Marine Biology Commons^™

The Effect Of Boat Type On Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Trucatus) Behavior In The Mississippi Sound, Maria Zapetis

Master's Theses

Increases in oceanic shipping are a global phenomenon, and a leading cause of concern for marine animal welfare. While it may be difficult to assess the effect of boat traffic on all species in all contexts, it is vital to report anthropogenic impacts where longitudinal data is available, and doubly so where a dearth of information exists. The purpose of this study is to describe how dolphin behavior changed in the presence of boats in the Mississippi Sound between 2006 and 2012, and more specifically, to detail how different boat types impacted dolphins’ behavioral states. This study is unique in …

Does Personality Similarity In Bottlenose Dolphin Pairs Influence Dyadic Bond Characteristics?, Kelsey R. Moreno

Master's Theses

Social structures are critical to the success of many species and have repercussions on health, well-being, and adaptation, yet little is known about the factors which shape these structures aside from ecology and life history strategies. Dyadic bonds are the basis of all social structures; however, mechanisms for formations of specific bonds or patterns in which individuals form which types of bonds have yet to be demonstrated. There is a variety of evidence indicating personality may be a factor in shaping bonds, but this relationship has not been explored with respect to bond components and is yet to be demonstrated …

Wsq: At Sea Editors' Note, Cynthia Chris, Matt Brim

Publications and Research

This Editor's Note introduces the WSQ issue "At Sea" co-edited by Terri Gordon-Zolov and Amy Sodaro and Shefali Chandra, which explores the sea as a gendered and radicalized site of violence.

The Role Of Adult Fiddler Crab Environmental Acoustic Cues And Chemical Cues In Stimulating Molting Of Field-Caught Megalopae, Emily E. Waddell, Wendy Dow Piniak, Kathleen A. Reinsel, James M. Welch

Student Publications

In mid-Atlantic estuaries, three fiddler crab species, Uca pugilator, Uca pugnax and Uca minax co-occur, with their adults occupying different habitat types distinguished by salinity and sediment size. Some evidence exists that selective settlement is responsible for this separation but the mechanism is largely unknown. We tested the hypothesis that field-caught megalopae would accelerate metamorphosis in the presence of adult species-specific environmental acoustic cues and conspecific chemical cues. We placed megalopae in seawater with and without adult chemical cues, exposed them to one of three sound treatments for 8 days, and recorded the time each megalopa took to metamorphose. In …

Minor In Proficiency In Ocean Data Science (Pods), Joanna Burkhardt

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Oceanographic Data Integration Ii Ocg 351, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Bioethics In The Work Of Ernest Everett Just: + Missing - Some 400 Pages, Theodore Walker

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

Biology + ethics = bioethics. Here we see that Howard University biologist Ernest Everett Just (born 1883, died 1941) connected biology to ethics.

According to Just, various forms of specific biology (including especially cell biology) plus “general biology” are necessary for explaining adequately the origin of ethical behaviors. Social ethical behaviors, especially mutual aid and cooperative interactions with others and the environment, are essential to evolutionary advances among living creatures, ranging from humans to cells. Accordingly, theory of ethics (moral theory) should have roots in biology.

Also, Just wrote an unpublished book-length manuscript—“some 400 typed pages” (Just 1940)—on seeking the …

Oceanographic Data In Rhode Island Waters Ocg 150, Joanna Burkhardt

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Fisheries Management Paper No.283 - Abalone Resource Of Western Australia Harvest Strategy 2106 - 2021, Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

Harvest strategies for aquatic resources managed by the Western Australian Department of Fisheries (the Department) are formal documents prepared to support the decision-making processes required to ensure the management of these resources are consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). The objectives of ESD are reflected in the objects of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA) and Section 9 of the Aquatic Resources Management Act, which will replace the FRMA once proclaimed.

