Marine Biology Commons^™

Rapid Response And Restoration For Coral Reef Injuries In Southeast Florida: Guidelines And Recommendations, Chantal Collier, Richard E. Dodge, David S. Gilliam, Kelly Gracie, Lisa Gregg, Walter Jaap, Mike Mastry, Nikki Poulos

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

From the time an injury to coral reef resources is reported, a well-coordinated and implemented plan is critical to the success of response and restoration efforts. There are three major plan components, each of which is equally important: (1) the Initial Response period immediately following notification of the incident; (2) the Response period, during which the Responsible Party (RP) is identified, the Trustees and RP carry out their respective responsibilities, a Primary Restoration plan is developed, authorizations and contractors to conduct restoration activities are sought and obtained, and primary restoration activities are conducted; and (3) the Post-Response period, which is …

Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation And Monitoring Project 2006 Year 4 Final Report, Jennifer Wheaton, Carl Beaver, Sandra Brooks, Michael Callahan, Shannon Wade, Jeff Beal, Chantal Collier, Laura Herren, Jamie Monty, David S. Gilliam, Vanessa I. P. Brinkhuis, Daniel P. Fahy, Shaun M. Gill, Lindsey Habakuk Klink, M. A. Philips, Nicole R. Stephens, Brian K. Walker, Joanna C. Walczak, Richard E. Dodge, Tim Mcintosh, Steven Blair, Kenneth Banks, Louis E. Fisher, David Stout, Joe Ligas, Janet Phipps

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Ocean Currents And Sea Surface Heights Estimated Across The West Florida Shelf, Yonggang Liu, Robert H. Weisberg

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The across-shelf structures of the ocean circulation and the associated sea surface height (SSH) variability are examined on the west Florida shelf (WFS) for the 3-yr interval from September 1998 to December 2001. Five sets of characteristic circulation patterns are extracted from 2-day, low-pass-filtered data using the self-organizing map: extreme upwelling and downwelling structures with strong currents, asymmetric upwelling and downwelling structures with moderate currents, and a set of transitional structures with weak currents. The temporal variations of these structures are coherent with the local winds on synoptic weather time scales. On seasonal time scales they are related to both …

A Comprehensive Wetland Program For Fringing Salt Marshes In The York River, Maine, Pamela A. Morgan, Jeremy Miller, Christopher Cayce Dalton, Michele Dionne

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

The overall goal of this project was to assist the Town of York, Maine, in its efforts to monitor and protect the fringing salt marshes along the York River. In particular, the project focused on potential impacts to the marshes due to shoreline development pressures. Specific objectives included (1) gathering baseline data about the marshes (2) developing a set of indicators to be used in future monitoring, and (3) generating management recommendations.

New Species And Host Associations Of Commensal Leucothoid Amphipods From Coral Reefs In Florida And Belize (Crustacea:Amphipoda), James Darwin Thomas, Kristine N. Klebba

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Six new amphipod species in the genus Leucothoe from the tropical western Atlantic Ocean are described and illustrated. Extensive field collecting and specialized underwater collecting techniques have documented 43 new invertebrate host records for these new taxa. Four of these new species inhabit interior canals of sponges; Leucothoe barana n.sp., Leucothoe garifunae n.sp., Leucothoe saron n.sp., and Leucothoe ubouhu n.sp. A remarkable new species, Leucothoe flammosa n.sp., nestles in the gills of seven species of bivalve mollusks. A single species, Leucothoe wuriti n.sp., appears restricted to the branchial chamber of two species of solitary ascidians. Detailed illustrations and scanning electron …

Variability In The Bulk Composition And Abundance Of Dissolved Organic Matter In The Lower Mississippi And Pearl Rivers, Shuiwang Duan, Thomas S. Bianchi, Alan M. Shiller, Karl Dria, Patrick G. Hatcher, Kevin R. Carman

