Marine Biology Commons^™

Transcriptomic Responses Of Teleost Fishes To Thermal And Environmental Stress: A Synthesis Of Rna-Seq Studies, Aleen Ammar

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Climate change is driving rapid shifts in aquatic ecosystems, increasing the frequency and intensity of environmental stressors that affect survival, species distributions, and productivity. Alongside increases in temperature, stressors, such as hypoxia and acidification, are also intensifying with climate change. Teleost fishes exhibit substantial variation in tolerance to such environmental stressors. These range from specialists with narrow limits to generalists capable of persisting across fluctuating conditions, complicating predictions of vulnerability under ongoing environmental change. Transcriptomic approaches, particularly RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), provide a powerful approach for linking environmental stressors to physiological responses by quantifying genome-wide changes in gene expression. To assess …

Phenological Shifts In Reproductive Timing Of Bay Scallops (Argopecten Irradians) In New Jersey Following Subspecies Replacement, Ross John Choate Jr.

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Bay scallops (Argopecten irradians) are commercially, ecologically, and recreationally important bivalves that have undergone major shifts in New Jersey over the past 25 years, including the extirpation of the southern subspecies from New Jersey in 2001 and its replacement by the northern subspecies from Long Island by 2004. This transition altered reproductive timing, reflected in changes to the Gonadal–Somatic Index (GSI) as well as the timing of visual gonadal conditions exhibited during specific months. Early post-reestablishment data showed peak GSI in June and July, consistent with Long Island populations, but recent observations indicate a shift toward August and September peaks, …

Assessing Decadal Changes In Eelgrass Communities From Barnegat Bay, Nj, Janelle Marie Delcastillo

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Zostera marina (eelgrass) is a widely distributed marine angiosperm across northern hemisphere coastlines, yet many regions have experienced substantial declines due to disease, coastal development, and other anthropogenic stressors. Barnegat Bay is the only estuary in New Jersey that still supports extensive eelgrass beds, although it has undergone notable losses over the past five decades. To evaluate decadal-scale ecological change, we collected sediment cores in 2025 from a site with historical data spanning 2001–2010. Overall faunal densities remained relatively consistent, but several taxa exhibited clear shifts in abundance. Amphipods in the Phoxocephalidae and the isopod Erichsonella increased, whereas the cold-affinity …

Historic Patterns Of Growth And Destruction In Nj Seagrass Meadows, Masen Eck

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Seagrass meadows are one of the many habitats worldwide under threat from human disturbance and worsening climate conditions. This habitat provides many critical ecosystem services to coastal environments, which is why conserving and restoring seagrass meadows is critical. This study investigates the long-term success and failures from several eelgrass restoration sites in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. Aerial imagery from multiple years were digitized in ArcGIS to assess restoration trajectories over time. Three of the sites were assessed over a period of twelve years (2012-2023), and one site was assessed twice (2021 and 2023). Results from these time series analyses showed …

Recruitment Of Chrysaora Chesapeakei On Floating Docks Versus Bulkhead Surfaces: Which Axis Is Foulset?, Alyssa Lamberto

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Blooms of Chrysaora chesapeakei (bay nettles) have increased sharply in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, reducing both ecological integrity and economic value. Because population expansion is driven primarily by the benthic polyp stage, where individuals attach to hard substrates and reproduce asexually, effective management must target the surfaces where polyps settle and clone themselves. The rapid growth of artificial infrastructure, particularly vinyl docks and bulkheads, has expanded available habitat for polyp recruitment. Scrubbing these structures has been shown to reduce ephyrae production, but it remains unclear whether both docks and bulkheads warrant equal management attention. This study compared recruitment on horizontal …

Differential Salinity Tolerance And Compositional Shift In Zooplankton Communities From Coastal And Inland Wetlands, Marisa Contreras

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Anthropogenic salinization from road salt application has degraded freshwater ecosystems across the United States, yet the tolerance of freshwater communities to elevated salinity may depend on their historical exposure. Coastal systems experience natural salt intrusion through tides and storm events, potentially fostering greater salinity tolerance amongst resident organisms, while inland systems lack this exposure history. To investigate, I studied the abiotic and biotic responses of zooplankton communities from four wetlands across a salinity gradient to assess tolerance to experimental salt exposure. Two inland freshwater wetlands are subject to anthropogenic salinization from road salt runoff, while two coastal wetlands experience natural …

