Marine Biology Commons^™

The Extent And Condition Of Us Coral Reefs, Steven Miller, Steven Miller, Michael Crosby

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

The Occurrence Of Pcbs And Chlorinated Pesticide Contaminants In Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) In A Resident Community: Comparison With Age, Gender And Birth Order, Kathleen M. Kuss

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Tissue samples from twenty bottlenose dolphins from a stable, residential community of coastal dolphins in the western Gulf of Mexico were analyzed for toxic PCB congeners and chlorinated pesticides. The tissues analyzed (blubber and melon) were from known individuals in a long-term (27⁺ y) study that stranded and were recovered for necropsy. Substantial demographic data were available on these individuals and utilized in the analysis of maternal transfer of organochlorines to young.

The male dolphins in this study were shown to accumulate organochlorine contaminants with age. In female dolphins the organochlorine levels were found to decline with age. These …

Variability In Copepod Hatching Success: Observations On Natural Populations And Experiments On The Role Of Maternal Diet, Carol A. Burkart

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this study were (1) to survey the percent hatching success of eggs produced by calanoid copepod species from a variety of ecosystems (i.e., polar, temperate, and sub-tropical), (2) to describe the relationship between egg production, hatching success of Acartia tonsa and the physical and food environments of Florida Bay, and (3) to describe the relationships between hatching success and maternal diet. In order to fulfill the first objective, an incubation system was designed to allow the monitoring of eggs at sea for extended periods of time. The second objective was addressed with a series of egg production …

Fall 1998, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Winter 1998, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

The Identification, Characterization, And Functionality Of A Multidrug Transporter Protein In The Liver Of The Killifish, Fundulus Heteroclitus, Walter J. Ellenberg

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

The killifish or mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus, is an excellent indicator of environmental quality and ecosystems health. It is the most dominant endemic fish species found in the headwater of small estuarine tidal creeks in the southeastern U.S. and one of the most frequently studied animals for toxicological analysis. In the environment, these organisms are exposed to xenobiotic hydrophobic molecules from anthropogenic ( e.g., pesticides and combustion products) and natural ( e.g., decaying plants) sources. Development of physiological adaptations to both natural and anthropogenic stress is important to fish such as the mummichog which must deal with the rigors of an …

Food Habits And Dietary Overlap Of Newly Settled Red Drum (Sciaenops Ocellatus) And Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias Undulatus) From Texas Seagrass Meadows, M. Andres Soto, G. Joan Holt, Scott A. Holt, Jay Rooker

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Food habits and dietary overlap of newly settled larval and juvenile red drum and Atlantic croaker were examined during the period when the two species co-occur in seagrass nurseries. A total of 274 red drum (4.00 - 19.99 mm SL) and 205 Atlantic croaker (8.00 - 17.99 mm SL) were used for this analysis. Of the red drum stomachs examined, 8.4% were empty while 28.8% of Atlantic croaker stomachs contained no food. Major prey items identified for both species were calanoid copepods, harpacticoid copepods and mysid shrimp across all size classes. Ontogenetic trophic niche shifts were detected for red drum …

Feeding Of Sciaenid (Pisces: Sciaenidae) Larvae In Two Coastal Lagoons Of The Gulf Of Mexico, Alberto Ocana-Luna, Marina Sanchez-Ramirez

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Stomach contents analyses showed that Leiostomus xanthurus (8.50-12.90 mm SL) had a wide trophic spectrum (15 food categories) with copepods and eggs of invertebrates as main components. In contrast, Micropogonias undulutus (6.65-12.20 mm SL) ingested only six food categories (copepods, eggs of invertebrates, crustacean nauplii, bamacle nauplii, amphipods and other crustaceans). There is an overlap of 73.2 to 83.0% in the diet of these two species. Bairdiella chrysoura (1.17-1.92 mm SL) fed primarily on juvenile pelecypods, crustacean nauplii, eggs of invertebrates, including gasteropods and copepods. Cynoscion nebulosus (1.50-2.42 mm SL) ingested juvenile pelecypods, copepods, crustacean nauplii, eggs of invertebrates and …

Effects Of The Burrowing Brittlestar, Microphiopholis Gracillima (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea), On The Flux Of Lithium, An Inert Tracer, Across The Sediment-Water Interface, Timothy H. Shepherd, Stephen E. Stancyk, Timothy J. Shaw

