Marine Biology | Open Access Articles | Digital Commons Network™

Saving The Critically-Endangered Western Gray Whale, Jen Maresh

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Professor Jen Maresh, Biology - Saving the Western Gray Whale: How Science, Industry, and the Public are Coming Together to Protect a Critically Endangered Species from Oil & Gas Activities

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On The Architecture Of Collaboration In Inter-Organizational Natural Resource Management Networks, Gordon M. Hickey, Evelyn Roozee, Remko Voogd, Jasper R. De Vries, Antonia Sohns, Dongkyu Kim, Owen Temby

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper reviews the architecture of collaboration that exists within inter-organizational natural resource management (NRM) networks. It presents an integrative conceptual framework designed to help operationalize the multi-level interactions that occur between different dimensions of trust, risk perception, and control as key concepts in inter-organizational collaboration. The objective is to identify and justify a series of propositions considered suitable for assessing inter-organizational NRM network collaboration through empirical work. Such an integrative conceptualization goes beyond the existing trust scholarship related to collaborative NRM, and, we argue, offers a useful starting point for further exploring some of the ‘inner’ social dynamics affecting …

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Analysis Of “A Forest Under The Sea”- Studying Giant Kelp’S Benefits To Ecosystems, And Evaluating Kelp Restoration, Natalie V. Boyd

CAFE Symposium 2023

I wrote a research paper on how Giant Kelp needs to be restored due to the rising ocean temperatures. There are two methods that I specifically focused on and learned about which are "Super Kelp" and "Green Gravel." Giant Kelp is critical to our ecosystem and marine life specifically due to all the benefits that it supplies. For example, kelp forests can sequester up to 20 times more carbon than a land forest. Unfortunately, the kelp is dying off rapidly now because of climate change; specifically the rising temperatures and increased ocean acidification. In order to save the kelp, action …

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Metal Contents In House Geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae) From Industrial And Urban Areas Of Southern Tamaulipas, Mexico And Western Andalucía, Spain, May Reflect Airborne Metal Pollution, Luisiana Morales-Zamudio, Alejandro Fierro-Cabo, Md. Saydur Rahman, Miguel Antonio Dominguez-Crespo

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

House geckos share living quarters with humans in the tropical and subtropical regions inhabited by these reptiles. Gecko behavior, biological traits, continuous exposure to suspended particulate matter 0 µm in diameter (PM10) and dust, as well as status as exotic species, motivated the choice of these species to examine environmental exposure to ambient air pollutants, in particular metals, and subsequent accumulation in these organisms. One part of the study was conducted in Tamaulipas (Mexico) where Hemydactylus frenatus is abundant in urban and industrial environments, the other part was conducted in Andalucia (Spain) where Tarentola mauritanica is found in similar environments. …

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Impacts Of Tectonic Subsidence On Basin Depth And Delta Lobe Building, Tian Y. Dong, Jeffrey A. Nittrouer, Brandee Carlson, Brandon Mcelroy, Elena Il’Icheva, Maksim Pavlov, Hongbo Ma

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Channel avulsions on river deltas are the primary means to distribute sediment and build land at the coastline. Many studies have detailed how avulsions generate delta lobes, whereby multiple lobes amalgamate to form a fan-shaped deposit. These studies often assume steady subsidence and uniform basin depth. In nature, however, lobe building is disrupted by variable subsidence, and progradation of lobes into basins with variable depth: conditions that are prevalent for tectonically active areas. Herein, we explore sediment dispersal and deposition patterns across scales using measurements of delta and basin morphology compiled from field surveys and remote sensing, collected over 150 …

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What Drives Larval Condition For Northern Anchovy (Engraulis Mordax)? Implications For Coastal Pelagic Species Recruitment Fluctuations And Fishery Management Practices, Michelle Robidas

