Life Sciences Commons^™

Evolution Of The Hammerhead Cephalofoil: Shape Change, Space Utilization, And Feeding Biomechanics In Hammerhead Sharks (Sphyrnidae), Kyle Reid Mara

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between form and function is often used to elucidate the biological role of a structure. Hammerhead sharks offer a unique opportunity to study form and function through phylogeny. Because sphyrnid sharks display a range of cranial morphologies this group can be used to address questions about the evolution of cranial design and investigate the effects of changes in head morphology on feeding structures and bite force. Geometric morphometrics, volumetric analyses, morphological dissections, and phylogenetic analyses of the cephalofoil were used to gain insight into changes in cranial design through evolutionary history. External morphometrics and internal volumetric analyses indicated …

A Global Evaluation Of Ocean Bottom Pressure From Grace, Omct, And Steric-Corrected Altimetry, D. Chambers, Josh K. Willis

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Ocean bottom pressure (OBP) from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and the Ocean Model for Circulation and Tides (OMCT) are compared globally with OBP computed from altimetry corrected for steric variations from Argo floats from January 2005 to December 2007. Two methods of smoothing the GRACE data are examined. The first uses a standard Gaussian smoother with a radius of 300 km. The second method projects those smoothed maps onto empirical orthogonal functions derived from OMCT in a least squares estimation in order to produce maps that better agree with the physical processes embodied by the model. These …

Chk2 Is Negatively Regulated By Protein Phosphatase 2a, Alyson Freeman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Checkpoint kinase 2 (CHK2) is an effector kinase of the DNA damage response pathway and although its mechanism of activation has been well studied, the attenuation of its activity following DNA damage has not been explored. Here, we identify the B'α subunit of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), a major protein serine/threonine phosphatase of the cell, as a CHK2 binding partner and show that their interaction is modulated by DNA damage. B'α binds to the SQ/TQ cluster domain of CHK2, which is a target of ATM phosphorylation. CHK2 is able to bind to many B' subunits as well as the PP2A …

On The Recurrent Ulva Prolifera Blooms In The Yellow Sea And East China Sea, Chuanmin Hu, Daqiu Li, Changsheng Chen, Jianzhong Ge, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Junpeng Liu, Feng Yu, Ming-Xia He

Marine Science Faculty Publications

A massive bloom of the green macroalgae Ulva prolifera (previously known as Enteromorpha prolifera) occurred in June 2008 in the Yellow Sea (YS), resulting in perhaps the largest “green tide” event in history. Using a novel index (Floating Algae Index) and multiresolution remote sensing data from MODIS and Landsat, we show that U. prolifera patches appeared nearly every year between April and July 2000–2009 in the YS and/or East China Sea (ECS), which all originated from the nearshore Subei Bank. A finite volume numerical circulation model, driven by realistic forcing and boundary conditions, confirmed this finding. Analysis of meteorological/environmental …

Neuroprotection With Anesthetics In Two Models Of Cerebral Ischemia, Rafael Eduardo Chaparro Buitrago

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Neuroprotection with anesthetics has been studied for many decades; important advances in this field have modified the way Anesthesiologists treat patients in the operating room. Animal models have played an important role in the study of ischemia in the operating room. Recent studies have demonstrated that the effect of anesthetics seems to be different in different animal models. We decided to evaluate anesthetics in a well-known model of cerebral ischemia and also in hypotensive models designed by us. We used a model of cerebral ischemia (MCAO) to test anesthetics neuroprotective effect in a two-week period. Then, we used a model …

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) Observations Of Cyanobacteria Blooms In Taihu Lake, China, Chuanmin Hu, Zhongping Lee, Ronghua Ma, Kun Yu, Daqiu Li, Shaoling Shang

Marine Science Faculty Publications

A novel approach was used with data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to characterize the intense blooms of cyanobacteria (primarily Microcystis aeruginosa) in Taihu Lake, China's third largest freshwater lake. The approach involves first deriving a floating algae index (FAI) based on the medium‐resolution (250 and 500 m) MODIS reflectance data at 645, 859, and 1240 nm after correction of the ozone/gaseous absorption and Rayleigh scattering effects and then objectively determining the FAI threshold value (−0.004) to separate the bloom and nonbloom waters. By definition, the term “bloom” or “floating algae” refers to bloom where cyanobacteria form …

