Life Sciences Commons^™

Biological And Physiological Condition Of Juvenile California Halibut (Paralichthys Californicus) Exposed To A Contamination Gradient In Mission Bay, Ca, Kevin Stolzenbach

Theses

Contaminated sediments in marine environments have been shown to be good indicators of ecological risk and a means to assess anthropogenic impacts on marine habitats and the animals that inhabit them (Long et al. 1995, Rattner 2009). Estuarine sediments are especially complex media with regard to physical, chemical, and biological characteristics that trap, store, modify and sometimes release contaminants to the biota (Long et al. 1995). Especially vulnerable are animals that are in constant contact with the sediments, such as flatfishes that partially bury themselves for camouflage (Costa et al. 2011). Impacts can be assessed in a number of ways, …

Neodymium Isotopic Signature Of The Deep Western Boundary Current And The Distribution Of Neodymium Isotopes And Concentrations Across Line W, Brian Daniel Duggan

Theses and Dissertations

The capacity of the neodymium (Nd) 143Nd/144Nd ratio to trace modern ocean circulation accurately allows for the assumption that the ratio can also accurately trace paleo ocean circulation. Therefore, a complete understanding of Nd cycling and its effect on the isotopic composition in the oceans is vital. Traditionally, Nd isotopic composition (Nd IC) is considered a conservative property in the open ocean, while coastal and margin environments tend to be dictated by nonconservative exchange processes. However, Nd concentrations ([Nd]) in the open ocean typically display a nutrient like profile, increasing with depth. Such a discrepancy between Nd IC and [Nd] …

Climatic Controls On Organic Matter Decomposition In Boreal Peatlands, Michael J. Philben

Theses and Dissertations

Boreal peatlands currently contain 550 Pg C and are located at high latitudes where mean annual temperatures are expected to increase by as much as 7°C by the end of the century. There is growing concern that warming will stimulate decomposition, transforming peatlands from a sink to a source of atmospheric carbon dioxide and accelerating climate change. A primary goal of this dissertation was to evaluate the effect of climate change on organic matter decomposition in peatlands. This was achieved by developing and employing biochemical tracers to indicate the extent of peat decomposition across a range of naturally occurring climatic …

Characterization Of Vibrio Vulnificus Strains Using Phenotypic And Genotypic Assays, James Conrad

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

In this study 143 V. vulnificus isolates of clinical and environmental origin, were examined for growth on differential media, identified to species and tested for antibiotic resistance. A multiplex PCR was created and optimized, and phylogenetic analysis was conducted. The first objective was to compare phenotypic methods to identify V. vulnificus. Colony colors of confirmed V. vulnificus isolates on selective media (Vibrio vulnificus agar, thiosulfate citrate bilesalts sucrose agar, CHROMAgar Vibrio (CAV), and colistin polymyxin B cellobiose agar), mostly matched those characteristic of V. vulnificus. To test the ability of these media to select for V. vulnificus, new presumptive V. …

Reproductive Parameters Of Two Coastal Pelagic Fishes Off Southeast Florida: Blackfin Tuna Thunnus Atlanticus And Little Tunny Euthynnus Alletteratus, Sonia Ahrabi-Nejad

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The ability to manage a fish stock relies on an understanding of life history characteristics and basic biology of the species. Numerous age-growth studies are facilitated by the relative ease of ageing fishes through hard-part analyses. Determining reproductive parameters for fish populations is equally important for stock assessments and management, and histological examination of gonads provides the most accurate determination of fecundity and spawning periods. Coastal pelagic fishes are often targeted commercially and recreationally due to their easy access by private vessels. However, there are few studies researching the biology and reproduction of recreational fishes in the waters of Southeastern …

Changes In Coral Community Composition At Devil's Crown, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador: A 7,700 Year Perspective, Katharine Jane Hendrickson

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Coral mortality caused by El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity and its related disturbances has been researched throughout the Eastern Pacific. In the past three decades, disturbances related to the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have been shown to influence coral growth in the Eastern Pacific. In the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, more than 97% of corals experienced mortality after the severe 1982-1983 ENSO episode. However, two of the most dominant coral species found in a coral community adjacent to Devil’s Crown; Psammocora stellata and Diaseris distorta survived this severe ENSO event. By reconstructing sediment cores of the coral community, this study assessed …

Distribution, Growth, And Impact Of The Coral-Excavating Sponge, Cliona Delitrix, On The Stony Coral Communities Offshore Southeast Florida, Ari Halperin

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Bioerosion is a major process that affects the carbonate balance on coral reefs, and excavating sponges from the genus Cliona are some of the most important bioeroders on Caribbean reefs. The orange boring sponge, Cliona delitrix, is an abundant excavating sponge offshore southeast Florida that frequently colonizes dead portions of live stony corals, killing live coral tissue as it grows. With the recent decline in coral cover attributed to combined environmental and anthropogenic stressors, the increasing abundance of excavating sponges poses yet another threat to the persistence of Caribbean coral reefs.

