Marine Biology Commons^™

Distribution Of Allatostatin C-Like Immunoreactivity In The Central Nervous System Of The Copepod Crustacean Calanus Finmarchicus, Caroline H. Wilson, Andrew E. Christie

Health Sciences and Kinesiology Faculty Articles

The C-type allatostatins (C-ASTs) are a family of highly pleiotropic arthropod neuropeptides. In crustaceans, transcriptomic/mass spectral studies have identified C-ASTs in the nervous systems of many species; the cellular distributions of these peptides remain unknown. Here, the distribution of C-AST was mapped in the nervous system of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus, the major contributor to the North Atlantic’s zooplanktonic biomass; C-AST-immunopositive neurons were identified in the protocerebrum, in several peripheral ganglia associated with feeding appendages, and in the ganglia controlling the swimming legs, with immunopositive axons present throughout the ventral nerve cord. In addition, axons innervating the dorsal longitudinal …

The 13c Suess Effect In Scleractinian Corals Mirror Changes In The Anthropogenic Co2 Inventory Of The Surface Oceans, Peter Koenraad Swart, Lisa Greer, Brad E. Rosenheim, Chris S. Moses, Amanda J. Waite, A. Winter, Richard E. Dodge, Kevin P. Helmle

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

New δ¹³C data are presented from 10 coral skeletons collected from Florida and elsewhere in the Caribbean (Dominica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Belize). These corals range from 96 to 200 years in age and were collected between 1976 and 2002. The change in the δ¹³C of the skeletons from these corals between 1900 and 1990 has been compared with 27 other published coral records from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. The new data presented here make possible, for the first time, a global comparison of rates of change in the δ¹³C value …

The Oyster River Culvert Analysis Project, L. Stack, M. H, Simpson, T. Crosslin, Robert Roseen, D. Sowers, C. Lawson

PREP Reports & Publications

Studies have already detected intensification of precipitation events consistent with climate change projections. Communities may have a window of opportunity to prepare, but information sufficiently quantified and localized to support adaptation programs is sparse: published literature is typically characterized by general resilience building or regional vulnerability studies. The Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC observed that adaptation can no longer be postponed pending the effective elimination of uncertainty. Methods must be developed that manage residual uncertainty, providing community leaders with decision-support information sufficient for implementing infrastructure adaptation programs. This study developed a local-scale and actionable protocol for maintaining historical risk …

Town Of New Durham Stormwater Management & Erosion Control Project, Town Of Durham

PREP Reports & Publications

Appledore Engineering worked with the New Durham Planning Board to develop a stormwater management and erosion control ordinance and to adopt complimentary improvements to the town’s site plan review and subdivision regulations.

Temporal Resolution And Spectral Sensitivity Of The Visual System Of Three Coastal Shark Species From Different Light Environments, D. Michelle Mccomb, Tamara M. Frank, Robert E. Hueter, Stephen M. Kajiura

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Visual temporal resolution and scotopic spectral sensitivity of three coastal shark species (bonnethead Sphyrna tiburo, scalloped hammerhead Sphyrna lewini, and blacknose shark Carcharhinus acronotus) were investigated by electroretinogram. Temporal resolution was quantified under photopic and scotopic conditions using response waveform dynamics and maximum critical flicker‐fusion frequency (CFF). Photopic CFF_max was significantly higher than scotopic CFF_max in all species. The bonnethead had the shortest photoreceptor response latency time (23.5 ms) and the highest CFF_max (31 Hz), suggesting that its eyes are adapted for a bright photic environment. In contrast, the blacknose had the longest response …

Piscataqua Region Environmental Planning Assessment, Derek Sowers

PREP Reports & Publications

The Piscataqua Region Environmental Planning Assessment (PREPA) was conducted to document the current status of environmental planning efforts and land use regulations for each of the 42 New Hampshire municipalities and 10 Maine municipalities (city and town governments) in the Piscataqua Region. The assessment involved analysis of over 80 questions associated with municipal regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to resource management. The assessment theme areas include land protection, wildlife habitat, stormwater management, erosion/sediment control, wetland and shoreland protections, floodplain management, and drinking water source protection, among others. Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP) staff and Land Use Team worked closely with a …

Town Of Newington Stormwater Management Project, Town Of Newington

PREP Reports & Publications

The UNH Stormwater Center worked with the Newington Planning Board to improve the town’s site plan review regulations to better manage stormwater.

Town Of Milton Shoreland Protection Project, Town Of Milton Shoreland Protection Project

PREP Reports & Publications

Mettee Planning Consultants (MPC) worked with the Milton Conservation Commission to evaluate and streamline the town’s water resource protection regulations. One of the outcomes was revision and passage of a Shoreland Protection Overlay District as part of the town’s zoning ordinance.

