Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Seasat Altimetry Adjustment Model Including Tidal And Other Sea Surface Effects, Georges Blaha

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

This study is a part of the on-going effort aimed at improved determinations of the earth's gravity field through the adjustment of satellite altimeter data in the short-arc mode. Until recently the key role in such adjustments has been played by GEOS-3 altimeter data. However, SEASAT altimetry is envisioned as providing a more accurate means for addressing this task.

In view of the improved quality of altimeter data and of the corresponding more stringent requirements for the data reduction, several improvements in the existing altimetry model have been designed and are described herein. For example, the criteria have been established …

Growth Characteristics Of Reef-Building Corals Within And External To A Naval Ordinance Range: Vieques, Puerto Rico, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

The skeletal growth of reef·building corals is known to be sensitive to the environment. In particular, high levels of sedimentation and turbidity lead to decreased growth rate, suppressed growth variation, and, ultimately, coral death because of reduced illumination necessary to zooxanthellae and/or increased energy expenditure by the coral animal to remove impacted sediments.

To assess the effect of Naval Ordnance Range usage at Vieques, Puerto Rico, specimens of Montastrea annulariswere collected from reefs adjacent to and removed from the range area. Growth was measured from annual increments revealed by X-radiography of medial slabs of the coral skeletons. Mean growth …

Habitat Effects On The Occurrence Of Parasites Inhabiting The Sergeant Major, Abudefduf Saxatilis (Linnealus), With A List Of Parasites Of Caribbean Damselfishes, Steven E. Yeo, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

In June 1976 the parasitic faunas of sergeant majors, Abudefduf saxatilis, from a coral reef habitat near Akumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico and from an estuarine habitat in the adjacent caleta at Yalku were compared. The frequencies of occurrence of the nematode Spirocamallanus, the hemiurid trematode Genolinea the haplosplanchnid trematode Schikhobalotrema, and the copepod Holobomolochus nothrus, were dependent on collection locality. The residency of the damselfish in habitats with radically different salinity regimes, as well as the associated biotic communities within these habitats, are suspected causes of the observed differences.

X-Rays Provide Researchers With Views Of Coral Growth Patterns, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

A Redescription Of The Wood-Rasping Amphipod Trophichelura Gomezi Ortiz, 1976 (Cheluridae) From The Florida Keys, With Notes On Its Distribution And Ecology, James Darwin Thomas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The wood-rasping amphipod, Tropichelura gomezi Ortiz, 1976, is redescribed from the Florida Keys to include diagnostic characters omitted in the original description. Morphological characters and distributional patterns of T. gomezi are compared with those of the other member of the genus, Tropichelura insulae (Caiman, 1910). Laboratory studies show that T. gomezi defends its burrow entrance from other members of its species, but tolerates the presence of limnoriid isopods with which it cooccurs. A lectotype for Tropichelura insulae is designated .

A New Species Of Cerapus Say, 1817 (Crustacea: Amphipoda) From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, With Notes On Its Ecology, James Darwin Thomas, Richard W. Heard

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

During research in coastal marshes of the Mississippi Delta region in 1975, a large, undescribed amphipod belonging to the genus Cerapus was discovered in tidal channels. This new species, C. benthophilus, is characterized by its large size and 7-12 segmented antennal flagella. Habitat preference is muddy silt bottoms upon which it constructs conspicuous mats or "tufts" of interwoven tubes in shallow coastal bays and marshes from Louisiana to the panhandle areas of northern Florida.

A 200 Year Record Of Carbon-13 And Carbon-14 Variations In A Bermuda Coral, Y. Nozaki, D. M. Rye, K. K. Turekian, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A 200 year old brain coral, captured in Bermuda in 1976 was slabbed and x-rayed. Using the annual growth bands sequential, dated samples were taken over the entire growth period of the coral and analyzed for Δ¹⁴C, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O. During the past 80 years atmospheric variations in Δ¹⁴C and δ¹³C due to human effects, such as release of bomb C-14 and dilution of both C-14 and C-13 by fossil fuel burning, are closely tracked by the coral. Prior to 1900 divergences between the coral and tree Δ¹⁴C …

Serologic And Hematologic Values Of Bison In Colorado, Edward O. Keith, James Ellis, Robert W. Phillips, Maxine M. Benjamin

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Recent economic and aesthetic interest in North American bison (Bison bison) has lead to increased interstate transport of these animals. Serologic and hematologic standards for bison are needed to detect disease in transported animals as well as within herds. This paper describes variation in blood physiological parameters in bison caused by variations in diet and season. Blood was taken from six bison and analyzed for serologic and hematologic parameters. Significant variation was found in blood urea nitrogen, chloride, cholesterol, creatinine, eosinophil, glucose, hemoglobin, lactic dehydrogenase, leukocyte, packed cell volume, potassium, serum globulin, serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, SGPT, and …

Zoogeography Of Tropical Western Atlantic Crinoidea (Echinodermata), David L. Meyer, Charles G. Messing, Donald B. Macurda Jr.