In the first part of this study, I …

Assessment Of Macroinvertebrate Communities And Heavy Metal Contamination Along The Intracoastal Waterway In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Robert Bernhard

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Sediments from four areas adjacent to marinas and a background site in the Intracoastal Waterway were assessed for macroinvertebrate composition and heavy metal contamination. Sediment core samples were collected in 2004 and 2005 for analyses of macroinvertebrate composition and sediment grain size. Additional sediment samples were collected in 2005 for chemical analyses of metals (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Hg, Ni and Zn). MANOVA and dendograms using Bray-Curtis similarity matrices grouped the sites into two clusters: the 3 sites closest to the New River formed one group, and the two end sites formed the other. The sites nearest …

Characterization Of The Early Development And Quality Of Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) Eggs And Larvae In Aquaculture Conditions, Agnès Bardon Albaret

Dissertations

The quality of red snapper Lutjanus campechanus eggs is highly variable and unpredictable in aquaculture, leading to high mortality during early larval rearing. In this work, the viability of red snapper eggs was investigated from fertilization until larvae expired due to exhaustion of vitellin reserves. The studied spawns were obtained via strip spawning wild-caught (n=17) and captive (n=7) females following hormonal induction. The fertilization rate, the hatch rate, and the duration of survival of unfed larvae post hatch were weakly correlated to each other, revealing occurrence of distinct and independent components of egg quality.

Spawns from captive females were characterized …

Clarification Of The Systematics Of The Haploporoidea (Trematoda) With Descriptions Of New Genera And Species, Michael Jay Andres

Dissertations

The superfamily Haploporoidea Nicoll, 1914 comprises two families, the Atractotrematidae Yamaguti, 1939 and the Haploporidae Nicoll, 1914, and the subfamily Cadenatellinae Gibson et Bray, 1982. All members are parasites of the alimentary tract or gall bladder of marine, estuarine, and freshwater herbivorous fishes. Overstreet and Curran (2005a) provided a review of the Haploporidae and recognized four subfamilies, the Chalcinotrematinae Overstreet et Curran, 2005, Haploporinae Nicoll, 1914, Megasoleninae Manter, 1935, and Waretrematinae Srivastava, 1937. In a series of five publications, Blasco-Costa et al. (2009a-e) revised the Haploporinae and erected a fifth subfamily, the Forticulcitinae Blasco-Costa, Balbuena, Kostadinova, et Olson, 2009. The …

Fungal Contribution To Carbon And Nutrient Cycling In A Subtropical Freshwater Marsh, Rong Su

Dissertations

Despite the well-known occurrence of emergent standing litter in freshwater marshes, very little quantitative data is available concerning the functional role and contribution of fungal decomposers to litter decomposition or their impact on ecosystem scale carbon and nutrient cycling. In the present study, microbial respiration and seasonal biomass and production rates of fungal decomposers associated with standing plant litter were examined to assess the quantitative contribution of fungi to both fine scale litter decay processes and large-scale ecosystem carbon flow pathways in a subtropical Typha domingensis and mixed Cladium jamaicense/Juncus roemarianus freshwater marsh, respectively. In addition, the growth …

Investigations Of The Physical And Analytical Chemistry Of Iron In Aqueous Solutions, James Patten

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although iron occurs at extremely low concentrations in the world’s oceans, it is essential for all living organisms. It is the limiting nutrient in High Nutrient Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) areas of the ocean, and exerts critically important influences on levels of atmospheric CO₂ and the global carbon cycle. Understanding the chemical processes that govern the fluxes and biogeochemistry of oceanic iron requires thorough assessment of the aqueous physical chemistry of iron and analytical techniques capable of measuring iron at sub-nanomolar concentration measurements. This dissertation extends prior work on the physical and analytical chemistry of iron through (a) investigation of …

A Functional Approach To Resolving The Biogeocomplexity Of Two Extreme Environments, Haydn Rubelmann Iii

