Marine Biology Commons^™

Distribution, Prevalence, And Genetic Analysis Of Panulirus Argus Virus 1 (Pav1) From The Caribbean Sea, Jessica Moss, Donald C. Behringer Jr., Jeffrey D. Shields, Antonio Baeza, Alfonso Aguilar-Perera, Phillippe G. Bush, Clement Dromer, Alejandro Herrera-Moreno, Lester Gittens, Thomas R. Matthews, Michael R. Mccord, Michelle T. Schärer, Lionel Reynal, Nathanial Truelove, Mark J. Butler Iv

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The pathogenic virus Panulirus argus virus 1 (PaV1) was first discovered in Caribbean spiny lobsters Panulirus argus from the Florida Keys (USA) in 1999 and has since been reported in Belize, Mexico, and Cuba; its distribution in the wider Caribbean is unknown. We collected tissue samples from adult spiny lobsters from 30 locations in 14 countries bordering the Caribbean Sea and used molecular diagnostics to assay for the presence of PaV1. PaV1 occurred primarily in the northern areas of the Caribbean, where its prevalence was highest. The virus was not found in lobsters from the southeastern Caribbean, and its prevalence …

Edges And Overlaps In Northwest Atlantic Phylogeography, Safra Altman, John D. Robinson, James M. Pringle, James E. Byers, John P. Wares

Publications and Research

As marine environments change, the greatest ecological shifts—including resource usage and species interactions—are likely to take place in or near regions of biogeographic and phylogeographic transition. However, our understanding of where these transitional regions exist depends on the defining criteria. Here we evaluate phylogeographic transitions using a bootstrapping procedure that allows us to focus on either the strongest genetic transitions between a pair of contiguous populations, versus evaluation of transitions inclusive of the entire overlap between two intraspecific genetic lineages. We compiled data for the Atlantic coast of the United States, and evaluate taxa with short- and long-dispersing larval phases …

For The Birds, Milan Bull

Wrack Lines

A new column about shore birds, starting with piping plovers.

Marine Turtle Health Assessment And Aquarium Suitability: Uzi Island, Zanzibar, Olivia “Warda” Crane

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study assessed the health of the marine turtles in the aquarium on Uzi Island. Health evaluations of each turtle included size, eating habit, and physical abnormalities. Behaviorally the sea turtles were observed at two different time periods multiple times. Results were compared to research on wild sea turtles. The conditions of the aquarium were evaluated for water quality and holding capacity. The water temperature, pH, and salinity levels were tested to assess the water quality. The results showed that the overall health of the sea turtles were positive from the normal activities and few abnormalities. The overall aquarium conditions …

Bioremediation Mariculture In Zanzibar, Tanzania: A Viability Assessment Of Using Bath Sponge And Pearl Oyster Farms To Filter Highly Olluted Waters In The Zanzibar Channel, Hayley Oakland

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Bioremediation of polluted water off the coastline of the urban center of Zanzibar—Stone Town, Unguja—was assessed for implementation feasibility through bath sponge and pearl oyster mariculture. A vast research base of the city’s coastal area exists, including the pollution concentrations at various locations, the ramifications of this pollution on the fringing ecosystems, and the relevant water circulation system of eddies and passageways produced by the north flowing East African Counter Current. In following the experimental examples of bioremediation projects around the world, this study tested facets of the filtration abilities of marine sponges and oysters. Both organisms suggested strong pollution …

There's A New Crop In Town, Margaret (Peg) A. Van_Patten Ms.

Wrack Lines

This food is being grown and sold in Connecticut for the first time--maybe it's not what you think!

Partners In Spread Prevention, Nancy C. Balcom

Wrack Lines

Working together to stop the spread of aquatic invasive species.

Microhabitat Selection By Marine Mesoconsumers In A Thermally Heterogeneous Habitat: Behavioral Thermoregulation Or Avoiding Predation Risk?, Jeremy Vaudo, Michael Heithaus

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Habitat selection decisions by consumers has the potential to shape ecosystems. Understanding the factors that influence habitat selection is therefore critical to understanding ecosystem function. This is especially true of mesoconsumers because they provide the link between upper and lower tropic levels. We examined the factors influencing microhabitat selection of marine mesoconsumers – juvenile giant shovelnose rays (Glaucostegus typus), reticulate whiprays (Himantura uarnak), and pink whiprays (H. fai) – in a coastal ecosystem with intact predator and prey populations and marked spatial and temporal thermal heterogeneity. Using a combination of belt transects and data …

Florida Keys Population Abundance Estimates For Nine Coral Species Proposed For Listing Under The U.S. Endangered Species Act, Steven Miller, William F. Precht, Leanne M. Rutten, Mark Chiappone