Investigating The Impact Of Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms On Freshwater Bivalves, Destiny Devlin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) threaten freshwater ecosystems by producing toxins that disrupt aquatic organism functions and pose risks to human health. This study investigated how exposure to toxin-producing cyanobacteria affects the behavior and toxin accumulation of Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) under controlled laboratory conditions. Asian clams were collected from a freshwater site in New Jersey, maintained in greenhouse bins, and fed either Microcystis novacekii (non-toxin-forming, control N=3) or Microcystis aeruginosa (toxin-forming, experimental N=3) at 100,000 cells/mL for 28 days. Weekly behavioral assays were conducted to track shell opening, burying, clustering, valve closure, foot extension, and time to first opening. Toxin …

Fouling Community Assessment On Anthropogenic Structures In Barnegat Bay, Nj: Who's Fouling With Our Lagoons?, Jesi Herterich

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Biofouling communities consist of both mobile and non-mobile species which settle and attach themselves to both natural and artificial substrata. With increased construction of lagoon communities and marinas in Barnegat Bay, NJ utilizing PVC material, it allows space for invasive and generalist species to recruit. This study examines the impacts of man-made structures and abiotic factors on the distribution of recruiting fouling organisms in coastal lagoon communities in Barnegat Bay, NJ. Polyvinyl chloride settling plates were deployed in late May of 2024. Settling plates were retrieved and replaced at one month intervals to assess monthly settlement patterns, while a second …

Crustose Coralline Algae Accretion In A Kelp Forest Ecosystem In Southern New England, Usa, Ruimeng Liu

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Temperate reef ecosystems are experiencing rapid canopy loss of kelp and the proliferation of algal turf. However, the consequences of these changes for crustose coralline algae (CCA)— a key but often overlooked benthic calcifier—are poorly understood. Here, I study CCA recruitment patterns in southern New England, USA, using standardized settlement tiles at two field sites over 12 months (September 2023 – August 2024). I measure CCA accretion rates and the associated biological and environmental correlates of CCA recruitment. At the two sites, CCA accretion rates ranged from 0.0259 to 1.215 mg CaCO3 cm⁻² yr⁻¹, with an average of 0.441 mg …

Reevaluating The Role Of Ruppia Maritima: Recruitment Dynamics And Habitat Use By Blue Crabs (Callinectes Sapidus) And Associated Benthic Fauna In A Mid-Atlantic Seagrass Community, Delaney St. Pierre

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The value of seagrasses as essential fish habitat is well recognized, but limited data exist on the value of one particular species, Ruppia maritima (widgeon grass), as habitat for fish and invertebrates. During the summer of 2024, I evaluated R. maritima, Zostera marina (eelgrass) and mixed beds to assess their relative value as habitat in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. Results from throw traps indicated significant monthly differences for pipefish, gobies, blue crabs, grass shrimp, and sand shrimp, driven by active recruitment events. When evaluating habitat type, we found no taxa that were significantly more abundant in Z. marina habitat as …

Quantifying The Vulnerability Of Smooth Dogfish And Winter Skate To Electromagnetic Fields From Offshore Wind Transmission Cables In The Mid-Atlantic Shelf, Rachel A. Sechrist

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The development of offshore wind structures in the northeastern U.S. will contribute to renewable energy goals, but will overlap with many marine species as well as economically important fisheries. High voltage transmission cables from offshore wind farms emit electromagnetic fields (EMFs) that elasmobranchs may detect using sensory organs known as ampullae of Lorenzini. However, sensitivity to EMFs varies by species due to differences in the number and arrangement of pores, the length of subdermal canals within the ampullae of Lorenzini sensory network, and the habitats they reside and regions they forage. For species who reside or forage in benthic regions, …

No Detected Signal Of The 2022 Epizootic From Multiannual Diadema Antillarum Settlement Data In The Florida Keys, Jason Albrecht

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The sea urchin Diadema antillarum is a key coral reef grazer that remains functionally extinct on many Caribbean reefs following a mass mortality event in 1983–84. In 2022, another widespread mortality event, likely caused by a scuticociliate parasite, again decimated D. antillarum at reefs across the Caribbean. Understanding the population-level impacts of this recent epizootic will be important for coral reef conservation efforts. This study examines multi-year larval settlement data from the Florida Keys to determine if the 2022 mortality event reduced larval settlement. Larval settlement was assessed monthly at three long-term monitoring sites (Delta Shoal, Tennessee Reef, and Pickles …

