Animal Sciences Commons^™

Geometric Morphometric Analyses Define Riverine And Lacustrine Species Flocks Of Himalayan Snowtrout (Cyprinidae: Schizothorax) In Nepal, Binod Regmi, Marlis R. Douglas, David R. Edds, Michael E. Douglas

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Freshwater fishes in the river and lake systems in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau are morphologically diverged but the evolutionary relationship of putative subspecies separated in these freshwater systems has not been explored. Snowtrout (Schizothorax spp.) are minnows (Cyprinidae) broadly distributed in Asia. Body shapes of 3 Lake Rara (northwest Nepal) endemics (S. macrophthalmus, S. nepalensis, S. raraensis) and 2 widely distributed riverine species (S. progastus, S. richardsonii) across 3 drainages in Nepal (i.e. Karnali, Gandaki, and Koshi Rivers) were studied using geometric morphometry. Data were derived from museum voucher specimens/tissues collected …

Effects Of Large Wood Restoration On Coho Salmon In A Northern California Watershed: A Before-After-Control-Impact Experiment, Natalie B. Okun

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Substantial time, money, and effort are invested in river and stream restoration projects to aid in the recovery of imperiled salmonid populations, but there is little evidence that these efforts have had lasting positive impacts on juvenile fish growth and survival. To assess the effectiveness of large woody debris (LWD) restoration, which is one of the most common restoration practices, I evaluated the growth and survival response of endangered Central California Coast coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in a paired watershed before-after impact-control (BACI) study. To determine if LWD supplementation influenced coho salmon growth and survival, two neighboring, similar …

Assessing Habitat Suitability Of Ribbed Mussels (Geukensia Demissa) In Georgia Salt Marshes By Examining Predicted Mussel Densities And Mussel Population Parameters, William K. Annis Jr

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Geukensia demissa (ribbed mussel) is an ecology important bivalve that has the potential to contribute to salt marsh restoration. Understanding the factors that contribute to the distribution of mussels can help inform managers on choosing locations to optimize the survivorship of mussels in restoration projects. This study sought to model mussel densities across the coast of Georgia and to compare predicted mussel densities with mussel population parameters as means to gauge habitat suitability. Mussel densities were collected through field surveys across a range of salt marshes along the coast of Georgia and were compared with spatial data such as distance …

Effect Of Diet, Age, And Genetics On Rainbow Trout Growth And Fillet Quality, Bahareh Adami

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, analyses were conducted to compare fillet quality attributes of 4 rainbow trout families (40, 102, 159, and 187) fed fish meal (FM) and a fishmeal free diet (FMF), to two age endpoints, 9 and 11 months.

Previous studies with rainbow trout have evaluated the effect of age, diet, and family on growth performance and fillet quality. However, a comprehensive analysis of variables is lacking for rainbow trout, one of the main aquatic foods for domestic and international consumers.

Separable muscle as a percent whole body weight was not affected by diet, family, age, and the interaction of …

Age, Growth, And Mortality Of Atlantic Tripletail In The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Amanda E. Jefferson, Matthew B. Jargowsky, Meagan N. Schrandt, Pearce T. Cooper, Sean P. Powers, John Dindo, J. Marcus Drymon

University Faculty and Staff Publications

In the southeastern USA and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Atlantic Tripletail Lobotes surinamensis are increasingly targeted by recreational anglers, indicating that stock status should be assessed. A critical need for such assessments is age-specific data; however, previous studies have drawn conflicting conclusions regarding the most appropriate structure for aging. Moreover, growth parameters and mortality rates for GOM Atlantic Tripletail are unknown. Therefore, the goals of this study were to (1) evaluate sagittal otoliths and first dorsal spines as aging structures; (2) model combined and sex-specific growth; and (3) estimate mortality rates for GOM Atlantic Tripletail. From 2012 to 2019, …

Documentation Of Atlantic Tarpon (Megalops Atlanticus) Space Use And Move Persistence In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Facilitated By Angler Advocates, J. Marcus Drymon, Matthew B. Jargowsky, Michael A. Dance, Mitchell Lovell, Crystal L. Hightower, Amanda E. Jefferson, Andrea M. Kroetz, Sean P. Powers

