Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

High-Resolution Sampling Of A Broad Marine Life Size Spectrum Reveals Differing Size- And Composition-Based Associations With Physical Oceanographic Structure, Adam T. Greer, John C. Lehrter, Benjamin M. Binder, Aditya R. Nayak, Ranjoy Barua, Ana E. Rice, Jonathan H. Cohen, Malcolm N. Mcfarland, Alexis Hagemeyer, Nicole D. Stockley, Kevin M. Boswell, Igor Shulman, Sergio Derada, Bradley Penta

Faculty Publications

Observing multiple size classes of organisms, along with oceanographic properties and water mass origins, can improve our understanding of the drivers of aggregations, yet acquiring these measurements remains a fundamental challenge in biological oceanography. By deploying multiple biological sampling systems, from conventional bottle and net sampling to in situ imaging and acoustics, we describe the spatial patterns of different size classes of marine organisms (several microns to ∼10 cm) in relation to local and regional (m to km) physical oceanographic conditions on the Delaware continental shelf. The imaging and acoustic systems deployed included (in ascending order of target organism size) …

Long-Term And Seasonal Drivers Of Phytoplankton Assembly In A Subtropical Monomictic Lake, Kristy Lee Sullivan

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Seasonal phytoplankton dynamics in lakes are highly sensitive physicochemical changes in the water column. As climate-driven frequency and variability of precipitation increases, lakes may experience increased inputs of allochthonous organic matter and nutrients through pulsed rain events. The resultant effects of lake physicochemistry on phytoplankton seasonal succession and assemblage are poorly understood. In the current study, the phytoplankton assemblage of a subtropical monomictic lake was examined in the context of natural interannual oscillations in allochthonous dissolved organic carbon and nutrient inputs resulting in prolonged clear-water and dark-water phases over a 14-year period. Differences in water clarity and nutrient concentrations among …

Water Quality Assessment In The Occurrence Of Acanthaster Spp. (Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish, Cots) On Coral Reefs In Menjangan Island, Bali, Indonesia, Novia Arinda Pradisty, Eghbert Elvan Ampou, Rizki Hanintyo

Makara Journal of Science

Aquatic stressors are known to cause biological impairment that can result in biodiversity loss in several Marine Protected Areas (MPA), including in Menjangan Island, West Bali National Park. The objectives of this study were to correlate the changes in water quality parameters with the biological effect of Crown-of-Thorns starfish (CoTS) population dynamics and to assess the most applicable parameters for continuous environmental monitoring. Field observations and surveys were conducted three times in 2017, during the wet season, dry season and season transition, in order to assess the effect of seasonal variability. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) was performed to determine the relationship …

Bloom Or Bust: Search For Phytoplankton Community Drivers Using Long-Term Time-Series Observations And Field Measurements In A Model Great Lakes Estuary, Jasmine Mancuso

Masters Theses

As sentinels of climate change and other anthropogenic effects, freshwater lakes are experiencing ecosystem disruptions at every level of the food web, beginning with the phytoplankton. One of the major threats to waterbodies around the world are cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) resulting from anthropogenic eutrophication and exacerbated by climate change. Muskegon Lake, a drowned river mouth Great Lakes estuary on the east coast of Lake Michigan, is no exception and was declared an Area of Concern by the EPA in 1987 with nuisance algal blooms cited as a beneficial use impairment. Using long-term data and additional 2019 sampling, we …

Surface Levels, Keisha Brathwaite

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Surface Levels are depictions of unobserved and imperceptible realities of many phytoplankton exteriors. The exhibition explores various structures, textures, and repetitious forms from microscopic surfaces of objects that cannot be seen with unaided eyes. Electron microscopy is used to perceive and analyze these otherwise unseeable surfaces in depth. Magnifications provide a reference in creating three- and two-dimensional works that are minimalistic and abstract at a visible level. This abstract 3D/2D image collection is translated into material expressions using acrylic sheets, acrylic ink, and wood as the main media for construction of individual works. Collectively, they serve to make the invisible …

Plankton Dynamics In An Urban, Subtropical Lake Prior To Lake Restoration, Jennifer C. Pulsifer

LSU Master's Theses

This research assessed plankton dynamics in two urban, subtropical lakes (University Lake and City Park Lake) shortly before a proposed and approved lake restoration project. Plankton dynamics were determined in University Lake by the dilution method to attempt to quantify growth rates of phytoplankton and grazing rates of zooplankton. Landry and Hassett’s (1982) dilution method has been widely used in marine systems to estimate rates of growth and grazing. In many marine systems, nutrients must be added to prevent nutrient limitation. However, it is assumed, due to the hypereutrophic conditions, that nutrients would not be a limitation in University Lake. …

Role Of Coastal Environmental Conditions During Austral Winter On Plankton Community Dynamics And The Occurrence Of Pseudo-Nitzschia Spp. And Domoic Acid In Inhambane Province, Mozambique, Holly Kelchner

LSU Master's Theses

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing globally in frequency, persistence, and geographic extent. HABs pose a threat to economic stability, and ecosystem and human health. To date no incidences of marine toxins produced by phytoplankton have been recorded in Mozambique, which may be due to the absence of a monitoring program and general awareness of the potential threat. This study is the first documentation of the occurrence of a neurotoxin, domoic acid (DA), produced by the diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia spp. along the east coast of Africa. The coast of Inhambane Province is a biodiversity hotspot where year-round Rhincodon typus (whale …

Surfacant Contamination Alters Freshwater Phytoplankton Community Composition, William H. Hodge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pollution from cleaning and personal care products enter freshwater systems and have the potential to alter phytoplankton abundance and diversity. Alkyl polyglucoside (APG), a widely used foaming agent in detergents, decreases phytoplankton abundance, but whether sensitivity to APG is affected by taxonomic identity and/or the presence of competitors is unclear. Establishing taxon-specific responses to APG is important, because taxa differ in nutritional quality and palatability for zooplankton grazers.

Chapter one describes comparisons between how individual phytoplankton communities respond to the same range of APG concentrations to test hypotheses that: 1) chemical concentration determines how individual taxa respond to APG; 2) …