The publication of these strategies is intended to make the decision-making considerations and processes for the management of specified aquatic resources publicly transparent and provide …

Eco-Label Certification: A Case Study Of The Campeche Shrimp Fishery, Mexico, Antonio Di Cintio, Luis Bourillón Moreno

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) eco—label certifies that seafood comes from a sustainable source. The use of this eco—label lags behind in the developing world, where ecosystem approaches to fishery management have not yet been widely implemented. However, the Food and Agriculture Organization under its REBYC—II LAC project is addressing ecosystem concerns within the shrimp trawl fisheries of a number of developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean by helping them to improve management of the negative ecosystem impacts by modifying their gear to reduce by—catch and habitat damage. This study investigates how the potential improvements identified by the …

Do Belugas (Delphinapterus Leucas), Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), & Pacific White-Sided Dolphins (Lagenorhynchus Obliquidens) Display Lateralized Eye Preference When Presented With Familiar Or Novel Objects?, Deirdre Yeater, Sara Guarino, Steve Lacy, Tricia Dees, Healther Hill

Psychology Faculty Publications

Lateralization of behaviors and information processing are common across species. Hypothesized to be crucial for more efficient responding to environmental stimuli, lateralization has been investigated for a number of topics. Cetaceans are proposed to be hemispheric specialists, given a small corpus callosum, complete decussation of the optic nerve, and the ability to respond to a different visual stimulus presented to each eye simultaneously. Research with cetaceans has shown strong biases in a number of behaviors, including swimming, foraging, social interactions, and responses to myriad visual stimuli. Given similar evolutionary pressures, different species of cetaceans should display similar lateralized preferences. Previous …

Behavioral Effects Of Envrionmental Enrichment Devices Of Tursiops Truncatus, Stephanie Maiorano

Honors Projects

Many studies on environmental enrichment devices have been conducted throughout the years on both terrestrial and marine animals in captivity. However, little is known on the effect that submergible enrichment devices have on cetaceans in captivity. This study examines two male Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), Kaiko’o and Nalu, at Sea Life Park, Hawai’i and their interaction with the Magic Box: a device consisting of a submergible vegetable crate weighed down with a weight, flipped upside down with fish underneath. A total of 7 trials were conducted, with data collection on their surfacing behavior before and after the …

Global Ocean Data Science Ocg 250, Joanna Burkhardt

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Weights And Balances: Integrating Models For Prevention And Response To Southern California Offshore Oil Spills, Carmen Watts Clayton, Amoret Bunn

STAR Program Research Presentations

Licensing offshore oil and gas reserves in the United States waters are overseen by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Enforcement (BSEE). The licensing application includes planning for any worst-case oil spill scenario between BSEE and the applicant based on lessons learned from historic offshore spills such as the Deepwater Horizon (2010), Exxon Valdez (1989), and the Union Oil Platform Blowout (1969). The process for planning to respond to oil spills involves coordination with multiple agencies, trustees, and stakeholders to ensure that oil spill responses consider multiple factors, including ecologically sensitive species, commercial transportation and fisheries, …

Coral Disease In Chumbe Island Coral Park: A Baseline Survey Of The Prevalence Of Coral Disease And Other Afflictions Within Chumbe Marine Protected Area, Hannah Turley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Coral mortality from disease and other afflictions is a rising concern for reefs around the world. The aim of this study was to provide to a baseline for the prevalence of coral disease and other afflictions, which indicate compromised coral health, in Chumbe Island Coral Park, Zanzibar, Tanzania. Chumbe's reef experienced a widespread bleaching event earlier this year and this baseline study will provide a starting point to see how the bleaching event affected the prevalence of disease and other afflictions within the reef. A baseline study will also allow the park to investigate if their current monitoring procedures are …

Fish Diversity And Coral Health Of Tanzania's Reefs: A Comparative Study Between The Ushongo Village Reef And The Fungu Zinga Reef Over Time, Della Turque, Corinne Casper

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The world’s oceans are becoming increasing acidic due to global climate change, posing a threat to marine ecosystems, including coral carbonate systems. Environmental threats are exacerbated by human development stressors as well: growing populations, dependency on marine resources, and unsustainable practices invaluable marine ecosystems at risk. Tanzania’s coral reef system extends for 3580 km2 (Muhando et al. 2008) near the Tanga region, serving over half a million people who are highly dependent on fishing and other marine resources as their livelihoods (Samoilys et. al. 2008). With Tanzania’s population rapidly growing, the unsustainable pressure on coral reefs for sustenance and livelihood …

The Effect Of Auditory Stimulation On Sleep Disruption In West Indian Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris), Natalija Lace

Dissertations

Florida manatees inhabit waterways where motorized boats are common. Although manatee mortalities resulting from boat strikes are well documented, the effect of boat noise on some manatee behaviors, including rest, has not been investigated. This study focuses on rest behavior and used a playback experiment with four manatees at the Lowry Park Zoo in Florida. We tested their responses to playback stimuli of either boat noise, silence, or manatee calls. A playback trial was initiated when the focal animal showed behavioral characteristics of rest.

