Digital Commons Network^™

Catch Rates With Variable Strength Circle Hooks In The Hawaii-Based Tuna Longline Fishery, Keith A. Bigelow, David W. Kerstetter, Matthew G. Dancho, Jamie A. Marchetti

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The Hawaii-based deep-set longline fleet targets bigeye tuna [Thunnus obesus (Lowe, 1839)] and infrequently takes false killer whales [FKW , Pseudorca crassidens (Owen, 1846)] as bycatch. From 2004 to 2008 with 20%–26% observer coverage, nine mortalities of and serious injuries to FKW were documented in the deep-set fishery in the Hawaii EE Z, yielding a mean take estimate of 7.3 animals yr⁻¹. Weak hook technology can utilize the size disparity between target and other species to promote the release of larger non-target species. Four vessels tested the catch efficacy and size selectivity of 15/0 “strong” circle hooks …

Deep-Water Benthic Habitat Characterization And Cable Impact Assessment For The South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility (Sfomf), Charles Messing, Brian K. Walker, John K. Reed

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Natural Resource Condition In And Adjacent To The Dry Tortugas National Park, Christopher F.G. Jeffrey, Sarah D. Hile, Christine M. Addison, Jerald Ault, Carolyn Currin, Don Field, Nicole D. Fogarty, Jiangang Luo, Vanessa Mcdonough, Doug Morrison, Gregory A. Piniak, Varis Ransibrahmanakul, Steve G. Smith, Shay Viehman

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation And Monitoring Project 2011 Year 9 Final Report, David S. Gilliam

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Circle Hooks Into Atlantic Pelagic Fisheries: Case Studies From The Commercial Tuna/Swordfish Longline And Recreational Billfish Fisheries, John E. Graves, Andrij Horodysky, David W. Kerstetter

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

An emerging body of literature has demonstrated the benefits of the use of circle hooks relative to standard J-hooks in commercial and recreational fisheries. In the pelagic longline fishery for tunas (Thunnus spp.) and swordfish (Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758), the use of circle hooks has resulted in greater catch rates of some target species, lower catch rates of some bycatch species, and a higher percentage of many target and bycatch species alive at the time of haulback (gear retrieval). However, a lack of agreement among results of studies conducted in different fisheries and areas, using different baits and …

First Descriptions Of Endoparasite Fauna Of Elasmobranch And Mesopelagic Teleost Bycatch Fishes From The Western North Atlantic Pelagic Longline Fishery, Mae Taylor, Harold E. Laubach, David W. Kerstetter

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Natural mortality is a poorly known aspect of fisheries biology, despite its importance in stock assessments and population analysis. Of potential sources of mortality and morbidity in fishes, the effect of internal parasites is perhaps the least studied even though these organisms are known to inhibit nutrient uptake and stimulate an inflammatory response in fish. Parasite taxa of the pelagic elasmobranchs silky and night sharks and pelagic stingray (Carcharhinus falciformis, C. signatus and Pteroplatytrygon violacea), and the mesopelagic teleosts sailfin lancetfish, oilfish, snake mackerel, escolar and Atlantic pomfret (Alepisaurus ferox, Ruvettus pretiosus, Gempylus serpens …

The Effects Of A New Bridge On Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris) Use Of The Fpl Discharge Canal At Port Everglades, Florida, Brea Viragh

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is an endangered species that migrates to warm water refuges such as natural springs or power plant effluents during the winter months to escape cold water. The Florida Power and Light (FPL) discharge canal in Port Everglades, Ft. Lauderdale, FL., is utilized as a refuge by overwintering manatees. Construction of a new bridge over the FPL effluent canal had a potential effect on manatee usage of the canal. Discharge is often 10-15° C warmer in the winter season than the surrounding waters of the Intracoastal Waterway. Previous data, including age class and …

Post-Release Survival And Habitat Utilization Of Juvenile Swordfish In The Florida Straits, Jenny Fenton

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The use of pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) eliminates many of the limitations associated with acoustic and conventional tags by using fishery-independent data collection and retrieval. Previous research techniques have provided information on longer-term movements, migrations, and behavior patterns, but there is still a need for additional tagging studies using tags with depth and light data and increased memory that will further define the short-duration activity patterns and habitat utilization of juvenile swordfish in the western North Atlantic. PSATs have been successfully used on other large pelagic fishes, but have yet to be used on juvenile swordfish. This study investigated …

Uk And Us Physician Assistant Student Performance On An International Test Of Core Biomedical Science Knowledge, Scott Arbet, Jimmy Parle, Janet J. Lathrop