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Atlantic tarpon (Megalops atlanticus, hereafter tarpon) are facing a multitude of stressors and are considered Vulnerable by the IUCN; however, significant gaps remain in our understanding of tarpon space use and movement. From 2018 to 2019, citizen scientists facilitated tagging of 23 tarpon with SPOT tags to examine space use and movement across the northern Gulf of Mexico. Movement-based kernel densities were used to estimate simplified biased random bridge-based utilization distributions and a joint move persistence model was used to estimate a behavioral index for each fish. Tarpon showed consistent east–west movement from the Alabama/Florida border to Louisiana, and utilization …

Global Extinction Risk For Seahorses, Pipefishes And Their Near Relatives (Syngnathiformes), Riley A. Pollom, Gina M. Ralph, Caroline M. Pollock, Amanda C.J. Vincent

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Few marine taxa have been comprehensively assessed for their conservation status, despite heavy pressures from fishing, habitat degradation and climate change. Here we report on the first global assessment of extinction risk for 300 species of syngnathiform fishes known as of 2017, using the IUCN Red List criteria. This order of bony teleosts is dominated by seahorses, pipefishes and seadragons (family Syngnathidae). It also includes trumpetfishes (Aulostomidae), shrimpfishes (Centriscidae), cornetfishes (Fistulariidae) and ghost pipefishes (Solenostomidae). At least 6% are threatened, but data suggest a mid-point estimate of 7.9% and an upper bound of 38%. Most of the threatened species are …

Recognize Fish As Food In Policy Discourse And Development Funding, Abigail Bennett, Xavier Basurto, John Virdin, Xinyan Lin, Samantha J. Betances, Martin D. Smith, Edward H. Allison, Barbara A. Best, Kelly D. Brownell, Lisa M. Campbell, Christopher D. Golden, Elizabeth Havice, Christina C. Hicks, Peter J. Jacques, Kristin Kleisner, Niels Lindquist, Rafaella Lobo, Grant D. Grant, Michelle B. Nowlin, Pawan G. Patil, Douglas N. Rader, Stephen E. Roady, Shakuntala H. Thilsted, Sarah Zoubek

Faculty Scholarship

The international development community is off-track from meeting targets for alleviating global malnutrition. Meanwhile, there is growing consensus across scientific disciplines that fish plays a crucial role in food and nutrition security. However, this ‘fish as food’ perspective has yet to translate into policy and development funding priorities. We argue that the traditional framing of fish as a natural resource emphasizes economic development and biodiversity conservation objectives, whereas situating fish within a food systems perspective can lead to innovative policies and investments that promote nutrition-sensitive and socially equitable capture fisheries and aquaculture. This paper highlights four pillars of research needs …

Potential Solar Replacement Of Hydroelectricity To Reopen Rivers: Maine As A Case Example, Shailesh Sharma, John Waldman

Publications and Research

Hydroelectricity provides 6% of U.S. electrical power needs, but hydro-dams also cause environmental harm, including the retardation or complete blockage of spawning runs of anadromous fishes. To facilitate fish movements, engineered-fishways have long been used but many have performed poorly. Dam-removal is the most effective way of restoring dwindling migratory fish populations by allowing unrestricted pathways to their spawning areas and for the downstream migrations of post-spawning adults and juveniles. However, removals of hydro-dams result in a loss of electricity production. For the replacement of energy foregone from hydro-dam removals, various alternative energy installations are now feasible. We present one-to-one …

Capacity-Building Project To Progress The Implementation Of International Instruments To Combat Iuu Fishing (Capfish), World Maritime University

Reports

No abstract provided.

Fish Don't Litter In Your House: Is International Law The Solution To The Plastic Pollution Problem?, Taylor G. Keselica

Pace International Law Review

This article addresses the complex issue of plastic pollution—focusing on ocean plastics. Specifically, this article examines the ocean plastics problem, critiques current binding and non-binding international environmental law surrounding ocean plastics, hazardous wastes, and pollution, and proposes a more effective solution to the ocean plastics problem. Section I provides a basic history of the creation of plastics and discusses plastics as they are used today. Section II considers the concerns surrounding ocean plastics, focusing on impacts of plastic on marine ecosystems as well as human health effects. Section III, IV, and V discuss the ongoing attempts to address the ocean …