Faculty Publications

[1] In this study, we examined the temporal and spatial variability of dissolved organic matter (DOM) abundance and composition in the lower Mississippi and Pearl rivers and effects of human and natural influences. In particular, we looked at bulk C/N ratio, stable isotopes (delta N-15 and delta C-13) and C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry of high molecular weight (HMW; 0.2 mu m to 1 kDa) DOM. Monthly water samples were collected at one station in each river from August 2001 to 2003. Surveys of spatial variability of total dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen ( DON) were also conducted …

Bathymetric Alterations Due To Urbanization And Their Effects On Residual Salinity, Flow Field And Transport Time For Tampa Bay, Florida, Amanda J. Linville

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Growth and development over the past one hundred years has resulted in the construction of causeways and navigational channels in Tampa Bay. Urbanization has lead to bathymetric alterations of the bay, and thus has effectively changed the residual salinity, flow fields, and transport time in Tampa Bay. In this study a numerical ocean model of Tampa Bay was first used to simulate the circulation for 2001-2003 using present day bathymetry. Then, an identical simulation was performed using the bathymetry generated from 1879 depth soundings. The residual (30-day time average) circulation fields and salinity, along with transport times was intercompared for …

Revision Of The Nonequilibrium Thermal Dissociation And Stringent Washing Approaches For Identification Of Mixed Nucleic Acid Targets By Microarrays, Alex E. Pozhitkov, Robert D. Stedtfeld, Syed A. Hashsham, Peter A. Noble

Faculty Publications

Microarray experiments typically involve washing steps that remove hybridized nonspecific targets with the purpose of improving the signal- to- noise ratio. The quality of washing ultimately affects downstream analysis of the microarray and interpretation. The paucity of fundamental studies directed towards understanding the dissociation of mixed targets from microarrays makes the development of meaningful washing/ dissociation protocols difficult. To fill the void, we examined activation energies and preexponential coefficients of 47 perfect match ( PM) and double- mismatch ( MM) duplex pairs to discover that there was no statistical difference between the kinetics of the PM and MM duplexes. Based …

Stoichiometric Controls Of Mercury Dilution By Growth, Roxanne Karimi, Celia Y. Chen, Paul C. Pickhardt, Nicholas S. Fisher, Carol L. Folt

Dartmouth Scholarship

Rapid growth could significantly reduce methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in aquatic organisms by causing a greater than proportional gain in biomass relative to MeHg (somatic growth dilution). We hypothesized that rapid growth from the consumption of high-quality algae, defined by algal nutrient stoichiometry, reduces MeHg concentrations in zooplankton, a major source of MeHg for lake fish. Using a MeHg radiotracer, we measured changes in MeHg concentrations, growth and ingestion rates in juvenile Daphnia pulex fed either high (C:P = 139) or low-quality (C:P = 1317) algae (Ankistrodesmus falcatus) for 5 d. We estimated Daphnia steady-state MeHg concentrations, using a …

Fecundity And Survival Of The Calanoid Copepod Acartia Tonsa Fed Isochrysis Galeana (Tahitian Strain) And Chaetoceros Mulleri, Angelos Apeitos

Master's Theses

Historically, red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) larviculture at the Gulf Coast Research Lab (GCRL) used 25 ppt artificial salt water and mixed, wild zooplankton composed primarily of Acartia tonsa, a calanoid copepod. Acartia tonsa was collected from the estuarine waters of Davis Bayou and bloomed in outdoor tanks from which it was harvested and fed to red snapper larvae. We are developing a more controlled copepod mass culture system to support finfish larviculture. To that end, I examined the effect of single species versus mixed species of algae as food for the copepods. Wild A. tonsa were isolated and reared in …

Meso- And Bathypelagic Fish Interactions With Seamounts And Mid-Ocean Ridges, Tracey Sutton, Filipe M. Porteiro, John K. Horne, Cairistiona I. H. Anderson