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The biodiversity of two distinct marine environments was observed to describe the biogeocomplexity of these extreme ecological systems. A shallow-water hydrothermal vent in Papua New Guinea served as a study of a thermophilic ecosystem influenced by arsenic rich vent fluids while a 60 m deep offshore primarily anoxic karst sink served as a study of an anaerobic sulfur-influenced habitat. Both environments support unique biological communities that are influenced by the physical and chemical pressures imposed on them by the harsh conditions of these systems. In Tutum Bay, Ambitle Isle, Papua New Guinea, a transect was created from a shallow hydrothermal …

Growth Rates In Gulf Of Mexico Red Snapper, Lutjanus Campechanus, Before And After The Deepwater Horizon Blowout, Elizabeth Shea Herdter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Deepwater Horizon blowout occurred on April 20^th, 2010 and released nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico causing pollution of the water and sediment inhabited by many fishes for at least 87 days while the wellhead went uncapped. Populations of the Gulf of Mexico Red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, an important fish to the ecology and economy in the region, exhibit affinity to shallow water oil infrastructure such as the Deepwater Horizon making them especially vulnerable to crude oil contamination. The objective of this study is to determine growth of Red …

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Metabolites As A Biomarker Of Exposure To Oil In Demersal Fishes Following The Deepwater Horizon Blowout, Susan Susan Snyder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Deepwater Horizon blowout occurred on April 20th, 2010, releasing 4.9 million barrels of Louisiana crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Subsequent to the Deepwater Horizon blowout, sediment cores revealed oil on the northern GoM seafloor and abnormal skin lesions were seen in GoM fishes. Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a component of crude oil, in fish has been associated with many sublethal effects, including cancer and population-level effects. Using a biomarker of exposure to PAHs, this thesis evaluates inter-species, temporal and spatial differences in exposure to hydrocarbon contamination between three species of fish with varying levels …

Use Of A Towed Camera System For Estimating Reef Fish Populations Densities On The West Florida Shelf, Sarah Elizabeth Grasty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reef fish species tend to reside over high relief habitat which makes them difficult to sample with traditional gears such as nets and trawls. Therefore, implementing and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of new approaches which incorporate acoustic and optical methods has become a priority for reef fish stock assessment. Beginning in June of 2013, a towed camera system known as the Camera-Based Assessment Survey System (C-BASS) has been used to visualize over 500 kilometers of transect and record more than 80 hours of video over several habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. Surveys have been completed on the West …

Species Identification And Phylogeny Of Phycinae Hakes And Related Gadoid Fishes, Laura Ann Whitefleet-Smith

All Theses And Dissertations

The term hake refers to a number of species belonging to multiple families of fish in the suborder Gadoidei and includes two main groups: Phycinae hakes (family Gadidae) and Merluccius spp. hakes (family Merlucciidae). The use of the common name hake for this diverse group of fish prompts questions such as: how are these species related and how can they be differentiated? Chapter one details the development of the Rapid Gadoid Identification Assay (RaGIA) for molecular identification of 11 gadoid fishes (including six hakes) using Polymerase Chain Reaction Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). RaGIA was used for species identification of …

Habitat And Seasonal Distribution Of The North American River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) And Vertebrate Species Assemblages In Two Protected Areas Of The Florida Everglades, Catherine Faye Hamilton

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The Florida Everglades ecosystem is threatened by human development, increased pollution, freshwater scarcity, and invasive species; factors that have negatively impacted the Everglades and native species health and populations. Man-made canals and levies have redirected the natural flow of fresh water from Lake Okeechobee into the Florida Everglades, starving central and south Florida ecosystems of necessary fresh water and nutrients. Through the efforts of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project (CERP), freshwater is being redirected back into central and south Florida, returning the sheet flow of water back into the Everglades. Monitoring species abundance in the Everglades is a beneficial conservational …

The Effects Of An Extended Power Plant Shutdown On The Florida Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris) In Port Everglades, Florida, Christopher Grissett

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) seek out warmer waters during winter months when ambient water temperatures drop below 20 degrees Celsius. Over time, manatees have discovered artificial warm water sites from power plant discharges in addition to natural sites such as springs and passive thermal refugia (PTRs). The Florida Power and Light (FPL) Port Everglades power plant in Broward County is one such artificial warm water refuge used by manatees. This plant was shutdown on July 16, 2013, and is expected to remain off line for at least three years during demolition and construction of a new facility. …

A Comparison Of Fish Communities Over Different Reef Configurations In The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Catheline Y. M. Froehlich

