Marine Biology Commons^™

Zooplankton Variability And Copepod Species Assemblages From A Tropical Coastal Lagoon, J.N. Alvarez-Cadena, L. Segura-Puertas

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Results of monthly zooplankton sampling, carried out from December 1990 to November 1991, are compared from three localities in the Mexican Caribbean. Two stations, Bojórquez, and Cuenca Norte, represent partially enclosed areas of the Nichupté Lagoon System in the northeastern region of the Yucatán Peninsula; a third station was located in adjacent neritic waters. At the neritic station, temperature was lower, salinity was higher, and variations in the two parameters smaller as compared to the two lagoon stations. Zooplankton abundance ranged from 3585.5 org./m³ at the neritic station to 18,742.7 org./m³ at Cuenca Norte. Considering all animals collected, …

Butyltins In Crassostrea Virginica From Nine Reefs In Mississippi Sound, Thomas F. Lytle, Julia S. Lytle

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Tributyltin (TBT), a very effective anti-foulant, has been banned from most marine paint uses since 1988 because of its reputed toxicity to nontarget organisms. Crassostrea virginica were collected from nine reefs in the Mississippi Sound in 1993 and analyzed for concentrations of butyltins: TBT, dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutyltin (MBT). TBT concentrations ranged from <2 to >20 ng(Sn)/g wet wt. Highest concentrations of butyltins were found at eastern Sound reefs near intense shipping and ship building activities with lowest concentrations found in the western Sound.

Benthic-Pelagic Coupling In Northern Gulf Of Mexico Estuaries: Do Benthos Feed Directly On Phytoplankton?, Gary R. Gaston, Carol M. Cleveland, Steven S. Brown, Chet F. Rakocinski

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Few of the dominant benthic taxa of the northern Gulf of Mexico feed directly on phytoplankton. Rather, most of them feed on near-bottom seston and detritus. This is in contrast to models for Chesapeake Bay and San Francisco Bay. We found that detritivores represented over 80% of the macrobenthic organisms and over 90% of the biomass in Gulf of Mexico estuaries. The paucity of benthos that consumed phytoplankton led us to hypothesize that macrobenthos in Gulf of Mexico estuaries had less effect on plankton communities than was documented in U.S. east coast and west coast estuaries, where benthic communities consumed …

Early Growth In Weight Of Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys Kempii) In Captivity, Charles W. Caillouet Jr., Clark T. Fontaine, Theodore D. Williams, Sharon A. Manzella-Tirpak

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Growth in individual weight (w, kg) of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) in captivity was described for 15 year-classes (1978-1992) of turtles between ages (t) 0.17 to 1.22 yr, using In linear regression: Inw = lnc + dt^1/2, where Inc is the intercept and d is the slope (growth rate index). There was significant (P < 0.001) heterogeneity in d among year-classes, with slowest growth (d = 3.798) exhibited by the 1983 year-class and fastest growth (d = 6.929) by the 1985 year-class, but there was no significant trend in d (P = 0.307) over year-classes. The variance of residuals from regression, s²_reg, ranged from 0.2032 for the 1978 year-class to 0.0075 for the 1992 year-class, and showed a significant (P = 0.0001) logarithmic decrease over the year-classes. This decline in variation among individuals was probably due to a a …

Identification, Distribution, And Aspects Of The Biology Of Ten Anthuridean Isopod Species From The Shallow Continental Shelf Of The U.S. Gulf And East Coast, Brian Kensley

Gulf and Caribbean Research

With the aim of easing identification of continental shelf isopods, ten species of anthurideans, viz. Amakusanthura magnifica, Amakusanthura signata, Cyathura barbancki, Ptilanthura colpos, Ptilanthura tenuis, Hyssura bacescui, Kupellonura formosa, Neohyssura irpex, Xenanthura brevitelson, and Accalathura crenulata, are given brief diagnoses. A map showing the distribution of records, line figures illustrating diagnostic features, and a key to families, genera, and species are also provided.

