Life Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Striped Bass Stocks In Virginia, Monitoring And Tagging Studies, 1999-2003 Annual Report, 1 September 2000 - 31 October 2001, Philip W. Sadler, Robert J. Latour, Robert E. Harris, John E. Olney

Reports

This report presents the results of striped bass (Marone saxatilis) tagging and monitoring activities in Virginia during the penod 1 September 2000 through 31 October 2001. It includes an assessment of the biological characteristics of striped bass taken from the 2001 spring spawning run, estimates of annual survtval based on annual spring tagging, and the results of the fall 2000 directed mortality study that is cooperative with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The information contained in this report is required by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and is used to implement a coordinated management plan for striped bass …

Population Biology And Secondary Production Of The Suspension Feeding Polychaete Chaetopterus Cf. Variopedatus: Implications For Benthic-Pelagic Coupling In Lower Chesapeake Bay, Ml Thompson, Linda C. Schaffner

VIMS Articles

Benthic suspension feeders are functionally important components of many shallow estuarine and coastal ecosystems. Their relative importance in material and energy cycling depends on physical and biological factors, of which population dynamics of individual species are a key feature, We studied the demographics and secondary production of a population of the tubicolous, suspension feeding polychaete, Chaetopterus cf. variopedatus, of southern Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, to better understand its functional role in an estuarine ecosystem. Average worm densities in the study region ranged from 30 to > 1000 individuals m(-2) and were greatest after the summer recruitment period. Recruitment success varied threefold between …

Analysis Of Historical Distribution Of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (Sav) In The York And Rappahannock Rivers As Evidence Of Historical Water Quality Conditions, Ken Moore, David J. Wilcox, Britt Anderson, R J. Orth

Reports

Historical black and white format photographs at scales of approximately 1:20,000, dating from 1952 to 1956 were used to delineate the maximum coverage of SAV in the study region. Coverage of photography from decades before and after this period were found to generally to be of poorer quality and show less SAV presence. Photo-interpretation of the aerial photographs was accomplished using a head-up, on-screen digitizing system at fixed image scale of 1:12,000 and followed as closely as possible the methods currently used to delineate SAV beds throughout the Chesapeake Bay as well as the delineation of historical SAV coverage for …

Enhanced Water Quality Monitoring Of Virginia's Chesapeake Bay Tributaries, Kenneth Moore, Iris C. Anderson, Larry W. Haas, Howard Kator

Reports

No abstract provided.

Microbial Loop Carbon Cycling In Ocean Environments Studied Using A Simple Steady-State Model, T. R. Anderson, H. W. Ducklow

VIMS Articles

A simple steady-state model is used to examine the microbial loop as a pathway for organic C in marine systems, constrained by observed estimates of bacterial to primary production ratio (BP:PP) and bacterial growth efficiency (BGE). Carbon sources (primary production including extracellular release of dissolved organic carbon, DOC), cycling via zooplankton grazing and viral lysis, and sinks (bacterial and zooplankton respiration) are represented. Model solutions indicate that, at least under near steady-state conditions, recent estimates of BP:PP of about 0.1 to 0.15 are consistent with reasonable scenarios of C cycling (low BGE and phytoplankton extracellular release) at open ocean sites …

Boat Scarring Effects On Submerged Aquatic Vegetation In Virginia (Year 1), R J. Orth, James R. Fishman, Amy Tillman, Sara Everett, Kenneth A. Moore

Reports

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) in Chesapeake Bay has received significant attention in recent decades due to increasing understanding of the importance of these habitats for ecological functions, including fisheries habitat. Yet, SAV in many regions of the bay are at some of the lowest levels of abundance in recorded history. This has led state management agencies to adopt numerous policies and regulations to protect and restore these valuable communities. The Chesapeake Bay 2000 Agreement highlights SAV by recommitting to the goal of protecting and restoring 114,000 acres, revising existing restoration goals and strategies by 2002, and implementing a strategy to …

The Crest, Fall 2001, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Table of Contents:

• VIMS Named World Reference Laboratory for Shellfish Diseases
• VIMS Scientists Receive 2001 Best Paper Award
• Domestic Interest Grows in Cobia Culture VIMS Foundation Established
• VIMS Environmental Scientists Spearheading BDE Research in USA
• VIMS Capital Campaign for Kauffman Aquaculture Center Meets its Goal
• Dr. William Reay Named New Manager of Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
• Summer Course Connects Scientists with Science Teachers
• Beset near 68 degrees south, 69 degrees west
• New researcher studies tiny organisms that play a big role
• VIMS Welcomes New Students
• VIMS to initiate coastal observing program
• VIMS student Receives Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship …

Estimating Relative Abundance Of Young Of Year American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Virginia Tributaries Of The Chesapeake Bay March 2000 - June 2001, Patrick J. Geer

Reports

Measures of juvenile recruitment success have long been recognized as a valuable fisheries management tool. In the Chesapeake Bay, these measures have provided reliable indicators for future year class strength for blue crabs (Lipcius and van Engel, 1990), striped bass (Goodyear, 1985), and several other recreationally important fishes (Geer and Austin, 1999).

The American eel, Anguilla rostrata, is a valuable commercial species along the entire Atlantic coast from New Brunswick to Florida. Landings along the U.S. Atlantic coast have varied from 290 MT in 1962 to a high of 1600 MT in 1975 (NMFS, 1999). In recent years there seems …

Density-Dependent Predation, Habitat Variation, And The Persistence Of Marine Bivalve Prey, Rochelle D. Seitz, Rom Lipcius, Ah Hines, Db Eggleston

VIMS Articles

The persistence of prey encountering intense predation varies by species, prey density, and habitat type; however, the collective impact of these factors has rarely been tested experimentally in natural marine systems. Using the thin-shelled clams Mya arenaria and Macoma balthica as prey, and the main epibenthic predator of whole adult clams, the blue crab Callinectes sapidus, we conducted a series of experiments in Chesapeake Bay tributaries that (1) links field abundance and distribution of bivalve prey species with habitat-specific mortality patterns; (2) represents the first comprehensive field test of species-specific, habitat-specific, and density-dependent mortality for subtidal, soft-bottom, deep-burrowing prey; and …

Infection And Mortality Studies With Hematodinium Perezi In Blue Crabs, Jeffrey D. Schields

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, from the Delmarva Peninsula experience recurring epizootics of a pathogenic dinoflag ellate. The parasite, Hematodinium perezi , fulminates in late summer and autumn causing significant mortalities in high salinity embayments and estuaries. Mortality rates during epizootics a re difficult to estimate because dead crabs quickly deteriorate. Host mortality was investigated in naturally- and experimentally-infected crabs. Detection of the parasite, its proliferation in the hemolymph, and distribution in lower Chesapeake Bay were also examined. The dinoflagellate was highly pathogenic, killing 100% of naturally infected crabs, and 86% of inoculated crabs over 35 and 4 0 days, respectively. …

Habitat Fragmentation In A Seagrass Landscape: Patch Size And Complexity Control Blue Crab Survival, Ka Hovel, Rom Lipcius

VIMS Articles

Habitat fragmentation is increasingly common on land and in the sea, leading to small, isolated habitat patches in which ecological processes may differ substantially from those in larger, continuous habitats. Seagrass is a productive but fragmented subtidal habitat that serves as a refuge from predation for many animals because its structural complexity limits the detection and capture of resident prey. The singular influence of seagrass habitat fragmentation (e.g., patch size) on faunal survival is largely unknown and has been difficult to quantify because seagrass habitat complexity (e.g., shoot density) and patch size are often confounded and vary seasonally. In early …

The Crest, Summer 2001, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Table of Contents:

• VIMS to Begin New Ecosystem Management Study
• CBNERRVA Receives Coastal America Partnership Award
• VIMS Shoreline Permit Application Reports Now Available Online
• Marina Program Launched
• Web Based Education Hub Developed by VIMS/Sea Grant Educators
• In the middle of the storm... where VIMS scientists plan to be
• Continental margins--where the action is
• Aquaculture and agriculture--working together for solutions
• Marine Finfish Culture Activities
• Kauffman Aquaculture Center Campaign
• New Graduate Courses for Science Teachers
• VIMS scientists explore pollution of Antarctic sea ice
• Mid-Atlantic Scallop Closed Areas Set to Reopen
• VIMS study poses new questions on river carbon
• Marine Industry Trends
• Stranded …

Reproduction And Food Habits Of The Lined Seahorse, Hippocampus Erectus (Teleostei: Syngnathidae) Of Chesapeake Bay, Virginia., R. L. Teixeira, John A. Musick

VIMS Articles

The reproductive and feeding biology of the lined seahorse, Hippocampus erectus, was studied inChesapeake Bay. Seahorses are monogamous, and males incubate the eggs received from femalesin a closed brood pouch (= marsupium). Females do not play any parental care after mating. Totalsex ratio and the operational sex ratio was strongly skewed toward females. Males and females hadsimilar number of eggs/embryos and hydrated oocytes, respectively. The number of eggs/embryosfound in the male brood pouch varied from 97 to 1,552 (fish from 80 to 126 mm TL), whereas thenumber of hydrated oocytes in female varied from 90 to 1,313 (fish from 60 …

Eastern Shore Laboratory, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

Handbook describing the Eastern Shore Laboratory, giving a brief history, location, staff, facilities and equipment information.

2000 Annual Awards, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

The Annual Awards ceremony is an occasion in which new employees and volunteers are introduced, employee service is recognized and student and faculty awards are presented.

Discoveries In Coastal Ocean & Estuarine Science, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, College Of William & Mary

Miscellaneous

Profiles of the research, departments, programs and centers at the Institute.

Morphological Variation Of Three Populations Of The Veined Rapa Whelk, Rapana Venosa, An Invasive Predatory Gastropod Species, Rebecca A. Green

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Classification And Identification Of Pfiesteria And Pfiesteria-Like Species, K Steidinger, Patrice Mason, Kimberly S. Reece, Lw Haas

VIMS Articles

Dinoflagellates can be classified both botanically and zoologically; however, they are typically put in the botanical division Pyrrhophyta. As a group they appear most related to the protistan ciliates and apicomplexans at the ultrastructure level. Within the Pyrrhophyta are both unarmored and armored forms of the dominant, motile flagellated stage. Unarmored dinoflagellates do not have thecal or wall plates arranged in specific series, whereas armored species have plates that vary in thickness but are specific in number and arrangement. In armored dinoflagellates, the plate pattern and tabulation is a diagnostic character at the family, subfamily, and even genus levels. In …

A Unique Mycobacterium Species Isolated From An Epizootic Of Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis), Martha W. Rhodes, Howard Kator, Shaban Kotob, Peter Van Berkum, Ilsa Kaattari, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, Margaret Floyd, W. Ray Butler, Frederick D. Quinn, Christopher Ottinger, Emmet Shotts

VIMS Articles

We isolated a Mycobacterium sp. resembling Mycobacterium marinum and M. ulcerans from diseased striped bass (Morone saxatilis) during an epizootic of mycobacteriosis in the Chesapeake Bay. This isolate may represent an undescribed Mycobacterium species, based on phenotypic characteristics and comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence.

