Marine Biology Commons^™

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 …

Egg Quality Traits And Predictors Of Embryo And Fry Viability In Red Snapper Lutjanus Campechanus, Agnés Bardon-Albaret, Eric Saillant

Faculty Publications

The quality of red snapper eggs is highly variable and unpredictable in aquaculture, leading to high mortality during early larval rearing. In this work, the viability of red snapper eggs was monitored from fertilization until unfed larvae expired because of exhaustion of vitelline reserves to determine egg quality traits in this species. The spawns were obtained via strip spawning wild-caught females following hormonal induction with chorionic gonadotropin. Females were induced immediately after capture (wild group, n = 17) or held captive for the entire maturation period prior to induction (captive group, n = 7). Candidate predictors of egg quality measured …

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 …

Catalase Is A Determinant Of The Colonization And Transovarial Transmission Of Rickettsia Parkeri In The Gulf Coast Tick Amblyomma Maculatum, Khemraj Budachetri, Deepak Kumar, Shahid Karim

Faculty Publications

The Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum) has evolved as a competent vector of the spotted‐fever group rickettsia, Rickettsia parkeri. In this study, the functional role of catalase, an enzyme responsible for the degradation of toxic hydrogen peroxide, in the colonization of the tick vector by R. parkeri and transovarial transmission of this pathogen to the next tick generation, was investigated. Catalase gene (CAT) expression in midgut, salivary glands and ovarian tissues exhibited a 2–11‐fold increase in transcription level upon R. parkeri infection. Depletion of CAT transcripts using an RNA‐interference approach significantly reduced R. parkeri infection …

Impact Of Salinity Change On Water Quality Variables From The Sediment Of An Artificial Lake Under Anaerobic Conditions, Tae-Hoon Kim, James Jihoon Kang, Sang Hyun Kim, I-Song Choi, Kwang-Hyeon Chang, Jong Min Oh, Ki-Hyun Kim

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Artificial reservoirs are created by dike construction in coastal areas to secure the agricultural water supply on the west coast of South Korea. These systems are found to retain brackish characteristics until total desalination is achieved. To evaluate the effects of salinity on the organic substances released from the sediment, a laboratory water-sediment column experiment was conducted to assess associated changes in water quality variables such as the sediment oxygen demand (SOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and concentrations of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Under high salinity conditions, the release of N from the sediment was promoted with the enhancement …

Evidence Of Multidecadal Recruitment In The Ocean Quahog, Arctica Islandica In The Western Atlantic Ocean, Sara M. Pace

Master's Theses

Ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica) are the longest-lived, non-colonial animals known today, with a maximum life span exceeding 500 years. Limited information is available regarding recruitment, making the sustainable management of this valuable fishery a challenge. The objective of this research was to describe the age structure and growth rates for four populations of ocean quahogs from the mid-Atlantic stock to evaluate long-term recruitment trends. Clams were sectioned for age estimation to develop population age frequencies. Initial colonization began approximately 175-250 years ago depending upon site. All sites experienced an increase in recruitment beginning in the late 1800’s to …

Dna Analysis Of Surfactant-Associated Bacteria In A Natural Sea Slick In The Gulf Of Mexico Observed By Terrasar-X, Kathryn Howe

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Under low wind speed conditions, surfactants accumulate at the air-sea interface, dampen short-gravity capillary (Bragg) waves, and form natural sea slicks that are detectable visually and in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. Marine organisms, such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, seaweed, and bacteria, produce and degrade surfactants during various life processes. This study coordinates in situ sampling with TerraSAR-X satellite overpasses in order to help guide microbiological analysis of the sea surface microlayer (SML) and associated subsurface water (SSW). Samples were collected in the Gulf of Mexico during a research cruise (LASER) in February 2016 to determine abundance of surfactant associated bacteria …

Synergistic Use Of Remote Sensing And Modeling To Assess An Anomalously High Chlorophyll-A Event During Summer 2015 In The South Central Red Sea, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary, K. P. Manikandan, Mohamed A. Qurban, Michael J. Garay, Olga V. Kalishnikova

