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William & Mary

2018

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Articles 1 - 30 of 139

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Comparison Of Methods For Determining Biogeochemical Fluxes From A Restored Oyster Reef, Melanie Jackson, Michael S. Owens, Jeffrey C. Cornwell, M. Lisa Kellogg Dec 2018

Comparison Of Methods For Determining Biogeochemical Fluxes From A Restored Oyster Reef, Melanie Jackson, Michael S. Owens, Jeffrey C. Cornwell, M. Lisa Kellogg

VIMS Articles

Oyster reef restoration can significantly increase benthic denitrification rates. Methods applied to measure nutrient fluxes and denitrification from oyster reefs in previous studies include incubations of sediment cores collected adjacent to oyster clumps, benthic chambers filled with intact reef segments that have undergone in situ equilibration and ex situ incubation, and cores with single oysters. However, fluxes of nutrients vary by orders of magnitude among oyster reefs and methods. This study compares two methods of measuring nutrient and metabolic fluxes on restored oyster reefs: incubations including intact segments of oyster reef and incubations containing oyster clumps without underlying sediments. Fluxes …


Intensive Oyster Aquaculture Can Reduce Disease Impacts On Sympatric Wild Oysters, Tal Ben-Horin, Colleen Burge, David Bushek, Maya Groner, Dina Proestou, Lauren Huey, Gorka Bidegain, Ryan Carnegie Dec 2018

Intensive Oyster Aquaculture Can Reduce Disease Impacts On Sympatric Wild Oysters, Tal Ben-Horin, Colleen Burge, David Bushek, Maya Groner, Dina Proestou, Lauren Huey, Gorka Bidegain, Ryan Carnegie

VIMS Articles

Risks associated with disease spread from fish and shellfish farming have plagued the growth and public perception of aquaculture worldwide. However, by processing nutrients and organic material from the water column, the culture of many suspension-feeding bivalves has been proposed as a novel solution toward mitigating problems facing coastal water quality, including the removal of disease-causing parasites. Here we developed and simulated an epidemiological model describing sympatric oyster Crassostrea virginica populations in aquaculture and the wild impacted by the protozoan parasite Perkinsus marinus. Our model captured the indirect interaction between wild and cultured populations that occurs through sharing water-borne P. …


Population Genomics And Phylogeography Of A Benthic Coastal Shark (Scyliorhinus Canicula) Using 2b-Rad Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, Alice Manuzzi, Lorenzo Zane, Antonio Munoz-Merida, Andrew M. Griffiths, Ana Verissimo Dec 2018

Population Genomics And Phylogeography Of A Benthic Coastal Shark (Scyliorhinus Canicula) Using 2b-Rad Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, Alice Manuzzi, Lorenzo Zane, Antonio Munoz-Merida, Andrew M. Griffiths, Ana Verissimo

VIMS Articles

The existence of strong genetic structure is expected in species with limited ability to disperse and philopatric behaviour. These life-history traits are found in many small benthic elasmobranchs, such as in the small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula). However, no evidence of genetic structure was found across its northeastern Atlantic (NEA) range using traditional molecular markers. Here, fine-scale genetic differentiation was detected between the British Isles and southern Iberia using 2674 single nucleotide polymorphism loci generated using 2b-restriction site-associated DNA (2b-RAD). Geographical distance and historical demography were two major drivers shaping the distribution of genetic diversity of S. canicula along …


Canopy Functions Of R. Maritima And Z. Marina In The Chesapeake Bay, Emily French, Ken Moore Dec 2018

Canopy Functions Of R. Maritima And Z. Marina In The Chesapeake Bay, Emily French, Ken Moore

VIMS Articles

Shoots in seagrass beds form canopies: structurally complex habitats that provide refuge for fauna and trap sediment particles by dampening water movement. Unfortunately, seagrasses are faced with continuing negative impacts to survival, including climate change and poor water quality. In areas where several seagrass species coexist, changing conditions may influence composition of beds so one species is favored over another. Two species found worldwide, Zostera marina and Ruppia maritima, are undergoing this shift: as Z marina dies back, in some locations it is replaced by R. maritima, a smaller-form seagrass with shorter, thinner shoots. This process is occurring in Virginia, …