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

The World Ocean's midwaters contain the vast majority of Earth's vertebrates in the form of mesoand bathypelagic ('deep-pelagic,' in the combined sense) fishes. Understanding the ecology and variability of deep-pelagic ecosystems has increased substantially in the past few decades due to advances in sampling/observation technology. Researchers have discovered that the deep sea hosts a complex assemblage of organisms adapted to a “harsh” environment by terrestrial standards (i.e., dark, cold, high pressure). We have learned that despite the lack of physical barriers, the deep-sea realm is not a homogeneous ecosystem, but is spatially and temporally variable on multiple scales. While there …

Upper-Ocean Response To Hurricane Ivan In A 1/25 Degrees Nested Gulf Of Mexico Hycom, T. G. Prasad, Patrick J. Hogan

Faculty Publications

[ 1] A 20-layer, 1/25 degrees nested Gulf of Mexico (GoM) Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) has been employed to examine the evolving three-dimensional ocean response to Hurricane Ivan during 14 - 16 September 2004. Results from several combinations of numerical experiments with and without assimilation of satellite-altimetry sea-surface height (SSH) are being analyzed and compared for the September 2004 hurricane period. A comparison of simulated zonal and meridional velocities using data assimilation shows improved agreement with profiler observations. The amplitude of the cold wake ( similar to 6 degrees C) produced by these simulations compared reasonably well with the …

Factors Influencing Zooplankton Distribution In The Chesapeake And Delaware Bays, Pia Marie Paulone

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

The Chesapeake and Delaware Bays are well known and extensively studied for their commercial value and environmental quality. There have been multiple studies based on salinity and temperature in these bays, but little is known about the influence of these factors on zooplankton distribution. Salinity has an effect on physiological processes, and, as a result, species have adapted for certain salinities. Temperature impacts both species physiology and primary productivity, which, in turn, impacts feeding rates of zooplankton. Based on previous studies on zooplankton distribution and current knowledge of physical variables, it was expected that salinity is the major variable in …

Investigation Of The Summer Kara Sea Circulation Employing A Variational Data Assimilation Technique, G. Panteleev, A. Proshutinsky, M. Kulakov, Dmitri A. Nechaev, W. Maslowski

Faculty Publications

[ 1] The summer circulations and hydrographic fields of the Kara Sea are reconstructed for mean, positive and negative Arctic Oscillation regimes employing a variational data assimilation technique which provides the best fit of reconstructed fields to climatological data and satisfies dynamical and kinematic constraints of a quasi-stationary primitive equation ocean circulation model. The reconstructed circulations agree well with the measurements and are characterized by inflow of 0.63, 0.8, 0.51 Sv through Kara Gate and 1.18, 1.1, 1.12 Sv between Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, for mean climatologic conditions, positive and negative AO indexes, respectively. The major regions of …

Impacts Of Wastewater Treatment Facilities On Receiving Water Quality, Stephen H. Jones

PREP Reports & Publications

The Squamscott River has had extended episodes of low dissolved oxygen (DO) that have been recorded at a site near its mouth over the past few years. These episodes were recorded as a result of temporally intensive monitoring by a datasonde, whereas data for the rest of the river has been spotty. Thus, the spatial extent of low DO episodes is not known. This study was designed to better characterize the spatial extent of DO conditions along the full length of the river, as well as to determine nutrient and other water quality parameters along the transect to help understand …

The Impacts Of Impervious Surfaces On Water Resources, Nhep, New Hampshire Estuaries Project

PREP Reports & Publications

No abstract provided.

Fisheries Research Report No.161 - Distribution And Abundance Of Juvenile Pink Snapper, Pagrus Auratus, In The Gulfs Of Shark Bay, Western Australia, From Trap Surveys, Gary Jackson, C. Burton, Michael J. Moran, Ben Radford

Fisheries Research Reports

Trap surveys using Antillean-Z fish traps were carried out across a range of depths and habitat types in the gulfs of Shark Bay between 1998 and 2000. Objectives of the study were (i) to evaluate the efficiency of the fish traps in catching 0+ and 1+ pink snapper (Pagrus auratus), (ii) to investigate the distribution and abundance of juvenile pink snapper in both gulfs using trap surveys, (iii) to investigate the influence of environmental factors including habitat-type on the distribution of juvenile pink snapper and, (iv) to develop trap indices of 0+ relative abundance and assess their use for monitoring …

Shark Bay Prawn And Scallop Fisheries. Draft Review Report, Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

In recent times, the Department of Fisheries has received representations from both sectors about the ongoing interaction of the fisheries and their respective management settings. As a result, a decision was made to comprehensively review the fisheries, taking into account matters of fishery sustainability and gear interactions, together with industry economics and market considerations. The review has also addressed research requirements to ensure an appropriate scientific basis for decision-making into the future.

