Marine Biology Commons^™

Evolution Of Island, Dominique Kongsli

The STEAM Journal

Evolution of Island emerged from the depths of an ocean of blue paint. My process involves observation of nature: I remember scuba diving in Thailand in the Andaman Sea and having a spiritual experience underwater while observing Christmas-tree worms pop in and out of the coral.

A Multidisciplinary Approach To Investigate Deep-Pelagic Ecosystem Dynamics In The Gulf Of Mexico Following Deepwater Horizon, April Cook, Andrea Bernard, Kevin M. Boswell, Heather Bracken-Grissom Dr., Marta D'Elia, Sergio Derada, Cole Easson, David English, Ron Eytan, Tamara Frank, Chuanmin Hu, Matt Johnston, Heather Judkins, Chad Lembke, Jose Lopez, Rosanna Milligan, Jon A. Moore, Brad Penta, Nina Pruzinsky, John A. Quinlan, Travis M. Richards, Isabel C. Romero, Mahmood S. Shivji, Michael Vecchione, Max D. Weber, R.J. David Wells, Tracey Sutton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The pelagic Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is a complex system of dynamic physical oceanography (western boundary current, mesoscale eddies), high biological diversity, and community integration via diel vertical migration and lateral advection. Humans also heavily utilize this system, including its deep-sea components, for resource extraction, shipping, tourism, and other commercial activity. This utilization has had impacts, some with disastrous consequences. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS) occurred at a depth of ∼1500 m (Macondo wellhead), creating a persistent and toxic mixture of hydrocarbons and dispersant in the deep-pelagic (water column below 200 m depth) habitat. In order to assess the …

New England’S Underutilized Seafood Species: Defining And Exploring Marketplace Potential In A Changing Climate, Amanda Davis

Masters Theses

New England’s seafood industry has been searching for opportunities to diversify their landings and build resilience as it faces socio-economic challenges from a changing climate. Developing markets for underutilized species is one way the New England community could help their seafood industry build resilience. This thesis identified New England’s underutilized fish species and explored their marketplace potential by examining their availability in a changing climate, current availability to consumers, and consumers’ responses. In Chapter I, I account how New England’s seafood preferences have changed over time. In Chapter II, I identify New England’s seven underutilized seafood species: 1) Acadian redfish …

Determining The Trophic Role Of Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) In Mississippi State Waters Using Stomach Content And Stable Isotope Analysis, Branden Kohler

Master's Theses

The goal of this study was to determine the diet composition, trophic position and ecological role of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in Mississippi state waters utilizing stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) and stomach content analysis. Stable isotope analysis of fish and their prey can provide information on species-specific basal resource utilization, diet composition and trophic position which can improve food web models and inform fisheries management decisions. Particulate organic matter (POM), the presumed base of the food web, red snapper muscle tissue, and red snapper stomach contents were collected from 25 sites in 2016 and …

A Management Strategy Evaluation Of The Impacts Of Interspecific Competition And Recreational Fishery Dynamics On Vermilion Snapper (Rhomboplites Aurorubens) In The Gulf Of Mexico, Megumi C. Oshima

Dissertations

In the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Vermilion Snapper (Rhomboplites auroruben), are believed to compete with Red Snapper directly for prey and habitat. The two species share similar diets and have significant spatial overlap in the Gulf. Red Snapper are thought to be the dominate competitor, forcing Vermilion Snapper to feed on less nutritious prey when local resources are depleted. In addition to ecological pressures, GOM Vermilion Snapper support substantial commercial and recreational fisheries. Over the past decade, recreational landings have steadily increased, reaching a historical high in 2018. One cause may be stricter regulations for similar target species such as …

Global Conservation Status Of Croaker And Drum (Family: Sciaenidae) And Role Of The Maw Trade, Claire E. Gorman

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Understanding threats and drivers of extinction risk is critical to conserving marine biodiversity. Although marine bony fishes are some of the most diverse and abundant vertebrates in the world, overexploitation is the major threat to these taxa. Species in the family Sciaenidae are important marine resources in many parts of the world, supporting small- and large-scale fisheries for consumption and the international maw (dried swimbladder) trade. Sciaenids exhibit a diverse array of life history characteristics, such as high fecundity, large body size, formation of spawning aggregations, and longevity. Some characteristics increase their susceptibility to anthropogenic stressors. Despite being ecologically and …

