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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Performance Of A Low-Cost, Solar-Powered Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tag For Assessing Post-Release Mortality Of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) Caught In The Us East Coast Light-Tackle Recreational Fishery, William M. Goldsmith, Andrew M. Scheld, John Graves
Performance Of A Low-Cost, Solar-Powered Pop-Up Satellite Archival Tag For Assessing Post-Release Mortality Of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus) Caught In The Us East Coast Light-Tackle Recreational Fishery, William M. Goldsmith, Andrew M. Scheld, John Graves
VIMS Articles
Pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) are a valuable tool for estimating mortality of pelagic fishes released from commercial and recreational fishing gears. However, the high cost of PSATs limits sample sizes, resulting in low-precision post-release mortality estimates with little management applicability. We evaluate the performance of a lower-cost PSAT designed to enable large-scale post-release mortality studies. The tag uses solar rather than battery power, does not include a depth sensor, and transmits daily summaries of light and temperature data rather than high-resolution habitat profiles, contributing to a substantially lower per-unit price. We assessed the tag’s ability to detect mortality while …
Reef Height Drives Threshold Dynamics Of Restored Oyster Reefs, Allison M. Colden, Robert J. Latour, Rom Lipcius
Reef Height Drives Threshold Dynamics Of Restored Oyster Reefs, Allison M. Colden, Robert J. Latour, Rom Lipcius
VIMS Articles
Nonlinear threshold responses to biotic or abiotic forcing may produce multiple population trajectories dependent upon initial conditions, which can reinforce population recovery or drive local ex - tinction, yet experimental tests of this phenomenon are lacking in marine ecosystems. In field experiments at 4 sites in 2 tributaries of lower Chesapeake Bay, we examined demographic responses (density and survival) of eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica populations to reef height and associated gradients in sediment deposition and habitat complexity. After 2 yr, oyster reefs exhibited diverging trajectories to ward either degradation or persistence, dependent upon initial reef height. Reefs higher than 0.3 …
Impact Of Disease On The Survival Of Three Commercially Fished Species, John M. Hoenig, Maya L. Groner, Matthew W. Smith, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, David M. Taylor, Donald F. Landers, John T. Swenarton, David T. Gauthier, Philip W. Sadler, Mark A. Matsche, Ashley N. Haines, Hamish J. Small, Roger Pradel, Remi Choquet, Jeffrey D. Shields
Impact Of Disease On The Survival Of Three Commercially Fished Species, John M. Hoenig, Maya L. Groner, Matthew W. Smith, Wolfgang K. Vogelbein, David M. Taylor, Donald F. Landers, John T. Swenarton, David T. Gauthier, Philip W. Sadler, Mark A. Matsche, Ashley N. Haines, Hamish J. Small, Roger Pradel, Remi Choquet, Jeffrey D. Shields
VIMS Articles
Recent increases in emergent infectious diseases have raised concerns about the sustainability of some marine species. The complexity and expense of studying diseases in marine systems often dictate that conservation and management decisions are made without quantitative data on population-level impacts of disease. Mark-recapture is a powerful, underutilized, tool for calculating impacts of disease on population size and structure, even in the absence of etiological information. We applied logistic regression models to mark-recapture data to obtain estimates of disease-associated mortality rates in three commercially important marine species: snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) in Newfoundland, Canada, that experience sporadic epizootics of bitter …
Community Interactions And Density Dependence In The Southeast United States Coastal Shark Complex, Cassidy D. Peterson, Kristene D. Parsons, Dana M. Bethea, William B. Driggers Iii, Robert J. Latour
Community Interactions And Density Dependence In The Southeast United States Coastal Shark Complex, Cassidy D. Peterson, Kristene D. Parsons, Dana M. Bethea, William B. Driggers Iii, Robert J. Latour
VIMS Articles
Studies aiming to assess intra- and interspecies community relationships in marine habitats are typically limited to accessible, nearshore areas of restricted temporal and spatial scale, within which only segments of the populations of interest are available. Using multivariate first-order auto regressive state-space (MARSS-1) models, we estimated measures of interspecies interactions and density dependence of 7 Atlantic coastal shark species (4 large and 3 small coastal sharks) at 2 spatial scales. Localized analyses were based on data from 4 relatively spatially limited, fishery-independent surveys conducted along the southeast US Atlantic coast and within the Gulf of Mexico. We then compared these …
