Marine Biology Commons^™

Modeling The Dispersal Of Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea Virginica) Larvae In Delaware Bay, Diego A. Narvaez, John M. Klinck, Eric N. Powell, Eileen E. Hofmann, John Wilkin, Dale B. Haidvogel

CCPO Publications

The interactions of circulation and growth processes in determining the horizontal distribution of eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) larvae in the Delaware Bay estuary were investigated with a coupled circulation-individual-based larvae model that used environmental conditions from the spawning seasons (mid-June to mid-September) of 1984, 1985, 1986, 2000, and 2001. Particles, representing oyster larvae, were released at five-day intervals from areas in Delaware Bay that correspond to natural oyster reefs. The simulated larval development time was used to estimate potential larval success, determined by the percent of larvae that successfully reached settlement size (330 µm) within the planktonic larval …

Can Oysters Crassostrea Virginica Develop Resistance To Dermo Disease In The Field: The Impediment Posed By Climate Cycles, Eric N. Powell, John M. Klinck, Ximing Guo, Eileen E. Hofmann, Susan E. Ford, David Bushek

CCPO Publications

Populations of eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, are commonly limited by mortality from dermo disease. Little development of resistance to Perkinsus marinus, the dermo pathogen, has occurred, despite the high mortality rates and frequency of epizootics. Can the tendency of the parasite to exhibit cyclic epizootics limit the oyster's response to the disease despite the presence of alleles apparently conferring disease resistance? We utilize a gene-based population dynamics model to simulate the development of disease resistance in Crassostrea virginica populations exposed to cyclic mortality encompassing periodicities expected of dermo disease over the geographic range at which epizootics have been …

Does Large-Scale Ocean Circulation Structure Life History Connectivity In Antarctic Toothfish (Dissostichus Mawsoni)?, Julian Ashford, Michael S. Dinniman, Cassandra Brooks, Allen H. Andrews, Eileen E. Hofmann, Gregor Cailliet, Christopher Jones, Nakul Ramanna

CCPO Publications

A multidisciplinary approach incorporating otolith chemistry, age data, and numerical Lagrangian particle simulations indicated a single, self-recruiting population of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) in the Southeast Pacific Basin (SPB) and Ross Sea, with a life history structured by the large-scale circulation. Chemistry deposited prior to capture along otolith edges demonstrated strong environmental heterogeneity, yet the chemistry in otolith nuclei, deposited during early life, showed no differences. Age data showed only adult fish in catches on the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge in the SPB and structuring of life stages consistent with transport pathways from the northern Ross Sea. Lagrangian particle simulations …

State Of The River Report For The Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida: Water Quality, Fisheries, Aquatic Life, And Contaminants 2012, Environmental Protection Board, City Of Jacksonville, University Of North Florida, Jacksonville University

State of the River Report

No abstract provided.

Extensive Reproductive Disruption, Ovarian Masculinization And Aromatase Suppression In Atlantic Croaker In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Hypoxic Zone, Peter Thomas, Md. Saydur Rahman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The long-term impacts on marine ecosystems of the recent dramatic worldwide increase in the incidence of coastal hypoxia are unknown. Here, we show widespread reproductive disruption in Atlantic croakers collected from hypoxic sites approximately 120 km apart in the extensive northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf hypoxic zone. Gonadal growth and gamete production were impaired in croakers from hypoxic sites compared with fish from reference normoxic sites east of the Mississippi River Delta. Male germ cells were detected in approximately 19 per cent of croaker ovaries collected in the hypoxic region, but were absent in ovaries from normoxic sites. In …

Differences In Immune Defense Evasion Of Selected Inbred Lines Of Heterorhabditis Bacteriophora In Two White Grub Species, Ruisheng An, Marcio Voss, Ganpati B. Jagdale, Parwinder Grewal

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

We determined virulence of seven Heterorhabditis bacteriophora strain GPS11 inbred lines possessing superior infective juvenile longevity, and heat and ultra violet radiation tolerance against white grubs Popillia japonica and Cyclocephala borealis. At 1 and 2 weeks after treatment, inbred line A2 was significantly more virulent towards P. japonica compared to the parent strain GPS11 and inbred lines A7, A8, A12 and A21; and line A2 caused significantly higher C. borealis mortality than lines A6 and A12. Penetration, encapsulation and survival of two inbred lines, A2 and A12, that showed the highest and lowest virulence against both grub species were then …