Beyond Affymetrix Arrays: Expanding The Set Of Known Hybridization Isotherms And Observing Pre-Wash Signal Intensities, Alexander Pozhitkov, Idrissa Boube, Marius Brouwer, Peter A. Noble

Faculty Publications

Microarray hybridization studies have attributed the nonlinearity of hybridization isotherms to probe saturation and post-hybridization washing. Both processes are thought to distort 'true' target abundance because immobilized probes are saturated with excess target and stringent washing removes loosely bound targets. Yet the paucity of studies aimed at understanding hybridization and dissociation makes it difficult to align physicochemical theory to microarray results. To fill the void, we first examined hybridization isotherms generated on different microarray platforms using a ribosomal RNA target and then investigated hybridization signals at equilibrium and after stringent wash. Hybridization signal at equilibrium was achieved by treating the …

Perspectives Of Underwater Optics In Biological Oceanography And Plankton Ecology Studies, Hans-Uwe Dahms, Jiang-Shiou Hwang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The ever expanding fields of UW (underwater) optics cover principal measurements of the optical properties of the sea, development of new methods of monitoring optical properties, techniques for measurements of organisms or structures in the sea and the development and application of optical instrumentation. In this respect, ocean optics is a multidisciplinary (and multinational) endeavour of science and engineering. Ocean optics has applications in the study of upwelling irradiance and chlorophyll concentrations in the ocean, in the penetration of solar radiation in shallow shelf seas and how this influences temperature profiles and ultimately its effect on sound propagation. Recent development …

Phenotypic Variance Predicts Symbiont Population Densities In Corals: A Modeling Approach, Robert Van Woesik, Kazuyo Shiroma, Semen Koksal

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

We test whether the phenotypic variance of symbionts (Symbiodinium) in corals is closely related with the capacity of corals to acclimatize to increasing seawater temperatures. Moreover, we assess whether more specialist symbionts will increase within coral hosts under ocean warming. The present study is only applicable to those corals that naturally have the capacity to support more than one type of Symbiodinium within the lifetime of a colony; for example, Montastraea annularis and Montastraea faveolata. Methodology/Principal Findings: The population dynamics of competing Symbiodinium symbiont populations were projected through time in coral hosts using a novel, discrete time optimal-resource model. Models …

Optical Brightener Study Of Spruce Creek, Town Of Kittery, Me, Fb Environmental Associates, Inc.

PREP Reports & Publications

Elevated bacteria levels in the Spruce Creek Watershed have led to shellfish bed closures in the Spruce Creek Estuary and impaired waters listings by the State of Maine. Since 2005, the Town of Kittery, Spruce Creek Association and numerous partners have assessed the local waters to attempt to determine the sources of bacteria impairment. Stormwater outfalls and residential septic systems have been identified as potential sources of impairment. To help address these concerns, the Town of Kittery received a grant in 2009 through the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership to further investigate potential bacteria hotspots. Project staff worked with Federal, State …

Stewardship Plan Isinglass River Conservation Reserve, Strafford, Nh, Ellen Snyder, Dan Sperduto

PREP Reports & Publications

In addition to the significant frontage on the Isinglass River, the Hanson Lot supports myriad wetlands – vernal pools, beaver flowages, forested swamps, meadow marshes, and scrub-shrub wetlands. These are embedded within a hemlock – oak – beech - pine forest that was heavily logged in 1998. A plan to build a large 58- to 70-lot residential subdivision on the property was averted by the acquisition of the Hanson Lot as permanent conservation land. The Bedford property is also mostly wooded; the forest was carefully managed by previous owners and therefore retains a mix of tree species and ages. Together …

Fishing Industry Impact Study : James Price Point Proposed Liquefied Natural Gas Precinct, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Occasional Publications

No abstract provided.

Applying A Molecular Genetics Approach To Shark Conservation And Management: Assessment Of Dna Barcoding In Hammerhead Sharks And Global Population Genetic Structuring In The Gray Reef Shark, Carcharhinus Amblyrhynchos., Rebekah L. Horn

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1

DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequence is emerging as a useful tool for identifying unknown, whole or partial organisms to species level. However, the application of only a single mitochondrial marker for robust species identification has also come under some criticism due to the possibility of erroneous identifications resulting from species hybridizations and/or the potential presence of nuclear-mitochondrial psuedogenes. The addition of a complementary nuclear DNA barcode has therefore been widely recommended to overcome these potential COI gene limitations, especially in wildlife law enforcement applications where greater confidence in the …

