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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Use Of A Towed Camera System Along The West Florida Shelf: A Case Study Of The Florida Middle Grounds Benthic Marine Communities, Katie S. Davis
Use Of A Towed Camera System Along The West Florida Shelf: A Case Study Of The Florida Middle Grounds Benthic Marine Communities, Katie S. Davis
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
As technologies advance the study of ocean dynamics, new approaches to vexing problems of scale and process are becoming more widely available. Originally conceived as a tool primarily for indexing the abundance of near-bottom fishes, the Camera-based Assessment and Survey System (C-BASS) may also be an effective tool for monitoring benthic invertebrate resources vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic perturbations, and for characterizing the composition of benthic communities to inform spatial management. Using still images derived from the C-BASS video of benthic transects within the Florida Middle Grounds, I documented the abundance of benthic habitat-forming functional groups—sponges, algae, and corals—and noted …
Subtropical Benthos Vary With Reef Type, Depth, And Grazing Intensity, Kara R. Wall
Subtropical Benthos Vary With Reef Type, Depth, And Grazing Intensity, Kara R. Wall
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Marine epibenthic communities are influenced by both pre- and post-recruitment processes. For instance, the larval supply and cues that influence settlement (pre-recruitment), as well as the growth and mortality of individuals (post-recruitment), may differ across reef type and depth. Determining the relative influence of these processes is important to understanding how epibenthic communities can develop in a region. Using both a recruitment experiment that controlled grazing by urchins and in situ photographic surveys of epibenthic communities, this study examined the recruitment and composition of epibenthos on natural limestone and artificial reefs in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (eGOM). In the …
Epibenthic Mobile Invertebrates Along The Florida Reef Tract: Diversity And Community Structure, Kristin Netchy
Epibenthic Mobile Invertebrates Along The Florida Reef Tract: Diversity And Community Structure, Kristin Netchy
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Benthic mobile invertebrates are important components of coral-reef diversity and community structure, though, in most cases, their ecological contributions are poorly known. Baseline information on their diversity, prevalence, assemblages, and ecological roles is needed to aid in the conservation of coral-reef habitats. The objectives of this study are to 1) describe diversity and assemblages of epibenthic, mobile invertebrates in shallow water coral-reef communities in Florida, 2) evaluate their ecological roles by reviewing published literature on diet, and 3) measure the degree of linear dependence between mobile invertebrates and scleractinian corals. Underwater surveys were conducted in the summer of 2013 at …