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Physician assistants (PAs) have provided cost effective, high quality care in the United States for more than 40 years. There is a growing international interest in utilizing PAs for a variety of pressing health care needs. This pilot study compared the performance of PA students trained in the United States to those trained in the United Kingdom on a core biomedical science knowledge examination using multiple choice questions developed by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The study found that despite differing educational models and health systems, the students performed similarly. While rigorous statistical analyses were not …

Anti-Neoplastic Activity Of Two Flavone Isomers Derived From Gnaphalium Elegans And Achyrocline Bogotensis, Christan M. Thomas, Robert C. Wood Iii, Jarrett E. Wyatt, Morgan H. Pendleton, Ruben D. Torrenegra, Oscar E. Rodriguez, Sam Harirforoosh, Maria Ballester, Janet Lightner, Koyamangalath Krishnan, Victoria P. Ramsauer

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

Over 4000 flavonoids have been identified so far and among these, many are known to have antitumor activities. The basis of the relationships between chemical structures, type and position of substituent groups and the effects these compounds exert specifically on cancer cells are not completely elucidated. Here we report the differential cytotoxic effects of two flavone isomers on human cancer cells from breast (MCF7, SK-BR-3), colon (Caco-2, HCT116), pancreas (MIA PaCa, Panc 28), and prostate (PC3, LNCaP) that vary in differentiation status and tumorigenic potential. These flavones are derived from plants of the family Asteraceae, genera Gnaphalium and Achyrocline …

Inside The Black Box: Revealing The Process In Applying A Grounded Theory Analysis, Peter Rich

The Qualitative Report

Qualitative research methods have long set an example of rich description, in which data and researchers’ hermeneutics work together to inform readers of findings in specific contexts. Among published works, insight into the analytical process is most often represented in the form of methodological propositions or research results. This paper presents a third type of qualitative report, one in which the researcher’s process of coding, finding themes, and arriving at findings is the focus. Grounded theory analysis methods were applied to the interpretation of a single interview. The resulting document provides a narrative of the process one researcher followed when …

Human Impact On Atolls Leads To Coral Loss And Community Homogenisation: A Modeling Study, Bernhard Riegl, Charles R. C. Sheppard, Samuel J. Purkis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

We explore impacts on pristine atolls subjected to anthropogenic near-field (human habitation) and far-field (climate and environmental change) pressure. Using literature data of human impacts on reefs, we parameterize forecast models to evaluate trajectories in coral cover under impact scenarios that primarily act via recruitment and increased mortality of larger corals. From surveys across the Chagos, we investigate the regeneration dynamics of coral populations distant from human habitation after natural disturbances. Using a size-based mathematical model based on a time-series of coral community and population data from 1999–2006, we provide hind- and forecast data for coral population dynamics within lagoons …

3d Sonar Measurements In Wakes Of Ships Of Opportunity, Alexander Soloviev, Christopher Maingot, Mike Agor, Lou Nash, Keith Dixon

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The aim of this work is to test the potential capabilities of 3D sonar technology for studying small-scale processes in the near-surface layer of the ocean, using the centerline wake of ships of opportunity as the object of study. The first tests conducted in Tampa Bay, Florida, with the 3D sonar have demonstrated the ability of this technology to observe the shape of the centerlinewake in great detail starting from centimeter scale, using air bubbles as a proxy. An advantage of the 3Dsonar technology is that it allows quantitative estimates of the ship wake geometry, which presents new opportunities for …

Pyrosequencing Of Bacterial Symbionts Within Axinella Corrugata Sponges: Diversity And Seasonal Variability, James R. White, Jignasa Patel, Andrea Ottesen, Gabriela Arce, Patricia Blackwelder, Jose V. Lopez

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background: Marine sponge species are of significant interest to many scientific fields including marine ecology, conservation biology, genetics, host-microbe symbiosis and pharmacology. One of the most intriguing aspects of the sponge ‘‘holobiont’’ system is the unique physiology, interaction with microbes from the marine environment and the development of a complex commensal microbial community. However, intraspecific variability and temporal stability of sponge-associated bacterial symbionts remain relatively unknown.