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

High fishing pressure and limited natural habitat characterize the otherwise barren northwestern Gulf of Mexico. South Texas lacks extensive research of local natural and artificial reefs, and few studies report fish community and sportfish analysis of different reef densities. To alleviate this lack of data, fish abundances were monitored at different reef configurations in the PS-1047 Reef, 13 km off Port Mansfield, Texas, where 4000 concrete culverts were placed in 2011. Four culvert categories (CC1: 1-30 culverts, CC2: 31-70 culverts, CC3: 71-120 culverts, and CC4: 121-190 culverts in a 30-m radius), natural reefs and bare areas were sampled. Species abundances …

Dynamics And Survival Of Coral And Octocoral Juveniles Following Disturbance On Patch Reefs Of The Florida Reef Tract, Lucy Bartlett

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past several decades, rapid decline in adult stony-coral (comprising the Orders Scleractinia and Anthomedusae, specifically Family Milleporidae) cover has occurred concurrent with an increase in adult octocoral (Octocorallia/gorgonian) cover along the Florida Reef Tract. In January 2010, the Florida Keys experienced extremely cold air and water temperatures, below the lethal threshold for many reef organisms including corals. Very high stony-coral mortality occurred on some patch reefs. The newly-available space created by this disturbance event provided the opportunity for recruitment and settlement of new coral larvae and other reef organisms.

The goal of this study was to examine post-disturbance …

Assessments Of Surface-Pelagic Drift Communities And Behavior Of Early Juvenile Sea Turtles In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Robert F. Hardy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge of species distribution and habitat associations are essential for conservation measures. Such information is lacking for many marine species due to their occupancy of broad and ephemeral habitats that are difficult to access for study. Sea turtles, specifically the surface-pelagic juvenile stage of some species, are a group for which significant knowledge gaps remain surrounding their distribution and habitat use. Recent research has confirmed the long-standing hypothesis that the surface-pelagic juvenile stage occurs within surface-pelagic drift communities (SPDC). Within the North Atlantic and surrounding basins, the holopelagic macroalgae Sargassum spp. dominates SPDC and serves as a remotely-detectable indicator of …

Predation Thresholds In Marine Microbial Communities Applied To Environments With Low Prey Abundances, Bonnie Bailey

OES Theses and Dissertations

Prokaryotes (Bacteria and Archaea) comprise the largest component of biomass in the world's oceans. Their abundances are controlled by resource availability, viral infections and protist grazing. Many pico- and nano-eukaryotic predators grow almost as quickly as their prey, and greatly increase in numbers as soon as their prey do, leading in tum to depletion in prokaryotes. It is still unclear however, as to what extent microbial predators are able to feed in low prey environments, most prominently in the largest biome on Earth, the deep sea (below l 000 m depth). It has been hypothesized that in low prey environments, …

Recruitment Patterns Of Juvenile Fish At An Artificial Reef In The Gulf Of Mexico, Rachel Noel Arney

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

In 2011, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department deployed 4,000 culverts as an artificial reef off Port Mansfield, TX to serve as habitat for sport fish species in the Gulf of Mexico. The aim of this study was to assess juvenile fish recruitment at particular culvert densities among the reef. Standard monitoring units for the recruitment of reef fish (SMURFs) were used in this study and acted as sampling devices. SMURFs were placed at thirteen sampling stations among four different reef patch densities and sampled repeatedly from 2013-2014. Culvert densities included stations with: zero culverts, 1-50 culverts, 51-100 culverts, and …

Modeling Flightless Galapagos Seabirds As Impacted By El Nino And Climate Change, Brian Seth Putman

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Noteworthy species endemic to the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador are two flightless birds, the Galapagos Penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) and Flightless Cormorant (Phalacrocrax harrisi). Both adapted increased swimming ability at the cost of flight. This however has limited their ability to find richer feeding grounds in times of low resource availability, or to escape potential predators. Their population numbers, though small, were stable. Stress on this stability has increased since human arrival. Various invasive species from pets, farm animals and rats to even mosquito vectors of avian disease accompanied humans. . El Nino Southern Oscillation or ENSO …

Geochemical Analysis Of Eolian Fluxes During The Transition From Greenhouse To Icehouse Conditions In Equatorial Pacific., Daniel Nicholas Miller

