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Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology
Characterization Of Red Mangrove Proproot Epibiont Communities Of St. Johns Usvi, Alan M. Buob
Characterization Of Red Mangrove Proproot Epibiont Communities Of St. Johns Usvi, Alan M. Buob
Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects
In May 1989, Hurricane Hugo impacted St. Johns USVI destroying the Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) Forest of Great Lameshur Bay. The impact restricted the tidal flow and caused massive destruction in the mangroves. Hurricane Marilyn (1995) hit St. John causing the storm wall formed by Hugo to be washed out. It returned limited tidal flow to the dead forest. It was not until a subsequent hurricane in 2010 broke down the sediment wall and natural flow returned. Up to that point, water quality restricted any fouling organisms’ survival on the prop roots. By using photo identification, three different bays of …
Assessing The Influence Of Salt Marsh Enhancement On Nekton Communities, Evan Thomas Kwityn
Assessing The Influence Of Salt Marsh Enhancement On Nekton Communities, Evan Thomas Kwityn
Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects
Resiliency projects are being implemented throughout coastal communities with the intention of reducing the loss of salt marsh habitat. Salt marsh enhancement projects may have the benefit of minimizing physical coastal impacts, but enhancement activities are not fully understood as a result of potential impacts on salt marsh ecosystems, particularly nekton or fish and decapod communities. Questions involving salt marsh enhancement remain in regard to negative impacts on nekton communities and hydrologic habitat connectivity. To evaluate the impacts of salt marsh enhancement in reference to nekton community structures, I compared nekton density in restored and non-restored locations on two salt …
Do Indirect Predator Cues Affect Behavior Of The Freshwater Clam Sphaerium Simile?, Jesse Bruce Eichler
Do Indirect Predator Cues Affect Behavior Of The Freshwater Clam Sphaerium Simile?, Jesse Bruce Eichler
Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects
Freshwater bivalves provide important ecosystem services, like filtering water and cycling nutrients. Predators affecting the behavior of bivalve prey, therefore, could potentially impact the structure and function of ecological communities. Because little is known about the antipredator responses of sphaeriid clams, I examined the behavior of juvenile and adult freshwater clams, Sphaerium simile, when exposed to two types of indirect predator cues: effluent of a crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) and damaged conspecific clams. Adult clams responded to crayfish effluent by significantly reducing burrowing behavior. Juvenile clams, however, buried indiscriminately regardless of experimental treatment and significantly more often/more quickly than adults. These …