Compost And Biochar To Promote Soil Biological Activities Under Sweet Potatoes Cultivation In A Subtropical Semiarid Region, Josabeth Navarro, Jahdiel Salazar, James Jihoon Kang, Jason Parsons, Chu-Lin Cheng, Alexandria Castillo, Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

South Texas is located in a subtropical semiarid climate, and due to high temperature and irregular precipitation, farmers opt to leave their fields fallow during the summer months jeopardizing overall soil health. We evaluated whether sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) cultivation coupled with drip irrigation could restore soil biological activities compared with bare fallow. Additionally, because sweet potatoes have high demand of soil nutrients, especially potassium (K), we evaluated the nutrient supply of locally sourced soil amendments. Sweet potato was cultivated during summer 2018 in McAllen, Texas, under control (no fertilizer), NPK (synthetic fertilizer), RC (yard-waste compost), and AC (compost produced …

Characterization Of Pathogen Airborne Inoculum Density By Information Theoretic Analysis Of Spore Trap Time Series Data, Robin A. Choudhury, Neil Mcroberts

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

In a previous study, air sampling using vortex air samplers combined with species-specific amplification of pathogen DNA was carried out over two years in four or five locations in the Salinas Valley of California. The resulting time series data for the abundance of pathogen DNA trapped per day displayed complex dynamics with features of both deterministic (chaotic) and stochastic uncertainty. Methods of nonlinear time series analysis developed for the reconstruction of low dimensional attractors provided new insights into the complexity of pathogen abundance data. In particular, the analyses suggested that the length of time series data that it is practical …

Global Phylogeography Suggests Extensive Eucosmopolitanism In Mesopelagic Fishes (Maurolicus: Sternoptychidae), D. J. Reese, Jan Y. Poulsen, Tracey Sutton, Paulo A. S. Cost, Mauricio F. Landaeta

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Fishes in the mesopelagic zone (200–1000 m) have recently been highlighted for potential exploitation. Here we assess global phylogeography in Maurolicus, the Pearlsides, an ecologically important group. We obtained new sequences from mitochondrial COI and nuclear ITS-2 from multiple locations worldwide, representing 10 described species plus an unknown central South Pacific taxon. Phylogenetic analyses identified five geographically distinct groupings, three of which comprise multiple described species. Species delimitation analyses suggest these may represent four species. Maurolicus muelleri and M. australis are potentially a single species, although as no shared haplotypes are found between the two disjunct groups, we suggest …

Shrinking Salmon: Is Climate Change Linked To Animal Body Size?, Monica D. Bacchus

Scientific Communication News

No abstract provided.

The Impacts Of Fishing And Stochasticity On Saving Coral Reefs, Robyn Blevins, Jordan Penn, Christopher Stieha

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Connections In The Underworld: A Morphological And Molecular Study Of Diversity And Connectivity Among Anchialine Shrimp., Robert Eugene Ditter

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the distribution and population structure of crustaceans, endemic to anchialine systems in the tropical western Atlantic focusing on cave-dwelling shrimp from the family Barbouriidae. Taxonomic and molecular tools (genetic and genomic) are utilized to examine population dynamics and the presence of phenotypic hypervariation (PhyV) of the critically endangered species Barbouria cubensis (von Martens, 1872). The presence of PhyV and its geographic distribution is investigated among anchialine populations of B. cubensis from 34 sites on Abaco, Eleuthera, and San Salvador, Bahamas. Examination of 54 informative morphological characters revealed PhyV present in nearly 90% (n=463) of specimens with no …

Host Density Dependence And Environmental Factors Affecting Laurel Wilt Disease Incidence, Robin A. Choudhury, H. L. Er, M. Hughes, J. A. Smith, G. E. Pruett, J. Konkol, R. C. Ploetz, J. J. Marois, K. A. Marois, A. H. C. Van Bruggen

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Host size, density, and distribution, in addition to climate, can affect the likelihood a pathogen will invade and saturate landscapes. Laurel wilt, caused by the vector‐borne pathogen Raffaelea lauricola, has devastated populations of native Lauraceae in the Southeastern US, and continues to spread. We surveyed 87 plots in six coastal islands in South Carolina, Georgia, and North Florida, and one inland site (Archbold Biological Station) in South Florida for laurel wilt‐affected and non‐affected individual plants belonging to the genus Persea. The coastal island sites were surveyed once in 2008 or 2009, and the inland site was surveyed eight …