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Burrowing and ventilation activities of infaunal organisms have been shown to affect geochemical processes in sediments and at the sediment-water interface. Although burrowing brittlestars are dominant in many benthic environments, their role in these processes is poorly known. We tested the effect of the amphiurid brittlestar, Microphiopholis gracillima, on the flux of lithium ion from the sediment to the overlying water by using sediment cores with false bottoms for continuous flow of a Li⁺¹-seawater solution. Brittlestars at densities of 300 and 600 individuals m^-2 caused a twofold increase in the rate that Li was transported through …

Gulf Estuarine Research Society Spring 1998 Meeting Abstracts

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The following abstracts were received by January 5,1998; and these papers will be presented at the meeting by authors whose names are underlined. Special presentations also will be given by Harold Stevenson (Publishing and the Editorial Process of Estuaries), Chris D'Elia (Federal Budgeting and Success in the Grant Process), and Gene Turner (Estuarine Signatures for the Gulf of Mexico).

Phytoplankton Composition Within The Tidal Freshwater Region Of The James River, Virginia, Harold G. Marshall, Lubomira Burchardt

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Based on a 10.5 year data set, 271 taxa were identified at a single tidal freshwater station in the James River. The mean monthly concentrations of major algal categories, total biomass and productivity are given. Diatom maxima were associated with peak periods of river discharge, with chlorophytes, cyanobacteria, and autotrophic picoplankton abundance and productivity greater during reduced river flow and more stable water conditions.

Cladistic Analysis Of 37 Mediterranean Bogidiellidae (Amphipoda), Including Bogidiella Arista, New Species, From Turkey, Stefan Koenemann, Ronald Vonk, Frederick R. Schram

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

A new subterranean amphipod species, Bogidiella (Medigidiella) arista, found in the mesopsam mic ground waters of southern Anatolia, Turkey, is described, together with Bogidiella (Bogidiella) calicali Karaman, the latter being recorded for the first time in the eastern Mediterranean. A cladistic analysis of 37 Mediterranean species of the family Bogidiellidae is performed, using 4 species from the Canary Islands as an outgroup. Alternatively, 2 cladistic software packages, PAUP 3.1.1 and HENNIG86, are employed to calculate consensus trees of minimal length. The resulting trees show more or less identical robust clades, characterizing a central, a central-eastern, …

Understanding The Success And Failure Of Oyster Populations: The Importance Of Sampled Variables And Sample Timing, Thomas M. Soniat, Eric N. Powell, Eileen E. Hofmann, John M. Klinck

CCPO Publications

One of the primary obstacles to understanding why some oyster populations are successful and others are not is the complex interaction of environmental variables with oyster physiology and with such population variables as the rates of recruitment and juvenile mortality. A numerical model is useful in investigating how population structure originates out of this complexity. We have monitored a suite of environmental conditions over an environmental gradient to document the importance of short time-scale variations in such variables as food supply, turbidity, and salinity. Then, using a coupled oyster disease population dynamics model, we examine the need for short rime-scale …

Occurrence Of A Synchronous Hermaphroditic Striped Mullet, Mugil Cephalus, From The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, James S. Franks, Nancy J. Brown-Peterson, Dyan P. Wilson, Ronda J. Russell, Janaith K. Welker

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A synchronous hermaphroditic striped mullet, Mugil cephalus, was captured offshore of Southwest Pass, Louisiana on 6 December 1996 during the commercial roe mullet fishery harvest. The fish measured 412 mm FL, weighed 824 g and was determined to be 4 years old by otolith analysis. Gross examination of the gonads revealed four lobes: right and left ovaries and right and left testis which represents a unique occurrence among hermaphroditic fish. All lobes ended in a common sperm duct/oviduct with the exception of the left ovary which had no oviduct. Both ovaries contained vitellogenic oocytes and both testis had freely …

An Illustrated Record And Range Extension Of Caligus Chelifer (Copepoda, Siphonostomatoida) In The Gulf Of Mexico, E. Suarez-Morales, I. H. Kim, I. Lopez-Salgado

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A male specimen of the copepod Caligus chelifer Wilson, 1905, was collected during a plankton survey carried out during February 1994 off the Mexican coasts of the eastern Gulf of Mexico (Tamaulipas state). This is the first record of this species in Mexican waters and south of the 25ºN in the Northwestern Atlantic. Taxonomic illustrations of the specimen are provided.