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

An anomalously high chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) event (>2 mg/m3) during June 2015 in the South Central Red Sea (17.5° to 22°N, 37° to 42°E) was observed using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from the Terra and Aqua satellite platforms. This differs from the low Chl-a values (<0.5 mg/m3) usually encountered over the same region during summertime. To assess this anomaly and possible causes, we used a wide range of oceanographical and meteorological datasets, including Chl-a concentrations, sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height (SSH), mixed layer depth (MLD), ocean current velocity and aerosol optical depth (AOD) obtained from different sensors and models. Findings confirmed this anomalous behavior in the spatial domain using Hovmöller data analysis techniques, while a time series analysis addressed monthly and daily variability. Our analysis suggests that a combination of factors controlling nutrient supply contributed to the anomalous phytoplankton growth. These factors include horizontal transfer of upwelling water through eddy circulation and possible mineral fertilization from atmospheric dust deposition. Coral reefs might have provided extra nutrient supply, yet this is out of the scope of our analysis. We thought that dust deposition from a coastal dust jet event in late June, coinciding with the phytoplankton blooms in the area under investigation, might have also contributed as shown by our AOD findings. However, a lag cross correlation showed a two- month lag between strong dust outbreak and the high Chl-a anomaly. The high Chl-a concentration at the edge of the eddy emphasizes the importance of horizontal advection in fertilizing oligotrophic (nutrient poor) Red Sea waters.

Coral Vs. Macroalgae: Relative Susceptibility To Sedimentation And Ocean Warming, Ashton J. Galarno

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Sedimentation and ocean warming are two major anthropogenic stressors that directly affect coral recruitment and recovery. Many coral-dominated reefs have undergone phase shifts becoming macroalgae-dominated because of the coral population’s inability to tolerate these increasing stressors. Predicting these phase shifts requires a determination of the relative susceptibility of coral and macroalgae to these stressors. The objective of this study was to quantitatively assess the synergistic effects of sedimentation and elevated temperature on the survival and growth of Montastraea cavernosa newly settled coral juveniles, and fragments of the macroalgae, Dictyota ciliolata. A crossed experimental design tested the two temperatures and …

Evidence Of Intermittent Residency In The Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus Ursinus)., Megan Foley

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

This study found evidence of intermittent, multi-year residency periods in northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) using stable isotope ratios in vibrissae and canine teeth. Northern fur seals migrate from the Bering Sea during summer months to lower latitudes and slightly warmer waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean and California Current in the winter. To determine the length of time spent away from the Bering Sea, growth rate was estimated using the covarying oscillations δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, estimated to be 0.09 mm/day. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in vibrissae from 30 male …

Investigating The Effect Of Mechanical Beach Cleaning On Nesting, Hatching And Emergence Success Of Loggerhead (Caretta Caretta) And Green (Chelonia Mydas) Sea Turtles In Broward County, Florida, Megan A. Earney

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Sea turtles face many threats to their populations globally. Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List as Endangered. In Florida, loggerhead and green sea turtles nest along the coastline during April-September. Mechanical beach cleaning is an aesthetic service performed daily on some beaches in Florida to clean the wrack line and/or the entire beach of debris. Alterations made to beaches by methods such as mechanical beach cleaning have the potential to impact sea turtle nesting, hatching, and emergence success. Generalized …

Microbial Community Richness Distinguishes Shark Species Microbiomes In South Florida, Rachael Cassandra Karns

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The microbiome (microbial community) of individuals is crucial when characterizing and understanding processes that are required for organism function and survival. Microbial organisms, which make up an individual’s microbiome, can be linked to disease or function of the host organism. In humans, individuals differ substantially in their microbiome compositions in various areas of the body. The cause of much of the composition diversity is yet unexplained, however, it is speculated that habitat, diet, and early exposure to microbes could be altering the microbiomes of individuals (Human Microbiome Project Consortium, 2012b, 2012a). To date, only one study has reported on microbiome …

Reconciling The Challenge Of Aphanic Species Within Marine Conservation, Kerri L. Bolow

HCNSO Student Capstones

Aphanic species are those within a taxonomic complex that may not be readily distinguishable from other sympatric species. The existence of these species is becoming apparent at an increasing rate through the use of technological tools like molecular genetic analyses. A lack of clarity on the definitions of terms used to describe similar species, how these species are identified, and how prevalent they are can confound identification, description, and management of these organisms. This review collects and defines the terms used to describe these hidden species and suggests the use of the term aphanic for situations where additional information (and …