Would Predatory Drillhole Frequency On Chione Spp. Increase Under The Suggested Climate Change Scenario? Comparing Pleistocene And Modern Rhodolith Beds, Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The analysis of predatory drillholes allow paleontologists to reconstruct trophic relationships of ancient systems. To evaluate the potential effects of climate and sea level change on predation frequency by gastropods on bivalves, species of the genus Chione from the Gulf of California were selected because they are a commercially exploited resource - at least locally - and abundant in both modern and Pleistocene (sea level high stand of oxygen substage 5e) samples from rhodolith beds. The present study focused to answer a practical question: would predation on Chione spp. increase under the suggested climate - warming - change scenario? A …

Selective Capture Of Transcribed Sequences: A Promising Approach For Investigating Bacterium-Insect Interactions, Ruisheng An, Parwinder Grewal

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Bacterial interactions with eukaryotic hosts are complex processes which vary from pathogenic to mutualistic. Identification of bacterial genes differentially expressed in the host, promises to unravel molecular mechanisms driving and maintaining such interactions. Several techniques have been developed in the past 20 years to investigate bacterial gene expression within their hosts. The most commonly used techniques include in-vivo expression technology, signature-tagged mutagenesis, differential fluorescence induction, and cDNA microarrays. However, the limitations of these techniques in analyzing bacterial in-vivo gene expression indicate the need to develop alternative tools. With many advantages over the other methods for analyzing bacterial in-vivo gene expression, …

Effects Of Hypoxia Exposure On Hepatic Cytochrome P450 1a (Cyp1a) Expression In Atlantic Croaker: Molecular Mechanisms Of Cyp1a Down-Regulation, Md. Saydur Rahman, Peter Thomas

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Hypoxia-inducible factor-α (HIF-α) and cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) are biomarkers of environmental exposure to hypoxia and organic xenobiotic chemicals that act through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, respectively. Many aquatic environments heavily contaminated with organic chemicals, such as harbors, are also hypoxic. Recently, we and other scientists reported HIF-α genes are upregulated by hypoxia exposure in aquatic organisms, but the molecular mechanisms of hypoxia regulation of CYP1A expression have not been investigated in teleost fishes. As a first step in understanding the molecular mechanisms of hypoxia modulation of CYP1A expression in fish, we characterized CYP1A cDNA from croaker liver. Hypoxia exposure …

Would Predatory Drillhole Frequency On Chione Spp. Increase Under The Suggested Climate Change Scenario? Comparing Pleistocene And Modern Rhodolith Beds, Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The analysis of predatory drillholes allow paleontologists to reconstruct trophic relationships of ancient systems. To evaluate the potential effects of climate and sea level change on predation frequency by gastropods on bivalves, species of the genus Chione from the Gulf of California were selected because they are a commercially exploited resource - at least locally - and abundant in both modern and Pleistocene (sea level high stand of oxygen substage 5e) samples from rhodolith beds. The present study focused to answer a practical question: would predation on Chione spp. increase under the suggested climate - warming - change scenario? A …

Benthic Habitat Characterization For The South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility (Sfomf), David S. Gilliam, Brian K. Walker

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

This report summarizes the distribution and relative abundance of two stony coral species (Acropora cervicornis and Acropora palmata) currently listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) (Federal Register/Vol. 71, No. 129/Thursday, July 6, 2006 / Rules and Regulations, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2006-07-06/pdf/06-6017.pdf) and seven additional stony coral species which have been petitioned for listing as endangered or threatened under the ESA (Agaricia lamarcki, Dendrogyra cylindrus, Dichocoenia stokesii, Montastraea annularis, Montastraea faveolata, Montastraea franksi, and Mycetophyllia ferox) (Federal Register/Vol. 75, No. 27/Wednesday, February 10, 2010/Proposed Rules, http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdfs/fr/fr75-6616.pdf). This report also summarizes the abundance and distribution …

Environmental Influences On Juvenile Fish Abundances In A River-Dominated Coastal System, Laure Carassou, Brian Dzwonkowski, Frank J. Hernandez, Jr., Sean P. Powers, William M. Graham, Kyeong Park, John Mareska

University Faculty and Staff Publications

We investigated the influence of climatic and environmental factors on variations in juvenile abundances of marine fishes in a river-dominated coastal system of the north-central Gulf of Mexico, where an elevated primary productivity sustains fisheries of high economic importance. Fish were collected monthly with an otter trawl at three stations near Mobile Bay from 1982 to 2007. Fish sizes were used to isolate juvenile stages within the data set, and monthly patterns in juvenile fish abundance and size were then used to identify seasonal peaks for each species. The average numbers of juvenile fish collected during these seasonal peaks in …