Theses

Discerning the causes of population boom and bust cycles for coastal pelagic species (CPS) has been a major focus of fisheries management research for over a century. Year-class strength is contingent on larval survival and condition, which can be influenced by larval size at age and growth rate. These two factors, in turn, can be affected by maternal investment and environmental variables such as water temperature, salinity, oxygen, and chlorophyll a. We evaluated each of these factors from 127 two to eight week-old Northern Anchovy (Engraulis mordax) larvae off the coast of San Diego to San Francisco, …

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Holocene Evolution Of Parabolic Dunes, White River Badlands, South Dakota, Usa, Revealed By High-Resolution Mapping, Paul Evans Baldauf, Gregory S. Baker, Maraina Miles, Patrick Burkhart, Allen Gontz, Madeline Rinka, Michael Levenson

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The White River Badlands (WRB) of South Dakota record eolian activity spanning the late Pleistocene through the latest Holocene (21 ka to modern), reflecting the effects of the last glacial period and Holocene climate fluctuations (Holocene Thermal Maximum, Medieval Climate Anomaly, and Little Ice Age). The WRB dune fields are important paleoclimate indicators in an area of the Great Plains with few climate proxies. The goal of this study is to use 1 m/pixel-resolution digital elevation models from drone imagery to distinguish Early to Middle Holocene parabolic dunes from Late Holocene parabolic dunes. Results indicate that relative ages of dunes …

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Assessing The Effectiveness Of Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture For Growing West Coast Venus Clams, Avery Wallace

Theses

With demand for sustainable sources of seafood on the rise, California is looking to expand aquaculture with a focus on innovative culturing methods and use of native or resident species. Therefore, this study examined the potential for culturing native North American west coast venus clams (Chione californiensis and Chione undatella) using integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). An ITMA approach was chosen because it is a culture method that uses species from different but functionally complementary trophic levels that have been found to reduce the potential negative effects of traditional monoculture. California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) and the seaweeds red ogo (Gracilaria …

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Larval Dispersal Patterns And Connectivity Of Acropora On Florida’S Coral Reef And Its Implications For Restoration, Samantha King, Antoine Saint-Amand, Brian K. Walker, Emmanuel Hanert, Joana Figueiredo

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Since the 1980s, populations of Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata have experienced severe declines due to disease and anthropogenic stressors; resulting in their listing as threatened, and their need for restoration. In this study, larval survival and competency data were collected and used to calibrate a very high-resolution hydrodynamic model (up to 100m) to determine the dispersal patterns of Acropora species along the Florida’s Coral Reef. The resulting connectivity matrices was incorporated into a metapopulation model to compare strategies for restoring Acropora populations. This study found that Florida’s Coral Reef was historically a well-connected system, and that spatially selective restoration …

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Insights From The Management Of Offshore Energy Resources: Toward An Ecosystem-Services Based Management Approach For Deep-Ocean Industries, M. Emilia Bravo, Miriam I. Brandt, Jesse M. A. Van Der Grient, Thomas G. Dahlgren, Patricia Esquete, Sabine Gollner, Daniel O. B. Jones, Lisa A. Levin, Craig R. Mcclain, Bhavani E. Narayanaswamy, Tracey Sutton, Lissette Victorero, Erik E. Cordes

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The deep ocean comprises complex ecosystems made up of numerous community and habitat types that provide multiple services that benefit humans. As the industrialization of the deep sea proceeds, a standardized and robust set of methods and metrics need to be developed to monitor the baseline conditions and any anthropogenic and climate change-related impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem function, and ecosystem services. Here, we review what we have learned from studies involving offshore-energy industries, including state-of-the-art technologies and strategies for obtaining reliable metrics of deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystem function. An approach that includes the detection and monitoring of ecosystem services, with …

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The Evolution Of Life History Traits And Their Thermal Plasticity In Daphnia, Larry L. Bowman Jr., David M. Post

