Marine Biology Commons^™

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.

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 …

Alternate Trophic Pathways Support Enhanced Bathypelagic Biomass Over A Mid-Ocean Ridge System, Tracey Sutton, Jeanna M. Hudson, Joel C. Hoffman, Tone Falkenhaug, Odd Aksel Bergstad, M. Heino

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

A classic paradigm of oceanic ecology is that pelagic animal biomass decreases exponentially with depth. Results of a muti-year study of the distribution and ecology of the pelagic fauna over the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), from Iceland to the Azores, revealed that water column biomass maxima can occur at deep meso- and bathypelagic depths (>750 m). Further, topographic association of the deep-pelagic fauna occurs at some locations. For example, bathypelagic fish abundance and biomass maxima were observed within the benthic boundary layer (<200 m above the bottom) during the 2004 G.O. Sars MAR-ECO expedition. Results of a pelagic food-web model over the MAR suggest that alternate trophic pathways contribute significantly to this deep biomass maxima. Consumption of decapod crustacea and gelatinous zooplankton represented major portions of the total consumption by pelagic fishes. Stable isotope analysis of 63 species, from zooplankton to large benthic predators, suggest short food chains and high trophic efficiency may account for enhanced deep-pelagic biomass.

Distribution And Trophic Ecology Of Bathylagus Euryops (Teleostei: Microstomatidae) Along The Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Christopher J. Sweetman, Tracey Sutton

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

The distribution and trophic ecology of many deepwater fishes in the North Atlantic are well documented, particularly for commercially important species. However, few studies based on large-scale latitudinal and vertical gradients have been performed. In June 2004, the MAR-ECO (Census of Marine Life) research expedition aboard the R/V G.O. Sars sampled the deep-pelagic fauna over the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge with the objective of quantitatively assessing the nekton associated with the ridge from Iceland to the Azores. Catch data revealed Bathylagus euryops to be the biomass dominant species and ranked 3rd in total abundance. Generally considered to be a relatively stable …

Vertical Distribution Of Deep-Pelagic (0-3000 M) Fishes Over The Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone Region Of The Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, April B. Cook, Tracey Sutton, John K. Galbraith, M. Vecchione

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

Only a tiny fraction of the world’s largest volume of living space, the ocean’s midwater biome, has ever been sampled. As part of the International Census of Marine Life field project, MAR-ECO, a discrete-depth trawling survey was conducted in 2009 aboard the NOAA ship Henry B. Bigelow to examine pelagic assemblage structure and distribution over the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The bottom topography in this region ranges from 4500 m in the channel to 700-800 m on top of adjacent seamounts. Sampling was conducted at 11 stations from 0-3000 m using a Norwegian “Krill” trawl with …

Suppression Subtractive Hybridization Pcr Isolation Of Cdnas From A Caribbean Soft Coral, Jose V. Lopez, Angela Ledger, Lory Z. Santiago-Vázquez, Mihai Pop, Dan D. Sommer, Llanie K. Ranzer, Robert A. Feldman, Russell G. Kerr

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Transcriptomic studies of marine organisms are still in their infancy. A partial, subtracted expressed sequence tag (EST) library of the Caribbean octocoral Erythropodium caribaeorum and the sea fan Gorgonia ventalina has been analyzed in order to find novel genes or differences in gene expression related to potential secondary metabolite production or symbioses. This approach entails enrichment for potential non-"housekeeping" genes using the suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. More than 500 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated after cloning SSH products, which yielded at least 53 orthologous groups of proteins (COGs) and Pfam clusters, including transcription factors …

Caribbean Acropora Restoration Guide: Best Practices For Propagation And Population Enhancement, Meaghan E. Johnson, Caitlin Lustic, Erich Bartels, Iliana B. Baums, David S. Gilliam, Elizabeth Anne Larson, Diego Lirman, Margaret W. Miller, Ken Nedimyer, S. Schopmeyer

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Sailfish Habitat Utilization And Vertical Movements In The Southern Gulf Of Mexico And Florida Straits, David W. Kerstetter, Shannon Michael Bayse, Jenny Fenton, John E. Graves

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) were deployed on 19 sailfish Istiophorus platypterus captured in the southern Gulf of Mexico and Florida Straits between 2005 and 2007 on commercial pelagic longline gear (n = 18) and recreational rod-and-reel gear (n = 1). The data from three tags indicated mortality events and were excluded from subsequent analyses. All PSATs were programmed to collect pressure (depth), temperature, and light-level data for 10 d at approximately 90-s intervals. These transmitted point data subsequently allowed the reconstruction of vertical movement patterns. The remaining 16 PSAT data sets indicate that sailfish are primarily associated …

Summer 2011, Nova Southeastern University

Currents

No abstract provided.