Hydrological And Oceanic Effects On Polar Motion From Grace And Models, Shaunggen Jin, Don Chambers, Byron D. Tapley

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Terrestrial water storage (TWS) and ocean bottom pressure (OBP) are major contributors to the observed polar motion excitations, second only to atmospheric mass movement. However, quantitative assessment of the hydrological and oceanic effects on polar motion remains unclear because of the lack of global observations. In this paper, hydrological and oceanic mass excitations to polar motion are investigated using monthly TWS and OBP derived from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) for January 2003 until December 2008. The results from this analysis are compared with hydrological model excitations from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and oceanic …

Fisheries Occasional Paper No. 77 - Economic Analysis: Fishing Industry Impact Study - Kimberley Lng Project, Econsearch Pty Ltd, Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Occasional Publications

This study, prepared as a part of a broader study for WA fisheries, is concerned with the regional economy of the West Kimberley region and involves an assessment of the impact on the region of a range of fishing industry scenarios associated with development of an LNG processing facility. Specific tasks involved in the study were to prepare the following:

• a standard input-output model for the West Kimberley regional economy for 2007/08 and extend it as a DECON model; and

• estimates of the regional economic and population impact for a range of fishing industry scenarios arising from the …

Evaluation Of Post Restoration Conditions At Little River Marsh In North Hampton, New Hampshire, David M. Burdick, Chris Peter, Rober Vincent

Natural Resources & the Environment

The goals of the restoration project at Little River were two-fold: 1) restore ecological function of the marsh by reestablishing regular tidal flooding; and 2) reduce the frequency and severity of local flooding to surrounding landowners. Our report documents substantial progress toward the first goal using regional monitoring protocols to assess four functional areas: hydrology, soils, vegetation and nekton. Installation of two large box culverts (each 1.8 by 3.6 m in cross-section) greatly enhanced tidal flow and freshwater drainage. The tide range increased from 0.5 to 1.4 m during spring tides and now even neap high tides flood most of …

Study Of Secondary Metabolite Gene Expression In Marine Microbial Co-Cultures Using Quantitative Real-Time Pcr, Crystal A. Conway

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Interactions among microbial organisms often cannot be observed directly, but they can be inferred genetically using new molecular techniques. The analysis of secondary metabolite gene expression produced by co-cultured marine microbial species allows us to see how these organisms interact with one another when kept in the same environment. Co-cultures of three different strains of marine bacteria, P. aeruginosa PAO1, Roseobacter denitrificans OCH114, and Salinispora arenicola CNS-205 were grown in a laboratory setting, and using the Real-Time qPCR method gene expression levels of two different secondary metabolite producing genes from each organism was accessed across three time points. P. aeruginosa …

Testing Of Great Bay Oysters For Two Protozoan Pathogens, Douglas E. Grout

PREP Reports & Publications

Two protozoan pathogens, Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) and Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) are known to be present in Great Bay oysters. With funds provided by the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP), the Marine Fisheries Division of New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, (NHF&G) continues to assess the presence and intensity of both disease conditions in oysters from the major beds within the Great Bay estuarine system. Histological examination of Great Bay oysters has also revealed other endoparasites.

Diurnal Movements And Site Fidelity Of The Florida Manatee, Trichechus Manatus Latirostris, In Fort Lauderdale, Fl., Kym Walsh

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The diurnal movements of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in warmwater refugia are poorly understood and these may prove critical in accurately estimating populations of these animals. Previous studies indicate that manatee populations in such refuges in Tampa Bay, FL, peak mid-day and decline towards evening when the animals leave to forage. This trend suggests that variation in the timing of aerial manatee population surveys may hamper accurate estimation of the true population size. Aerial survey counts are known to underestimate population size, yet the extent of the underestimation may be greater than expected. In this study data …

Seasonal Variability In Ichthyoplankton Abundance And Assemblage Composition In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Off Alabama, Frank J. Hernandez, Jr, Sean P. Powers, William M. Graham

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Multiyear ichthyoplankton surveys used to monitor larval fish seasonality, abundance, and assemblage structure can provide early indicators of regional ecosystem changes. Numerous ichthyoplankton surveys have been conducted in the northern Gulf of Mexico, but few have had high levels of temporal resolution and sample replication. In this study, ichthyoplankton samples were collected monthly (October 2004–October 2006) at a single station off the coast of Alabama as part of a long-term biological survey. Four seasonal periods were identified from observed and historic water temperatures, including a relatively long (June–October) “summer” period (water temperature >26°C). Fish egg abundance, total larval abundance, and …

East Kingston Buffer Outreach, Ctap Program, Julie Labranche

PREP Reports & Publications

Rockingham Planning Commission worked with the East Kingston Conservation Commission to identify buffer areas on the Pheasant Run conservation property, install buffer boundary markers and interpretive signage for entrances, buffers and wetlands on the Pheasant Run conservation property, develop and distribute brochures about the Pheasant Run conservation property, develop an outreach program about buffers at the East Kingston library, and develop a newspaper about protecting wetlands and water resources, including water quality protection measures, buffer planting and maintenance, functions and values of buffers, and wildlife and aquatic habitat.