Spring 2007, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Stalked Crinoid Locomotion, And Its Ecological And Evolutionary Implications, Tomasz K. Baumiller, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

In the past two decades, much direct evidence has been gathered on active crawling by stalked crinoids, a group generally thought to be sessile. Detailed descriptions of crawling mechanics of isocrinids in aquaria revealed only exceedingly slow movements (~0.1 mm sec^-1). Crawling at such speeds severely restricted the range of roles that this behavior could play in stalked crinoid biology and, consequently, in its potential impact on their ecology and evolutionary history. Here, we provide evidence collected in situ by submersible near Grand Bahama Island at a depth of 420 m for a different mode of crawling in …

Interactions Between Phytoplankton And Bacteria In The Uptake Of Organic Compounds, Andrea Michel Rocha

OES Theses and Dissertations

The most common methods for estimating bacterial productivity are [³H]-leucine and [³H]-thymidine incorporation. Uptake of these compounds has been attributed primarily to bacteria; however, because dissolved organic nitrogen may be an important N source for some phytoplankton, the use of these compounds to estimate bacterial productivity needs to be reexamined. In order to ascertain whether phytoplankton could compete with bacteria on relevant timescales and thereby bias bacterial productivity estimates in estuaries, I examined the ability of cultured phytoplankton and size-fractionated natural populations to take up leucine and thymidine in systems seasonally dominated by phytoplankton mixotrophs. In …

Behavioral Enhancement Of Onshore Transport By Postlarval Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus Argus), Jason Seth Goldstein

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The onshore transport of meroplanktonic marine larvae or postlarvae is often complex, involving both active (i.e., behavior, swimming) and passive (i.e., oceanographic elements) transport mechanisms. Behaviors that modify passive transport have presumably evolved to situate larvae in settlement habitats where survival is enhanced. Active transport mechanisms have not been described for the puerulus postlarvae of any species of spiny lobster, despite their extraordinary mobility and known preference for specific settlement habitats. In the Florida Keys, for example, Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) pueruli travel from oceanic waters into coastal areas where they settle within bushy, red macroalgae. I …

2006 Great Bay Organic Nitrogen (Pon & Don) And Light Extinction (Par) Monitoring Program, Jonathan Pennock

PREP Reports & Publications

Nitrogen is most often considered to be the limiting nutrient for plant growth in marine waters. As a result, knowledge of nitrogen loading and ambient water-column concentrations are considered to be critical to understanding the response of aquatic ecosystems to nutrient over-enrichment—a process known as eutrophication when it results in the excess production of organic matter.

Plant production in many estuarine systems may also be limited by light availability as a result of high levels of turbidity in the water resulting from sediments, dissolved organic matter, and phytoplankton in the water column. Light limitation resulting from human-induced increases in turbidity …

2006 Great Bay Water Quality (Datasonde) Monitoring Program, Jonathan Pennock

PREP Reports & Publications

In situ water quality assessment has become an important source of data for monitoring, research and management activities in estuaries nationwide. As part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, the Great Bay System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) produces in situ water quality data for four sites in and around Great Bay. This project extends the SWMP program to include year-round in situ data for a station at the University of New Hampshire Coastal Marine Lab pier at the mouth of the Piscataqua River and summmer data for a station in the Salmon Falls (SF) River. This suite of stations provides …

Particulate Organic Carbon Fluxes Along Upwelling-Dominated Continental Margins: Rates And Mechanisms, Robert C. Thunell, Claudia Benitez-Nelson, Ramon Varela, Yrene Astor, Frank E. Muller-Karger