Distribution And Abundance Of Chaetognatha On The Yucatan Shelf During May, 1986., Silvia Mille-Pagaza, Rocio Reyes-Martinez, M. Elena Sanchez-Salazar

Gulf and Caribbean Research

An analysis of chaetognath species distribution and abundance from the Yucatan Shelf during May 1986 is presented. Zooplankton samples and associated hydrographic data were collected at 21 stations off the northern and northwestern coasts of the peninsula. Density data were classified and analyzed by calculating the Euclidian distance. In addition, the Importance Value of the species was obtained. Highest abundance (1000 to 5000 orgs./100m³) occurred in the northern and northwestern zones off the peninsula, while species richness was higher at oceanic stations farther offshore. The most abundant and frequent species were Sagitta enflata and S. bipunctata. The …

Size And Weight Relationships For The Golden Crab, Chaceon Fenneri, And The Red Crab, Chaceon Quinquedens, From The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico, Christine Trigg, Harriet Perry

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Carapace length, carapace width, and weight relationships are discussed for the golden crab, Chaceon fenneri, and the red crab, Chaceon quinquedens, from the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Males of both species were significantly larger than females in comparisons of means of all measured parameters. Relationships between carapace length and carapace width, carapace length and weight, and carapace width and weight were similar between Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico populations for both species.

Stomatopod Crustaceans From The Carolinas And Georgia, Southeastern United States, Raymond B. Manning, Richard W. Heard

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Literature and specimen records are updated for stomatopod crustaceans known from the coasts of the Carolinas and Georgia. Gibbesia, new genus, is recognized for Squilla neglecta, and a new species, Neogonodactylus wennerae, is named for an offshore species of Neogonodactylus previously identified with the Caribbean shore species N. bredini. Fifteen species of stomatopods representing 12 genera are now known from the area: Bigelowina biminiensis (Bigelow), Cloridopsis dubia (Milne Edwards), Coronis scolopendra Latreille, Gibbesia neglecta (Gibbes), Heterosquilloides armata (Smith), Meiosquilla quadridens (Bigelow), Lysiosquilla scabricauda (Lamarck), Lysiosquillina glabriuscula (Lamarck), Nannosquilla carolinensis Manning, N. whitingi Camp & Manning, Neogonodactylus …

A Study Of Factors Influencing The Hatch Rate Of Penaeus Vannamei Eggs. Iii. Presence Of The Female After Spawning, John T. Ogle, Kathleen A. Beaugez

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A comparison was made of the hatch rate (percent hatch) of Penaeus vannamei eggs. The study was comprised of 100 spawns from mated Penaeus vannamei females. In,one treatment, 50 female shrimp were removed from the isolation spawning tanks after spawning occurred but prior to hatching of eggs, producing 49.7% mean hatch rate. In the other treatment, 50 female shrimp were left in the tanks until after the eggs had hatched, producing an average hatch rate of 35.0%. A significant difference in the hatch rates of eggs was observed between spawns with and without presence of the female at time of …

Distributional And Ecological Notes On The Halfbeaks Of Eastern Gulf Of Mexico, With A Provisional Key For Their Identification, S. Contreras-Balderas, M.L. Lozano-Vilano, M.E. Garcia Ramirez

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Several fishes of the halfbeak genus Hyporhamphus occurring in the Mexican Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea have been misidentified or confused in the literature. Most of it has centered around the taxonomic status of H. unifasciatus (including its synonym H. roberti), which is shown to comprise a complex of three species, H. unifasciatus, the recently described H. meeki, from the western Atlantic region, and an undescribed species from the eastern Pacific Ocean. Another eastern Mexico halfbeak is the freshwater form H. mexicanus. Using Banford and Collette (1993), we examined specimens from collections at UANL, UNAM, …

Observations On Mass Mortalities Of The Sooty Eel, Bascanichthys Bascanium, And The Speckled Worm Eel, Myrophis Punctatus, Associated With A Fish Kill In The Mississippi Sound, James S. Franks, Ross P. Dodds

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Mass mortalities of the sooty eel, Bascanichthys bascanium, and the speckled worm eel, Myrophis punctatus, were observed in association with a fish kill which occurred the morning of 18 June 1994 on the south shore of Deer Island, a nearshore barrier island located off Biloxi, Mississippi. B. bascanium and M. punctatus, as well as other fishes, were found dead and dying near the shore in reddish-brown water and along a lengthy stretch of fringing sandy beach. Both species of eels are infrequently reported from Mississippi waters but were the most abundant fishes recorded from the kill. A …

Northern Record For The Zooxanthellate Scleractinian Coral Siderastrea Siderea (Ellis And Solander) From The Gulf Of Mexico, William W. Schroeder, Thomas S. Hopkins