Leds To Replace Fluorescent Tubes For Growth Of Cultured Algae, Grace Alego, Christopher Bentley, Rebecca Smith, Darian Kelley, Richard Synder Dec 2018

Leds To Replace Fluorescent Tubes For Growth Of Cultured Algae, Grace Alego, Christopher Bentley, Rebecca Smith, Darian Kelley, Richard Synder

Reports

Fluorescent bulbs are widely used for algal culture stocks and production in aquaculture operations. Metal halide lamps are also used for production tanks with significant electricity demand and heat production. LED technology promises lower operational costs with less energy waste as heat for equivalent light energy production. Re-tooling algal production facilities with new LED fixtures incurs significant expense that must be recaptured in savings over time. The initial cost, added to concerns over the unknown response of algae to LED light sources may both be factors inhibiting incorporation of this new technology. LED replacement tubes are available to retrofit fluorescent …


Impacts Of A Multi-Trap Line On Benthic Habitat Containing Emergent Epifauna Within The Mid-Atlantic Bight, Cara C. Schweitzer, Rom Lipcius, Bradley G. Stevens Dec 2018

Impacts Of A Multi-Trap Line On Benthic Habitat Containing Emergent Epifauna Within The Mid-Atlantic Bight, Cara C. Schweitzer, Rom Lipcius, Bradley G. Stevens

VIMS Articles

Alteration and degradation of benthic structure by fishing gear can impede efforts to manage fish stock sustainably. Although the impacts of mobile gear are well known, effects of passive gear (e.g. fish traps) upon structure have been little studied. We modified commercial traps for American lobster Homarus americanus and black sea bass Centropristis striata by attaching GoPro (R) cameras to ascertain the degree and nature of impacts to seafloor habitats. Customized traps were included within a line of 20 traps, deployed and retrieved according to standard commercial fishing practice. Less than 5% of traps landed directly on bedforms when deployed. …


Assessment Of The Relationship Of Stock And Recruitment In The Atlantic Surfclam Spisula Solidissima In The Northwestern Atlantic Ocean, Jeremy R. Timbs, Eric N. Powell, Roger L. Mann Dec 2018

Assessment Of The Relationship Of Stock And Recruitment In The Atlantic Surfclam Spisula Solidissima In The Northwestern Atlantic Ocean, Jeremy R. Timbs, Eric N. Powell, Roger L. Mann

VIMS Articles

Atlantic surfclams support a major commercial fishery in the western North Atlantic Ocean with landings consistently between 15,000 and 25,000 metric tons since 1982. The stock is not and historically has not been overfished nor has overfishing occurred; however, in recent years landings per unit effort have declined. Surfclams are a biomass dominant on the continental shelf and a bellwether of climate change in the northwestern Atlantic. This study investigated the relationship of broodstock and recruitment during a period when Mid-Atlantic warming initiated a shelf-wide shift in the surfclams range. A species distribution function model was used to assess the …


Symbiotic Unicellular Cyanobacteria Fix Nitrogen In The Arctic Ocean, K. Harding, K. A. Turk-Kubo, Rachel E. Sipler, M. M. Mills, D. A. Bronk Dec 2018

Symbiotic Unicellular Cyanobacteria Fix Nitrogen In The Arctic Ocean, K. Harding, K. A. Turk-Kubo, Rachel E. Sipler, M. M. Mills, D. A. Bronk

VIMS Articles

Biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation is an important source of nitrogen (N) in low-latitude open oceans. The unusual N2-fixing unicellular cyanobacteria (UCYN-A)/haptophyte symbiosis has been found in an increasing number of unexpected environments, including northern waters of the Danish Straight and Bering and Chukchi Seas. We used nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) to measure 15N2 uptake into UCYN-A/haptophyte symbiosis and found that UCYN-A strains identical to low-latitude strains are fixing N2 in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, at rates comparable to subtropical waters. These results show definitively that cyanobacterial N2 fixation is not constrained to subtropical waters, challenging paradigms and …


Long-Term Monitoring Of A Successful Recovery Program Of Peregrine Falcons In Virginia, B. D. Watts, Mitchell A. Byrd, E. K. Mojica, S. Padgett, S. R. Harding, C. A. Koppie Dec 2018