Year 15 Work Plan, Prep

PREP Reports & Publications

No abstract provided.

A Citizen's Guide To Protecting East Kingston's Water Resources, Julie Labranche

PREP Reports & Publications

East Kingston is fortunate to still have much of the rural charm that makes living in New Hampshire so special. The ability to take relaxing walks through beautiful natural areas just minutes from your back door is one of the reasons residents love this town. Many of these open natural areas in town are on conservation land and one small parcel is getting extra attention by the East Kingston Conservation Commission to make it even more accessible to residents.

Interspecific Variation In Palatability Suggests Cospecialization Of Antipredator Defenses In Sea Hares, Kimberly K. Takagi, Nadia N. Ono, William G. Wright

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Prey species often deploy different kinds of antipredator defenses, which can interact with each other in ways that are not yet completely understood. Much research into these interactions has utilized gastropod mollusks, usually focusing (in part) on the protective utility of the gastropod shell. This makes the evolutionary reduction of the shell in the opisthobranch gastropods (marine slugs) particularly interesting. This loss of protective function of the shell is associated with the evolution of alternative defenses. Particularly well studied are chemical defenses, especially those using secondary metabolites derived from food resources. As a first step toward understanding interspecific variation in …

Deplete Locally, Impact Globally: Environmental History Of Shore-Whaling In Barbados, W.I, Aldemaro Romero Jr., Joel E. Creswell

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Shearwater Foraging In The Southern Ocean: The Roles Of Prey Availability And Winds, B Raymond, Scott A. Shaffer, S Sokolov, E Woehler, D P. Costa, L Einoder, M Hindell, G Hosie, M Pinkerton, P M. Sagar, D Scott, A Smith, D R. Thompson, C Vertigan, H Weimerskirch

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Background Sooty (Puffinus griseus) and short-tailed (P. tenuirostris) shearwaters are abundant seabirds that range widely across global oceans. Understanding the foraging ecology of these species in the Southern Ocean is important for monitoring and ecosystem conservation and management. Methodology/Principal Findings Tracking data from sooty and short-tailed shearwaters from three regions of New Zealand and Australia were combined with at-sea observations of shearwaters in the Southern Ocean, physical oceanography, near-surface copepod distributions, pelagic trawl data, and synoptic near-surface winds. Shearwaters from all three regions foraged in the Polar Front zone, and showed particular overlap in the region around 140°E. Short-tailed shearwaters …

Niche Partitioning Among And Within Sympatric Tropical Seabirds Revealed By Stable Isotope Analysis, H S. Young, D J. Mccauley, R Dirzo, R D. Dunbar, Scott A. Shaffer

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

The low productivity and unpredictable nature of resources in tropical waters would appear to make resource partitioning among predators difficult. Yet, stable isotope data from the present study suggest that substantial resource partitioning occurs among tropical seabird communities, both between and within species. In the present study, we compared δ13C and δ15N levels among 8 sympatric tropical seabird species. For a subset of these species, we also examined isotopic levels across years, breeding periods, and sexes. When breeding and non-breeding periods were both considered, we found that all species occupied distinct isotopic niches across at least one time period. Resource …

How U.S. Ocean Policy And Market Power Can Reform The Coral Reef Wildlife Trade, Brian N. Tissot, Barbara A. Best, Eric H. Borneman, Andrew W. Bruckner, Cara H. Cooper, Heather D’Agnes, Timothy P. Fitzgerald, Amanda Leland, Susan Lieberman, Amy Mathews Amos, Rashid Sumaila, Teresa M. Telecky, Frazer Mcgilvray, Brian J. Plankis, Andrew L. Rhyne, Glynnis G. Roberts, Benjamin Starkhouse, Todd C. Stevenson

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

As the world’s largest importer of marine ornamental species for the aquaria, curio, home décor, and jewelry industries, the United States has an opportunity to leverage its considerable market power to promote more sustainable trade and reduce the effects of ornamental trade stress on coral reefs worldwide. Evidence indicates that collection of some coral reef animals for these trades has caused virtual elimination of local populations, major changes in age structure, and promotion of collection practices that destroy reef habitats. Management and enforcement of collection activities in major source countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines remain weak. Strengthening US …