Differential Use Of Two Warm-Water Effluents By The Florida Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris) And Temporal Distributions Throughout Broward County, Florida, Laura F. Eldredge

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The threatened Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) migrates seasonally to warm-water refugia throughout the state of Florida due to metabolic requirements from low thermal conductance. Broward County’s two power plant refugia, Port Everglades (PEP) and Lauderdale (LPP), are known heavily-utilized aggregation sites for the Atlantic sub-population. Broward County collected relative abundance counts via aerial surveys from 2004–2013 siting 31,418 manatees during 169 surveys within 18 defined waterway zones. Counts during manatee wintering seasons were significantly different from January 2005-March 2008 and November 2008-March 2013, likely related to flight path and frequency standardization. Mean percentage of adults (90.12%) to …

Shark Bycatch In Commercial Fisheries: A Global Perspective, Stephanie M. Bettis

HCNSO Student Capstones

Many shark species have global distributions and are caught incidentally in different types of fisheries. Over the last two decades, shark populations have declined tremendously, with one of the leading causes of this decline bycatch in primarily teleost fisheries. Bycatch occurs throughout the world’s fisheries, but is not well documented in terms of species composition and numbers of each species captured. Information on shark bycatch is spread through the primary and grey literature, but has not been compiled in summary to date. The goal of my capstone is to present global shark bycatch data and provide a comparative review to …

Bacterial Communities Associated With Healthy And Diseased Acropora Cervicornis (Staghorn Coral) Using High-Throughput Sequencing, Charles Walton

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Coral diseases were first noted in the 1960s and 1970s and have had major impacts globally on coral reef community structures. In the Caribbean, a major outbreak of white band disease has been considered responsible for the drastic decline of Caribbean Acroporids since the 1970s. In addition to white band disease, another more recently described condition known as rapid tissue loss (RTL) has had major impacts on Acropora cervicornis populations, specifically offshore Broward County Southeast Florida. While these diseases have contributed to the population decline, determining their etiologies has been elusive.

Coral diseases have been characterized by shifts in their …

The Biannual Cycle And Reproductive Morphology Of The Yellow Stingray, Urobatis Jamaicensis (Cuvier, 1817), With A Comparative Analysis From Batoid Reproductive Literature, Daniel P. Fahy

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The yellow stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis (Cuvier, 1816) is the most common elasmobranch encountered in the coastal waters of Southeast Florida. The objectives of the present research were to characterize the reproductive biology of a stable population distributed near the northern extent of the species range. Morphological analyses were conducted to determine the seasonal variation of macroscopic and microscopic development and structural organization of reproductive organs of male and female rays (excluding ovarian histology) during all stages of reproduction. This is the first study to document a seasonal biannual cycle for any elasmobranch, as well as, sexual synchrony with a …

Northern Gulf Of Mexico Pb-210 Inventories, 2010-2013, Patrick Schwing

C-IMAGE data

This dataset consists of Pb-210 activity measurements from sediment cores taken throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico with relation to the Deepwater Horizon. Short-lived radioisotope measurements and geochronological model calculations follow those presented in Brooks GR, et al. (2015) Sedimentation Pulse in the NE Gulf of Mexico following the 2010 DWH Blowout. PLoS ONE 10(7): e0132341. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132341. Samples were analyzed by gamma spectrometry on Canberra HPGe (High-Purity Germanium) Coaxial Planar Photon Detectors for total 210Pb (46.5Kev), 214Pb (295 Kev and 351 Kev), and 214Bi (609Kev) activities. Data were corrected for counting time and detector efficiency, as well as for the …

Biogeophysical And Physiological Processes Drive Movement Patterns In A Marine Predator, Lucy A. Howey, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Emily R. Tolentino, Mahmood S. Shivji

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background

Blue sharks (Prionace glauca) are among the most abundant and widely distributed of oceanic elasmobranchs. Millions are taken annually in pelagic longline fisheries and comprise the highest component of auctioned fin weight in the international shark fin trade. Though studies of blue sharks outnumber those of other large pelagic sharks, the species’ complicated and sexually segregated life history still confound current understanding of Atlantic movement patterns. Lack of detailed information regarding movement and vertical behavior continues to limit management efforts that require such data for stock assessment and sustainable catch modeling. Therefore, this study aims to describe …