Methodology/Principal Findings: We have characterized the bacterial symbiont community biodiversity of seven different individuals of the Caribbean reef sponge Axinella corrugata, from two different Florida reef locations during variable seasons using …

Open And Closed Seascapes: Where Does Habitat Patchiness Create Populations With High Fractions Of Self-Recruitment?, Malin L. Pinsky, Stephen R. Palumbi, Serge Andrefouet, Samuel J. Purkis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Which populations are replenished primarily by immigrants (open) and which by local production (closed) remains an important question for management with implications for response to exploitation, protection, and disturbance. However, we lack methods for predicting population openness. Here, we develop a model for openness and show that considering habitat isolation explains the existence of surprisingly closed populations in high-dispersal species, including many marine organisms. Relatively closed populations are expected when patch spacing is more than twice the standard deviation of a species' dispersal kernel. In addition, natural scales of habitat patchiness on coral reefs are sufficient to create both largely …

Using Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (Caqdas) To Re-Examine Traditionally Analyzed Data: Expanding Our Understanding Of The Data And Of Ourselves As Scholars, Linnea L. Rademaker, Elizabeth J. Grace, Stephen K. Curda

The Qualitative Report

As diverse members of a college of education evaluation committee one of our charges is to support faculty as we document and improve our teaching. Our committee asked faculty to respond to three qualitative questions, documenting ways in which interdepartmental and cross-department conversations are used to promote reflective thinking about our practice. Three of us investigated the use of CAQDAS to provide an additional level of analysis and how we learned more about ourselves as scholars through this collaboration. Our findings include recommendations regarding the use of CAQDAS to support collaborative efforts by diverse scholars.

Learning The Concept Of Researcher As Instrument In Qualitative Research, Mengxuan Annie Xu, Gail Blair Storr

The Qualitative Report

The authors describe the process whereby a student with a background in economics was guided to understand the central role in qualitative research of the researcher as instrument. The instructor designed a three-part mock research project designed to provide experiential knowledge of the enterprise of qualitative research. Students, as neophyte qualitative researchers, were guided to develop a sophisticated understanding of the necessity for congruence between the ontological and epistemological philosophical underpinnings of the research question, data collection techniques, and analysis. An example of the trail of analytic decisions one student made during analysis is included to show the complexity of …

Balancing Act: A Phenomenological Study Of Female Adult Learners Who Successfully Persisted In Graduate Studies, Jeff Shepherd, Barbara Mullins Nelson

The Qualitative Report

A study was conducted utilizing Cross’ (1981) barriers to adult learning as a framework to better understand how adults successfully complete their graduate studies. Participants in the study were solicited via Facebook and LinkedIn. Three female adult learners who persisted in their graduate studies while balancing demands outside academics including employment and family responsibilities were selected. The study found the barriers identified by Cross 30 years ago–institutional, dispositional and situational–were still relevant for these female graduate adult learners. The phenomenological approach allowed the participants to describe how they made meaning of these barriers while overcoming them to persist in their …

Qualitative And Quantitative Approaches To The Study Of Poverty: Taming The Tensions And Appreciating The Complementarities, Sulaiman Y. Balarabe Kura

The Qualitative Report

There is a germane relationship between qualitative and quantitative approaches to social science research. The relationship is empirically and theoretically demonstrated by poverty researchers. The study of poverty, as argued in this article, is a study of both numbers and contextualities. This article provides a general overview of qualitative and quantitative approaches to poverty studies and argues that only a combination of the two approaches, where necessary, would provide a robust, rich and reliable data for researching issues of poverty. Hence, the contemporary drive towards a mixed methods approach in poverty research is not only welcomed but certainly timely as …

Benzo[1,2-B:4,5-B′]Dithio­Phene-4,8-Dione, Amanda L. Ramirez, Benny C. Chan, Daniel T. De Lill

Chemistry and Physics Faculty Articles

The title mol­ecule, C₁₀H₄O₂S₂, is situated on a crystallographic center of inversion. In the crystal, weak hydrogen bonding contributes to the packing of the mol­ecules.

Red Sea Coral Reef Trajectories Over 2 Decades Suggest Increasing Community Homogenization And Decline In Coral Size, Bernhard Riegl, Andrew W. Bruckner, Gwilym Rowlands, Samuel J. Purkis, Philip Renaud

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Three independent line intercept transect surveys on northern Red Sea reef slopes conducted in 1988/9 and 1997/8 in Egypt and from 2006–9 in Saudi Arabia were used to compare community patterns and coral size. Coral communities showed scale-dependent variability, highest at fine spatial and taxonomic scale (species-specific within and among reef patterns). At coarser scale (generic pattern across regions), patterns were more uniform (regionally consistent generic dominance on differently exposed reef slopes and at different depths). Neither fine- nor coarse-scale patterns aligned along the sampled 1700 km latitudinal gradient. Thus, a latitudinal gradient that had been described earlier from comparable …

