Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Evaluating Habitat Use By Nekton In Widgeon Grass (Ruppia Maritima), Shoal Grass (Halodule Wrightii), And Unvegetated Bottom Habitats In The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Jessica Woodall
Master's Theses
Seagrass beds support high biodiversity and animal abundance, serve as feeding grounds for a variety of animals, offer shelter from predation, and act as a nursery habitat for juveniles. The species composition of seagrass beds can impact their use as habitat by animals. Two common species of seagrass in the Gulf of Mexico are Ruppia maritima (widgeon grass) and Halodule wrightii (shoal grass). The shallow coastal waters of the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) support both species, but the use of each seagrass as habitat by nekton is poorly understood, which can limit management decision-making. Nekton communities were …
Estimation Of Mortality Rates For The Gulf Menhaden Stock And Reference Point Implementation For The Fishery, Catherine Wilhelm
Estimation Of Mortality Rates For The Gulf Menhaden Stock And Reference Point Implementation For The Fishery, Catherine Wilhelm
Master's Theses
The Gulf menhaden stock is the target of a large commercial fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. To address the needs of both the stock and fishery, I performed two studies. I first addressed the natural mortality rates currently used in the Gulf menhaden stock assessment. To update these rates, I used data from a tagging study conducted from 1970 to 1988. Adult and juvenile menhaden were tagged, released, and recovered in fish processing plants. To evaluate the data, I built a Bayesian model using the negative binomial distribution to estimate natural mortality, catchability, and the overdispersion factor parameters. I …