Field Ecology Patterns Of High Latitude Coral Communities, Kristi A. Foster

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Some climate models predict that, within the next 30-50 years, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) will frequently exceed the current thermal tolerance of corals (Fitt et al. 2001; Hughes et al. 2003; Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2007). A potential consequence is that mass coral bleaching may take place (i) during warm El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events which are predicted to occur in some regions more frequently than the current 3-7 year periodicity (Hoegh-Guldberg 1999; Sheppard 2003) or (ii) perhaps as often as annually or biannually if corals and their symbionts are unable to acclimate to the higher SSTs (Donner et al. 2005, …

Exploring Marine Conservation Efforts In Tasmania: An Internship With Ocean Planet, Lauren Markram

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

I chose to conduct a dual internship with Environment Tasmania and Ocean Planet. Although I was located in the ET office and conducted participant observation within that environment, I specifically worked on the Ocean Planet campaign to promote marine conservation efforts throughout Tasmania. I was drawn to this internship because the oceans are often disregarded within the environmental movement despite the fact that they are the key to life on earth and are in a degraded state. Further, Tasmania’s marine environment is utterly unique, with ninety percent of its marine life found nowhere else on earth. Despite the magnificent biodiversity …

Green Marine Construction, Sylvain Pioch, Kirk Kilfoyle, Harold Levrel, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The oceans incorporate three-quarters of the Earth's surface, and most of humanity lives in coastal regions. For example, more than half of the total U.S. population presently lives in coastal areas, and the coastal population is projected to increase by 7 million between now and 2015. Similar projections can be made for other developed countries many of which depend on the coastal zone as a major source of tourism-related income. The long-term ecological health and sustainability of the marine and coastal environments are obviously at risk. Coastal projects such as beach re-nourishment, housing developments, and pipe-line, harbor and marina construction …

Circulation Of The Western Antarctic Peninsula: Implications For Biological Production, Maria Andrea Piñones Valenzuela

OES Theses and Dissertations

The western Antarctic Peninsula (wAP) continental shelf is characterized by large persistent populations of Antarctic krill ( Enphausia superba) and by regions of enhanced concentrations of marine mammals and other predators (hot spots). This study focused on understanding the role of ocean circulation in providing retention/connectivity of wAP Antarctic krill populations and in maintaining biological hot spot regions. Numerical Lagrangian particle tracking simulations obtained from the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) configured for the wAP region provided quantitative estimates of retention, immigration and emigration from the wAP continental shelf. Additional simulations with a one-dimensional temperature-dependent growth model for krill …

Shellfish Tissue Monitoring In Piscataqua Region Estuaries 2010: Final Report, Matthew A. Wood, Philip R. Trowbridge

PREP Reports & Publications

Gulfwatch examines the effects of decades of development and industrialization on the water quality of the Gulf as it relates to human health primarily through assessing contaminant exposure of marine organisms. Gulfwatch scientists collect blue mussels at over 60 US and Canadian sites Gulfwide, and analyze the organisms’ tissue for potentially harmful levels and concentrations of toxins including heavy metals, chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). New Hampshire increased the number of Gulfwatch sampling locations from two sites per year in 1997 to an average of five sites per year from 1998-2010. The increased spatial coverage …

Present Limits To Heat-Adaptability In Corals And Population-Level Responses To Climate Extremes, Bernhard Riegl, Samuel J. Purkis, Ashraf S. Al-Cibahy, Mohammed A. Abdel-Moati, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Climate change scenarios suggest an increase in tropical ocean temperature by 1–3°C by 2099, potentially killing many coral reefs. But Arabian/Persian Gulf corals already exist in this future thermal environment predicted for most tropical reefs and survived severe bleaching in 2010, one of the hottest years on record. Exposure to 33–35°C was on average twice as long as in non-bleaching years. Gulf corals bleached after exposure to temperatures above 34°C for a total of 8 weeks of which 3 weeks were above 35°C. This is more heat than any other corals can survive, providing an insight into the present limits …