Trophic Structure And Sources Of Variation Influencing The Stable Isotope Signatures Of Meso- And Bathypelagic Micronekton Fishes, Travis M. Richards, Tracey Sutton, R. J.David Wells

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

To better understand spatiotemporal variation in the trophic structure of deep-pelagic species, we examined the isotope values of particulate organic matter (POM) (isotopic baseline) and seven deep-pelagic fishes with similar diet compositions but contrasting vertical distributions across mesoscale features in the Gulf of Mexico using stable isotope and amino acid compound-specific isotope analyses. Species examined included four migratory (Benthosema suborbitale, Lepidophanes guentheri, Melamphaes simus, Sigmops elongatus) and three non-migratory zooplanktivorous fishes (Argyropelecus hemigymnus, Cyclothone obscura, Sternoptyx pseudobscura). Isotopic values of POM increased with depth, with meso- and bathypelagic samples characterized by higher δ C and δ N values relative to …

Potential Effect Of Bio-Surfactants On Sea Spray Generation In Tropical Cyclone Conditions, Breanna L. Vanderplow, Alexander Soloviev, Cayla W. Dean, Brian K. Haus, Roger Lukas, Muhammad Sami, Isaac Ginis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Despite significant improvement in computational and observational capabilities, predicting intensity and intensification of major tropical cyclones remains a challenge. In 2017 Hurricane Maria intensified to a Category 5 storm within 24 h, devastating Puerto Rico. In 2019 Hurricane Dorian, predicted to remain tropical storm, unexpectedly intensified into a Category 5 storm and destroyed the Bahamas. The official forecast and computer models were unable to predict rapid intensification of these storms. One possible reason for this is that key physics, including microscale processes at the air-sea interface, are poorly understood and parameterized in existing forecast models. Here we show that surfactants …

Potential Virus-Mediated Nitrogen Cycling In Oxygen-Depleted Oceanic Waters, M. Consuelo Gazitúa, Dean R. Vik, Simon Roux, Ann C. Gregory, Benjamin Bolduc, Brittany Widner, Margaret R. Mulholland, Steven J. Hallam, Osvaldo Ulloa, Matthew B. Sullivan

OES Faculty Publications

Viruses play an important role in the ecology and biogeochemistry of marine ecosystems. Beyond mortality and gene transfer, viruses can reprogram microbial metabolism during infection by expressing auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) involved in photosynthesis, central carbon metabolism, and nutrient cycling. While previous studies have focused on AMG diversity in the sunlit and dark ocean, less is known about the role of viruses in shaping metabolic networks along redox gradients associated with marine oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). Here, we analyzed relatively quantitative viral metagenomic datasets that profiled the oxygen gradient across Eastern Tropical South Pacific (ETSP) OMZ waters, assessing whether OMZ …

Marine Wild-Capture Fisheries After Nuclear War, Kim J. N. Scherrer, Cheryl S. Harrison, Ryan F. Heneghan, Eric Galbraith, Charles G. Bardeen, Joshua Coupe, Jonas Jägermeyr, Nicole S. Lovenduski, August Luna, Alan Robock, Jessica Stevens, Samantha Stevenson, Owen B. Toon, Lili Xia

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nuclear war, beyond its devastating direct impacts, is expected to cause global climatic perturbations through injections of soot into the upper atmosphere. Reduced temperature and sunlight could drive unprecedented reductions in agricultural production, endangering global food security. However, the effects of nuclear war on marine wild-capture fisheries, which significantly contribute to the global animal protein and micronutrient supply, remain unexplored. We simulate the climatic effects of six war scenarios on fish biomass and catch globally, using a state-of-the-art Earth system model and global process-based fisheries model. We also simulate how either rapidly increased fish demand (driven by food shortages) or …

Anthropogenic Change On The Distribution Of Marine Megafauna And Their Prey, Baylie Fadool

Honors Theses

Anthropogenic change is impacting the distribution and survival of marine megafauna and their prey. Humans are changing every aspect of the marine environment, with effects reaching as large as changing the composition of marine environments to directly overexploiting species through the fishing industry. The role that marine megafauna play in balancing ecosystems, including as top apex predators, leads to detrimental results in the absences and population declines of these species. Migrations and declines due to threats on marine apex predator species will alter their environments by causing mesopredator release and changes in community structure, which is often associated with reduced …

Brown Spot In Table Grape Redglobe Controlled In Study With Sulfur Dioxide And Temperature Treatments, Cassandra A. Young, Robin A. Choudhury, Carlos H. Crisosto, W. Douglas Gubler