Value Of Macroalgae As Habitat In A Eutrophic Coastal Bay, Dominika Polchowska

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Eutrophication is a phenomenon caused by changes in nutrient loading that results in harmful algal blooms, an overgrowth of macroalgae, altered aquatic benthic invertebrate communities, and loss of ecosystem functions. Barnegat Bay, NJ is a highly eutrophic system that has experienced a substantial loss of seagrass beds with subsequent expansion of drift macroalgae. Although considered poor quality, these algal beds represent valuable habitat for many benthic invertebrates. This research assesses the value of macroalgae as a habitat for macrofauna in regions where macroalgae are the dominant “vegetation.” Benthic drift algal samples were collected during June and August 2023 to reflect …

Assessment Of Predation By Common Spider Crab Libinia Emarginata On An Intermittent Food Resource Mytilus Edulis, Noah T. S. Macchirole

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Libinia emarginata, commonly known as the portly or common spider crab, is predominantly herbivorous and native to the east coast of the United States. In Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, L. emarginata is a prominent member in eelgrass communities, but is widespread among numerous benthic habitats. Eelgrass beds in Barnegat Bay are also used as settlement sites for blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), which show episodic recruitment events in the spring. These events are ephemeral and variable in timing, location, and quantity. Unlike more extensively studied crabs, such as Callinectes sapidus and Carcinus maenas, there is limited research on the interactions that …

Relationship Between Marine Heatwaves And Diadema Antillarum Settlement In The Florida Keys, David Ogando Jr.

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Ocean warming can have profound impacts on benthic marine invertebrates through direct physiological effects. Yet, the impacts of ocean warming on the long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum), a keystone grazer on western Atlantic and Caribbean coral reefs, has received little attention. In the summer of 2023, the Caribbean basin experienced a strong marine heatwave event with sea temperatures ~1–3°C above average and the warmest on record in southern Florida. An ongoing field settlement sampling program for D. antillarum in the Florida Keys provided an opportunity to examine the correlative relationship between thermal exposure and larval settlement. Thermal exposure was quantified …

Spatiotemporal Patterns In Diadema Antillarum Settlement In The Florida Keys: Implications For Habitat Restoration, Julia Skowronski

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The long-spined sea urchin (Diadema antillarum) is a keystone herbivore in the Caribbean and western Atlantic Ocean. It is found in various marine habitats including coral reefs and seagrass beds. On coral reefs, D. antillarum is part of a grazer assemblage that consumes fast-growing macroalgae and reduces competition with reef-building corals. In 1983–84 and again in 2022, D. antillarum experienced mass mortality, and presently populations have not recovered to their pre-1983 levels. Slow population growth is likely due to limited recruitment success under high post-settlement morality caused by a lack of suitable habitat. Here, patterns in larval settlement were examined …

Potential Abatement Of Bay Nettle (Chrysaora Chesapeakei) Blooms Through Polyp Removal Within Lagoon Communities In Barnegat Bay, Nj, Anthony Luca Tamberelli

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Jellyfish blooms have gained increased attention in recent decades due to their negative impacts on ecosystems and human activities. Urban development, pollution, and overfishing are some of many possible impacts that can bolster the frequency, duration, and intensity of jellyfish blooms. In Barnegat Bay, NJ, USA, the invasive bay nettle Chrysaora chesapeakei exerts top-down predation pressure on zooplankton, including ctenophores, hydrozoans, crustaceans, and ichthyoplankton. Bay nettle populations rely on hard substrates for larval settlement and polyp clonal growth. To determine whether abatement efforts targeted at bay nettle polyps can disrupt the life cycle and limit medusae populations, a three-year sampling …

Feeding Preference Of The Sea Urchin Arbacia Punctulata For Algal Turf Over Kelp In A Degraded Kelp Forest Ecosystem, Kenneth J. Hamel

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Increasingly severe ocean warming and marine heatwave events are driving declines in habitat-forming kelps worldwide. Direct mortality from extreme temperatures, coupled with destabilization of kelp forest communities, commonly trigger ecological community shifts from dominant kelp forests to an algal turf dominated state. Opportunistic algal turf species are more resilient to warming and lack the fundamental structure of kelp forests, and thus reduce ecosystem services and biodiversity. Once in place, algal turf communities contain ecological feedback mechanisms, diminishing kelp recruitment, and potential recovery. The various feedback mechanisms and ecological thresholds that maintain or drive community shifts between kelp forest and algal …