Blenny Territoriality At Oyster Landing, North Inlet Estuary, South Carolina: Seasonal Patterns And Ecological Factors, Sydney Davis, Juliana Harding

Honors Theses

Temperate oyster reef blennies use oyster shells that are still articulated as habitat year round. During the breeding season when water temperatures are > 18-20°C, many species of blenny males use the oyster valves as nesting sites. Male blennies exhibit territorial behavior when guarding their nesting sites and can interact differently with conspecific and transient species. Striped blenny (Chasmodes bosquianus) and freckled blenny (Hypsoblennius ionthas) behavior was described from April 2020 to August 2020 at Oyster Landing, North Inlet estuary, South Carolina to quantify typical blenny behavior, general presence or absence of residents, and potential environmental parameters …

Infaunal Bivalve Density And Richness In North Inlet Estuary, South Carolina: Seasonal Patterns And Ecological Factors, Valerie M. Knowles, Juliana Harding

Honors Theses

Estuarine bivalves recruit to benthic habitats after the larvae are in the planktonic stage. The observed infaunal bivalve density relates to larval supply from adult reproduction during warmer months as well as larval and juvenile mortality post-recruitment. The purpose of this research was to examine annual and seasonal patterns of infaunal bivalve density and richness in the context of habitat water temperature and salinity. Cores were collected biweekly from Bly Creek in North Inlet estuary between January 2019 and February 2020. Temperatures ranged from 9-30 ºC and salinity ranged from ~17-36 psu. Bivalves were sieved out of the cores, counted, …

Determining The Trophic Role Of Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) In Mississippi State Waters Using Stomach Content And Stable Isotope Analysis, Branden Kohler

Master's Theses

The goal of this study was to determine the diet composition, trophic position and ecological role of red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) in Mississippi state waters utilizing stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) and stomach content analysis. Stable isotope analysis of fish and their prey can provide information on species-specific basal resource utilization, diet composition and trophic position which can improve food web models and inform fisheries management decisions. Particulate organic matter (POM), the presumed base of the food web, red snapper muscle tissue, and red snapper stomach contents were collected from 25 sites in 2016 and …

Microplastic Abundance, Distribution And Impacts On Sargassum-Associated Juvenile Fishes In The Gulf Of Mexico, Olivia Lestrade

Master's Theses

Microplastics are a concern in marine environments because they are highly durable, ubiquitous, and can be mistaken for food and ingested by small organisms. Pelagic Sargassum, an important habitat for larval and juvenile stages of many fish species, is found in large surface aggregations, and may provide complex structure in which microplastics become trapped. This could lead to greater risk of microplastic ingestion by fish early life stages associated with Sargassum habitats. To better understand the impacts of microplastics within Sargassum communities, this study examined 1) microplastic concentrations and ingestion by juvenile fishes associated with Sargassum; 2) the microbial …

Assessing The Nursery-Role Function Of Pelagic Sargassum For Juvenile Fishes In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Courtney Stachowiak

Master's Theses

Sargassum, a genus of holopelagic brown algae, floats at the ocean’s surface using air-filled bladders and forms a complex comprised of two species, S. natans and S. fluitans. Oceanic processes (e.g., Langmuir circulation, etc.) aggregate Sargassum into mats and weedlines, and primarily distribute the algal complex throughout the North Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). These floating habitats provide shelter and feeding opportunities for a diverse community of invertebrates and fishes. Sargassum is a presumed nursery habitat for juvenile stages of commercially- and recreationally-targeted fishery species. In this study, I estimated the standardized abundances of juvenile …

Contributions To The Knowledge Of Water Bugs In Mindoro Island, Philippines, With A Species Checklist Of Nepomorpha And Gerromorpha (Insecta, Hemiptera, Heteroptera), Arthien Lovell Pelingen, Herbert Zettel, Clister V. Pangantihon, Kyra Mari Dominique Aldaba, Earl Kevin Fatallo, Jemillie Madonna De Leon, Hendrik Freitag