Spatiotemporal Trends And Drivers Of Fish Condition In Chesapeake Bay, Robert J. Latour, James Gartland, Christopher F. Bonzek
Spatiotemporal Trends And Drivers Of Fish Condition In Chesapeake Bay, Robert J. Latour, James Gartland, Christopher F. Bonzek
VIMS Articles
Measures of condition in fishes are often used to assess the general well-being of fish populations since condition reflects the biotic and abiotic factors experienced by individuals over moderate time scales. Fish condition can also be used as an indicator of ecosystem suitability in the context of ecosystem-based management. From an ecosystem perspective, evaluation of fish condition is best described over multiple spatiotemporal scales and in a multi-species context. This study analyzed 14 yr (2002-2015) of fisheries-independent trawl survey data to evaluate trends in condition for 16 demersal fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the USA. Seasonal and …
History Of The Virginia Oyster Fishery, Chesapeake Bay, Usa, David M. Schulte
History Of The Virginia Oyster Fishery, Chesapeake Bay, Usa, David M. Schulte
VIMS Articles
Oyster populations in Virginia's waters of Chesapeake Bay were lightly exploited until the early 1800s, when industrial fishery vessels first arrived, driven south from New England due to the collapse of northeastern oyster fisheries. Early signs of overexploitation and habitat degradation were evident by the 1850s. The public fishery, where oyster fishers harvest on state-owned bottom, rapidly developed after the Civil War and peaked in the early 1880s. Declines were noted by the late 1880s and eventually prompted the creation of Virginia's shell-planting and oyster-seed (young-of-the-year, YOY) moving repletion program in the 1920s. Despite management and increasing repletion efforts, the …
Projections Of Climate-Driven Changes In Tuna Vertical Habitat Based On Species-Specific Differences In Blood Oxygen Affinity, Kas Mislan, Ca Deutsch, Richard Brill, Jp Dunne, Jl Sarmiento
Projections Of Climate-Driven Changes In Tuna Vertical Habitat Based On Species-Specific Differences In Blood Oxygen Affinity, Kas Mislan, Ca Deutsch, Richard Brill, Jp Dunne, Jl Sarmiento
VIMS Articles
Oxygen concentrations are hypothesized to decrease in many areas of the ocean as a result of anthropogenically driven climate change, resulting in habitat compression for pelagic animals. The oxygen partial pressure, pO(2), at which blood is 50% saturated (P-50) is a measure of blood oxygen affinity and a gauge of the tolerance of animals for low ambient oxygen. Tuna species display a wide range of blood oxygen affinities (i.e., P-50 values) and therefore may be differentially impacted by habitat compression as they make extensive vertical movements to forage on subdaily time scales. To project the effects of end-of-the-century climate change …
Advancing The Link Between Ocean Connectivity, Ecological Function And Management Challenges, M Hidalgo, Dm Kaplan, La Kerr, Jr Watson, Cb Paris, Hi Browman
Advancing The Link Between Ocean Connectivity, Ecological Function And Management Challenges, M Hidalgo, Dm Kaplan, La Kerr, Jr Watson, Cb Paris, Hi Browman
VIMS Articles
Ocean connectivity is a dynamic and rapidly evolving field of research in marine science, partly because there is an increasing demand for information on connectivity that informs effective assessment and management of marine resources. Achieving this will require a better alignment between ocean connectivity tools and developments and the needs and challenges of assessments and conservation. For these reasons, the ICES Journal of Marine Science solicited contributions to the article theme set (TS), "Beyond ocean connectivity." We briefly summarize the nine articles that appear herein, grouping them into four general topics: methodological advances, population dynamics and assessment implications of connectivity, …
Modeling The Habitat Distribution Of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), By Sex, In Coastal Waters Of The Northeastern United States, Andrea Dell'apa, Maria G. Pennino, Christopher F. Bonzek
Modeling The Habitat Distribution Of Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), By Sex, In Coastal Waters Of The Northeastern United States, Andrea Dell'apa, Maria G. Pennino, Christopher F. Bonzek
VIMS Articles