Characterization Of Red Mangrove Proproot Epibiont Communities Of St. Johns Usvi, Alan M. Buob

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

In May 1989, Hurricane Hugo impacted St. Johns USVI destroying the Red Mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) Forest of Great Lameshur Bay. The impact restricted the tidal flow and caused massive destruction in the mangroves. Hurricane Marilyn (1995) hit St. John causing the storm wall formed by Hugo to be washed out. It returned limited tidal flow to the dead forest. It was not until a subsequent hurricane in 2010 broke down the sediment wall and natural flow returned. Up to that point, water quality restricted any fouling organisms’ survival on the prop roots. By using photo identification, three different bays of …

Assessing The Influence Of Salt Marsh Enhancement On Nekton Communities, Evan Thomas Kwityn

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Resiliency projects are being implemented throughout coastal communities with the intention of reducing the loss of salt marsh habitat. Salt marsh enhancement projects may have the benefit of minimizing physical coastal impacts, but enhancement activities are not fully understood as a result of potential impacts on salt marsh ecosystems, particularly nekton or fish and decapod communities. Questions involving salt marsh enhancement remain in regard to negative impacts on nekton communities and hydrologic habitat connectivity. To evaluate the impacts of salt marsh enhancement in reference to nekton community structures, I compared nekton density in restored and non-restored locations on two salt …

Do Indirect Predator Cues Affect Behavior Of The Freshwater Clam Sphaerium Simile?, Jesse Bruce Eichler

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Freshwater bivalves provide important ecosystem services, like filtering water and cycling nutrients. Predators affecting the behavior of bivalve prey, therefore, could potentially impact the structure and function of ecological communities. Because little is known about the antipredator responses of sphaeriid clams, I examined the behavior of juvenile and adult freshwater clams, Sphaerium simile, when exposed to two types of indirect predator cues: effluent of a crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) and damaged conspecific clams. Adult clams responded to crayfish effluent by significantly reducing burrowing behavior. Juvenile clams, however, buried indiscriminately regardless of experimental treatment and significantly more often/more quickly than adults. These …

The Ellis Island Effect: Invasive Species In The Mid-Atlantic, Paul A.X. Bologna

Sustainability Seminar Series

Global invasions of marine species often follow human migration pathways and primary commerce routes. Exploration, immigration, and commerce to the United States has created hot spots for invasive species to become established. In particular, Ellis Island served as a primary spot for European immigrants over the last century. During the last 3 years, we have documented for the first time four non-native hydrozoans in New Jersey using molecular techniques.

Gonionemusvertens, Moerisiainkermanica, and Bougainvilliatriestinahave origins potentially linked to the Mediterranean indicating a potential group invasion from that region. Aequoreaaustralisis a Pacific hydrozoan whose origin pathway is yet unknown, but has now …

Do Density And Food Availability Influence Survivorship And Reproduction In The Freshwater Bivalve, Sphaerium Simile?, Lauren O’Neil

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The small freshwater bivalve Sphaerium simile, like most “fingernail clams” (Sphaeriidae), does not exhibit a planktonic larval stage but instead offspring are brooded inside the valves of the parent. The species is generally regarded as reproductively specialized, or relatively “K” selected along the r‐K continuum. Multiple offspring can develop simultaneously, but brooding siblings are commonly at different developmental stages. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the relative success of brooding offspring and adults in different adult densities and feeding regimes. A controlled laboratory experiment examined four treatment groups, with adult density and feeding frequency as independent variables. There were two …

Is The Trail-Following Behavior Of Juvenile Physa Acuta Influenced By Kinship And Familiarity?, Tiana Bonventre

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Trail-following behavior is exhibited by many species ranging from insects to gastropods. In gastropods, this behavior serves many functions such as the facilitation of movement, homing, mate and conspecific location, organization, aggregation, and protection. Kin recognition is also a behavior that is exhibited by a wide variety of species including both vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Kin recognition serves many functions including social interactions and status, discrimination, which can lead to outcrossing, and cooperative behaviors that can increase the likelihood of survival. Familiarity with individuals may also contribute to survival through protection and enhanced cooperation. Kin recognition can involve familiarity in …

Mercury Contamination In Benthic Biota And Sediments Within The New York Bight Wind Energy Area, Jordan Francis Gilruth