Co-Adventurers In Discovery: Collaborative Research Between Undergraduate Students And Faculty, Rajeswari Murugan, Evan Haskell

Quadrivium: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Scholarship

There are many opportunities available beyond the classroom for undergraduate students to engage in cutting-edge scholarship. Some of the opportunities include study abroad, internships, and independent study. We strongly suggest that students experience such programs. Independent study courses can serve not only to sharpen the student’s engagement skills with the open-ended questions of current research, but also to enhance his or her own relationship with faculty. In this article we share the experiences of a biology student and a mathematics faculty member coming together as co-adventurers learning from each other about the mechanisms and mathematics involved in cardiac arrhythmia through …

America’S Idol? How The Contestant Most Voted For Doesn’T Always Win, Jason Gershman

Quadrivium: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Scholarship

The reality television show American Idol has some biases which display themselves in data charts and curves of contestants’ telephone voting patterns. Some of the biases examined include issues of geography and performance order. This paper shows that the format of the show leads to biases in favor of contestants who are from, and have large fan bases in, certain parts of the country. Another major flaw is a bias in favor of contestants who sing later in the show. I show that the order the contestants sing in is not random chance but instead carefully chosen by the producers. …

The Investigator Who Vanished, Christine Jackson

Quadrivium: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Antecedents And Outcomes Of Modularization (Md) In The Chinese Automotive Parts Industry, Steven B. Kramer, Yunshan Lian

HCBE Faculty Presentations

We develop a conceptual model relating antecedents and outcomes of modularization (MD) in the Chinese auto industry from the perspective of the first-tier (module) supplier. We are interested in analyzing the impact of three key factors with respect to firm performance.

Development Of The Removal Of Polyphosphate Kinase Gene In Yersinia Enterocolitica, Travis Thomas

Undergraduate Student Symposium

The aim of the experiment was to delete the polyphosphate kinase (PPK) gene of the bacteria, Yersinia enterocolitica. Y. enterocolitica is one of three Yersinia spp. that are pathogenic to humans. Y. enterocolitica secretes toxic proteins out of needle-like structures found on its cell surface; these structures and the flagella of the bacteria are assembled by the same process. Diseases caused by pathogenic Yersinia spp. range from gastrointestinal diseases to bubonic plaque; Y. enterocolitica is the causative agent of gastrointestinal diseases. PPK is a ubiquitous enzyme that has been identified as a factor in the motility and virulence of …

Gone, Gregory Hinds

Undergraduate Student Symposium

“Gone” is a short film about a young college student, Jason Love (AKA “J-Love”), whose younger brother Darius is killed. Jason seeks revenge on the people responsible for Darius’ death. Eventually Jason must learn to overcome his grief and find love. The film is directed by Gregory Hinds.

Temperature Effect On Florida Manatee Abundance In The Port Everglades, Ashlyn Chazhikat

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris), can be found in Port Everglades, which is located near Nova Southeastern University’s Oceanographic Center. Manatees can be found here during the winter because they thrive in the warm-water habitat created by the discharge of warm water from the FPL Power Plant. The data that were used in this study was obtained during weekly trips from the Oceanographic Center through Port Everglades. The trips were taken on a biweekly basis during the summer and early fall months and on a weekly basis during the winter months. During the boat trips in the Port, …

A Holy Twist, Haydeli Ko

Undergraduate Student Symposium

“A Holy Twist” is a short film about a soon-to-be-priest named Paul who has a day to himself before officially completing his seminaries, so he decides to visit his parents. Paul reunites with some old friends and takes a leap of faith into a night that he will never forget – though he also won’t remember all of it. This film is directed by Haydeli Ko.

Adhesion Of Albumin To Fda Type Ii Soft Contact Lenses, Youstina Harkas, Maryam Harkas, Danielle Cooper, Jessica Nichols

Undergraduate Student Symposium

Human tears have over 60 different proteins that deposit on contact lenses. Protein deposits on contact lenses can cause conjunctival irritation and bacterial infection. The adhesion of albumin to omafilcon and hilafilcon soft contact lenses was examined. Lenses were incubated for 1 - 4 days in a 2.0 mg/dl albumin solution. The protein concentration in the incubation vials and protein deposition on the lenses was determined each day by bicinchoninic acid assay. Albumin deposited on the omafilcon lenses in a steadily increasing fashion, while the albumin concentration in the incubation solution decreased. Albumin deposited on the hilafilcon lenses in a …