Long-Term Monitoring Of A Successful Recovery Program Of Peregrine Falcons In Virginia, B. D. Watts, Mitchell A. Byrd, E. K. Mojica, S. Padgett, S. R. Harding, C. A. Koppie

Arts & Sciences Articles

The Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus anatum) was believed to be extirpated as a breeding species in Virginia by the early 1960s. An aggressive restoration program was initiated in 1978 that involved the release of captive-reared birds totaling 115 on the Coastal Plain (1978–1985) and 127 in the Mountain physiographic region (1985–1993). The first occupied territory was established and the first breeding attempt was documented in 1979 and 1982, respectively. We have monitored the size, distribution, reproductive rate, and substrate use of the resulting breeding population (1979–2016). The population proceeded through an establishment phase (1979–1993) driven by releases with an average …


Ecology And Evolution Of Common Milkweed, Angela Ricono Nov 2018

Ecology And Evolution Of Common Milkweed, Angela Ricono

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

All organisms must interact with and adapt to their surrounding environment. There are myriad ways in which species accomplish this; ultimately resulting in the vast diversity of life on earth today. Changes in the environment can have profound impacts on an organisms' ability to compete and utilize their surroundings. Plants are particularly impacted by local environmental differences because of the fact that they are immobile. This environmental variation exists at both large and small spatial scales. For example, on larger scales, forces such as fire and grazers can remove dominant plant competitors. on smaller scales, variation in resource availability (e.g. …


The Effects Of Dietary Mercury Exposure On Male Fertility In The Zebra Finch, Ananda Menon Nov 2018

The Effects Of Dietary Mercury Exposure On Male Fertility In The Zebra Finch, Ananda Menon

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Sperm traits, including morphology, number and function, have been linked to fertilization ability and offspring quality in several species. However, many of these traits are artificially influenced by anthropogenic pollutants. Mercury, a globally distributed heavy metal pollutant, has been linked to altered testicular morphology and reduced fertility in many vertebrates. in this study, we exposed domestic male zebra finches (Taenopygia guttata) to dietary mercury at concentrations found in prey species in a highly polluted watershed region. We then compared sperm traits from these males to those of controls, and found a significant effect of mercury on sperm length and variability. …


Rising Temperatures, Molting Phenology, And Epizootic Shell Disease In The American Lobster, Maya Groner, Jeffrey D. Shields, Df Landers, J Swenarton, Jm Hoenig Nov 2018

Rising Temperatures, Molting Phenology, And Epizootic Shell Disease In The American Lobster, Maya Groner, Jeffrey D. Shields, Df Landers, J Swenarton, Jm Hoenig

VIMS Articles

Phenological mismatchmaladaptive changes in phenology resulting from altered timing of environmental cuesis an increasing concern in many ecological systems, yet its effects on disease are poorly characterized. American lobster (Homarus americanus) is declining at its southern geographic limit. Rising seawater temperatures are associated with seasonal outbreaks of epizootic shell disease (ESD), which peaks in prevalence in the fall. We used a 34-year mark-recapture data set to investigate relationships between temperature, molting phenology, and ESD in Long Island Sound, where temperatures are increasing at 0.4 degrees C per decade. Our analyses support the hypothesis that phenological mismatch is linked to the …


Adaptations By Zostera Marina Dominated Seagrass Meadows In Response To Water Quality And Climate Forcing, Erin C. Shields, Ken Moore, David B. Parrish Nov 2018

Adaptations By Zostera Marina Dominated Seagrass Meadows In Response To Water Quality And Climate Forcing, Erin C. Shields, Ken Moore, David B. Parrish

VIMS Articles

Global assessments of seagrass declines have documented accelerating rates of loss due to anthropogenic sediment and nutrient loadings, resulting in poor water quality. More recently, global temperature increases have emerged as additional major stressors. Seagrass changes in the Chesapeake Bay, USA provide important examples of not only the effects of human disturbance and climate forcing on seagrass loss, but also meadow recovery and resiliency. In the York River sub-tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, the meadows have been monitored intensively using annual aerial imagery, monthly transect surveys, and continuous water quality measurements. Here, Zostera marina has been demonstrating a shift in …