Ecological Design Of Marine Construction For Socio-Economic Benefits: Ecosystem Integration Of A Pipeline In Coral Reef Area, Sylvain Pioch, Philippe Saussola, Kirk Kilfoyle, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

It is critical to understand that an ecosystem integration of construction requires a close Engineering/Biology partnership to meet socio-economic benefits in management goals. Biologists are not typically trained or licensed for the requisite engineering involved in construction. Likewise, non-biologists designing habitat often can lead to egregious results. For example, unintentionally constructing the wrong habitat, i.e., refuge for predators in a nursery area, or habitat that facilitates the spread of non-desirable species can increase, rather than ameliorate, the impact of construction. In recent years, Pioch and co-workers (unpublished) developed an alternative to the “classic” engineering approach to marine construction. This new …

Sampling Methods For Acropora Corals, Other Benthic Coral Reef Organisms, And Marine Debris In The Florida Keys: Field Protocol Manual For 2011-2012 Assessments, Steven Miller, Leanne M. Rutten, Mark Chiappone

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

The 2011-2012 sampling of Acropora corals, other coral reef benthic invertebrates, and marine debris in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) is being undertaken as a spatially intensive effort to provide updated population distribution and abundance information. The particular focus of surveys in the Florida Keys, as well as in the U.S. Caribbean (Puerto Rico and the U.S.V.I.), concerns the habitat distribution, colony density, size, condition, and population abundance of Acropora corals. Surveys in the Florida Keys also include assessments of urchins, mollusks, anemones, corallimorpharians, and marine debris. These additional assessments are relatively fast and easy to perform. Annual …

Spring 2011, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Wetland Assessment Methods, Kerstin Green

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

After many decades of being considered useless and often destroyed wetlands have become valued for the many functions they provide. To make informed wetland management decisions biologists have to develop practical, rapid, and inexpensive ways to assess biological conditions and functions. Ideally these assessment methods have to measure more than one attribute of the wetland to represent the overall condition of the biological community. For this project I conducted field assessments at mitigation sites in Pembroke Pines, Florida, to see how the newest method used in the State of Florida, the Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM), compared to the older …

A Study To Minimize Or Eliminate Hardbottom And Reef Impacts From Anchoring Activities In Designated Anchorages At The Ports Of Miami And Palm Beach, Brian K. Walker

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Seasonal Aggregations Of The Florida Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris) In The Port Everglades And Intracoastal Regions Of Fort Lauderdale, Florida., Jaime M. Goldman

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, is one of the most endangered marine mammals in United States waters. The Florida manatee is the only manatee that ranges into subtropical and temperate regions. During the winter months manatees adopt a “refuging strategy” where they aggregate at warm-water sources immediately following decreases in the ambient water temperature to below 20° C (68° F) in order to avoid cold stress syndrome (CSS). During the winter manatees aggregate in warm water refuges, including natural warm water springs and the effluent discharges of power plants.

The …

Distribution Of Zooplankton Densities Associated With The Florida Current And Subsurface, Amy Hirons, Jonathan Shenker, Alexander Soloviev

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

No abstract provided.

Caribbean Corals In Crisis: Record Thermal Stress, Bleaching, And Mortality In 2005, C. Mark Eakin, Jessica A. Morgan, Scott F. Heron, Tyler B. Smith, Gang Liu, Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Bart J. Baca, Erich Bartels, Carolina Bastidas, Claude Bouchon, Marilyn Brandt, Andrew W. Bruckner, Lucy Bunkley-Williams, Andrew Cameron, Billy D. Causey, Mark Chiappone, Tyler R. L. Christensen, M. James C. Crabbe, Owen Day, Elena De La Guardia, Guillermo Diaz-Pulido, Daniel Diresta, Diego L. Gil-Agudelo, David S. Gilliam, Robert N. Ginsburg, Shannon Gore, Hector M. Guzman, James C. Hendee, Edwin A. Hernandez-Delgado, Ellen Husain, Christopher F. G. Jeffrey, Ross J. Jones, Eric Jordan-Dahlgren, Les S. Kaufman, David I. Kline, Philip A. Kramer, Judith C. Lang, Diego Lirman, Jennie Mallela, Carrie Manfrino, Jean-Philippe Marechal, Ken Marks, Jennifer Mihaly, W. Jeff Miller, Erich M. Mueller, Erinn M. Muller, Carlos A. Orozco Toro, Hazel A. Oxenford, Daniel Ponce-Taylor, Norman Quinn, Kim B. Ritchie, Sebastian Rodriguez, Alberto Rodriguez Ramirez, Sandra Romano, Jameal F. Samhouri, Juan A. Sanchez, George P. Schmahl, Burton V. Shank, William J. Skirving, Sascha C. C. Steiner, Estrella Villamizar, Sheila M. Walsh, Cory Walter, Ernesto Weil, Ernest H. Williams, Kimberly Woody Roberson, Yusri Yusuf

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background: The rising temperature of the world’s oceans has become a major threat to coral reefs globally as the severity and frequency of mass coral bleaching and mortality events increase. In 2005, high ocean temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean resulted in the most severe bleaching event ever recorded in the basin.