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

This report presents abundance and size-class distribution estimates for nine coral species in the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas, all of which are proposed for listing or reclassification under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The lack of population data for these species was highlighted as a deficiency in the ESA Review Process by the Biological Review Team (BRT) in their Status Review (Brainard et al. 2011) and also by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (Federal Register 2012). Field sampling protocols were adapted from Aronson et al. (1994) and the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment program (Kramer …

Coral Population Trajectories, Increased Disturbance And Management Intervention: A Sensitivity Analysis, Bernhard Riegl, M. L. Berumen, Andrew Bruckner

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Coral reefs distant from human population were sampled in the Red Sea and one-third showed degradation by predator outbreaks (crown-of-thorns-starfish = COTS observed in all regions in all years) or bleaching (1998, 2010). Models were built to assess future trajectories. They assumed variable coral types (slow/fast growing), disturbance frequencies (5,10,20 years), mortality (equal or not), and connectivity (un/connected to un/disturbed community). Known disturbances were used to parameterize models. Present and future disturbances were estimated from remote-sensing chlorophyll and temperature data. Simulations and sensitivity analysis suggest community resilience at >20-year disturbance frequency, but degradation at higher frequency. Trajectories move from fast-grower …

Changes In A Tropical Seagrass Environment After Installation Of Small Artificial Reefs, Joseph M. Penta

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The 3-dimensional structural complexity of coral reef environments is positively correlated with measurements of biodiversity and biomass. EcoReefs are a type of artificial reef that resemble branching corals, such as Acropora cervicornis, which provide an environment of high structural diversity, and that are effective at recruiting and sustaining fish populations. Little is known, however, about the effects of EcoReefs on the surrounding environments in which they are deployed, so this study examined the results after installing Ecoreef modules in a seagrass environment. The installation occurred in March 2009 at Coco Cay in the Berry Island chain in the Bahamas …

A Review Of Predator-Prey Interactions Within Marine Ecosystems With A Focus On Top Predator Influences On Ecosystem Stability And Fisheries Management Implications, Kathleen Cook Hollowell

HCNSO Student Capstones

The objective of this paper is to review the effects top predators have on and within marine ecosystems, although the full impact that they have isn’t well understood. This paper will define and explain different types of direct and indirect interactions of predators on prey, the types of models or observing techniques currently used to study these interactions, the reasons for top predator loss and the impact top predator loss could have on marine ecosystems.

Will The Exploratory Behavior Of Lobsters Decrease As They Become Familiar With Their Environment?, Marissa Cuda

Honors Theses and Capstones

Previous studies have shown that most lobsters have a home range in which they reside on a daily basis. The tendency for lobsters to reside in a particular area suggests that they have the ability to learn the characteristics of an area using exploratory behavior. We hypothesize that the exploratory behavior of juvenile lobsters will decrease as time spent in a novel environment increases; specifically exploratory behavior will decrease as the lobsters continuously learn the environment. Exploratory activity of juvenile lobsters was monitored in six lobsters using two separate maze complexities. Lobsters were video recorded and activity was measured based …

Basin Isolation And Oceanographic Features Influencing Lineage Divergence In The Humbug Damselfish (Dascyllus Aruanus) In The Coral Triangle, Jeremy M. Raynal

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The Coral Triangle (CT) is a hotspot for marine species diversity as well as for intraspecific genetic diversity. Here, nuclear RAG2 and mitochondrial D-Loop genes were used to identify deep genetic divergence among Dascyllus aruanus (Linnaeus, 1758) populations across relatively short scales within the CT. Mitochondrial clades different by greater than 20 mutational steps were geographically isolated from one another across the distance between Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands, and also east and west across the Philippines. Evidence for population structure in the Sulu Sea and at the Lesser Sunda Islands is also identified. The results suggest that the …

Comparative Phylogeography Of The Emperor Snappers Lethrinus Lentjan And Lethrinus Harak (Lethrinidae: Percoidei) In The Coral Triangle, Andrew B. Hines

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Many questions remain regarding the origins of the well-known peak in marine biodiversity found in the Coral Triangle. Barriers to gene flow may promote lineage diversification and provide the potential for speciation contributing to the high biodiversity in this area. Population structure was examined in two species of Emperor Snappers (Lethrinidae), Lethrinus harak and Lethrinus lentjan. These species were selected because they share similar life-history traits and geographic distributions, but differ in their habitat preferences. Specimens were collected from within the Coral Triangle as well as other localities across the Indo-Pacific. To investigate phylogeographic patterns and structure a hypervariable …

Variation In Egg Components: A Study Of Maternal Investment And Resource Partitioning In The Nesting Loggerhead Sea Turtle; Estimating Genic Variation And Mapping Genetic Lineage Of A Rare Captive Helodermatid Population: Heloderma Horridum Charlesbogerti, Ketan V. Patel