Severe 2010 Cold-Water Event Caused Unprecedented Mortality To Corals Of The Florida Reef Tract And Reversed Previous Survivorship Patterns, Diego Lirman, Stephanie Schopmeyer, Derek Manzello, Lewis J. Gramer, William F. Precht, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Kenneth Banks, Brian Barnes, Erich Bartels, Amanda Bourque, James Byrne, Scott Donahue, Janice Duquesnel, Louis Fisher, David S. Gilliam, James C. Hendee, Meaghan E. Johnson, Kerry Maxwell, Erin Mcdevitt, Jamie Monty, Digna Rueda, Rob Ruzicka, Sara Thanner

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background

Coral reefs are facing increasing pressure from natural and anthropogenic stressors that have already caused significant worldwide declines. In January 2010, coral reefs of Florida, United States, were impacted by an extreme cold-water anomaly that exposed corals to temperatures well below their reported thresholds (16°C), causing rapid coral mortality unprecedented in spatial extent and severity.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Reef surveys were conducted from Martin County to the Lower Florida Keys within weeks of the anomaly. The impacts recorded were catastrophic and exceeded those of any previous disturbances in the region. Coral mortality patterns were directly correlated to in-situ and satellite-derived …

Boynton-Delray Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Program, Thomas P. Carsey, Charles M. Featherstone, Kelly D. Goodwin, Christopher D. Sinigalliano, S. Jack Stamates, Jia-Zhong Zhang, John Proni, Joseph R. Bishop, Cheryl J. Brown, Madeleine M. Adler, Patricia Blackwelder, Husain Alsayegh

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

This report discusses a sequence of six cruises in the vicinity of the Boynton-Delray (South Central) treated-wastewater plant outfall plume (26°27'43"N, 80°2'32"W), the Boynton Inlet (26°32'43"N, 80°2'30"W), and the Lake Worth Lagoon, Palm Beach County, Florida. The sampling cruises took place on June 5-6, 2007; August 28-29, 2007; October 18-19, 2007; February 14 and 18, 2008; May 19-20, 2008; and July 11-13, 2008. Water was sampled at 18 locations at the surface, middle, and near the seafloor (where there was sufficient depth) for a total of 45 samples; these samples were analyzed for a variety of nutrients and related parameters. …

Fisheries Occasional Publication No.99 - Review Of The Western Australian Rock Lobster Stock Assessment, Andre E. Punt, Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Occasional Publications

In 2000, the West Australian Rock Lobster (WRL) fishery became the first fishery in the world to be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). At the annual audit in December 2010, the MSC’s independent certifying body, Scientific Certification Systems, set a number of conditions for ongoing certification. The most important condition under Principle 1, Stock Assessment, was to have an international stock assessment and modelling expert undertake a review of the latest version of the WRL Stock Assessment Report that has been used to provide advice for the management of the fishery, and 2010 stock assessment and 2010/11 management …

Application Of A Gene-Based Population Dynamics Model To The Optimal Egg Size Problem: Why Do Bivalve Planktotrophic Eggs Vary In Size?, Eric N. Powell, Jason Morson, John M. Klinck

CCPO Publications

The presumption is that egg quality influences larval survival and that egg size influences egg quality. Thus, larger eggs should be favored by selection. Counterweighing the tendency for egg size to increase is the number of eggs that can be produced if egg size remains small. We examine how egg size and egg number counterbalance in Crassostrea oysters, resulting in an average egg size near 50 mu m. Simulations imposing a diversity of ranges in larval survivorship-from little advantage for large eggs relative to small eggs to a great advantage-yield some anticipated outcomes in which genotypes generating larger eggs are …

A Molecular Assessment Of Speciation And Evolutionary History Of The Globally Distributed Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus Narinari), Vincent P. Richards, Marcy Henning, Wayne Witzell, Mahmood S. Shivji

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

The spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari), a species of conservation concern (Near Threatened IUCN category) is commonly associated with coral reef ecosystems worldwide where it is likely to play an important predatory role. Currently described as a single, circumglobally distributed species, geographic differences in parasite diversity have led to suggestions that A. narinari may constitute a species complex. There has been no systematic evidence to support this suggestion, however. If multiple species of spotted eagle ray exist, each will likely posses decreased geographic ranges and population sizes, altering the impacts of threats and requiring separate assessments of conservation …

Bridging The Marine–Terrestrial Disconnect To Improve Marine Coastal Zone Science And Management, Benjamin I. Ruttenberg, Elise F. Granek

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coastal zone ecosystems sit between larger terrestrial and marine environments and, therefore, are strongly affected by processes occurring in both systems. Marine coastal zone systems provide a range of benefits to humans, and yet many have been significantly degraded as a result of direct and indirect human impacts. Management efforts have been hampered by disconnects both between management and scientific research and across linked marine–terrestrial systems. Management jurisdictions often start or end at the shoreline, and multiple agencies at different levels of government often have overlapping or conflicting management goals or priorities, or suffer from a lack of knowledge or …

