Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Seasonal Aggregations Of The Florida Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris) In The Port Everglades And Intracoastal Regions Of Fort Lauderdale, Florida., Jaime M. Goldman

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, is one of the most endangered marine mammals in United States waters. The Florida manatee is the only manatee that ranges into subtropical and temperate regions. During the winter months manatees adopt a “refuging strategy” where they aggregate at warm-water sources immediately following decreases in the ambient water temperature to below 20° C (68° F) in order to avoid cold stress syndrome (CSS). During the winter manatees aggregate in warm water refuges, including natural warm water springs and the effluent discharges of power plants.

The …

Establishment Of An Acropora Cervicornis (Staghorn Coral) Nursery: An Evaluation Of Survivorship And Growth, Elizabeth Anne Larson

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is the first study to provide a detailed characterization of Acropora cervicornis transplants and donor colony survival on southeast Florida coral reefs. Since May 2006 this species has been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. As populations continue to decline restoration efforts need to be evaluated to determine if there is an effort that could facilitate a population rebound. The overall goal of this project was to examine potential Acropora cervicornis restoration techniques along the entire Florida reef tract including Broward County, Miami Dade County, and Monroe County. For my thesis I used a …

Biological And Physical Analysis Of Currents And Water Masses Off The Coast Of Southeast Florida, Stephanie Healey

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Biological and physical sampling of a 10km long, east-west transect was performed during 2007, off the coast of southeast Florida. Temperature and salinity measurements were recorded using a conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) sensor, and current direction and magnitude measurements were recorded using an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). Zooplankton samples were collected, during the daytime, using a Tucker multiple net mid-water trawl, with 760μm mesh, at intended depths of ~25m and ~200m, at three stations along the transect. Laboratory analysis indicated that several currents and water masses influenced the density distribution of calanoid copepods and chaetognaths. During April and September 2007, a …

Occurrence, Density, And Distribution Of The Larvae Of Three Commercially Important Crab Species In The Florida Current Off The Southeast Coast Of Florida, U.S., Gabriela L. Wisniewski

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of the temporal and spatial distribution and density of the larvae of Florida‘s commercially important crab species, the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, the golden crab, Chaceon fenneri, and the stone crab, Menippe mercenaria in the nearshore and offshore waters of Florida‘s southeast coast is minimal. Such data, however, can be crucial to our understanding of the population dynamics of these vital fishery species. To obtain baseline data of the occurrence and distribution of these species‘ larvae in the Florida Current, densities were obtained from zooplankton tows from an E-W transect northeast of Port Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida along …

A Comparison Of Copepoda (Order: Calanoida, Cyclopoida, Poecilostomatoida) Density In The Florida Current Off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Jessica L. Bostock

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Copepods, minute crustaceans, are vital constituents of marine food web dynamics in tropical ecosystems. Ecologically, copepods provide the link between primary production and tertiary consumers. Changes in population structure and densities may impact ecosystem stability and production on small to large spatial scales. The present study examined the influence of the Florida Current on copepod population densities off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida due to limited data in the area. Samples were collected during February and July 2007 at two locations, Stations A and B. Station A, dependent on current dynamics, fluctuated between the most western boundary and the …

Investigations Into The Application Of Single-Beam Acoustic Backscatter For Describing Shallow Water Marine Habitats, Greg Foster

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1

Producing thematic coral reef benthic habitat maps from single-beam acoustic backscatter has been hindered by uncertainties in interpreting the acoustic energy parameters E1 (~roughness) and E2 (~hardness), typically limiting such maps to sediment classification schemes. In this study acoustic interpretation was guided by high-resolution LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) bathymetry. Each acoustic record, acquired from a BioSonics DT-X echosounder and multiplexed 38 and 418 kHz transducers, was paired with a spatially-coincident value of a LIDAR-derived proxy for topographic complexity (Reef-Volume) and its membership to one of eight LIDAR-delineated benthic habitat classes. The discriminatory capabilities of the 38 and …

Applying A Molecular Genetics Approach To Shark Conservation And Management: Assessment Of Dna Barcoding In Hammerhead Sharks And Global Population Genetic Structuring In The Gray Reef Shark, Carcharhinus Amblyrhynchos., Rebekah L. Horn

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1

DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequence is emerging as a useful tool for identifying unknown, whole or partial organisms to species level. However, the application of only a single mitochondrial marker for robust species identification has also come under some criticism due to the possibility of erroneous identifications resulting from species hybridizations and/or the potential presence of nuclear-mitochondrial psuedogenes. The addition of a complementary nuclear DNA barcode has therefore been widely recommended to overcome these potential COI gene limitations, especially in wildlife law enforcement applications where greater confidence in the …

Study Of Secondary Metabolite Gene Expression In Marine Microbial Co-Cultures Using Quantitative Real-Time Pcr, Crystal A. Conway

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Interactions among microbial organisms often cannot be observed directly, but they can be inferred genetically using new molecular techniques. The analysis of secondary metabolite gene expression produced by co-cultured marine microbial species allows us to see how these organisms interact with one another when kept in the same environment. Co-cultures of three different strains of marine bacteria, P. aeruginosa PAO1, Roseobacter denitrificans OCH114, and Salinispora arenicola CNS-205 were grown in a laboratory setting, and using the Real-Time qPCR method gene expression levels of two different secondary metabolite producing genes from each organism was accessed across three time points. P. aeruginosa …

Diurnal Movements And Site Fidelity Of The Florida Manatee, Trichechus Manatus Latirostris, In Fort Lauderdale, Fl., Kym Walsh

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The diurnal movements of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in warmwater refugia are poorly understood and these may prove critical in accurately estimating populations of these animals. Previous studies indicate that manatee populations in such refuges in Tampa Bay, FL, peak mid-day and decline towards evening when the animals leave to forage. This trend suggests that variation in the timing of aerial manatee population surveys may hamper accurate estimation of the true population size. Aerial survey counts are known to underestimate population size, yet the extent of the underestimation may be greater than expected. In this study data …

Seasonal And Salinity Effects On The Distribution Of Higher Filamentous Marine Fungi At Rookery Bay, Fl., Julia Ossler

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

More than 500 species of higher marine fungi in over 300 genera have been described. Many marine fungi are highly specialized for marine environments relative to their terrestrial counterparts, having appendaged ascospores and conidia to aid in buoyancy, entrapment, and adherence to substrates. They have been reported to inhabit a wide variety of substrates including decaying wood, leaves, calcareous and chitinous substrates, seaweeds, and seagrasses. Most early studies on marine fungi were carried out in temperate regions. Investigations have now shifted to tropical locations in order to better evaluate the abundance and diversity of marine fungi on a global basis. …