Gulf and Caribbean Research

We report a northward range extension of the zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea (Ellis and Solander) in the Gulf of Mexico. Several small, living colonies of S. siderea have been obtained in dredge samples from a site located at 29º 55.5' N, 087º 28.4' W in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Prior to these collections the northernmost occurrence of S. siderea in the Gulf of Mexico was reported as 27º 54.5' N, 093º 35.8' W, on the East Flower Garden Bank, in the western Gulf of Mexico. In the eastern Gulf of Mexico, S. siderea is not reported occurring on …

A Modeling Study Of The Effects Of Size- And Depth-Dependent Predation On Larval Survival, Margaret M. Dekshenieks, Eileen E. Hofmann, John M. Klinck, Eric N. Powell

CCPO Publications

The form of the predation pressure experienced by larval stages of marine invertebrates is largely unknown. However, it is believed that the type, timing and rate of larval predation are critical in determining recruitment to adult populations. In this study, a time and depth-dependent model of the growth and behavior of larvae of the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, was used to investigate the effects of different forms of size-and depth-dependent predation on larval survivorship. The simulated larval survival for a cohort experiencing size-dependent predation showed that the greatest percent of the cohort survived to competent settlement size when the …

Exploitation Of Cetaceans In Venezuela, Aldemaro Romero Jr., A. Ignacio Agudo, Steven M. Green

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Preservation Of Community Structure In Death Assemblages Of Deep‐Water Caribbean Reef Corals, John M. Pandolfi, Benjamin J. Greenstein

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

An in situ survey of deep reef environments (20 and 30 m) was conducted to determine the degree to which the community structure of live reef coral assemblages was faithfully represented in the adjacent death assemblages accumulating on the sea floor. Relative abundance of species was significantly different between life and death assemblages, and zonation patterns (in species relative abundance, coral growth form, and diversity) present in the life assemblages showed both similarities and differences to those found in the death assemblages. The difference in species distribution patterns between life and death assemblages is shown by a striking growth form …

Feeding Mechanism And Functional Morphology Of The Jaws Of The Lemon Shark Negaprion Brevirostris (Chondrichthyes, Carcharhinidae), Philip J. Motta, Timothy C. Tricas, Robert E. Hueter, Adam P. Summers

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

This study tests the hypothesis that preparatory, expansive, compressive and recovery phases of biting behavior known for aquatically feeding anamniotes are conserved among extant elasmobranch fishes. The feeding mechanism of the lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris is examined by anatomical dissection, electromyography and high-speed video analysis. Three types of feeding events are differentiated during feeding: (1) food ingestion primarily by ram feeding; (2) food manipulation; and (3) hydraulic transport of the food by suction. All feeding events are composed of the expansive, compressive and recovery phases common to aquatically feeding teleost fishes, salamanders and turtles. A preparatory phase is occasionally observed …

Department Of Fisheries Annual Report 1996-1997, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Department of Fisheries Annual Reports

In accordance with Section 62 of the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985, 1 submit for your information the Annual Report of the Fisheries Department for the financial year ending 30 June 1997.

The Annual Report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985 and Section 263 of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994.

Factors Affecting The Recruitment Of Juvenile Caribbean Spiny Lobsters Dwelling In Macroalgae, Mark J. Butler Iv, William F. Herrnkind, John H. Hunt

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

In south Florida, Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) settle and spend their first few months in macroalgae or seagrass. After a few months, these ''algal-phase'' juveniles emerge from vegetation and, as ''postalgal-phase'' juveniles, seek refuge in crevices, often dwelling in groups. The importance of crevice shelters in determining the abundance of postalgal-phase juvenile spiny lobsters has been studied but we know little about the processes affecting lobster distribution and survival during their cryptic algal-dwelling phase. We found that postlarval supply varied independently of changes in the structure of macroalgal settlement habitat. For this reason, postlarval supply alone can not reliably …

Small-Scale Settlement Patterns Of The Oyster Crassostrea Virginica On A Constructed Intertidal Reef, Ian K. Bartol, Roger Mann

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The construction of three-dimensional, intertidal reefs resembling those widely present during colonial times in the Chesapeake Bay, but now absent due to years of overharvesting, may provide a more ecologically advantageous environment for oyster settlement and subsequent survival than present subtidal, two-dimensional habitats. We examined settlement processes on a constructed, 210 x 30 m intertidal reef composed of oyster shell. The reef was destructively and non-destructively sampled weekly throughout the summer and fall at tidal heights ranging from 30 cm above to 90 cm below mean low water (MLW) and at two substrate levels (reef surface and 10 cm below …