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Loggerhead sea turtles have the highest egg yields of any oviparous non-avian reptiles. Blood urea nitrogen levels increased as the season progressed while total blood albumen and total protein levels decreased. Wet egg mass (H = 1.7719 df = 2 p = 0.0375*) and albumen mass (H = 6.0507 df = 2 p = 0.0485*) significantly decreased across the nesting season however, wet yolk did not. Analysis of dried egg components showed that dry yolk and albumen did not differ across the nesting season. In addition on no seasonal change in dried egg components, hatchling size was conserved across the …

Environmental And Physiological Influences On Productivity And Carbon Isotope Discrimination In Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.), Meredith Leigh Mcpherson

OES Theses and Dissertations

A short-term longitudinal study was used to examine the relations of achievement motivation, general motivation, interest, and self-regulatory predictors to cognitive strategy use and academic performance. A total of 102 college undergraduates enrolled in their first college-level introductory psychology course completed an Achieving Tendency Scale of achievement motivation, the Motivated Strategies For Learning Questionnaire, and an Interest Profile in psychology during the first two weeks of the semester. At midterm they completed the Study Activity Survey of cognitive strategy use. At the end of the semester exam grades, total points earned in the course, and grade point average were obtained. …

Response Of Natural Estuarine Algal Communities To Nitrogen Additions, Christopher Schweitzer

OES Theses and Dissertations

Coastal eutrophication resulting from nutrient over-enrichment plagues coastal waterways worldwide. In addition to dissolved inorganic N, many marine microbes, including phytoplankton, have the capacity to use certain dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) compounds. However, while we know that many specific DON compounds are labile, the bulk of the DON pool in nature is uncharacterized. The bioavailability of DON to estuarine microbes currently remains unclear.

It is becoming evident that natural phytoplankton assemblages in estuarine waters are capable of using both inorganic and organic N compounds for growth, both of which are present in anthropogenic point and non-point source discharges. Methods for …

Validating The Use Of Sex Steroid Hormones Extracted From The Skeletal Muscle Tissue Of The Atlantic Sharpnose Shark (Rhizoprionodon Terraenovae), Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), And The Little Skate (Leucoraja Erinacea) To Assess Reproductive Status In Elasmobranch Fishes, Bianca Prohaska

All Theses And Dissertations

Currently, circulating concentrations of plasma steroid hormones are used as one means to assess reproductive maturity and reproductive cycles in elasmobranchs. However, obtaining blood non-lethally from large and/or endangered species can be problematic because of difficulties involved with specimen handling. Thus, there is a need to develop new approaches and techniques to study the reproductive biology of elasmobranchs. Previous work conducted on other classes of vertebrates has demonstrated that steroid hormones can be successfully extracted from muscle tissue. The process of collecting muscle tissue samples is quick, minimally invasive, and may be conducted without removing the animal from the water, …

Insights Into Archaeal Evolution And Symbiosis From The Genomes Of A Nanoarchaeon And Its Inferred Crenarchaeal Host From Obsidian Pool, Yellowstone National Park, Mircea Podar, Kira S. Makarova, David E. Graham, Yuri L. Wolf, Eugene V. Koonin, Anna-Louise Reysenbach

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: A single cultured marine organism, Nanoarchaeum equitans, represents the Nanoarchaeota branch of symbiotic Archaea, with a highly reduced genome and unusual features such as multiple split genes.

Results: The first terrestrial hyperthermophilic member of the Nanoarchaeota was collected from Obsidian Pool, a thermal feature in Yellowstone National Park, separated by single cell isolation, and sequenced together with its putative host, a Sulfolobales archaeon. Both the new Nanoarchaeota (Nst1) and N. equitans lack most biosynthetic capabilities, and phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal RNA and protein sequences indicates that the two form a deepbranching archaeal lineage. However, the Nst1 …

The Effect Of Ph On The Metal Binding Capabilities Of Exopolymeric Substances From A Marine Benthic Diatom, Vanessa O'Donnell

All Theses And Dissertations

The marine sediment-water interface is a dynamic microenvironment containing diatoms, which produce exopolymeric substance (EPS). EPS has various functions for individual cells and for marine ecosystems. EPS substance is a species-specific composition that has strong absorptive qualities and is able to bind metals from even a very dilute aqueous solution. As industrially derived metals tend to accumulate in marine mudflats, where diatoms are the major EPS producing organisms, it is important to determine how marine benthic diatom EPS will bind with metals. To address the metal binding properties of diatom EPS, Cylindrotheca closteriums’ EPS was isolated by tangential flow filtration, …