Gey 4360 Mental Health Assessment Of Older Adults, Lisa Brown

Service-Learning Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Hydrological And Oceanic Effects On Polar Motion From Grace And Models, Shaunggen Jin, Don Chambers, Byron D. Tapley

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Terrestrial water storage (TWS) and ocean bottom pressure (OBP) are major contributors to the observed polar motion excitations, second only to atmospheric mass movement. However, quantitative assessment of the hydrological and oceanic effects on polar motion remains unclear because of the lack of global observations. In this paper, hydrological and oceanic mass excitations to polar motion are investigated using monthly TWS and OBP derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) for January 2003 until December 2008. The results from this analysis are compared with hydrological model excitations from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and oceanic …

Flow And Retreat Of The Late Quaternary Pine Island-Thwaites Palaeo-Ice Stream, West Antarctica, Alastair G. C. Graham, Robert D. Larter, Karsten Gohl, Julian A. Dowdeswell, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, James A. Smith, Jeffrey Evans, Gerhard Kuhn, Tara Deen

Marine Science Faculty Publications

[1] Multibeam swath bathymetry and sub-bottom profiler data are used to establish constraints on the flow and retreat history of a major palaeo-ice stream that carried the combined discharge from the parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet now occupied by the Pine Island and Thwaites glacier basins. Sets of highly elongated bedforms show that, at the last glacial maximum, the route of the Pine Island-Thwaites palaeo-ice stream arced north-northeast following a prominent cross-shelf trough. In this area, the grounding line advanced to within ∼68 km of, and probably reached, the shelf edge. Minimum ice thickness is estimated at 715 …

Complexation Of Pb(Ii) By Chloride Ions In Aqueous Solutions, Robert H. Byrne, Wensheng Yao, Yanxin Luo, Frank J. Millero

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Lead chloride formation constants at 25°C were derived from analysis of previous spectrophotometrically generated observations of lead speciation in a variety of aqueous solutions (HClO₄–HCl and NaCl–NaClO₄ mixtures, and solutions of MgCl₂ and CaCl₂). Specific interaction theory analysis of these formation constants produced coherent estimates of (a) PbCl⁺, PbCl₂⁰, and PbCl ⁻₃ formation constants at zero ionic strength, and (b) well-defined depictions of the dependence of these formation constants on ionic strength. Accompanying examination of a recent IUPAC critical assessment of lead formation constants, in conjunction with the …

Identifying Thresholds For Ecosystem-Based Management, Jameal F. Samhouri, Phillip S. Levin, Cameron H. Ainsworth

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Background: One of the greatest obstacles to moving ecosystem-based management (EBM) from concept to practice is the lack of a systematic approach to defining ecosystem-level decision criteria, or reference points that trigger management action.

Methodology/Principal Findings: To assist resource managers and policymakers in developing EBM decision criteria, we introduce a quantitative, transferable method for identifying utility thresholds. A utility threshold is the level of human-induced pressure (e.g., pollution) at which small changes produce substantial improvements toward the EBM goal of protecting an ecosystem's structural (e.g., diversity) and functional (e.g., resilience) attributes. The analytical approach is based on the detection of …

The 13C Suess Effect In Scleractinian Corals Mirror Changes In The Anthropogenic Co2 Inventory Of The Surface Oceans, Peter K. Swart, Lisa Greer, Brad E. Rosenheim, Chris S. Moses, Amanda J. Waite, A. Winter, Richard E. Dodge, Kevin Helmle

Marine Science Faculty Publications

[1] New δ¹³C data are presented from 10 coral skeletons collected from Florida and elsewhere in the Caribbean (Dominica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Belize). These corals range from 96 to 200 years in age and were collected between 1976 and 2002. The change in the δ¹³C of the skeletons from these corals between 1900 and 1990 has been compared with 27 other published coral records from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. The new data presented here make possible, for the first time, a global comparison of rates of change in the δ¹³C …