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Recent collections of crinoids from the intertidal zone to 1,650 m in the tropical western Atlantic have provided significant range extensions for more than half of the 44 comatulid and stalked species known from the region. Of the 34 comatulid species, over 60% are endemic to the region; of the 10 stalked species, 90% are endemic. At the familial level, this fauna has its strongest affinities with the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Comatulids are most abundant above 300 m, while stalked species occur primarily between 100 and 700 m. Species that occur primarily above 600 m (the deepest penetration of the …

A Revision Of The Comatulid Genus Comactinia A. H. Clark (Crinoidea: Echinodermata), Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The formerly monotypic genus Comactinia is found to comprise two valid species. One of these is further divided into two subspecies. The variability of the genus is examined and illustrated. A discussion of ecology, affinities, and zoogeography is included.

Neotanais Persephone, A New Species Of Hadal Tanaidacean (Crustacea: Peracarida), Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Neotanais persephone, a new species of tanaidacean and the first reported from the Puerto Rico Trench, is described and figured. The material represents the greatest depth record for the order from the Atlantic Ocean and for the genus worldwide. The species is placed within the americanus group of species and is most similar to N. hadalis Wolff. Rudimentary oostegites are present on several copulatory males.

Climatic Implications Of Barbados Coral Growth, Richard E. Dodge, Karl K. Turekian, J. Rimas Vaisnys

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Results from a coral growth band analysis utilizing samples of M. annularis from the Recent Barbados reef and from three fossil raised reefs (Barbados I, II, and III dated at 82,000, 105,000, and 125,000 yrs. B.P.) indicate that in the Barbados II collection both average band width and variability were lower than in the other samples. We suggest the climate during formation of the 105,000 yrs. B.P. reef was significantly different than that of the present.

Mouthless Cypriniform Fishes From Louisiana And Arkansas, Patrick S. Hambrick, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract is provided for this brief article.

Coral Populations And Growth Patterns: Responses To Sedimentation And Turbidity Associated With Dredging, Richard E. Dodge, J. Rimas Vaisnys

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Analysis of coral growth patterns and populations in Bermuda reveals that living coral abundance on the reefs of Castle Harbor, a location where extensive dredging occurred during 1941- 1943, is much reduced in comparison to external North-South reefs. Dead corals, sampled in the harbor, have skeletal patterns of growth which are similar and which show a marked decline in growth for several years prior to death. For the brain coral genus Diploria, both D. strigosa and D. labyrinthiformis are fairly evenly represented on contemporary North-South reefs and in the assemblages of dead corals from Castle Harbor, while D. labyrinthiformis, …

Photoperiodic Effects On Salinity Selection In The Gulf Killifish, Fundulus Grandis, Richard E. Spieler, Albert H. Meier, Harold C. Loesch

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Handling And Methylpentynol Anaesthesia On Serum Glucose Levels In Goldfish, Carassius Auratus Linnaeus, Richard E. Spieler, Max Allen Nickerson

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

In comparison to "pre-stress" levels, goldfish anesthetized with methylpentynol and "handled" showed a significant increase in serum glucose level one day after handling, and apparent continued effects for the next three days. Fish handled but not anesthetized, and control fish which were neither anesthetized nor handled did not exhibit similar changes.

Shell Growth In The Scallop Argopecten Irradians. I. Isotope Incorporation With Reference To Diurnal Growth, Alfred P. Wheeler, Patricia Blackwelder, Karl M. Wilbur

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

1. Incorporation of calcium and carbonate into shell has been studied in the scallop Argopecten irradians using ⁴⁵Ca and ¹⁴C-bicarbonate.

2. The incorporation of ⁴⁵Ca and ¹⁴C-carbonate into shell was linear with time after a lag period of 1 to 2 hours. The shell-forming mantle tissue attained a steady state with respect to ⁴⁵Ca in the sea water medium within 2 hours.

3. The molar ratio of ⁴⁵Ca to ¹⁴C-carbonate deposited in shell was not significantly different from unity during 5 hours.

4. The rate of incorporation of ¹⁴C-carbonate into shell was …

Animal-Sediment Relations In A Tropical Lagoon: Discovery Bay, Jamaica, Robert C. Aller, Richard E. Dodge

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The distribution of many macrobenthic species in the back-reef lagoon of Discovery Bay, Jamaica can be related to a gradient in bottom stability. This gradient is defined by increasing rates of biogenic reworking and sediment resuspension in the western part of the lagoon. Infaunal diversity and coral growth decrease in the western, unstable areas. The infauna of the carbonate sand consists mainly of deposit feeders. In the western lagoon, the feeding activities of this group result in high biogenic reworking rates (up to 6-7 cm/week) producing loose surface sediment easily resuspended by waves. A maximum, mean resuspension rate of 19 …

A Carp-Goldfish Hybrid With No Caudal Fin, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.