A hierarchical Bayesian approach was used to model the spatiotemporal habitat distribution of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) of both sexes (adults) caught during trawl surveys conducted by the Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program in inshore coastal waters between New England and North Carolina during 2007-2013. The best model for predicting catch per unit of effort (CPUE) for this species includes the following relevant variables: bathymetry, sea surface temperature, salinity, chlorophyll- a (chl-a) concentration, season and time of survey, and a random spatial effect for both sexes. Predicted CPUE was related to depth for both sexes; females occurred in shallower …
Mechanisms Governing Ontogenetic Habitat Shifts: Role Of Trade-Offs, Predation, And Cannibalism For The Blue Crab, Amanda Bromilow, Romauld Lipcius
Mechanisms Governing Ontogenetic Habitat Shifts: Role Of Trade-Offs, Predation, And Cannibalism For The Blue Crab, Amanda Bromilow, Romauld Lipcius
VIMS Articles
Nursery habitats play a major role in the population dynamics of marine and estuarine species, with the blue crab Callinectes sapidus serving as a model invertebrate. The current paradigm of blue crab habitat use postulates that juvenile survival decreases with size in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) due to a reduction in suitably scaled refuge, triggering an ontogenetic shift from SAV to unvegetated habitats. However, alternative mechanisms for this habitat shift have not been examined. We evaluated the paradigm of blue crab habitat use by conducting field tethering experiments in York River (Virginia, USA) nursery habitats using a broad range of …
Recovery Of Visual Function In Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus Stenolepis) After Exposure To Bright Light, Christopher Magel, Clifford Ryer, Richard Brill
Recovery Of Visual Function In Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus Stenolepis) After Exposure To Bright Light, Christopher Magel, Clifford Ryer, Richard Brill
VIMS Articles
Commercial fishing exposes Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) to a myriad of stressors during capture, processing, and discarding, including exposure to direct sunlight that causes diminished retinal sensitivity. It is unknown, however, whether recovery occurs. We therefore employed both electroretinography and a behavioral assay to measure recovery of retinal sensitivity and visual function in halibut exposed to 15 min of simulated sunlight. We used electroretinography to measure changes in retinal light sensitivity after recovery periods of 2, 4, 6 and 10 weeks and a behavioral assay to measure responsiveness to simulated prey (i.e., in behavioral trials) to measure visual function after …
Low Apparent Survival And Heterogeneous Movement Patterns Of Invasive Blue Catfish In A Coastal River, Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio, Aj Norris, M Groves
Low Apparent Survival And Heterogeneous Movement Patterns Of Invasive Blue Catfish In A Coastal River, Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio, Aj Norris, M Groves
VIMS Articles
Blue Catfish Ictalurus furcatus were purposefully introduced into freshwater tributaries to Chesapeake Bay in the past, and populations have subsequently spread to new areas, negatively impacting native communities and causing concern for resource managers. To aid development of management strategies, we implemented a multiyear (2012-2015) tagging study of invasive Blue Catfish in a 40-km stretch of the Potomac River to estimate survival and assess movement patterns. Blue Catfish (N = 1,237) were captured by electrofishing and double-tagged to allow us to estimate tag retention rates; we used reward tags to increase reporting rates. Recaptured fish (N = 104; 8.4% return …
Condition Indices As Surrogates Of Energy Density And Lipid Content In Juveniles Of Three Fish Species, Rw Schloesser, Mary C. Fabrizio
Condition Indices As Surrogates Of Energy Density And Lipid Content In Juveniles Of Three Fish Species, Rw Schloesser, Mary C. Fabrizio
VIMS Articles
To guide the selection of condition indices for juvenile fishes, we compared the ability of several indirect condition indices (those based on length-mass relationships, the hepatosomatic index, and relative lipid estimates from the Distell fish fatmeter) to assess energy density and lipid content of Summer Flounder Paralichthys dentatus, Striped BassMorone saxatilis, and Atlantic Croakers Micropogonias undulatus. These species use estuarine areas as nurseries, but they have different life history strategies and ecological niches that affect their energy storage strategies. We tested hypotheses that differences in the distribution and role of lipids as energy stores among species would influence the suitability …