consumers of primary production and important prey for higher-order consumers. Because of their small size, however, mesograzer abundance is not easily manipulated in the field, which limits our ability to adequately assess their grazing impacts. Seagrass systems present a pressing need for the study of food web dynamics because anthropogenic nutrient and sediment inputs decrease the amount of light reaching seagrass leaves, which limits …


Deep-Pelagic (0-3000m) Fish Assemblage Structure Over The Mid-Atlantic Ridge In The Area Of The Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone, April B. Cook Jan 2011

Deep-Pelagic (0-3000m) Fish Assemblage Structure Over The Mid-Atlantic Ridge In The Area Of The Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone, April B. Cook

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Only a miniscule fraction of the world’s largest volume of living space, the ocean’s mid-water biome, has ever been sampled. As part of the International Census of Marine Life field project Mid-Atlantic Ridge Ecosystems (MAR-ECO), a discrete-depth trawling survey was conducted in 2009 aboard the NOAA ship Henry B. Bigelow to examine the pelagic faunal assemblage structure and distribution over the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ) of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is the first MAR-ECO project aimed specifically at describing diel vertical migration as a distributional phenomenon. Discrete-depth sampling from 0-3000 m was conducted during both day and night in …


The Effects Of Seagrass Species And Trophic Interactions In Experimental Seagrass Communities, Althea F. P. Moore Jan 2011

The Effects Of Seagrass Species And Trophic Interactions In Experimental Seagrass Communities, Althea F. P. Moore

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


A Tale Of Two Blooms: Dynamics Of Nitrogen Uptake By Harmful Algae In The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico And York River, Virginia, Usa, Lynn M. Killberg-Thoreson Jan 2011

A Tale Of Two Blooms: Dynamics Of Nitrogen Uptake By Harmful Algae In The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico And York River, Virginia, Usa, Lynn M. Killberg-Thoreson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The goal of this study was to determine the significance of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) to harmful phytoplankton. Two regions that experience frequent and persistent harmful algal blooms (HABs) were examined, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and York River, Virginia. Nitrogen uptake by harmful algae in these regions was examined using a combination of stable isotopic (15N) tracer techniques and nutrient bioassays. In the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, kinetic parameters for uptake of N substrates by K. brevis were determined and indicated the greatest preference for ammonium (NH4+), although all substrates tested were taken up. …


Dynamics And Composition Of The Extracellular Polymeric Substances Produced By Benthic Microalgae: An In Situ 13c And 15n Approach, Stephanie Kara Salisbury Jan 2011

Dynamics And Composition Of The Extracellular Polymeric Substances Produced By Benthic Microalgae: An In Situ 13c And 15n Approach, Stephanie Kara Salisbury

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The land-­‐ocean margin is characterized by a shallow water column, which allows light to reach the benthos and supports a diverse community of benthic autotrophs. One group of benthic autotrophs, consisting of benthic diatoms, cyanobacteria and other photosynthetic microorganisms living near the sediment surface (i.e., benthic microalgae) accounts for a substantial amount of this primary production. Benthic microalgae are also tightly coupled to carbon and nutrient cycling processes carried out by the sediment bacterial community. Benthic microalgae exude complex biopolymers, called extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which consist mainly of carbohydrates, but can contain proteins and nucleic acids. EPS serves multiple …


Ecological, Physiological, And Bio-Optical Characteristics Of Phaeocystis Globosa In Coastal Waters Of South Central Vietnam, Xiao Liu Jan 2011

Ecological, Physiological, And Bio-Optical Characteristics Of Phaeocystis Globosa In Coastal Waters Of South Central Vietnam, Xiao Liu

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.