The Effect Of Capture And Handling Stress In Lophius Americanus In The Scallop Dredge Fishery, Amelia M. Weissman, John W. Mandelman, David Rudders, James A. Sulikowski, Oct 2018

The Effect Of Capture And Handling Stress In Lophius Americanus In The Scallop Dredge Fishery, Amelia M. Weissman, John W. Mandelman, David Rudders, James A. Sulikowski,

VIMS Articles

Capture and handling stress studies are considered a primary research priority, particularly for species and fisheries where discard rates are high, and/or for overfished stocks and species of concern. Lophius americanus, a commercially valuable finfish in New England, constitutes the second highest bycatch species within the sea scallop dredge fishery. Despite its commercial importance, no data exists on the capture and handling stress of monkfish for any gear type. Given these shortcomings, our goals were to evaluate the stress response of monkfish captured in scallop dredge gear by evaluating physical, behavioural and physiological responses to scallop fishing practices. While …


Immune Changes In The Anterior Kidney Of Spawning Sockeye Salmon, Meaghan K. Smith Oct 2018

Immune Changes In The Anterior Kidney Of Spawning Sockeye Salmon, Meaghan K. Smith

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

During the return journey to their spawning grounds, sockeye salmon are exposed to various pathogens and undergo major endocrine changes. Little is known about how these changes affect their immune system. The immune system of salmon is similar to mammals; myeloid lineage cells provide the first response to infection and B lineage cells protect against specific pathogens. After activation by pathogen, B cells may differentiate into long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs) in the anterior kidney, where they can survive for years, continuously secreting protective antibody. This research focused on salmon from two rivers, the Kenai and the Copper River, and characterized …


Successful Recruitment, Survival And Long-Term Persistence Of Eastern Oyster And Hooked Mussel On A Subtidal, Artificial Restoration Reef System In Chesapeake Bay, Rom Lipcius, Russell P. Burke Oct 2018

Successful Recruitment, Survival And Long-Term Persistence Of Eastern Oyster And Hooked Mussel On A Subtidal, Artificial Restoration Reef System In Chesapeake Bay, Rom Lipcius, Russell P. Burke

VIMS Articles

Restoration efforts with native eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, in Chesapeake Bay and elsewhere have been limited by shell availability, necessitating the use of alternative structures as subtidal reefs, yet these have rarely been evaluated quantitatively. We quantified population structure, density, abundance and biomass of eastern oyster and hooked mussel, Ischadium recurvum, on a concrete modular reef (75 m(2) surface area over 5 m(2) of river bottom) deployed subtidally at 7 m depth in the Rappahannock River, Virginia during October, 2000. After nearly 5 y (May 2005), we took 120 stratified random samples over the reef. The reef was heavily …


Environmental And Ecological Benefits And Impacts Of Oyster Aquaculture: Addendum, M. Lisa Kellogg, Jessica Turner, Jennifer C. Dreyer, Carl Friedrichs Oct 2018

Environmental And Ecological Benefits And Impacts Of Oyster Aquaculture: Addendum, M. Lisa Kellogg, Jessica Turner, Jennifer C. Dreyer, Carl Friedrichs

Reports

The data described in this addendum are provided to enhance the resolution and/or expand the temporal scope of the information already provided in the final report (Kellogg et al. 2018). High-resolution water quality transect data were collected at all four sites in Summer 2017, at White Stone (Windmill Point site) and Lynnhaven River in Fall 2017, and at White Stone (North Point site) in Spring 2018. During each sampling period, data were collected from multiple transects through and outside of each farm. Resulting data were detrended as needed based on temporal and salinity-related patterns found in data collected outside the …


An Overview Of Factors Affecting Distribution Of The Atlantic Surfclam (Spisula Solidissima), A Continental Shelf Biomass Dominant, During A Period Of Climate Change, Ee Hofmann, En Powell, Jm Klinck, Dm Munroe, Roger L. Mann, Et Al Oct 2018

An Overview Of Factors Affecting Distribution Of The Atlantic Surfclam (Spisula Solidissima), A Continental Shelf Biomass Dominant, During A Period Of Climate Change, Ee Hofmann, En Powell, Jm Klinck, Dm Munroe, Roger L. Mann, Et Al