Western Australian Fisheries - Key Achievements 1997-1998, Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Published Reports

The WA fishing community can look back at the past year with considerable satisfaction.

Close partnership arrangements between Government, industry, the community and Fisheries Western Australia have both consolidated and advanced the State's position at the forefront of sustainable management of marine environments and fish resources.

Together, commercial fishing and recreational fishing make 􀁚 annual $1.5 billion contribution to the Western Australian economy. Through a carefully balanced portfolio of policies and initiatives the Coalition is making sure that both sectors continue to prosper, while at the same time ensuring that future generations inherit a marine environment which we are all …

Department Of Fisheries Annual Report 1997/1998, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Department of Fisheries Annual Reports

In accordance with Section 62 of the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985, I submit for your information the Annual Report of Fisheries WA for the financial year ending 30 June 1998.

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

Metazoan Parasites And Other Symbionts Of Cetaceans In The Caribbean, Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni, Eric P. Hoberg, Doug Siegel-Causey, Ernest H. Williams Jr.

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

The parasite fauna in cetaceans from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the larger Caribbean region is poorly known. We provide the first records for parasite biodiversity among a diverse assemblage of cetaceans from the Caribbean Sea. Internal and external parasites and commensals were collected from stranded whales and dolphins salvaged in Puerto Rico, the United States and British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, and Venezuela between 1989 and 1997. A total of 47 individuals of 16 species of whales and dolphins (15 odontocetes and one mysticete) were examined. Overall, parasites and commensals were found in 34 (72.3%) animals, representing 13 species …

Mesozooplankton Distribution And Abundance In The Pagan River: A Nutrient Enriched Subestuary Of The James River, Virginia, Lillian N. Davis, Harold G. Marshall

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The mesozooplankton in the Pagan River was dominated by calanoid copepods, with abundance peaks occurring during late winter-early spring and from late summer into early fall. This included spring, summer, and fall abundance maxima. The total mean abundance of the mesozooplankton was 3,008/m³.

Genetic Variation In The Carolina Marsh Clam, Polymesoda Caroliniana, W.D. Grater, C.T. Hackney, D.J. Covington

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Horizontal starch gel electrophoresis was used to detect genetic variation at eight enzyme loci and five general protein loci in 11 populations of Polymesoda caroliniana from the Gulf of Mexico and south Atlantic coast of the U.S. Little variability was found between four of these populations along a salinity gradient in the Cape Fear Estuary, NC, and a regional trend was not observed in other populations along a latitudinal gradient. Heterogeneity analyses and dendrograms, both based on allele frequencies, suggest populations from the Gulf coast of Florida are genetically different from both a northern Gulf population (Mississippi) and Atlantic populations. …

Gulf Coast Research Laboratory: A Mississippi Academy, Linda Skupien, Joyce M. Shaw

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A brief overview of the creation and growth of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, this article traces the institution’s history and its strong relationship with the Mississippi Academy of Sciences. The Mississippi Academy of Sciences officially dedicated the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) with the opening of the first summer session at Magnolia State Park in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, on August 28, 1947. Mississippians in scientific and educational circles had worked for two decades toward creating a research and educational laboratory focused on the state’s marine and coastal environments. The Academy’s priorities were scholarly research and education. Political leaders were …

Effects Of Submergence On Embryonic Survival And Developmental Rate Of The Florida Applesnail, Pomacea Paludosa: Implications For Egg Predation And Marsh Management, Richard L. Turner

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Aerial deposition of egg clutches by the aquatic Florida applesnai! is believed to have evolved in response to aquatic egg predators. Adaptation to aerial conditions might, however. have rendered embryos intolerant of submergence, a potential occurrence in natural and managed marshes, rivers. and lakes. In this study, eggs were submerged in water for various durations in the laboratory to assess their ability to survive flooding; and clutches of known ages were submerged for several days in the field to determine if aquatic predators might decrease survival below levels expected to occur due to flooding alone. Submergence of clutches slowed embryonic …

The Biogeochemical Cycling Of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen In Estuarine Sediments, David J. Burdige, Shilong Zheng