An Intercomparison Of Gps Ro Retrievals With Colocated Analysis And In Situ Observations Within Tropical Cyclones, Henry R. Winterbottom, Qingnong Xiao

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Observations from four Global Position System (GPS) Radio Occultation (RO) missions: Global Positioning System/Meteorology, CHAallenging Minisatellite Payload, Satellite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-C, and Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate and Taiwan's FORMOsa SATellite Mission #3 (COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3) are collected within a 600 km radius and ±180 minute temporal window of all observed tropical cyclones (TCs) from 1995 to 2006 that were recorded in the global hurricane best-track reanalysis data set (Jarvinen et al. (1984); Davis et al. (1984)). A composite analysis of tropical cyclone radial mean temperature and water vapor profiles is carried out using the GPS RO retrievals which …

Conceptual Model For Thermal Limits On The Distribution Of Reptiles, J. Sean Doody, Jennifer A. Moore

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

Recent climate change has re-invigorated scientific interest in the dynamics of geographic distributions of organisms. Climate responses and their biogeographical ramifications can be predicted indirectly by studying variation in fitness-related traits across environmental gradients in wide-ranging species. We review evidence for such variation in reptiles. Clinal variation in seasonal timing (onset) of nesting is common but may offer only minor compensation. In contrast, clinal variation in nesting behavior in two wide-ranging species suggests that reptiles can use nest site choice to counter climate differences. We suggest that when range boundaries located at climate extremes are determined by thermal conditions of …

Comparing Models Of Evolution For Ordered And Disordered Proteins, Celeste J. Brown, Audra K. Johnson, Gary W. Daughdrill

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

Most models of protein evolution are based upon proteins that form relatively rigid 3D structures. A significant fraction of proteins, the so-called disordered proteins, do not form rigid 3D structures and sample a broad conformational ensemble. Disordered proteins do not typically maintain long-range interactions, so the constraints on their evolution should be different than ordered proteins. To test this hypothesis, we developed and compared models of evolution for disordered and ordered proteins. Substitution matrices were constructed using the sequences of putative homologs for sets of experimentally characterized disordered and ordered proteins. Separate matrices, at three levels of sequence similarity ( …

Direct Observations Of Basin-Wide Acidification Of The North Pacific Ocean, Robert H. Byrne, Sabine Mecking, Richard A. Feely, Xuewu Liu

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Global ocean acidification is a prominent, inexorable change associated with rising levels of atmospheric CO₂. Here we present the first basin-wide direct observations of recently declining pH, along with estimates of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic contributions to that signal. Along 152°W in the North Pacific Ocean (22–56°N), pH changes between 1991 and 2006 were essentially zero below about 800 m depth. However, in the upper 500 m, significant pH changes, as large as −0.06, were observed. Anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic contributions over the upper 800 m are estimated to be of similar magnitude. In the surface mixed layer (depths to …

West Florida Shelf: A Natural Laboratory For The Study Of Ocean Acidification, Pamela Hallock, Lisa L. Robbins, Rebekka Larson, Tanya Beck, Patrick Schwing, Michael Martínez-Colón, Brad Gooch

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Declining oceanic pH and carbonate-ion concentrations are well-known consequences of increased atmospheric and surface-ocean partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO₂). The possible subject of shifts in seawater carbonate chemistry on biocalcification and survival rates of marine organisms provides questions amenable to both experimental and field study (Kleypas and Langdon, 2006). To date, limited quantitative data exist with which to formalize and test hypotheses regarding such impacts, particularly in continental-shelf settings. The continental shelves of Florida provide an ideal natural laboratory in which to test latitudinal (and temperature and depth) shifts in habitat ranges of calcifying organisms. Both the …

Transposases Are The Most Abundant, Most Ubiquitous Genes In Nature, Ramy Aziz, Mya Breitbart, Robert Edwards