VIMS Articles

The Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissitna) is a dominant member of the biological community of the Middle Atlantic Bight continental shelf and a commercially harvested species. Climate warming is affecting the biology and distribution of this species, which provides an opportunity to investigate the processes and conditions that are restructuring this fishery and the implications for ecological and socioeconomic systems. A Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) developed for the surfclam fishery provides a mechanistic description of the surfclam's response to climate change and understanding of the cascade of effects initiated by changes in oceanographic conditions that ultimately appear as social …


Loss Of Seagrass Results In Changes To Benthic Infaunal Community Structure And Decreased Secondary Production, Rochelle D. Seitz, Caroline J. Ewers Lewis Oct 2018

Loss Of Seagrass Results In Changes To Benthic Infaunal Community Structure And Decreased Secondary Production, Rochelle D. Seitz, Caroline J. Ewers Lewis

VIMS Articles

Seagrass beds have decreased in abundance and areal coverage over the past several decades. Although previous studies have examined the importance of seagrass for benthic community assemblages and abundances, the effect of seagrass on deep-dwelling, large (high-biomass) infauna and the importance for benthic secondary production in Chesapeake Bay have not been addressed. Using benthic suctions and push cores, we compared density, diversity, and secondary productivity of benthic communities in seagrass to those in other shallow-water habitats and estimated benthic secondary productivity lost in the York River due to loss of seagrass from 1971 to 2016. We examined four habitat types …


Likely Locations Of Sea Turtle Stranding Mortality Using Experimentally- Calibrated, Time And Space-Specific Drift Models, Bianca S. Santos, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Sarah A. Rose, Susan G. Barco, David M. Kaplan Oct 2018

Likely Locations Of Sea Turtle Stranding Mortality Using Experimentally- Calibrated, Time And Space-Specific Drift Models, Bianca S. Santos, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Sarah A. Rose, Susan G. Barco, David M. Kaplan

VIMS Articles

Sea turtle stranding events provide an opportunity to study drivers of mortality, but causes of strandings are poorly understood. A general sea turtle carcass oceanographic drift model was developed to estimate likely mortality locations from coastal sea turtle stranding records. Key model advancements include realistic direct wind forcing on carcasses, temperature driven carcass decomposition and the development of mortality location predictions for individual strandings. We applied this model to 2009–2014 stranding events within the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. Predicted origin of vessel strike strandings were compared to commercial vessel data, and potential hazardous turtle-vessel interactions were identified in the southeastern Bay …


Restoring The Eastern Oyster: How Much Progress Has Been Made In 53 Years?, Ab Hernandez, Rochelle Brumbaugh, P Fredrick, R Grizzle, Mark Luckenbach, Ch Peterson, C Angelini Oct 2018

Restoring The Eastern Oyster: How Much Progress Has Been Made In 53 Years?, Ab Hernandez, Rochelle Brumbaugh, P Fredrick, R Grizzle, Mark Luckenbach, Ch Peterson, C Angelini

VIMS Articles

Coastal ecosystem restoration is accelerating globally as a means of enhancing shoreline protection, carbon storage, water quality, fisheries, and biodiversity. Among the most substantial of these efforts have been those focused on re-establishing oyster reefs across the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Despite considerable investment, it is unclear how the scale of and approaches toward oyster restoration have evolved. A synthesis of 1768 projects undertaken since 1964 reveals that oyster substrate restoration efforts have primarily been concentrated in the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf Coast, have been heavily reliant on oyster shell, and have re-established 4.5% of the reef area …


Short-Term Pain And Long-Term Gain: Using Phased-In Minimum Size Limits To Rebuild Stocks-The Pacific Bluefin Tuna Example, Lisa E. Ailloud, Todd Gedamke, John M. Hoenig Oct 2018

Short-Term Pain And Long-Term Gain: Using Phased-In Minimum Size Limits To Rebuild Stocks-The Pacific Bluefin Tuna Example, Lisa E. Ailloud, Todd Gedamke, John M. Hoenig