Biology Faculty Publications

This survey aims to provide an updated species checklist of aquatic and semi-aquatic bugs in the intra-Philippine biogeographic Region of Mindoro. An assessment survey of water bugs (Hemiptera, Heteroptera) was conducted mostly by manual collection in selected areas of Oriental Mindoro from 2017 to 2018, in which some of the collecting activities were undertaken by graduate students of Ateneo de Manila University. Twenty-nine aquatic and semi-aquatic heteropteran species were documented and some are known island-endemic species or subspecies, including Enithares martini mindoroensis Nieser & Zettel, 1999, Hydrotrephes stereoides mindoroensis Zettel, 2003, Aphelocheirus freitagi Zettel & Pangantihon, 2010, Rhagovelia mindoroensis Zettel, …

Assessment Of Sampling Programme Using Pelogos Database To Estimate Tuna Fisheries Resources, Challenges And Management : A Case Of Study West Sumatera, Indonesia, Wawan Tjahjadi Kanou Rowandi

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Transhipment Regulations And Activities In Tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organizations, Maleeha Haleem

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Perception And Livelihood Vulnerability Of Coastal Communities To Changes In Reef Resource Stressors : A Case Of Mafia Island, Julius Edward Salema

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Somali Fishing Industry : Field Study Of The Status, Challenges And Opportunities, Abas Mohamed Yusuf

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Blue Swimmer Crab Resource Of South-West Western Australia Harvest Strategy : 2020-2025 : Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

Estuarine And Nearshore Finfish Resource Of South-West Western Australia Harvest Strategy : 2020-2025 : Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

West Coast Deep Sea Crustacean Resource Harvest Strategy 2020-2025, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

Saucer Scallop Resource Of Shark Bay Harvest Strategy : 2020-2025 : Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

Ecological Risk Assessment For The Peel-Harvey Estuarine Fishery, E. A. Fisher, S. N. Evans, Cameron J. Desfosses, Danielle Johnston, R Duffy, K. A. Smith

Fisheries Research Reports

An ecological risk assessment (ERA) of the Peel-Harvey Estuarine Fisheries (Fisheries) was convened by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia (WA) on 9 September 2020. ERAs are conducted by the Department as part of its Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management framework and the outputs will inform the updated harvest strategies for these resources, as well as the upcoming Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) re-assessment of the Fisheries. The Fisheries within the scope of this current ERA include the commercial net and crab trap fishery (West Coast Estuarine Managed Fishery: Area 2), and the blue swimmer crab recreational (drop …

International Workshop On Recreational Fishing Surveys, Rachel Marks, Cameron J. Desfosses, Alissa Tate

Fisheries Research Reports

Recreational fishing surveys have been conducted by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD, formerly Department of Fisheries) since 1975 (Tate et al., 2020). Within Western Australia, the first international workshop on recreational fishing surveys was held in January 2010 at the Western Australian Fisheries Marine Research Laboratories in Perth. The workshop aimed to audit existing survey methods and make recommendations for the design of integrated surveys to estimate recreational fishing harvest, catch and effort at statewide and bioregional scales (Wise & Fletcher 2013).

Aquaculture Development Plan For Western Australia: Focusing On The Key Foundations Of Growth - November 2020, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Fisheries Published Reports

The Aquaculture Plan has been developed in response to a government commitment and informed by input from industry and the Regional Development Commissions. Consultation on this Aquaculture Plan provided further opportunity for comments and discussions within the aquaculture sector as well as relevant external agencies. A final draft was released on the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s (DPIRD) website for a consultation period, affording the opportunity for public feedback.

The Aquaculture Plan is included and referenced in DPIRD’s Primary Industries Plan.

The development of the Aquaculture Plan has also been informed by the Aquaculture Industry Engagement Consortium (2017), …

Escolar (Lepidocybium Flavobrunneum) Neurocranium, Meredith M. Pratt, Katerina D. Sawickij, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium prep of escolar Lepidocybium flavobrunneum obtained from longlining vessel.

The Life History And Population Dynamics Of Southern Flounder, Kenneth A. Erickson

LSU Master's Theses

Southern Flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma, are a coastal, estuarine-dependent flatfish species that inhabits the Southeastern US Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Throughout their range, Southern Flounder are exploited by both commercial and recreational fisheries. Recently, numerous sources have expressed concerns about Southern Flounder populations, with stock assessments indicating declines in spawning stock biomass and recruitment. To estimate life history traits needed for informed management, such as age, growth, and maturity, I collected 327 Southern Flounder from Louisiana and obtained 14,184 historical records from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Using a von Bertalanffy growth equation in a Bayesian …