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Genes, like organisms, struggle for existence, and the most successful genes persist and widely disseminate in nature. The unbiased determination of the most successful genes requires access to sequence data from a wide range of phylogenetic taxa and ecosystems, which has finally become achievable thanks to the deluge of genomic and metagenomic sequences. Here, we analyzed 10 million protein-encoding genes and gene tags in sequenced bacterial, archaeal, eukaryotic and viral genomes and metagenomes, and our analysis demonstrates that genes encoding transposases are the most prevalent genes in nature. The finding that these genes, classically considered as selfish genes, outnumber essential …

Animal Models Of Alzheimer's Disease, Gemma Casadesus, Gary Arendash, Frank Laferla, Mike Mcdonald

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Whole Genome Wide Expression Profiles Of Vitis Amurensis Grape Responding To Downy Mildew By Using Solexa Sequencing Technology, Jiao Wu, Yali Zhang, Huiqin Zhang, Hong Huang, Kevin M. Folta, Jiang Lu

School of Information Faculty Publications

Background: Downy mildew (DM), caused by pathogen Plasmopara viticola (PV) is the single most damaging disease of grapes (Vitis L.) worldwide. However, the mechanisms of the disease development in grapes are poorly understood. A method for estimating gene expression levels using Solexa sequencing of Type I restriction-endonuclease-generated cDNA fragments was used for deep sequencing the transcriptomes resulting from PV infected leaves of Vitis amurensis Rupr. cv. Zuoshan-1. Our goal is to identify genes that are involved in resistance to grape DM disease.

Results: Approximately 8.5 million (M) 21-nt cDNA tags were sequenced in the cDNA library derived from PV pathogen-infected …

Poles Apart: The “Bipolar” Pteropod Species Limacina Helicina Is Genetically Distinct Between The Arctic And Antarctic Oceans, Brian Hunt, Jan Strugnell, Nina Bednarsek, Katrin Linse, R. John Nelson, Evgeny Pakhomov, Brad Seibel, Dirk Steinke, Laura Würzberg

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The shelled pteropod (sea butterfly) Limacina helicina is currently recognised as a species complex comprising two sub-species and at least five “forma”. However, at the species level it is considered to be bipolar, occurring in both the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. Due to its aragonite shell and polar distribution L. helicina is particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification. As a key indicator of the acidification process, and a major component of polar ecosystems, L. helicina has become a focus for acidification research. New observations that taxonomic groups may respond quite differently to acidification prompted us to reassess the taxonomic status of …

Influence Of Extreme Storm Events On West Florida Shelf Cdom Distributions, Robyn N. Conmy, Paula G. Coble, Jennifer P. Cannizzaro, Cynthia A. Heil

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) distribution and signatures provide vital information about the amount and composition of organic material in aquatic environments. This information is critical for deciphering the sources and biogeochemical pathways of organic carbon, and thus vital to the understanding of carbon cycling and budgets. Waters of the West Florida Shelf are heavily influenced by many river systems on Florida's Gulf Coast that, to the first order, control CDOM distributions on the shelf. Three storm events during 2004 and 2005 (Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Wilma, and a Winter Storm) profoundly altered the typical distribution of CDOM fluorescence and absorption …

Low-Frequency Exchange Of Mass Between Ocean Basins, Don P. Chambers, Josh K. Willis

Marine Science Faculty Publications

We examine the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data and output from an ocean model to quantify mass fluctuations for the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean basins from August 2002 until December 2008. The monthly spatial mean is removed to study interbasin mass exchange. We find a seasonal exchange of mass between the Atlantic and Pacific that is similar to one documented previously, although the amplitude observed by GRACE is about 20% lower than that simulated by an ocean model. There are also significant fluctuations with periods longer than 1 year. We find large interannual exchanges in 2005 and …

Detecting Marine Hazardous Substances And Organisms: Sensors For Pollutants, Toxins, And Pathogens, O. Zielinski, J. A. Busch, A. D. Cembella, Kendra L. Daly, J. Engelbrektsson, A. K. Hannides, H. Schmidt

