Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Potential Changes To The Cubitt Creek System After Dredging, Hillary Sparagna

Honors Theses

Dredging is the process of removing sediments from beneath the water's surface to increase the depth of the area. Many times, dredging is used to deepen navigational channels for boats in inlets and bays, control river flow, and environmental remediation of contaminated sediments. Sustainable dredging is when the sediments that have been dredged are used to replenish beaches. This method saves money, minimizes ecological impact, saves capacity at deposit sites, and can be used for habitat restoration.

A Tangle Net Study On Relative Abundance And Habitat Preference Of Elasmobranchs In North Inlet Estuary, South Carolina, Moriah Heather Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although habitat selection is relatively well studied in some elasmobranchs, no field or lab studies have focused on sediment preference, which is important to other benthic marine vertebrates. To determine the relative abundance and sediment preference of shallow water benthic elasmobranch inhabitants of North Inlet, SC, we employed 187 30 minute tangle net sets over two sediment types (mud and sand). The majority of our capture consisted of 41 Dasyatis sayi (tagged 37) and 31 Sphyrna tiburo (tagged 14). Although D. sayi had been recorded in North Inlet, previous studies found greater numbers of congeners D. americana and D. sabina. …

Thermal Determinants Of Nest Site Selection In Loggerhead Sea Turtles, Caretta Caretta, At Casey Key, Florida, Lindsey Nicole Flynn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Many environmental cues are thought to influence nest site selection by loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, and much debate exists over the possible influence of sand temperature. This study had two primary objectives: (1) to measure thermal differences across transects of a major nesting beach of Casey Key (28.7 N, 82.3 W), Florida and (2) to evaluate thermal pattern variation that influenced nesting patterns of adult female loggerhead sea turtles. A secondary objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of infrared thermometers to collect sand surface temperatures in the field.

Temperature data were collected from 145 nest …