Delivery And Fate Of Fluvial Water And Sediment To The Sea: A Marine Geologist's View Of European Rivers, J. D. Milliman

VIMS Articles

Despite their relatively small drainage areas, European rivers reflect a wide variety of hydrologic regimes, although with very few exceptions they have been strongly affected by human activity. Scandinavian rivers (particularly those draining Iceland and western Norway) can have high runoff, and, except for those draining Iceland, all have very low suspended and dissolved sediment loads. Northern and western European rivers have somewhat lower runoff, among the lowest suspended sediment yields in the world, and anthropogenically enhanced dissolved solid loads. Annual discharge of many of these rivers appears to vary inversely with the North Atlantic Oscillation index. Rivers discharging from …

Modeling The Response Of Top-Down Control Exerted By Gelatinous Carnivores On The Black Sea Pelagic Food Web, Temel Oguz, Hugh W. Ducklow, Jennifer E. Purcell, Paola Malanotte-Rizzoli

VIMS Articles

Recent changes in structure and functioning of the interior Black Sea ecosystem are studied by a series of simulations using a one-dimensional, vertically resolved, coupled physical-biochemical model. The simulations are intended to provide a better understanding of how the pelagic food web structure responds to increasing grazing pressure by gelatinous carnivores (medusae Aurelia aurita and ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi) during the past 2 decades. The model is first shown to represent typical eutrophic ecosystem conditions of the late 1970s and early 1980s. This simulation reproduces reasonably well the observed planktonic food web structure at a particular location of the Black Sea …

The Effects Of A Regulatory Gear Restriction On The Recruiting Year Class In The Sea Scallop, Placopecten Magellanicus (Gmelin, 1791), Fishery, Jc Brust, Wd Dupaul, Je Kirkley

VIMS Articles

In 1994, Amendment 4 to the sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) fishery management plan was adopted, which restricted fishing effort by controlling vessel days at sea. crew size, and gear size. Dredge ring size was increased from 76.2 mm (3.0") to 82.6 mm (3.25") in March 1994, and again to 88.9 mm (3.5") in January 1996 to increase the age of entry of scallops into the fishery. Between June 1994 and April 1995, four trips were taken on commercial scallop vessels in the western mid-Atlantic to determine harvest efficiency of 88.9-mm dredge rings relative to 82.6-mm dredge rings used in the …

The Impact Of Marine Reserves On Exploited Species With Complex Life Histories: A Modeling Study Using The Caribbean Spiny Lobster In Exuma Sound, Bahamas, William T. Stockhausen

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Most benthic invertebrates and reef-associated fish undergo a dispersive, planktonic larval stage prior to settlement and metamorphosis into the juvenile and adult stages. In some species, settlement may be decoupled from adult abundance at local spatial scales if hydrodynamic conditions or larval behavior do not promote local retention. Similarly, spatial variability in postsettlement mortality or secondary dispersal by juveniles and adults may decouple spatial patterns of adult abundance from those of settlement. as a consequence, spatial patterns of settlement and adult abundance may be functionally related in a complex fashion. Whether biotic/environmental factors control spatial patterns of abundance may have …

Emerging Areas Of Research Reported During The Cdc National Conference On Pfiesteria: From Biology To Public Health, C Rubin, Eugene M. Burreson

VIMS Articles

Since its identification in 1996, the marine dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida Steidinger & Burkholder has been the focus of intense scientific inquiry in disciplines ranging from estuarine ecology to epidemiology and from molecular biology to public health. Despite these research efforts, the extent of human exposure and the degree of human illness directly associated with Pfiesteria is still in the process of being defined. Unfortunately, during this same time Pfiesteria has also stimulated media coverage that in some instances jumped ahead of the science to conclude that Pfiesteria presents a widespread threat to human health. Political and economic forces also came …

Skin Ulcers In Estuarine Fishes: A Comparative Pathological Evaluation Of Wild And Laboratory-Exposed Fish, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, Jeffrey D. Shields, Lw Haas, Kimberly S. Reece, D. E. Zwerner

VIMS Articles

The toxic dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida Steidinger & Burkholder has recently been implicated as the etiologic agent of acute mass mortalities and skin ulcers in menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, and other fishes from mid-Atlantic U.S. estuaries. However, evidence for this association is largely circumstantial and controversial. We exposed tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) to Pfiesteria shurnwayae Glasgow & Burkholder (identification based on scanning electron microscopy and molecular analyses) and compared the resulting pathology to the so-called Pfiesteria-specific lesions occurring in wild menhaden. The tilapia challenged by high concentrations (2,000-12,000 cells/mL) of P. shurnwayae exhibited loss of mucus coat and scales plus mild petecchial hemorrhage, …