Novel Bio-Logging Tool For Studying Fine-Scale Behaviors Of Marine Turtles In Response To Sound, Reny B. Tyson, Wendy Dow Piniak, Camila Domit, David Mann, Michael Hall, Douglas P. Nowacek, Mariana M. P. B. Fuentes

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Increases in the spatial scale and intensity of activities that produce marine anthropogenic sound highlight the importance of understanding the impacts and effects of sound on threatened species such as marine turtles. Marine turtles detect and behaviorally respond to low-frequency sounds, however few studies have directly examined their behavioral responses to specific types or intensities of anthropogenic or natural sounds. Recent advances in the development of bio-logging tools, which combine acoustic and fine-scale movement measurements, have allowed for evaluations of animal responses to sound. Here, we describe these tools and present a case study demonstrating the potential application of a …

Southward Flow On The Western Flank Of The Florida Current, Alexander Soloviev, Amy Hirons, Christopher Maingot, Cayla Whitney Dean, Richard E. Dodge, Alexander E. Yankovsky, Jon Wood, Robert H. Weisberg, Mark E. Luther, Julian P. Mccreary

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A suite of long-term in situ measurements in the Straits of Florida, including the ADCP bottom moorings at an 11-m isobath and 244-m isobath (Miami Terrace) and several ADCP ship transects, have revealed a remarkable feature of the ocean circulation - southward flow on the western, coastal flank of the Florida Current. We have observed three forms of the southward flow - a seasonally varying coastal countercurrent, an undercurrent jet attached to the Florida shelf, and an intermittent undercurrent on the Miami Terrace. According to a 13-year monthly climatology obtained from the near-shore mooring, the coastal countercurrent is a persistent …

Comparing Salinities Of 10, 20, And 30% In Intensive, Commercial-Scale Biofloc Shrimp (Litopenaeus Vannamei) Production Systems, Andrew J. Ray, Jeffrey M. Lotz

Faculty Publications

Minimal-exchange, intensive biofloc aquaculture systems offer a viable means of culturing marine animals at inland locations due to very low rates of water use. Fresh, never-frozen shrimp can be provided to metropolitan markets; however, the cost of artificial salt can be substantial. The purpose of this project was to examine commercial-scale biofloc shrimp production at three different salinities. Nine raceways were randomly assigned to three salinity treatments: 10, 20, and 30‰ (LS, MS, and HS), each treatment contained three raceways operated at 50 m³. The raceways were operated as heterotrophic biofloc systems, with daily additions of sucrose to …

Determining Critical Internesting And Foraging Habitats For The Conservation Of Sea Turtles In Gabon, Africa Using Satellite Tracking And Stable Isotope Analysis, Tiffany M. Dawson

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Understanding the horizontal and vertical habitat of olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), a threatened species, is critical for determining regions of protection that may effectively reduce bycatch, the largest threat to this species. Satellite transmitters were used to determine the movement and dive behavior of 21 female olive ridley turtles tagged in Pongara National Park, Gabon during the 2012, 2013, and 2015 nesting seasons. A switching state space model was used to filter the tracking data and categorize the internesting and post-nesting movements. Gridded utilization distribution (UD) home range analysis of tracking data revealed that the entire core habitat …

The Effect Of "Casitas" On Lobster Biology And Fishery Sustainability In The Bahamas, Lester George Gittens

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

“Casitas” (artificial table-like structures) are a commercial fishing gear used to harvest Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) in the Caribbean and in The Bahamas, where lobster is the most valuable fishery. Yet, casitas are largely unregulated in The Bahamas and they may threaten fishery sustainability through alteration of lobster growth, disease, or mortality rates and due to insufficient information concerning their number and location. Focusing on the lobster fishery in The Bahamas, my objectives were to: (1) investigate the mortality, growth, and susceptibility to disease of lobsters collected in casitas compared to wooden traps and those living in …