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Brown spot is a postharvest disease of grapes caused by Cladosporium species in the San Joaquin Valley of California. It spreads during cold storage and transport, resulting in severe economic losses to late table grape cultivars, which are grown mainly for export to countries such as China and Mexico. We examined the effect of temperature and sulfur dioxide (SO2) treatments on fungal growth and infection of Redglobe berries by three Cladosporium species: Cladosporium ramotenellum, C. cladosporioides and C. limoniforme. Redglobe is especially popular for export. Fungal colonies growing on potato dextrose agar in petri plates stored at −2°C grew slower …

Escolar (Lepidocybium Flavobrunneum) Neurocranium, Meredith M. Pratt, Katerina D. Sawickij, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium prep of escolar Lepidocybium flavobrunneum obtained from longlining vessel.

Differential Survival Of Nursery‐Reared Acropora Cervicornis Outplants Along The Florida Reef Tract, Robert Van Woesik, Raymond B. Banister, Erich Bartels, David S. Gilliam, Elizabeth A. Goergen, Caitlin Lustic, Kerry Maxwell, Amelia Moura, Erinn M. Muller, Stephanie Schopmeyer, R. Scott Winters, Diego Lirman

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

In recent decades, the Florida reef tract has lost over 95% of its coral cover. Although isolated coral assemblages persist, coral restoration programs are attempting to recover local coral populations. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, Acropora cervicornis is the most widely targeted coral species for restoration in Florida. Yet strategies are still maturing to enhance the survival of nursey‐reared outplants of A. cervicornis colonies on natural reefs. This study examined the survival of 22,634 A. cervicornis colonies raised in nurseries along the Florida reef tract and outplanted to six reef habitats in seven geographical subregions between 2012 …

Restoration Of Seagrass Habitat Leads To Rapid Recovery Of Coastal Ecosystem Services, Robert J. Orth, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Karen S. Mcglathery, Lillian Aoki, Mark Luckenbach, Kenneth A. Moore, Matthew P.J. Oreska, Richard A. Snyder, David J. Wilcox, Bo Lusk

VIMS Articles

There have been increasing attempts to reverse habitat degradation through active restoration, but few largescale successes are reported to guide these efforts. Here, we report outcomes from a unique and very successful seagrass restoration project: Since 1999, over 70 million seeds of a marine angiosperm, eelgrass (Zostera marina), have been broadcast into mid-western Atlantic coastal lagoons, leading to recovery of 3612 ha of seagrass. Well-developed meadows now foster productive and diverse animal communities, sequester substantial stocks of carbon and nitrogen, and have prompted a parallel restoration for bay scallops (Argopecten irradians). Restored ecosystem services are approaching historic levels, but we …

Effects Of Seawater Exchange On Water Chemistry Among Coastal Lakes With Intermittent Connections To The Sea, A. Challen Hyman, Dana Bigham Stephens

VIMS Articles

Intermittently closed and open lakes and lagoons (ICOLLs) are a dynamic class of coastal waterbodies with the unique feature of intermittently connecting to the sea. Understanding the functioning and potential threats of these globally rare systems is important to their preservation and protection. Coastal dune lakes of northwest Florida are one example of an understudied group of ICOLLs which connect with the Gulf of Mexico for brief periods of time. Using a 17-year, monthly water chemistry dataset, we analyzed long-term patterns in water chemistry among 16 coastal dune lakes. Using salinity as a proxy for frequency of seawater inflows, principal …

A Brain-Infecting Parasite Impacts Host Metabolism Both During Exposure And After Infection Is Established, Lauren E. Nadler, Erik Bengston, Erika J. Eliason, Cameron Hassibi, Siri H. Helland-Riise, Ida B. Johansen, Garfield T. Kwan, Martin Tresguerres, Andrew V. Turner, Kelly L. Weinersmith, Øyvind Øverli, Ryan F. Hechinger

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

1. Metabolic costs associated with parasites should not be limited to established infections. Even during initial exposure to questing and attacking parasites, hosts can enact behavioural and physiological responses that could also incur metabolic costs. However, few studies have measured these costs directly. Hence, little is known about metabolic costs arising from parasite exposure.
2. Furthermore, no one has yet measured whether and how previous infection history modulates metabolic responses to parasite exposure.
3. Here, using the California killifish Fundulus parvipinnis and its brain‐infecting parasite Euhaplorchis californiensis, we quantified how killifish metabolism, behaviour and osmoregulatory phenotype changed upon acute exposure to parasite …

Nest Moisture Content Affects Loggerhead Hatchling Size And Neonate Development, Kelly M. Detmer

Scientific Communication News

No abstract provided.