Diel Vertical Movements Of A Scalloped Hammerhead, Sphyrna Lewini, In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Eric R. Hoffmayer, James S. Franks, William B. Driggers, Paul W. Howey

Faculty Publications

Despite the circumglobal distribution of scalloped hammerheads, Sphyrna lewini (Griffith and Smith, 1834), little information is available regarding fine-scale movement and habitat use patterns for this species. Over a 27-d period, data were collected on diel habitat use and environmental preferences of a 240 cm (total length) female S. lewini. The shark exhibited a consistent and repeated diel vertical movement pattern, making more than 76 deep nighttime dives; the maximum depth reached was 964 m, where the temperature was 5.8 degrees C. The purpose of the nightly oscillatory deep diving pattern is unknown but could possibly represent feeding behavior. These …

Quantifying Intrapopulation Variability In Stable Isotope Data For Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion Nebulosus), Richard S. Fulford, Kevin Dillon

Faculty Publications

Stable isotope (SI) values of carbon (delta C-13) and nitrogen (delta N-15) are useful for determining the trophic connectivity between species within an ecosystem, but interpretation of these data involves important assumptions about sources of intrapopulation variability. We compared intrapopulation variability in delta C-13 and delta N-15 for an estuarine omnivore, Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), to test assumptions and assess the utility of SI analysis for delineation of the connectivity of this species with other species in estuarine food webs. Both delta C-13 and delta N-15 values showed patterns of enrichment in fish caught from coastal to offshore sites and …

Supplemental Feeding For Ecotourism Reverses Diel Activity And Alters Movement Patterns And Spatial Distribution Of The Southern Stingray, Dasyatis Americana, Mark John Corcoran, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Mahmood S. Shivji, Matthew Potenski, Demian D. Chapman, Guy Harvey

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Southern stingrays, Dasyatis americana, have been provided supplemental food in ecotourism operations at Stingray City Sandbar (SCS), Grand Cayman since 1986, with this site becoming one of the world’s most famous and heavily visited marine wildlife interaction venues. Given expansion of marine wildlife interactive tourism worldwide, there are questions about the effects of such activities on the focal species and their ecosystems. We used a combination of acoustic telemetry and tag-recapture efforts to test the hypothesis that human-sourced supplemental feeding has altered stingray activity patterns and habitat use at SCS relative to wild animals at control sites. Secondarily, we …

The Perfect Fit

Colby Magazine

From the classrooms and laboratories of Mayflower Hill, they found their niche in science. Microbiologist Carrie Harwood ’73, transplant surgeon Patrick Wood ’75, and marine biologist Paul Wade ’80 have passion for their professions.

The Great Mudpuppy Escape (Sort Of), Stephen Collins

Colby Magazine

The origin of unusual salamanders that inhabit parts of the Belgrade Lakes? We confess, a Colby professor was the culprit.

Synthesizing Larval Competence Dynamics And Reef-Scale Retention Reveals A High Potential For Self-Recruitment In Corals, Joana Figueiredo, Andrew H. Baird, Sean R. Connolly

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Many organisms have a complex life-cycle in which dispersal occurs at the propagule stage. For marine environments, there is growing evidence that high levels of recruitment back to the natal population (self-recruitment) are common in many marine organisms. For fish, swimming behavior is frequently invoked as a key mechanism allowing high self-recruitment. For organisms with weak-swimming larvae, such as many marine invertebrates, the mechanisms behind self-recruitment are less clear. Here, we assessed whether the combination of passive retention of larvae due to re-circulation processes near reefs, and the dynamics of settlement competence, can produce the high levels of self-recruitment previously …

Testing Of Great Bay Oysters For Two Protozoan Pathogens, New Hampshire Fish And Game Department, 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 the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHF&G) continues to assess the presence and intensity of both of these disease conditions in oysters from the major beds within the Great Bay estuarine system. Histological examinations of Great Bay oysters have also revealed other endoparasites.

Rapid Change In Shallow Water Fish Species Composition In An Historically Stable Antarctic Environment, Bradley A. Buckley

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, is home to a unique marine biota with an ecology that has evolved in this frigid environment over millions of years. The region is one of the least disturbed, and possibly the last pristine, marine ecosystem on Earth. Here, the results of three seasons of fishing in the shallow nearshore waters of McMurdo Sound are reported. A shift in the composition of small fish species at one site, Inaccessible Island, has been observed in just five years. The shift in shallow water species composition occurred during a period that followed the maturation of a commercial fishery for …

Environews #5, Feb 4/13: The Sea Turtle's Story, Richard Philp

Data and Test Instruments

Sea turtles have been under seige for decades. All species are either threatened or endangered. The threats to sea turtles and efforts to try and protect them are discussed. Several relevant photos by the author are included.