VIMS Articles

Like many stocks, the Pacific Bluefin Tuna Thunnus orientalis has been considerably depleted. High exploitation rates on very young fish have reduced the spawning stock biomass (SSB) to 2.6% of the unexploited level. We provide a framework for exploring potential benefits of minimum size regulations as a mechanism for rebuilding stocks, and we illustrate the approach using simulations patterned after Pacific Bluefin Tuna dynamics. We attempt to mitigate short-term losses in yield by considering a phased-in management strategy. With this approach, the minimum size limit (MSL) is gradually increased as biomass rebuilds, giving fishing communities time to adjust to new …


Fish Assemblage Change Following The Structural Restoration Of A Degraded Stream, Carl A. Favata, Anabela Maia, Manisha Pant, Vaskar Nepal Oct 2018

Fish Assemblage Change Following The Structural Restoration Of A Degraded Stream, Carl A. Favata, Anabela Maia, Manisha Pant, Vaskar Nepal

VIMS Articles

Decades of anthropogenic pressure have harmed riverscapes throughout North America by degrading habitats and water quality and can result in the extirpation of sensitive aquatic taxa. Local stream restoration projects have increased in frequency, but monitoring is still infrequent. In 2010, Kickapoo Creek in East Central Illinois was subjected to a stream restoration project that included implementation of artificial riffles, riprap, scouring keys, and riparian vegetation. We monitored the restoration efforts for 6years after the restoration through annual sampling efforts at restored and reference sites to determine changes in habitat and fish assemblage using standard habitat sampling and electrofishing techniques. …


Use Of Rapidly Evolving Molecular Markers To Distinguish Species And Clarify Range Uncertainties In The Spearfishes (Istiophoridae, Tetrapturus), Jan Mcdowell, Nadya R. Mamoozadeh,, Heidi L. Brightman, John Graves Oct 2018

Use Of Rapidly Evolving Molecular Markers To Distinguish Species And Clarify Range Uncertainties In The Spearfishes (Istiophoridae, Tetrapturus), Jan Mcdowell, Nadya R. Mamoozadeh,, Heidi L. Brightman, John Graves

VIMS Articles

Despite broad spatial distributions in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, relatively little is known about spearfishes (family Istiophoridae, genus Tetrapturus) due to their pelagic nature and relative scarcity. The limited biological understanding of spearfishes includes uncertain taxonomic relationships complicated by conserved morphology, thus specific identification relies heavily on geographic location of capture. Previous phylogenetic studies incorporating a limited number of loci and few representatives of each species have been unable to consistently resolve the four currently recognized species comprising Tetrapturus. In the present study, we surveyed 14 nuclear microsatellite loci and the mitochondrial DNA control region across …


A Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling Approach For The Habitat Distribution Of Smooth Dogfish By Sex And Season In Inshore Coastal Waters Of The Us Northwest Atlantic, Andrea Dell'apa, Maria Grazia Pennino, Charles W Bangley, Christopher F. Bonzek Oct 2018

A Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling Approach For The Habitat Distribution Of Smooth Dogfish By Sex And Season In Inshore Coastal Waters Of The Us Northwest Atlantic, Andrea Dell'apa, Maria Grazia Pennino, Charles W Bangley, Christopher F. Bonzek

VIMS Articles

The Smooth Dogfish Mustelus canis is an abundant, small coastal shark occurring along the U.S. Atlantic coast. Despite being targeted by a directed fishery and having recently undergone a stock assessment that found the population neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing, little is known about the spatial and temporal distribution of this species. Here, we used catch data from the spring and fall Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program's fishery-independent trawl surveys conducted between 2007 and 2016 and various environmental factors to perform hierarchical Bayesian modeling as a first attempt to spatially predict adult Smooth Dogfish CPUE in U.S. northwest Atlantic …


Investigating The Life Cycle Of Haplosporidium Nelsoni (Msx), Se Ford, Na Stokes, Ka Alcox, Bsf Kraus, Rochelle Barber, Ryan Carnegie, Em Burreson Oct 2018

Investigating The Life Cycle Of Haplosporidium Nelsoni (Msx), Se Ford, Na Stokes, Ka Alcox, Bsf Kraus, Rochelle Barber, Ryan Carnegie, Em Burreson