Can Ecosystem Functional Recovery Be Traced To Decomposition And Nitrogen Dynamics In Estuaries Of The Lower Laguna Madre, Texas?, Mario A. Marquez, Alejandro Fierro-Cabo, Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The biggest incentive to attempt the restoration and protection of estuaries is their widely acknowledged ecological and economic importance. Assessing estuary health and recovery can most accurately come from examining ecosystem processes. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of mass loss and nitrogen (N) dynamics during leaf litter decomposition, to detect signs of functional recovery in two estuarine systems in south Texas. Submerged litterbags with black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) leaves were retrieved at various dates over 320 days. Decomposition was about 50% slower in one of the recovering systems compared to a reference site. …

Sorption Of Cr(Iii) And Cr(Vi) To K2mn4o9 Nanomaterial A Study Of The Effect Of Ph, Time, Temperature And Interferences, J. P. Valle, B. Gonzalez, J. Schulz, D. Salinas, U. Romero, Diego F. Gonzalez, Carolina Valdes, J. M. Cantu, Thomas Eubanks, Jason Parsons

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

A Rancieite type material (K2Mn4O9) nanomaterial was synthesized and tested for the removal of chromium (III) and chromium (VI) from aqueous solutions. The synthesized nanomaterial was characterized using powder XRD and SEM. XRD showed weak diffraction peaks at only at the angles associated with K2Mn4O9. The SEM corroborated that the nanoparticles were present; however, the nanoparticles were clustered into larger aggregates. Batch studies were performed to determine the optimum pH, capacity, time dependency, interferences, and the thermodynamics of the binding. The optimum pH for the binding of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) were determined to be pH 5 and pH 2, respectively. …

Characterize The Condition Of Previously Known And Newly Identified Large Dense Acropora Cervicornis Patches In Southeast Florida, Brian K. Walker

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

Historically, Acropora spp. are the major reef building corals seen throughout the Caribbean and parts of the Western Atlantic that can grow relatively rapidly in dominant mono-specific stands. Their rapid growth and fragmentation allows them to out compete other benthic organisms and form the major framework for entire reef zones. They are the most abundant and important species for reef accretion. Their branching morphologies provide important habitat for many other reef species and no other Caribbean coral species fills these ecosystem functions. Acroporids were once the dominant reef builder in the Caribbean and provided the majority of live coral cover, …

Multiple Opening Closing Net Environmental Sensing System (Mocness) Instrument Data For Cruise Dp05 R/V Point Sur In-Situ Deep Seawater And Associated Fauna, May 1-11, 2017, Viosca Knoll Gom, Gray Lawson, Travis Richards

DEEPEND Datasets

The Multiple Opening Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System(s) (MOCNESS) deployed during the DEEPEND field program collects data (e.g., pressure, temperature, conductivity, volume filtered, horizontal and vertical velocity, latitude, and longitude) from several sensors while the instrument is in use. These data help characterize the environment and assess the orientation and speed of the MOCNESS. The flow and net angle can be used to calculate the volume of water filtered for each net. The biological data and ship data collected during this cruise are available in GRIIDC datasets R4.x257.226:0005 and R4.x257.226:0014 respectively.

Time Series Of Northern Gulf Of Mexico Hydrocarbon Data, 2010-2013, Isabel C. Romero

C-IMAGE data

This dataset consist of hydrocarbon measurements in sediment cores collected during the cruises to northern Gulf of Mexico in the R/V Weatherbird II from 2010-2013.

Modeling The Population Effects Of Hypoxia On Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias Undulatus) In The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico: Part 1—Model Description And Idealized Hypoxia, Kenneth A. Rose, Sean Creekmore, Peter Thomas, J. Kevin Craig, Md. Saydur Rahman, Rachael Miller Neilan

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

We developed a spatially explicit, individual-based model to analyze how hypoxia effects on reproduction, growth, and mortality of Atlantic croaker in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico lead to population-level responses. The model follows the hourly growth, mortality, reproduction, and movement of individuals on a 300 × 800 spatial grid of 1-km² cells for 140 years. Chlorophyll-a concentration, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen (DO) were specified daily for each grid cell and repeated for each year of the simulation. A bioenergetics model was used to represent growth, mortality was assumed stage- and age-dependent, and the movement behavior of juveniles and …