ETSU Faculty Works

Few studies have explored the relative strength of ecogeographic versus lineage-specific effects on a global scale, particularly for poikilotherms, those organisms whose internal temperature varies with their environment. Here, we compile a global dataset of life history traits in Daphnia, at the species-and population-level, and use those data to parse the relative influences of lineage-specific effects and climate. We also compare the thermal response (plasticity) of life history traits and their dependence on climate, temperature, precipitation, and latitude. We found that the mode of evolution for life history traits varies but that the thermal response of life history traits most …

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Balancing Renewable Energy And River Resources By Moving From Individual Assessments Of Hydropower Projects To Energy System Planning, Jeffrey J. Opperman, Juan Pablo Carvallo, Rafael Kelman, Rafael J. P. Schmitt, Rafael M. Almeida, Emily Chapin, Alexander Flecker, Marc Goichot, Guenther Guenther Grill, Julien J. Harou

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

As governments and non-state actors strive to minimize global warming, a primary strategy is the decarbonization of power systems which will require a massive increase in renewable electricity generation. Leading energy agencies forecast a doubling of global hydropower capacity as part of that necessary expansion of renewables. While hydropower provides generally low-carbon generation and can integrate variable renewables, such as wind and solar, into electrical grids, hydropower dams are one of the primary reasons that only one-third of the world’s major rivers remain free-flowing. This loss of free-flowing rivers has contributed to dramatic declines of migratory fish and sediment delivery …

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Inter-Seasonal Comparison Of Acoustic Propagation In A Thalassia Testudinum Seagrass Meadow In A Shallow Sub-Tropical Lagoon, Kevin M. Lee, Megan S. Ballard, Andrew R. Mcneese, Preston S. Wilson, Gabriel R. Venegas, Mathew C. Zeh, Abdullah Rahman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Acoustic propagation measurements were collected in a seagrass meadow in a shallow lagoon for periods of over 65 h in winter and 93 h in summer. A bottom-deployed sound source transmitted chirps (0.1–100 kHz) every 10 min that were received on a four-receiver horizontal hydrophone array. Oceanographic probes measured various environmental parameters. Daytime broadband acoustic attenuation was 2.4 dB greater in summer than winter, and the median received acoustic energy levels were 8.4 dB lower in summer compared to winter. These differences were attributed in part to seasonal changes in photosynthesis bubble production and above-ground seagrass biomass.

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Inter-Seasonal Comparison Of Acoustic Propagation In A Thalassia Testudinum Seagrass Meadow In A Shallow Sub-Tropical Lagoon, Kevin M. Lee, Megan S. Ballard, Andrew R. Mcneese, Preston S. Wilson, Gabriel R. Venegas, Mathew C. Zeh, Abdullah Rahman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Acoustic propagation measurements were collected in a seagrass meadow in a shallow lagoon for periods of over 65 h in winter and 93 h in summer. A bottom-deployed sound source transmitted chirps (0.1–100 kHz) every 10 min that were received on a four-receiver horizontal hydrophone array. Oceanographic probes measured various environmental parameters. Daytime broadband acoustic attenuation was 2.4 dB greater in summer than winter, and the median received acoustic energy levels were 8.4 dB lower in summer compared to winter. These differences were attributed in part to seasonal changes in photosynthesis bubble production and above-ground seagrass biomass.

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Rapid Growth In Late Cretaceous Sea Turtles Reveals Life History Strategies Similar To Extant Leatherbacks, Laura E. Wilson

Geosciences Faculty Publications

Modern sea turtle long bone osteohistology has been surprisingly well-studied, as it is used to understand sea turtle growth and the timing of life history events, thus informing conservation decisions. Previous histologic studies reveal two distinct bone growth patterns in extant sea turtle taxa, with Dermochelys (leatherbacks) growing faster than the cheloniids (all other living sea turtles). Dermochelys also has a unique life history compared to other sea turtles (large size, elevated metabolism, broad biogeographic distribution, etc.) that is likely linked to bone growth strategies. Despite the abundance of data on modern sea turtle bone growth, extinct sea turtle osteohistology …

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