Digital Commons Network^™

A Comparison Of Benthic Habitats And Faunas Between The Miami Terrace (Proposed Calypso Pipeline Site) And The Pourtales Terrace (Coral Habitat Of Particular Concern), Laura Dell

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Quantitative photographs of benthic communities at two northern Miami Terrace sites, originally investigated as part of an environmental impact survey in advance of the proposed Calypso pipeline, and two Pourtalès Terrace sites, investigated as part of an exploration of deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems (DSCEs) within the Pourtalès Terrace Deep-water Coral Habitat Area of Particular Concern (CHAPC), were reanalyzed and compared for similarities and differences. Both terraces are part of an elongated lithified platform that parallels the southeastern Florida coast at depths averaging between 250 and 450 m. Although both sites have similar geological origins and lie under the Florida …

Benthic Invertebrate Communities And Habitat Characterization Of The Pourtalès Terrace, Florida With Analysis Of The Deepwater Coral Habitat Areas Of Particular Concern And The East Hump Marine Protected Area, Jana K. Ash

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The Pourtalès Terrace is a gently curved, narrow triangular platform that parallels the Florida Keys for 213 km running from southern Key Largo to between Key West and the Marquesas Keys. The main Terrace surface begins in 200 m and dips gently to approximately 450 m, where the Pourtalès Escarpment slopes steeply to the deep floor of the southern Straits of Florida. The Terrace platform exhibits a wide variety of Neogene-age geological features, including high-relief ledges, mounds, sinkholes and deep-water biogenic build-ups called bioherms. Previous research revealed dense and diverse benthic assemblages dominated by stylasterid hydrocorals, octocorals and sponges.

Many …

A Catch Per Unit Effort (Cpue) Spatial Metric With Respect To The Western North Atlantic Pelagic Longline Fishery, Max Appelman

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Catch per unit effort (CPUE) is a quantitative method used to describe fisheries worldwide. CPUE can be presented as number of fish per 1000 hooks, number of fish per amount of fishing time, or with any unit of effort that best describes the fishery (e.g., search time, hooks per hour, number of trawls). CPUE is commonly used as an index to estimate relative abundance for a population. These indices are then applied within stock assessments so that fisheries managers can make justified decisions for how to manage a particular stock or fishery using options such as quotas, catch …

Global Population Structure Of The Dusky Shark And Geographic Sourcing Of Shark Fins From Commercial Markets, Teagen K. Gray

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The dusky shark, Carcharinus obscurus, is a globally distributed, coastal-pelagic species subject to an apparent high level of exploitation. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists this species as “Vulnerable” globally, and “Endangered” within western North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico waters due to an over 80% decline in this region, with no evidence of population recovery. The extensive exploitation of dusky sharks may partly be attributed to the high market value of its fins, but the contribution of individual dusky shark stocks to the fin markets is unknown. This knowledge would be helpful to detect …

Conch Population Demographics And Habitat Association Near Port Everglades Inlet, Florida, Charlotte A. Berry

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The queen conch (Strombus gigas) is a large marine gastropod found throughout the tropical western Atlantic including Florida. Overfishing and habitat loss have led to Caribbean-wide population declines requiring regional protections. On Florida’s east coast, aggregations of conch were previously reported just south of a major shipping port near Ft. Lauderdale, unusually high latitude for the species. This study was designed to investigate the spatial extent and population demographics of the Ft. Lauderdale conch. In summer 2012, broad-scale population surveys were conducted to document benthic cover and conch distribution and size data along 72 random transects stratified across …

Robinson Point, Belize: An Important Foraging Ground For Endangered Sea Turtles In The Western Caribbean Sea, Linda Searle

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Anecdotal reports, flipper tag returns, satellite migration paths, and above-water and net surveys have identified an important foraging area for sea turtles in the Robinson Point area, 12 kilometers southwest of Belize City. Visual observations confirmed that sea turtles were actively foraging at Robinson Point. Sixteen 30 minute visual observations from stationary and drifting boats made 132 sea turtle sightings from October 2007 through January 2008, with a maximum of 40 sightings made in one survey. In-water capture methodology tested the traditional turtle net, which captured 14 turtles in 63 sets for a success rate of only 22%. There were …