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Full-Text Articles in Marine Biology
Meiofauna Distribution Patterns On A Sandy Beach Of Sapelo Island, Georgia, Nancy Dalman, Dianna Spence, Richard Settele, David Turner, Andrew Shirley, Jill Schulze
Meiofauna Distribution Patterns On A Sandy Beach Of Sapelo Island, Georgia, Nancy Dalman, Dianna Spence, Richard Settele, David Turner, Andrew Shirley, Jill Schulze
Georgia Journal of Science
Substantial abundance and diversity of intertidal invertebrates known as meiofauna are evident on a sandy beach of Sapelo Island, Georgia. Meiofauna are small, benthic, nearly ubiquitous animals. They consume microbes and detritus and are a food source for juvenile fish and ghost shrimp. Meiofauna were manually separated from sand samples collected from three intertidal zones and two depths during low tide in January, March, June, and October, 2017. Fifteen major meiofaunal clades were identified in June, while only eight were observed in January; in all, there were sixteen clades observed. Highest meiofauna densities were found in the middle intertidal zone …
Mutual Benefits Of Inducible Defenses To Crab Predators In The Blue Mussel Mytilus Edulis In A Multi-Predator Environment, Sophia Walton
Mutual Benefits Of Inducible Defenses To Crab Predators In The Blue Mussel Mytilus Edulis In A Multi-Predator Environment, Sophia Walton
Honors Projects
The blue mussel Mytilus edulis alters its phenotype in species-specific ways in response to either green crab (Carcinus maenus) or sea star (Asterias sp.) predation. Previous studies have shown that only sea stars induce changes in abductor muscle morphology, while green crabs generally alter the shape and thickness of shells. In the Western Gulf of Maine, Blue mussels collected from wave protected sites with abundant green crab predators were shown to have significantly thicker shells and larger adductor muscles than mussels collected from wave exposed sites with few green crab predators. The phenotypes of mussels originating …
The Impact Of Tidal Elevation And Climate Change On The Growth And Performance Of Balanus Glandula, Sam Martin
The Impact Of Tidal Elevation And Climate Change On The Growth And Performance Of Balanus Glandula, Sam Martin
Pitzer Senior Theses
Tidal elevation affects the survival, growth, and performance of intertidal organisms because it regulates their exposure to heat, waves, food availability, and a variety of other abiotic factors. While previous research has explored the relationship between temperature and the performance of the barnacle Balanus glandula, there are unanswered questions about how tidal elevation affects B. glandula performance and growth. I compared the growth of B. glandula at three tidal elevations in Friday Harbor, Washington, and estimated the metabolic cost of emersion at each tidal elevation using a cost equation gained from thermal performance curves and average daily maximum temperatures. …
Plasticity Of Foot Muscle And Cardiac Thermal Limits In The Limpet Lottia Limatula From Locations With Differing Temperatures, Terrance Wang, Richelle L. Tanner, Eric J. Armstrong, David R. Lindberg, Jonathon H. Stillman
Plasticity Of Foot Muscle And Cardiac Thermal Limits In The Limpet Lottia Limatula From Locations With Differing Temperatures, Terrance Wang, Richelle L. Tanner, Eric J. Armstrong, David R. Lindberg, Jonathon H. Stillman
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
Species distributions are shifting in response to increased habitat temperatures as a result of ongoing climate change. Understanding variation in physiological plasticity among species and populations is important for predicting these distribution shifts. Interspecific variation in intertidal ectotherms’ short-term thermal plasticity has been well established. However, intraspecific variation among populations from differing thermal habitats remains a question pertinent to understanding the effects of climate change on species’ ranges. In this study, we explored upper thermal tolerance limits and plasticity of those limits using a foot muscle metric and 2 cardiac metrics (Arrhenius breakpoint temperature, ABT, and flatline temperature, FLT) in …
Fish Passage At Intertidal Obstructions: Approaches In Washington State, Padraic Smith
Fish Passage At Intertidal Obstructions: Approaches In Washington State, Padraic Smith
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Washington State has an active fish passage barrier correction program, with millions of dollars spent annually on fish passage barrier remediation. Tidal water crossing structures, including culverts, bridges, tidegates and control structures pose a unique problem for assessment and design for fish passage and estuarine habitat connectivity. Current fish passage criteria was developed primarily to allow adult salmon access to upstream spawning habitat and is based on adult fish swimming capabilities during the flow range expected during the period of migration. The hydrology of freshwater systems includes flooding periods that are infrequent and unpredictable. Tidal hydrology, on the other hand, …
Mapping Intertidal Vegetation Using Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uavs), Phil Bloch
Mapping Intertidal Vegetation Using Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uavs), Phil Bloch
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference
Rapid improvements in small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and image processing software have made aerial mapping of intertidal habitats feasible. UAVs are viable tool for comprehensively collecting information in nearshore and shallow subtidal project areas to characterize both seabed elevations as digital surface models and to characterize the presence or absence of vegetation throughout a survey area. This has facilitated mapping eelgrass and other intertidal resources. By capturing information about the entire survey area, UAV based mapping overcomes limitations associated with line intersect and quadrat-based sampling methods. Further, the aerial perspective may allow for the identification and interpretation of patterns …
Effect Of Oxygen-Limiting Tidal Conditions On Muscle Metabolism And Structure In The Giant Acorn Barnacle, Balanus Nubilus, Katie O. Grady
Effect Of Oxygen-Limiting Tidal Conditions On Muscle Metabolism And Structure In The Giant Acorn Barnacle, Balanus Nubilus, Katie O. Grady
Master's Theses
Crustacean muscle fibers are some of the largest cells in the animal kingdom, with fiber diameters in the giant acorn barnacle (Balanus nubilus) exceeding 3 mm. Sessile animals with extreme muscle sizes and that live in the hypoxia-inducing intertidal zone – like B. nubilus – represent ideal models for probing the effects of oxygen limitation on muscle cells. We investigated changes in metabolism and structure of B. nubilus muscle in response to: normoxic immersion, anoxic immersion, or air emersion, for acute (6h) or chronic (6h exposures twice daily for 2wks) time periods. Following exposure, we immediately measured hemolymph …
Ocean Acidification And Predator-Prey Relations: Correlating Disruption Of Predator Avoidance With Chemosensory Deficits, Alexandra Fw Sidun, William G. Wright
Ocean Acidification And Predator-Prey Relations: Correlating Disruption Of Predator Avoidance With Chemosensory Deficits, Alexandra Fw Sidun, William G. Wright
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
One of the most destructive effects of global climate change is the increased carbon sequestering and consequential acidification of our world’s oceans. The impacts of ocean acidification on marine organisms are still relatively unknown, especially effects on behavioral ecology. Avoiding predation has emerged from recent behavioral ecology literature as a critical feature in the life history of a wide array of animal species; experiments on marine fishes suggest acidic water compromises their predator-avoidance abilities. Recent assays in our lab suggest predator-induced behavior is reduced by weakly acidic water. These experiments do not address the potential factor of generalized malaise caused …
Connecting The Physiological And Behavioral Response To Heat Stress On A Warming Planet, Anastasia Kalyta
Connecting The Physiological And Behavioral Response To Heat Stress On A Warming Planet, Anastasia Kalyta
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
Intertidal communities are considered good models of the biological effects of climate change on ecosystems, as their resident organisms are subjected to heat spells during daytime low tides. The increasing heat exposure can elicit behavioral as well as physiological responses in intertidal organisms. We studied the relationship between these responses to heat stress in the blue-banded hermit crab, Pagurus samuelis, by inducing a “heat shock” with elevated water temperature of 29 °C for 2.5 h. The behavioral effect of heat-shock was quantified using a 30-minute feeding assay, measuring the mass of a standard squid pellet consumed by individual hermit crabs. …
Benthic And Planktonic Microalgal Community Structure And Primary Productivity In Lower Chesapeake Bay, Matthew Reginald Semcheski
Benthic And Planktonic Microalgal Community Structure And Primary Productivity In Lower Chesapeake Bay, Matthew Reginald Semcheski
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Microalgal populations are trophically important to a variety of micro- and macroheterotrophs in marine and estuarine systems. In Chesapeake Bay, microalgae facilitate the survival and development of ecologically and economically relevant fauna, including shellfish and finfish populations. While regarded as significant components of coastal environments, microphytobenthic communities are historically understudied. In Chesapeake Bay, the importance of phytoplankton to the ecosystem is understood, but the contribution of microphytobenthos remains unclear. This project surveys intertidal microphytobenthic communities, in relation to phytoplankton communities, around lower Chesapeake Bay describing the taxonomic makeup of these populations, coupled with quantification of cell abundance, biomass, and primary …
Developing Monitoring Methods For Leptasterias Spp. As Sentinel Species In Detecting Local Environmental Changes, Zachary Sturbaum, Kathryn Nuessly, Riley J. Smith, C. Sarah Cohen
Developing Monitoring Methods For Leptasterias Spp. As Sentinel Species In Detecting Local Environmental Changes, Zachary Sturbaum, Kathryn Nuessly, Riley J. Smith, C. Sarah Cohen
STAR Program Research Presentations
Leptasterias spp., a six-rayed sea star, is found in rocky intertidal habitats ranging from Alaska to central California. Leptasterias spp. can be monitored on a broad scale throughout their range by a variety of means using timed counts and random plot censusing in order to detect both large-scale and local-level changes in the environment due to climate change, land-based human activity, or other environmental events. Leptasterias brood their young externally until the embryos grow into fully developed juveniles. These juveniles disperse by crawling away, limiting their dispersal potential. This localized dispersal provides an opportunity to use Leptasterias spp …