OES Faculty Publications

Benthic fluxes and pore-water profiles of dissolved organic nitrogen and carbon (DON and DOC, respectively) were determined in seasonal studies at contrasting sites in Chesapeake Bay. Pore-water dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentrations were elevated over bottom-water values, generally increased with depth, and ranged from 15 to similar to 160 μM for DON and ~200-2000 μM for DOC. Pore-water DOM concentrations and the C:N ratio of this material showed spatial (depth) and temporal changes that varied among the sites studied. These trends appeared to be related to differences in the types of sediment organic matter (SOM) undergoing remineralization, as well as …

Trace Element Signatures In Otoliths Record Natal River Of Juvenile American Shad (Alosa Sapidissima), Simon R. Thorrold, Cynthia M. Jones, Steven E. Campana, James W. Mclaren, Joseph W. H. Lam

OES Faculty Publications

The elemental composition of fish otoliths may represent a permanent record of the environmental conditions an individual has experienced as trace elements, incorporated into the growing surface of the otolith, reflect the physical and chemical characteristics of the ambient water. We tested the utility of trace element signatures in otoliths as natural tags of the river of origin of juvenile American shad (Alosa sapidissima) collected from the Connecticut, Hudson and Delaware Rivers in August and October 1994. Four elements (K, Mn, Sr, and Ba) showed significant variability among sites within rivers in August, although only Mg showed a …

The In Vitro Propagation Of Seagrasses : Halophila Ovalis, Ruppia Megacarpa And Posidonia Coriacea, Melissa Grace Henry

Theses : Honours

Seagrass communities are of high ecological and economic significance. They provide a nursery area for commercial and recreational juvenile fish and crustacea. Seagrasses also play an important role in influencing the structure and function of many estuarine and nearshore marine environments. Unfortunately, the decline of seagrasses, as a result of human impact, has increased in recent years. This decline has become a major problem throughout the world. Current methods used to restore degraded seagrass beds are limited, the most promising being transplanting material from healthy donor beds. This approach is expensive because it is labor intensive and damages the donor …

Assessment Of Shellfish Populations In The Great Bay Estuary, Richard Langan

PREP Reports & Publications

No abstract provided.

Large-Scale Estimation Of Transport From The Pacific To The Indian Ocean, James T. Potemra, Roger Lukas, Gary T. Mitchum

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The objective of this model-data intercomparison is to determine the feasibility of deriving an useful index for fluctuations in the Pacific to Indian Ocean throughflow volume transport. Due to insufficient direct observations and the present limitations in numerical models, accurate estimation of variations in the throughflow transport on seasonal to interannual timescales is not yet possible; however, an index based on weighted, monthly mean sea level anomalies in different regions of the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans is presented. Numerical model results and sea level from the TQPEX/POSEIDON altimeter show that the large-scale pressure gradient forcing of the throughflow …

Draft: Plan For The Management Of The Houtman Abrolhos Islands Fish Habitat Protection Area (Schedule 1), Abrolhos Islands Management Advisory Council, Fisheries Department Of Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

This document is a separate draft plan which has been prepared to meet the requirements of Section 117 of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994. It contains a description of the area; outlines the purposes for which the area is to be set aside; and lists the recommendations contained in Fisheries Management Paper No. 104, Management of the Houtman Abrolhos System, which relate to the management of the proposed Fish Habitat Protection Area.

Management Of The Houtman Abrolhos System, Abrolhos Islands Management Advisory Council, Fisheries Department Of Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

In November 1995 Cabinet resolved that the Minister for Fisheries would establish the Abrolhos Islands Management Advisory Committee (AIMAC) pursuant to Section 42 of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994. The role of AIMAC is to advise the Minister for Fisheries about the management of the Abrolhos Islands and the adjoining State Territorial Waters, as detailed in Section 2.2.3.1 of this report. The AIMAC has overseen the preparation of this report on behalf of the Minister for Fisheries. This draft report contains a brief description of the Abrolhos System and its special values. It also states goals and objectives for …

Local Data Assimilation In Specification Of Open Boundary Conditions, Igor Shulman

Faculty Publications

A data assimilation approach to specify open boundary conditions is proposed. The boundary values are determined from the solution of the special optimization problem: minimization of the difference between the model and reference boundary values under the integral constraints on the open boundary. These constraints represent the energy, momentum, and mass fluxes through the open boundary. Reference values represent the a priori knowledge about the boundary values. They might be derived from observations, results of another model run, or from another approach to the specification of open boundary conditions. Optimized open boundary conditions are presented in detail for the barotropic …