Study Of The Far Wake Of A Large Ship, M. Gilman, Alexander Soloviev, H. Graber

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A large dataset of high-resolution photographic images of far wakes of a volunteer observing ship (Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas) has been acquired under various meteorological conditions and ship operation modes. This work presents the description of instrumentation, methodology, and the results of the experiment. Environmental and ship operation factors that affect appearance and geometric properties of ship wakes in photographic and satellite-based radar images have been analyzed. The photo imagery reveals an asymmetry of the wake depending on wind direction relative to the ship course. In addition, a good agreement between the averaged shape of the wakes …

Nudibranch Predators Of Octocorallia, Eric Brown

HCNSO Student Capstones

Nudibranchs are soft-bodied marine heterobranch gastropod molluscs which lack a shell and mantle cavity. The basic body plan is bilaterally symmetrical with an expanded notum, but in regards to other physical characteristics they exhibit a wide range of forms. Compared to other molluscs, evolutionarily the head and body became flattened and streamlined and tentacles have been lost or shifted to different areas of the body. Nudibranchs are found in many variations of size and color; despite the fact that these animals in general are noted for flamboyant colors and prominent external anatomical structures, many species rely upon a more cryptic …

A New Species Of Leucothoid Amphipod, Anamixis Bananarama, Sp. N., From Shallow Coral Reefs In French Polynesia (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Leucothoidae), James Darwin Thomas, Traudl Krapp-Shickel

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Both leucomorph and anamorph developmental stages of Anamixis bananarama sp. n., are illustrated and described from shallow back reef environments of Moorea, French Polynesia. Distinguished by vestigial fi rst gnathopods that persist in post-transformational adult males, this is the second species in the genus to exhibit this unusual character. In other features such as coxae and second gnathopods A. bananarama sp. n. resembles other Pacific Plate endemics of Anamixis known from the region. Specific host association is not documented but suspected to be small calcareous asconoid sponges associated with coral rubble.

Super-Aggregations Of Krill And Humpback Whales In Wilhelmina Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, Douglas P. Nowacek, Ari S. Friedlaender, Patrick N. Halpin, Elliott L. Hazen, David W. Johnston, Andrew J. Read, Boris Espinasse, Meng Zhou, Yiwu Zhu

Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences Faculty Publication Series

Ecological relationships of krill and whales have not been explored in the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), and have only rarely been studied elsewhere in the Southern Ocean. In the austral autumn we observed an extremely high density (5.1 whales per km²) of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding on a super-aggregation of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) in Wilhelmina Bay. The krill biomass was approximately 2 million tons, distributed over an area of 100 km² at densities of up to 2000 individuals m⁻³; reports of such ‘super-aggregations’ of krill have been absent in …

The Effect Of Air Temperature On The Incubation Period And Hatching Success Of In Situ Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) Clutches In Broward County, Florida, Lucy Teal Kawana, Curtis M. Burney, Louis Fisher

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

The survival rates of pre-emergent sea turtle hatchlings are critically dependent upon temperature. This study aims to determine if changes in air temperature have influenced the incubation time and/or the survivorship of the pre-emergent loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) hatchlings for past sea turtle nesting seasons in Broward County. Air temperature data within the hatching seasons of 1999 to 2009 was obtained from the NOAA National Climatic Data Center’s Fort Lauderdale beach station. The loggerhead sea turtle hatching data collected by the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program from the same time period was examined to assess the …

Are Western Australian Waters The Least Productive Waters For Finfish Across Two Oceans? A Review With A Focus On Finfish Resources In The Kimberley Region And North Coast Bioregion, B. W. Molony, S. J. Newman, L. Loll, R C J Lenanton, B. Wise

Fisheries Research Articles

The marine ecosystems of Western Australia, including those in the Kimberley, are classified as being of moderate to low productivity. This is primarily a consequence of the influence of the Leeuwin Current, the eastern boundary current that flows poleward delivering warm, low nutrient waters, and only sporadic short-term upwelling events to shelf habitats off the Western Australian coast. This, coupled with little riverine inflow from old weathered terrestrial systems, results in low levels of primary and secondary production in habitats along most of the coast. The consequence is that finfish fisheries in the Kimberley and throughout the State typically land …