Theses and Dissertations

To assess the atmospheric conditions during times of differing pole to equator thermal gradients through the middle Eocene to early Oligocene, 42 to 30 Ma, samples from deep-sea sediment cores U1331, U1332, U1333 from IODP Expedition 320/321 in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) have been chemically leached to isolate the operationally defined eolian dust (ODED; <63 μm fraction). The ODED was analyzed for neodymium (Nd) isotopic compositions and rare earth element (REE) concentrations in order to determine the provenance of the ODED fraction and to elucidate the environmental conditions (e.g. predominant wind patterns) during deposition over the interval of study. The variations in the ODED fraction are expected to be controlled by changes in sources delivered via eolian input. However, negative cerium anomalies in the Post Achaean Australian Shale (PAAS) normalized rare earth element profiles of the ODED show a biasing geochemical seawater phase to the ODED signature. It is found that εNd values and cerium anomalies (Ce/Ce*) of ODED are consistent with fossil fish teeth values that record bottom water signatures from the same location and time period until ~36-37 Ma; around the Priabonian/Bartonian boundary marked by increased thermal gradients due to the emplacement of high elevation glaciers on Antarctica (Scher et. al., 2014). Moreover, the more negative cerium anomalies correlate to more radiogenic εNd values. The geochemical seawater signature in the ODED samples is believed to be caused by a change in sedimentary phase regulated by the spatial paleoposition of the sites relative to the biological high productivity zone and/or the depth of the CCD. Subsequently these regulators on the sedimentary phases of the ODED were investigated for biasing the geochemical signatures of the ODED, assumed to be changes in sources thereby provenance. Together, the Nd and REE results from the study temporally indicate that the ODED fraction may be a mixing between two sources, that of a biasing biogenic and/or authigenic source that records seawater conditions, and that of an older, less radiogenic continental source, inferred as Asian loess, as an increased thermal gradient prevails over the course of the study. Further research needs to be performed to make more robust and conclusive linkages between sources, mixing of sources, and atmospheric eolian delivery patterns, highlighting the necessity for a better understanding of atmospheric conditions during important climatic events throughout the history of the Earth.

Application Of A Bioenergetics Framework For Assessing Sub-Lethal Effects Of Pollutants In The Freshwater Mussel Elliptio Complanata, Christopher G. Goodchild

All Theses And Dissertations

Although biomarkers are frequently used to assess sublethal effects of contaminants, a lack of mechanistic linkages to higher-level effects limits the predictive power of biomarkers. Bioenergetics has been proposed as a framework for linking cellular effects to whole-animal effects. We investigated sublethal effects of exposure to wastewater treatment facility effluent in freshwater mussels in situ, thereby capturing ecologically relevant exposure conditions. Our study focused on the energetic biomarker AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), while also considering more traditional biomarkers like heat shock proteins (HSP70), and antioxidant enzymes (i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST)). We examined biomarkers at mRNA and protein levels. …

Effects Of Dominant Plant Species And Water Depth On Methane Fluxes In A Freshwater Wetland, Marco T. Finocchiaro

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Methane (CH₄) is a highly potent greenhouse gas (GHG) found to contribute to the global problem of atmospheric warming. Wetlands have been documented to possess the ability to impact the earth’s CH₄ cycle yet are in a state of global depletion. CH₄ flux rates in wetlands have been found to vary within wetlands based on variability in environmental factors. There is a lack o f consensus on the effects of water depth as well as dominant plant type on CH₄ flux rates. In this study on Lake Wapalanne, Sussex County, NJ, submerged areas were found …

Microbial Community Assembly Found With Sponge Orange Band Disease In Xestospongia Muta (Giant Barrel Sponge), Rebecca Mulheron

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The giant barrel sponge, Xestospongia muta is an iconic and essential species of the coral reefs in South Florida. The sponge has primary roles providing ecosystem services and creating unique habitats for diverse microbial communities. On April 27, 2012 an outbreak of Sponge Orange Band Disease (SOB) was detected off the coast of South Florida. The disease begins with sponge bleaching, followed by mesohyl or “mesohyl” necrosis and often total mesohyl disintegration. Sampling from two diseased populations at Boynton Beach and Fort Lauderdale, FL took place on May 11th and May 29th, 2012. Each of the nine diseased sponges from …

Long-Term Stony Coral Transplantation Success Offshore Southeast, Florida, Usa, Theresa Elizabeth Robitaille

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Transplanted coral (Order: Scleractinia) colony condition was surveyed at five injury event sites, two coral nurseries, and one impact minimization location off the coast of Broward County, Florida, USA in 2012. Because stony corals are long-lived and slow growing, generally growing less than one centimeter in diameter per year, determining transplantation success requires long-term (greater than two years) monitoring. Long-term monitoring efforts, however, are rarely completed. This study is unique in that it examined stony coral transplantation success of several projects over a time period of 6-17 years. Control colonies were also surveyed in order to compare naturally growing coral …