Differential Diagnosis Of Mixed Haplosporidium Costale And Haplosporidium Nelsoni Infections In The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica, Using Dna Probes, Na Stokes, Em Burreson

VIMS Articles

Haplosporidium costale and Haplosporidium nelsoni are morphologically similar pathogens of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica. In the absence of the spore stage, infections of the two species are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish using traditional light microscopy of stained tissue sections. Species-specific molecular diagnostics were developed for H. costale from the small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) sequence. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers amplified a 557 base pair (bp) region of the H. costale SSU rDNA, but did not amplify DNA from oyster (C. virginica) or from six other haplosporidans (H. nelsoni, H. louisiana, H. lusitanicum, Minchinia …

Grazer Diversity, Functional Redundancy, And Productivity In Seagrass Beds: An Experimental Test, Je Duffy, Ks Macdonald, Jm Rhode, Jd Parker

VIMS Articles

Concern over the accelerating loss of biodiversity has stimulated renewed interest in relationships among species richness, species composition, and the functional properties of ecosystems. Mechanistically, the degree of functional differentiation or complementarity among individual species determines the form of such relationships and is thus important to distinguishing among alternative hypotheses for the effects of diversity on ecosystem processes. Although a growing number of studies have reported relationships between plant diversity and ecosystem processes, few have explicitly addressed how functional diversity at higher trophic levels influences ecosystem processes. We used mesocosm experiments to test the impacts of three herbivorous crustacean species …

Plant Species Diversity And Composition: Experimental Effects On Marine Epifaunal Assemblages, Jd Parker, Je Duffy, R J. Orth

VIMS Articles

Plant diversity is believed to govern animal community structure, yet few studies have tested this relationship. We manipulated plant species diversity and composition (2 seagrasses and 3 seaweeds) and measured the abundance, diversity, and biomass of plant-associated macroinvertebrates in a temperate, estuarine seagrass community. Animal diversity was weakly but positively related to plant diversity (Simpson's 1 - lambda). Most indices of animal diversity, however, were more strongly related to total plant surface area than to plant diversity. Epifaunal abundance and biomass increased, whereas epifaunal diversity and evenness decreased with total plant surface area. Both food and habitat covary with plant …

Species-Specific Impacts Of Grazing, Amphipods In An Eelgrass-Bed Community, Je Duffy, Am Harvilicz

VIMS Articles

Small, grazing invertebrates often benefit seagrasses by cropping their epiphytic algal competitors. Yet predictive relations between grazer abundance and seagrass performance are elusive, in significant part because of poorly understood diversity in mesograzer feeding biology. We conducted experiments in eelgrass Zostera marina microcosms to explore how differences in feeding between 2 common grazing amphipod taxa affected accumulation and species composition of epiphytes on eelgrass, as well as amphipod population growth, competition and production, over a 4-week period in summer. Gammarus mucronatus and ampithoids (a mixture of Cymadusa compta and Ampithoe longimana) were stocked, singly and in combination, along with a …

Magnitude And Variability Of Benthic And Pelagic Metabolism In A Temperate Coastal Lagoon, Kj Mcglathery, Iris C. Anderson, Ac Tyler

VIMS Articles

In shallow coastal systems where most of the seafloor lies within the photic zone, benthic photoautotrophy is likely to play a key role in regulating carbon and nitrogen cycling. We measured dissolved inorganic carbon exchanges in seasonal microcosm incubations to determine the relative importance of benthic (with and without macroalgae) and water column metabolism at 3 sites located along a nutrient gradient in a coastal barrier-island lagoon on the eastern shore of Virginia. When coupled with data on in situ biomass, the incubations clearly indicated a seasonality in the dominance of primary producers at the sites, with benthic primary producers …