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Time series sediment trap samples were used to examine the rates and mechanisms of particulate organic carbon (POC) flux at three continental margin locations, Santa Barbara Basin, Cariaco Basin, and Guaymas Basin, marked by seasonal upwelling and high primary production. The mean POC flux in Santa Barbara Basin (0.096 g m⁻² d⁻¹) is nearly twice that of Cariaco Basin and 4 times higher than that in Guaymas Basin, with all three sites having POC fluxes significantly higher than the open ocean average (0.007 g m⁻² d⁻¹). In Cariaco Basin, the only site with available …

Euphotic Zone Depth: Its Derivation And Implication To Ocean-Color Remote Sensing, Zhongping Lee, Alan Weidemann, John Kindle, Robert Arnone, Kendall L. Carder, Curtiss Davis

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Euphotic zone depth, z_1%, reflects the depth where photosynthetic available radiation (PAR) is 1% of its surface value. The value of z_1% is a measure of water clarity, which is an important parameter regarding ecosystems. Based on the Case‐1 water assumption, z_1% can be estimated empirically from the remotely derived concentration of chlorophyll‐a ([Chl]), commonly retrieved by employing band ratios of remote sensing reflectance (R_rs). Recently, a model based on water's inherent optical properties (IOPs) has been developed to describe the vertical attenuation of visible solar radiation. Since IOPs can be near‐analytically calculated …

Development Of Gis Maps For Southeast Florida Coral Reefs, Bernhard Riegl, Brian K. Walker, Greg Foster, Kristy Foster

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

The present report outlines the results of an integrated mapping project undertaken to provide habitat maps of the shallow Palm Beach County seafloor between the 6m and 35m contours. This study is a continuation of a similar mapping study undertaken in Broward County, and results were produced such that a seamless and fully compatible mapping product is now available for both counties. The study area stretched from 26.4429o (E. Linton Blvd) in the south to 26.9590o (Jupiter Inlet) in the north. Compatibility with other, in particular NOAA, mapping products was also assured. Data types used in this mapping effort included …

Multivariate Reconstruction Of Missing Data In Sea Surface Temperature, Chlorophyll, And Wind Satellite Fields, Aida Alvera-Azcarate, Alexander Barth, J. M. Beckers, Robert H. Weisberg

Marine Science Faculty Publications

An empirical orthogonal function–based technique called Data Interpolating Empirical Orthogonal Functions (DINEOF) is used in a multivariate approach to reconstruct missing data. Sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll a concentration, and QuikSCAT winds are used to assess the benefit of a multivariate reconstruction. In particular, the combination of SST plus chlorophyll, SST plus lagged SST plus chlorophyll, and SST plus lagged winds have been studied. To assess the quality of the reconstructions, the reconstructed SST and winds have been compared to in situ data. The combination of SST plus chlorophyll, as well as SST plus lagged SST plus chlorophyll, significantly improves …

Nhep Buffer Outreach 2005 - 2006, Jodi Castallo

PREP Reports & Publications

The purpose of the buffer outreach project is to provide education, assistance, and tools to the coastal watershed towns so that they will understand the importance of buffers for water quality and quantity, the need to enhance their own town’s buffer protections, and how to move forward with enacting new buffer protection measures. These activities helped implement several Action Plans from the Management Plan. NHEP staff developed a buffer presentation, a marketing brochure for the presentation, and a webpage devoted to buffer information. One presentation was given at a public hearing in New Durham. NHEP funded several buffer related projects …

Conservation Audit And Stewardship Plan, Christopher Kane

PREP Reports & Publications

The Town of North Hampton, NH contains significant portions of two river drainages - the Little River which flows directly into the Atlantic Ocean, and the Winnicut River which flows northward into the Great Bay estuary. Situated as it is in the watersheds of these two rivers, land use in the Town has a significant effect on the quality of the water bodies into which these rivers flow. Preservation of open space, especially in areas in the vicinity of these rivers and their associated wetlands has been identified as a priority by the Town of North Hampton, and by regional …