VIMS Articles

Attempts to decipher the life cycle of Haplosporidium nelsoni began almost immediately after it was identified as the pathogen causing MSX disease in eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica. But transmission experiments failed and the spore stage, characteristic of haplosporidans, was extremely rare. Researchers concluded that another host was involved: an intermediate host in which part of the life cycle was produced, or-if the oyster was an accidental host-an alternate host that produces infective elements. A later finding that spores were found more often in spat (< 1 y old) than in adults revived the idea of direct transmission between oysters. The new findings and the availability of molecular diagnostics led us to revive life cycle investigations. Over several years, oyster spat were examined for spores and searched for H. nelsoni in potential non-oyster hosts using both histological and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methodologies. …


A Climatological Dataset Of Nutrient, Chlorophyll, And Particulate Matter Distributions On The Ross Sea Continental Shelf Derived From Cruise-Based Measurements Spanning 1967 To 2016, Walker O. Smith Jr., Daniel E. Kaufman Oct 2018

A Climatological Dataset Of Nutrient, Chlorophyll, And Particulate Matter Distributions On The Ross Sea Continental Shelf Derived From Cruise-Based Measurements Spanning 1967 To 2016, Walker O. Smith Jr., Daniel E. Kaufman

Data

This dataset includes data used in the publication Smith and Kaufman (2018), Progress in Oceanography, which examines the temporal and spatial distributions of nutrients and particulate matter in the Ross Sea continental Shelf using cruise-based observations, and compares the resulting annual productivity estimates with previously reported satellite-based estimates. Specifically, these data represent distributions of nutrients, chlorophyll, particulate organic carbon, particulate organic nitrogen, and biogenic silica that were compiled from 42 cruises (from 1967 - 2016) to the Ross Sea continental shelf to generate a comprehensive climatological dataset for November, December, January, and February. This climatology provides a novel look at …


Predicting The Trajectories Of Dead Sea Turtles In Virginia Using Experimental Data And Model Simulations, Bianca Santos, David Michael Kaplan Sep 2018

Predicting The Trajectories Of Dead Sea Turtles In Virginia Using Experimental Data And Model Simulations, Bianca Santos, David Michael Kaplan

Data

No abstract provided.


Sumo-Targeted Ubiquitin Ligases (Stubls) Reduce The Toxicity And Abnormal Transcriptional Activity Associated With A Mutant, Aggregation-Prone Fragment Of Huntingtin, Kentaro Ohkuni, Nagesh Pasupala, Jennifer Peek, Oliver Kerscher Sep 2018

Sumo-Targeted Ubiquitin Ligases (Stubls) Reduce The Toxicity And Abnormal Transcriptional Activity Associated With A Mutant, Aggregation-Prone Fragment Of Huntingtin, Kentaro Ohkuni, Nagesh Pasupala, Jennifer Peek, Oliver Kerscher

Arts & Sciences Articles

Cell viability and gene expression profiles are altered in cellular models of neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington’s Disease (HD). Using the yeast model system, we show that the SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligase (STUbL) Slx5 reduces the toxicity and abnormal transcriptional activity associated with a mutant, aggregation-prone fragment of huntingtin (Htt), the causative agent of HD. We demonstrate that expression of an aggregation-prone Htt construct with 103 glutamine residues (103Q), but not the non-expanded form (25Q), results in severe growth defects in slx5Δ and slx8Δ cells. Since Slx5 is a nuclear protein and because Htt expression affects gene transcription, we …


Living Shorelines Support Nearshore Benthic Communities In Upper And Lower Chesapeake Bay, Theresa M. Davenport, Rochelle D. Seitz, Kathleen E. Knick, Nina Jackson Sep 2018

Living Shorelines Support Nearshore Benthic Communities In Upper And Lower Chesapeake Bay, Theresa M. Davenport, Rochelle D. Seitz, Kathleen E. Knick, Nina Jackson

VIMS Articles

Human population growth and sea-level rise are increasing the demand for protection of coastal property against shoreline erosion. Living shorelines are designed to provide shoreline protection and are constructed or reinforced using natural elements. While living shorelines are gaining popularity with homeowners, their ability to provide ecological services (e.g., habitat provision and trophic transfer) is not well understood, and information is needed to improve coastal and resource management decision-making. We examined benthic community responses to living shorelines in two case-study subestuaries of Chesapeake Bay using a before-after control-impact study design. At Windy Hill, a bulkhead was removed and replaced by …