Deep Sea Isopods From The Western Mediterranean: Distribution And Habitat, Joan E. Cartes, Diego F. Figueroa

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Isopods are a highly diversified group of deep-sea fauna, with a wide variety of shapes which must reflect a similar great variety of adaptations to the deep environments. The deep Mediterranean, however, has a low diversity of isopods related to its oligotrophy, the thermal stability of deep-water masses (∼12.8 °C below 150 - 200 m) and rather homogeneous geomorphology. The main factor defining isopod habitats in the Balearic Basin is insularity vs mainland influence. Desmosomatidae and Ischnomesidae, examples of epibenthic species (with lack of paddle-shaped legs and non/low-natatory capacity) are mainly linked to mainland areas with higher % organic matter …

Trace Metals And The Environment: Studying The Behaviour Of Iceland’S Glacially Sourced Trace Metals, Owen Bailey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Trace metal contamination in marine ecosystems is a problem for every trophic level, from zooplankton up to humans. The mobility and uptake availability of these metals depend on such environmental parameters as salinity, temperature, and pH, among others. To explore the effects of varying parameters on dissolved metal behaviour, I studied the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon, into which the Breidamerkurjökull glacier deposits trace metals from volcanic ash through glacial melt. In this study I develop and follow a sampling procedure to analyze trace metal concentrations in the lagoon, while additionally discussing the behaviour and impact of trace metals, focusing on cadmium, …

Cruise Report: Ex-17-11 Gulf Of Mexico 2017 (Rov And Mapping), Michael P. White, Brian R. C. Kennedy, Diva Amon, Charles G. Messing, Alexandra M. Avila

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

From November 29, 2017 to December 21, 2017, the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) and partners conducted a telepresence-enabled ocean exploration expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to collect critical baseline data and information and to improve knowledge about unexplored and poorly understood deepwater areas of the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico 2017 (EX-17-11) expedition was part of a series of expeditions between 2017 and 2018 that explored deepwater areas in the Gulf of Mexico. During 23 days at sea, 17 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives were completed off the Western Florida Escarpment and in …

First Insights Into The Vertical Habitat Use Of The Whitespotted Eagle Ray Aetobatus Narinari Revealed By Pop‐Up Satellite Archival Tags, L. R. Brewster, B. V. Cahill, M. N. Burton, C. Dougan, J. S. Herr, L. Issac Norton, S. A. Mcguire, M. Pico, E. Urban-Gedamke, K. Bassos-Hull, J. P. Tyminski, R. E. Hueter, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Mahmood S. Shivji, N. Burnie, M. J. Ajemian

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The whitespotted eagle ray Aetobatus narinari is a tropical to warm‐temperate benthopelagic batoid that ranges widely throughout the western Atlantic Ocean. Despite conservation concerns for the species, its vertical habitat use and diving behaviour remain unknown. Patterns and drivers in depth distribution of A. narinari were investigated at two separate locations—western North Atlantic (Islands of Bermuda) and Eastern Gulf of Mexico (Sarasota, Florida, USA). Between 2010 and 2014, seven pop‐up satellite archival tags (PSATs) were attached to A. narinari using three methods: a through‐tail suture; external tail‐band; and through‐wing attachment. Retention time ranged from 0–180 days, with tags attached via …

Water Quality Assessment In The Occurrence Of Acanthaster Spp. (Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish, Cots) On Coral Reefs In Menjangan Island, Bali, Indonesia, Novia Arinda Pradisty, Eghbert Elvan Ampou, Rizki Hanintyo

Makara Journal of Science

Aquatic stressors are known to cause biological impairment that can result in biodiversity loss in several Marine Protected Areas (MPA), including in Menjangan Island, West Bali National Park. The objectives of this study were to correlate the changes in water quality parameters with the biological effect of Crown-of-Thorns starfish (CoTS) population dynamics and to assess the most applicable parameters for continuous environmental monitoring. Field observations and surveys were conducted three times in 2017, during the wet season, dry season and season transition, in order to assess the effect of seasonal variability. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) was performed to determine the relationship …