Results showed that rest was interrupted in response to the playback of boat noise for each …

Changes In Tursiops Truncatus Distribution And Behavior In The Drowned Cayes, Belize, And Correlation To Human Impacts, Jazmin Garcia

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Human interaction greatly influences the behavior and distribution of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). This project focuses on the distribution and behavior of bottlenose dolphins in the Drowned Cayes, Belize. Prior to the 2000s, the area was relatively undeveloped and undisturbed and had minimal human activity. Since the turn of the millennium, development and ecotourism activity has flourished in the area, increasing by more than 800,000 visitors from 1998-2006. Boat-based surveys were conducted in 2015 and were combined with previous survey data collected from 2005-2012 and compared to behavioral survey results from 1999-2000. Total dolphin observation time as a …

Ménage À Trois In The Atlantic Brief Squid (Lolliguncula Brevis): Prior Presence Affects Mate Choice, Rachel A. Schlessinger

Theses and Dissertations

Lolliguncula brevis given prior presence experienced a significantly greater number of contacts with opposite sex squid than rivals. Males given prior presence also spent significantly more time in proximity to females than rivals. This suggests that for both female and male Atlantic brief squid, having prior presence influences mating behavior.

Summer 2015 Gis Analyst Internship At The Connecticut Department Of Energy & Environmental Protection, Old Lyme, Connecticut, Stuart R. Deland

Sustainability and Social Justice

I worked as the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Internee for the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) from May 18, 2015 through August 14th of the same year. I was stationed at the Old Lyme Field office and worked under the direct supervision of Deb Pacileo, my boss and GIS analyst for CT DEEP. My function in the agency was similar to my supervisor's as I had no single project that dominated my time, but was given a multitude of projects to create, edit, oversee, and produce. Some of these project included editing python scripts of former …

Chesapeake Aquaculture, Garth Woodruff

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: Using Anecdotal Data And Photographic Evidence To Obtain Baseline Data For Southeast Florida Reefs, Catherine Brady

HCNSO Student Capstones

By using first-hand accounts, interviews, and photographs from fishermen throughout the region (Martin, Palm Beach and Broward counties), this paper will provide evidence of changes in recreational fish catches. It will also identify a shift in commonly caught fish species, factors that affect the head boat business, environmental changes and suggestions for management. Head boat fishing is a favorable activity for tourists and regular anglers in the state as well as the region. Upon returning from their day trip, companies often provide photo opportunities to display the day’s catch, as part of the fishing experience. Companies that have been around …

Bacterial Diversity And Community Composition From Seasurface To Subseafloor, Emily A. Walsh, John B. Kirkpatrick, Scott Rutherford, David C. Smith, Mitchell Sogin, Steven D'Hondt

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

We investigated compositional relationships between bacterial communities in the water column and those in deep-sea sediment at three environmentally distinct Pacific sites (two in the Equatorial Pacific and one in the North Pacific Gyre). Through pyrosequencing of the v4-v6 hypervariable regions of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene, we characterized 450 104 pyrotags representing 29 814 operational taxonomic units (OTUs, 97% similarity). Hierarchical clustering and non-metric multidimensional scaling partition the samples into four broad groups, regardless of geographic location: a photic-zone community, a subphotic community, a shallow sedimentary community and a subseafloor sedimentary community (≥1.5 meters below seafloor). Abundance-weighted community compositions …

The Role Of Traditional Knowledge About And Management Of Seaworms (Polychaeta) In Making Austronesian Worlds, Cynthia Twyford Fowler

Faculty Scholarship

This paper discusses how Kodi make their worlds cognitively as well as experientially, and how these worlds relate to sustainability and wellbeing. Kodi construct their cognitive worlds as well as their biophysical landscapes whilst interacting with many other species. This presentation focuses on human-polychaete interactions in order to illustrate world making processes. Seaworm traditions have deep historical roots in Austronesian societies and continue to be crucial for the wellbeing of contemporary communities. World-making processes are evident in what Kodi people say about seaworms and how they move through space relative to seaworms. While Kodi construct time they simultaneously construct space …