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Marine environments are influenced by a wide diversity of anthropogenic and natural substances and organisms that may have adverse effects on human health and ecosystems. Real-time measurements of pollutants, toxins, and pathogens across a range of spatial scales are required to adequately monitor these hazards, manage the consequences, and to understand the processes governing their magnitude and distribution. Significant technological advancements have been made in recent years for the detection and analysis of such marine hazards. In particular, sensors deployed on a variety of mobile and fixed-point observing platforms provide a valuable means to assess hazards. In this review, we …

Mean Dynamic Topography Of The Ocean Derived From Satellite And Drifting Buoy Data Using Three Different Techniques, Nikolai Maximenko, Peter Niiler, Marie-Helene Rio, Oleg Melnichenko, Luca Centurioni, Boris Galperin, Don. P. Chambers, Victor Zlotnicki

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Presented here are three mean dynamic topography maps derived with different methodologies. The first method combines sea level observed by the high-accuracy satellite radar altimetry with the geoid model of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), which has recently measured the earth’s gravity with unprecedented spatial resolution and accuracy. The second one synthesizes near-surface velocities from a network of ocean drifters, hydrographic profiles, and ocean winds sorted according to the horizontal scales. In the third method, these global datasets are used in the context of the ocean surface momentum balance. The second and third methods are used to improve …

Evaluation Of Groundwater Storage Monitoring With The Grace Satellite: Case Study High Plains Aquifer, Central United States, Gil Strassberg, Bridget Scanlon, D. Chambers

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Water scarcity is a critical issue in semiarid regions; however, regional groundwater monitoring is extremely limited. This study evaluates the ability of the GRACE satellites to monitor groundwater storage in the semiarid High Plains aquifer, United States (450,000 km² area), which is subjected to intense irrigation. GRACE-derived terrestrial water storage (TWS) is highly correlated with the sum of soil moisture (SM) and groundwater storage (GWS) (R = 0.96 for in situ measured SM from 78 stations and R = 0.95 for simulated SM with the Noah land surface model with root-mean-square difference of 38 mm and 36 mm, …

Fish Effects On Ocean Current Observations In The Cariaco Basin, Jyotika I. Virmani, Robert H. Weisberg

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Multiple years of moored current meter observations from the Cariaco Basin show low‐frequency variations along with near‐inertial waves and further imply the persistent diurnal movement of fish species known to populate the basin. In agreement with short‐term observations from 1979, the more recent observations with acoustic Doppler current profilers provide evidence of the multidecadal presence and behavior of these species. An unwanted corollary, however, is a bias in both the vertical and horizontal components of velocity due to the fish movements. Removal of this fish bias results in large data loss (approximately 72%); however, an interpolated, non‐biased data set is …

The Surface Circulation Of The Caribbean Sea And The Gulf Of Mexico As Inferred From Satellite Altimetry, Aida Alvera-Azcarate, Alexander Barth, Robert H. Weisberg

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The surface circulation of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico is studied using 13 years of satellite altimetry data. Variability in the Caribbean Sea is evident over several time scales. At the annual scale, sea surface height (SSH) varies mainly by a seasonal steric effect. Interannually, a longer cycle affects the SSH slope across the current and hence the intensity of the Caribbean Current. This cycle is found to be related to changes in the wind intensity, the wind stress curl, and El Niño–Southern Oscillation. At shorter time scales, eddies and meanders are observed in the Caribbean Current, and …

Survival Of The Misfits : Why Most Sperm Are Duds & Other Interesting Tales Of Evolution, Deby L. Cassill, Nelson Poynter Memorial Library.

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

Speaker: Dr. Deby Cassill

Grace-Based Estimates Of Terrestrial Freshwater Discharge From Basin To Continental Scales, Tajdarul H. Syed, James S. Famiglietti, Don Chambers

Marine Science Faculty Publications

In this study, new estimates of monthly freshwater discharge from continents, drainage regions, and global land for the period of 2003–05 are presented. The method uses observed terrestrial water storage change estimates from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and reanalysis-based atmospheric moisture divergence and precipitable water tendency in a coupled land–atmosphere water mass balance. The estimates of freshwater discharge are analyzed within the context of global climate and compared with previously published estimates. Annual cycles of observed streamflow exhibit stronger correlations with the computed discharge compared to those with precipitation minus evapotranspiration (P − E) in …