Methodology/Principal Findings: Satellite-based tools provided warnings for coral reef managers and scientists, guiding both the timing and location of researchers’ field observations as anomalously warm conditions developed and spread across the greater Caribbean region from June to October 2005. Field surveys of bleaching and mortality exceeded prior …

Development And Evaluation Of Methods For Surveying Fish Populations In Nearshore Waters, Philip Smith, Ian Burrett, David Bailey, Francis Neat, David Donnan, Katherine Dunlop, James Thorburn, Rosanna Milligan, Steve Bastiman, Jane Dodd

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

1. Nearshore areas provide critical habitat for a range of fish species targeted by commercial and recreational fisheries, both of which make an important contribution to local economies in rural areas. However, established trawl survey methods are not suited to many nearshore areas, owing to shallow depths, obstructions on the sea bed or vulnerable habitats, so there is a lack of information on fish abundance in these areas.
2. The aim of the present project was to develop and test survey methods applicable to Scottish inshore waters, focussing on baited underwater cameras, fish traps, systematic rod-and-line surveys and observations of fish bycatch …

Fish Communities On The World's Warmest Reefs: What Can They Tell Us About The Effects Of Climate Change In The Future?, David A. Feary, John A. Burt, Andrew G. Bauman, Paolo Usseglio, Peter F. Sale, Georgenes Cavalcante

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

To examine the role of climatic extremes in structuring reef fish communities in the Arabian region, reef fish communities were visually surveyed at four sites within the southern Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf and The Gulf), where sea-surface temperatures are extreme (range: 12–35° C annually), and these were compared with communities at four latitudinally similar sites in the biogeographically connected Gulf of Oman, where conditions are more moderate (range: 22–31° C annually). Although sites were relatively similar in the cover and composition of coral communities, substantial differences in the structure and composition of associated fish assemblages were …

Reproductive Isolation And Hybridization Dynamics In Threatened Caribbean Acroporid Corals, Nicole D. Fogarty

Oceanography Faculty Theses and Dissertations

The Caribbean corals, Acropora palmata and A. cervicornis, are abundant in fossil records but have recently undergone drastic declines primarily as a result of disease. Acropora prolifera, a hybrid of these species, has no fossil record and was previously considered rare and to occupy nonparental habitats. Now, hybrids have equivalent or greater abundance than the parental species and have expanded into the parental habitat at some sites. Previous molecular studies have demonstrated regional variability in unidirectional introgression of A. palmata genes into A. cervicornis. The goals of this dissertation are (1) to determine the strength of prezygotic …

Establishment Of An Acropora Cervicornis (Staghorn Coral) Nursery: An Evaluation Of Survivorship And Growth, Elizabeth Anne Larson

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is the first study to provide a detailed characterization of Acropora cervicornis transplants and donor colony survival on southeast Florida coral reefs. Since May 2006 this species has been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. As populations continue to decline restoration efforts need to be evaluated to determine if there is an effort that could facilitate a population rebound. The overall goal of this project was to examine potential Acropora cervicornis restoration techniques along the entire Florida reef tract including Broward County, Miami Dade County, and Monroe County. For my thesis I used a …

Effects Of Bubbles And Sea Spray On Air–Sea Exchange In Hurricane Conditions, Alexander Soloviev, Roger Lukas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The lower limit on the drag coefficient under hurricane force winds is determined by the break-up of the air–sea interface due to Kelvin–Helmholtz instability and formation of the two-phase transition layer consisting of sea spray and air bubbles. As a consequence, a regime of marginal stability develops. In this regime, the air–sea drag coefficient is determined by the turbulence characteristics of the two-phase transition layer. The upper limit on the drag coefficient is determined by the Charnock-type wave resistance. Most of the observational estimates of the drag coefficient obtained in hurricane conditions and in laboratory experiments appear to lie between …

Deep-Sea Fishes Of The Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Results Of The 2009 Henry Bigelow Expedition, Tracey Sutton, April B. Cook, John K. Galbraith, M. Vecchione

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

As part of an ongoing study of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge biodiversity and ecology (CoML field project MAR-ECO), a detailed survey of the pelagic and demersal fishes in the region of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (~ 600 n.m. south of Greenland) was conducted. A total of 17181 pelagic fishes (92 spp., 35 families) were sampled from 0-3000+ m, with the Myctophidae the most species-rich. The bristlemouth Cyclothone microdon was by far the dominant species in numbers (82% of total), while the sawtooth eel Serrivomer beani dominated biomass (27%). A total of 441 deep-demersal fishes (28 spp., 13 families) were sampled …