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Aquatic ecosystems are showing increasing evidence of contamination by persistent, toxic substances, including metals such as mercury. Mercury (Hg) is truly an unusual element, having no essential biological function. Its unique physical properties have been utilized for various industrial and commercial purposes. This has led to serious exposure to this known neurotoxin. Additionally, the deposition and effluents of mercury in air, water, and soil have impacted food chain dynamics. The potential of bioaccumulation and biomagnification of Hg within aquatic ecosystems can have serious negative implication on ecosystem functions and services. Furthermore, understanding the difference between those pathways can provide a …

Using The Oxford Nanopore Minion (A Portable Dna Sequencer) For Microbial Ecology, Lee Kerkhof

Sustainability Seminar Series

An approach utilizing the MinIon to sequence bacterial ribosomal operons within natural samples has been developed. Bacterial rRNA operons were amplified from 6 samples employing a mixture of farm soil and bioreactor DNA in known concentrations. Replicate extraction/amplifications (n=4) yielded over 10,000 2D sequences which were analyzed using a simplified data analysis pipeline based on NCBI Blast and assembly with Geneious software. The method could detect over 1000 operational taxonomic units in a quantitative manner. An iterative assembly scheme was developed to re- construct those rRNA operons with > 30x coverage from 30 OTUs among the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, and …

Population Density, Distribution, Richness & Health Of Shallow Water Caribbean Porifera From An Unesco Biosphere Reserve, St. John, Usvi, Patrick Michael Vojnyk

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Porifera is an important phylum of organisms in benthic ecosystems that filter water, act as biogenic habitat, and provide 3-dimentional structure. Sponge diversity and abundance are often used as bio-indicators for good or improving water quality in a system. Transects were performed during July 2015, January 2016, and July 2016 to determine species richness, density, and assess necrotic pinacoderm tissue decay of species of poriferans in St. John, USVI. 6,800 individuals and 17 different species were recorded during observation periods in Great and Little Lameshur Bays. Results indicate that the non-cryptic species Amphimedon compressa and Aplysina fiulva had the highest …

Distribution And Potential Impact Of Microplastics In The Ribbed Marsh Mussel Geukensia Demissa, Matthew Byron Khan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Human activities have generated large quantities of plastics that are actively dumped or indirectly deposited into oceans. In particular, the use of single-use packaging and microplastics in cosmetics and manufacturing has led to significant increases of these contaminants in coastal waters. These plastics, because of their size, can be ingested by filter-, suspension-, and deposit-feeding organisms who coincidentally consume them as potential food sources. As a result, organisms may experience marked reductions in growth and/or health due to the accumulation of these plastics in their digestive tracts. While research has concentrated on the commercially harvested blue mussel Mytilus edulis, none …

Grazing Potential Of Bucktooth Parrotfish (Sparisoma Radians) On Invasive Seagrass, Halophila Stipulacea, And Native Seagrass, Thalassia Testudinum, In St. John, Usvi, An Unesco Biosphere Reserve, Elizabeth Elise Pudlak

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Seagrass beds are considered essential habitats, because they provide food and refuge for a variety of organisms, and they also deliver ecosystem services such as sediment stabilization and carbon sequestration. Seagrass communities worldwide are under threat from a variety of human impacts like eutrophication, dredging, and climate change, but they are also facing threats from non-native species. As a critical primary producer, grazing on seagrass provides a fundamental trophic link to higher level consumers. The bucktooth parrotfish (Sparisoma radians) is a dominant herbivore of seagrasses in tropical and subtropical marine systems. In St. John, United States Virgin Islands, field and …

Road Salt Impact On A Stream-Dwelling Salamander, Eurycea Bislineata : A Low Threshold For Behavioral And Physiological Effects, Kelly Ann Krolik

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Road salt runoff into aquatic habitats is a major ecological issue for amphibian species due to potential toxic effects from chemicals such as hydrocarbons, de-icing agents and salts. Road salt runoff can affect different aspects of amphibian biology, such as osmotic balance, growth, reproduction, behavior, and survival. This study investigated the behavioral and physiological salinity tolerance of adult two-lined salamanders, Eurycea bislineata. Two-lined salamanders are found in small streams and rivulets and may be exposed directly to salt runoff. In laboratory behavior trials, E. bislineata showed strong aversion to increasing salinity concentrations. They spent less time in higher NaCl concentrations …