Responses To Familiar And Unfamiliar Humans By Belugas (Delphinapterus Leucas), Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus), & Pacific White-Sided Dolphins (Lagenorhynchus Obliquidens): A Replication And Extension, Heather M. Hill, Deirdre Yeater, Sarah Gallup, Sara Guarino, Steve Lacy, Tricia Dees, Stan A. Kuczaj Ii

Psychology Faculty Publications

Previous research has documented that cetaceans can discriminate between humans, but the process used to categorize humans still remains unclear. The goal of the present study was to replicate and extend previous work on the discrimination between familiar and unfamiliar humans by three species of cetaceans. The current study manipulated the familiarity and activity level of humans presented to 12 belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) housed between two facilities, five bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and six Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) during free-swim conditions. Two measures of discrimination were coded from video recordings of each trial: …

What Would The Babel Fish Say?, Monica Gagliano

Animal Sentience

Starting with its title, Key’s (2016) target article advocates the view that fish do not feel pain. The author describes the neuroanatomical, physiological and behavioural conditions involved in the experience of pain in humans and rodents and confidently applies analogical arguments as though they were established facts in support of the negative conclusion about the inability of fish to feel pain. The logical reasoning, unfortunately, becomes somewhat incoherent, with the arbitrary application of the designated human criteria for an analogical argument to one animal species (e.g., rodents) but not another (fish). Research findings are reported selectively, and questionable interpretations are …

Marketing Alaskan Seafood: Strategies With Brand Identification, Differentiation, And Promotions, Anna Jacobson

Journalism

Everyday the globe experiences changes with food. New methods in growing and harvesting are becoming approved, while others are frowned upon. People care more about where their food comes from than ever before. This research is to explore how Alaska seafood can successfully market their products in an ever-changing world. As challenges present themselves in the industry, opportunities are there as well.

This study sets out to explore marketing strategies for promoting a seafood brand. Through exploring current literature and interviewing experts to obtain data, conclusions will be drawn and analyzed. These findings will help to understand the best practices …

Management Strategy Evaluation For The Atlantic Surfclam, Spisula Solidissima, Using A Fisheries Economics Model, Kelsey M. Kuykendall

Master's Theses

The Atlantic surfclam, Spisula solidissima, is an economically valuable bivalve harvested along the northeastern United States. The surfclam’s range has contracted and the center of the stock’s distribution has shifted north driven by warmer bottom water temperatures. Declining landings per unit effort (LPUE) in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) is one result. Declining stock abundance and LPUE suggest that overfishing may be occurring off New Jersey. The objective of this project is to perform a management strategy evaluation (MSE) for Spisula solidissima. The terminal goal is to identify a preferred management option that promotes enhanced surfclam productivity in the …

Seismic Surveys And Marine Turtles: An Underestimated Global Threat?, Sarah E. Nelms, Wendy Dow Piniak, Caroline R. Weir, Brendan J. Godley

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Seismic surveys are widely used in marine geophysical oil and gas exploration, employing airguns to produce sound-waves capable of penetrating the sea floor. In recent years, concerns have been raised over the biological impacts of this activity, particularly for marine mammals. While exploration occurs in the waters of at least fifty countries where marine turtles are present, the degree of threat posed by seismic surveys is almost entirely unknown. To investigate this issue, a mixed-methods approach involving a systematic review, policy comparison and stakeholder analysis was employed and recommendations for future research were identified. This study found that turtles have …

Spatial, Temporal And Demographical Analysis Of Gulf Of Mexico Research Priorities, The Effect Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Stephen Hiller Sempier

Dissertations

A set of twenty equally-weighted national ocean research priorities were define in 2007, but it was not clear if these priorities applied for the Gulf of Mexico. A series of three longitudinal surveys of people who conduct research, sponsor research or use research for professional or recreational purposes was released that focused on the twenty research priorities and asked people how they rated each. A convenience sampling method was employed, which suggests that the results are constrained to the survey respondents and should not be extrapolated to a larger population. More than 1,500 people completed the 2013 GMRP survey and …