Distribution And Trophic Ecology Of Bathylagus Euryops (Teleostei: Microstomatidae) Along The Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Christopher J. Sweetman, Tracey Sutton

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

The assemblage structure and ecology of meso- and bathypelagic fishes are poorly known in general, particularly over mid-ocean ridges. In June 2004, the month-long MAR-ECO (Census of Marine Life) research expedition aboard the R/V G.O. Sars sampled the deep-pelagic fauna over the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge with the objective of quantitatively assessing the nekton associated with the ridge from Iceland to the Azores. A total of 115 discrete-depth trawl samples were taken from the surface to depths of 3000+ meters using two different double-warp midwater trawls, one of commercial fishing size (a large ‘Akra' trawl) and one of oceanographic research size …

Stable Isotope Analysis Of The Sandbar Shark, Carcharinus Plumbeus: A Minimally Invasive Method For Comparison Of Diet And Trophic Relationships Between Genders, Locations, And Age Classes, David Shiffman, Gorka Sancho, Bryan Frazier, John Kucklick, Dan Abel, Tracey Sutton, Kristene T. Parsons

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

The 2006 National Marine Fisheries Service SEDAR for large coastal sharks recommended the gathering of additional diet and trophic relationship data for the sandbar shark, Carcharinus plumbeus. No diet studies of any kind have been performed on South Carolina subpopulations of C. plumbeus, and stable isotope analysis has never been performed on this species. Muscle samples were taken from C. plumbeus caught by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shark surveys. The analysis of δ13C and δ 15N from this muscle tissue is ongoing and will be compared with prey …

Shark Assemblage Structure In The Chesapeake Bight, Kristene T. Parsons, Tracey Sutton, John A. Musick

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

The role and importance of the Chesapeake Bight region as essential fish habitat for several species of sharks is well represented in primary literature and US fisheries management plans. Diverse assemblages of shark taxa utilize the Chesapeake Bay and adjacent coasts at various stages throughout their lives. As top predators in most of the environments where they occur, sharks are key to maintaining healthy, diverse ecosystems. The estuarine waters of the Chesapeake Bay are exposed to extreme ranges in temperature and salinity, and consequently the environmental suitability of the Bay is spatially and temporally restricted to select taxa. By identifying …

Deep-Pelagic (0-3000 M) Fish Assemblage Structure Over The Mid-Atlantic Ridge Relative To The North Atlantic Subpolar Front, April B. Cook, Tracey Sutton, John K. Galbraith, M. Vecchione

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

Only a tiny fraction of the world's largest volume of living space, the ocean's mid-water region, has ever been sampled. It is one of the least understood areas on earth, so as part of the International Census of Marine Life field project, MAR-ECO, a discrete-depth trawling survey was conducted in 2009 aboard the NOAA ship Henry Bigelow to examine pelagic assemblage structure and distribution over the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ) of the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The survey consisted of 11 stations divided into two transects, one northwest and one southeast of the CGFZ, which roughly coincides with the Subpolar Front. …

Evolution Of Host Associations In Symbiotic Zoanthidea, Timothy D. Swain

Oceanography Faculty Theses and Dissertations

Symbioses are pervasive in life and confer novel adaptive capabilities that enable ecological expansion into unexplored niches. Evolutionary transitions in symbiosis (terminations, origins, host shifts, or changes in relationship outcomes) can therefore have dramatic effects on the fitness, life history, and distribution of organisms. Because symbiotic interactions require coordination among traits that control recognition, colonization, and maintenance of symbiosis, transitions in symbiosis should generally be rare and conserved across evolutionary time. Cnidarians in the order Zoanthidea (class Anthozoa) are symbionts of taxa representing at least five invertebrate phyla and occur in most major benthic habitats from the intertidal to the …

Microzooplankton Grazing And Productivity In The Central And Southern Sector Of The Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Jennifer Putland, Tracey Sutton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Microzooplankton grazing was measured with the dilution method in the central and southern sectors of the Indian River Lagoon during summer 2006 and 2007. Microzooplankton actively grazed phytoplankton during all experiments. Grazing rates averaged (± SD) 0.956 ± 0.19 d^-1 and ranged from 0.54 to 1.36 d^-1. Phytoplankton carbon, measured by microscopy, averaged 314 ± 251 μg C L^-1 and ranged from 115 to 936 μg C L^-1. Microzooplankton ingestion rates averaged 303 ± 260 μg C L^-1d^-1 and ranged from 90 to 907 μg C L^-1d^-1. …