Marine Biology Commons^™

Distributional And Ecological Notes On The Halfbeaks Of Eastern Gulf Of Mexico, With A Provisional Key For Their Identification, S. Contreras-Balderas, M.L. Lozano-Vilano, M.E. Garcia Ramirez

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Several fishes of the halfbeak genus Hyporhamphus occurring in the Mexican Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea have been misidentified or confused in the literature. Most of it has centered around the taxonomic status of H. unifasciatus (including its synonym H. roberti), which is shown to comprise a complex of three species, H. unifasciatus, the recently described H. meeki, from the western Atlantic region, and an undescribed species from the eastern Pacific Ocean. Another eastern Mexico halfbeak is the freshwater form H. mexicanus. Using Banford and Collette (1993), we examined specimens from collections at UANL, UNAM, …

Observations On Mass Mortalities Of The Sooty Eel, Bascanichthys Bascanium, And The Speckled Worm Eel, Myrophis Punctatus, Associated With A Fish Kill In The Mississippi Sound, James S. Franks, Ross P. Dodds

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Mass mortalities of the sooty eel, Bascanichthys bascanium, and the speckled worm eel, Myrophis punctatus, were observed in association with a fish kill which occurred the morning of 18 June 1994 on the south shore of Deer Island, a nearshore barrier island located off Biloxi, Mississippi. B. bascanium and M. punctatus, as well as other fishes, were found dead and dying near the shore in reddish-brown water and along a lengthy stretch of fringing sandy beach. Both species of eels are infrequently reported from Mississippi waters but were the most abundant fishes recorded from the kill. A …

Northern Record For The Zooxanthellate Scleractinian Coral Siderastrea Siderea (Ellis And Solander) From The Gulf Of Mexico, William W. Schroeder, Thomas S. Hopkins

Gulf and Caribbean Research

We report a northward range extension of the zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea (Ellis and Solander) in the Gulf of Mexico. Several small, living colonies of S. siderea have been obtained in dredge samples from a site located at 29º 55.5' N, 087º 28.4' W in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Prior to these collections the northernmost occurrence of S. siderea in the Gulf of Mexico was reported as 27º 54.5' N, 093º 35.8' W, on the East Flower Garden Bank, in the western Gulf of Mexico. In the eastern Gulf of Mexico, S. siderea is not reported occurring on …

Exploitation Of Cetaceans In Venezuela, Aldemaro Romero Jr., A. Ignacio Agudo, Steven M. Green

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Feeding Mechanism And Functional Morphology Of The Jaws Of The Lemon Shark Negaprion Brevirostris (Chondrichthyes, Carcharhinidae), Philip J. Motta, Timothy C. Tricas, Robert E. Hueter, Adam P. Summers

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

This study tests the hypothesis that preparatory, expansive, compressive and recovery phases of biting behavior known for aquatically feeding anamniotes are conserved among extant elasmobranch fishes. The feeding mechanism of the lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris is examined by anatomical dissection, electromyography and high-speed video analysis. Three types of feeding events are differentiated during feeding: (1) food ingestion primarily by ram feeding; (2) food manipulation; and (3) hydraulic transport of the food by suction. All feeding events are composed of the expansive, compressive and recovery phases common to aquatically feeding teleost fishes, salamanders and turtles. A preparatory phase is occasionally observed …

Department Of Fisheries Annual Report 1996-1997, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Department of Fisheries Annual Reports

In accordance with Section 62 of the Financial Administration and Audit Act 1985, 1 submit for your information the Annual Report of the Fisheries Department for the financial year ending 30 June 1997.

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

Small-Scale Settlement Patterns Of The Oyster Crassostrea Virginica On A Constructed Intertidal Reef, Ian K. Bartol, Roger Mann

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The construction of three-dimensional, intertidal reefs resembling those widely present during colonial times in the Chesapeake Bay, but now absent due to years of overharvesting, may provide a more ecologically advantageous environment for oyster settlement and subsequent survival than present subtidal, two-dimensional habitats. We examined settlement processes on a constructed, 210 x 30 m intertidal reef composed of oyster shell. The reef was destructively and non-destructively sampled weekly throughout the summer and fall at tidal heights ranging from 30 cm above to 90 cm below mean low water (MLW) and at two substrate levels (reef surface and 10 cm below …

Regulation Of Algal Blooms In Antarctic Shelf Waters By The Release Of Iron From Melting Sea Ice, Peter N. Sedwick, Giacomo R. Ditullio

OES Faculty Publications

During summer 1995-96, we measured iron in the water column and conducted iron-enrichment bottle-incubation experiments at a station in the central Ross Sea (76°30'S, 170°40'W), first, in the presence of melting sea ice, and 17 days later, in ice-free conditions. We observed a striking temporal change in mixed-layer dissolved iron concentrations at this station, from 0.72-2.3 nM with sea ice present, to 0.16-0.17 nM in ice-free conditions. These changes were accompanied doubling of algal (diatom) biomass. Our incubation experiments suggest that conditions were iron-replete in the presence of sea ice, and iron-deficient in the absence of sea ice. We surmise …

Detection Of Harmful Algal Blooms Using Photopigments And Absorption Signatures: A Case Study Of The Florida Red Tide Dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium Breve, David F. Millie, Oscar M. Schofield, Gary J. Kirkpatrick, Geir Johnson, Patricia A. Tester, Btyan T. Vintard

OES Faculty Publications

The utility of photopigments and absorption signatures to detect and enumerate the red tide dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium breve, was evaluated in laboratory cultures and in natural assemblages. The carotenoid, gyroxanthindiester, was an adequate biomarker for G. breve biomass; water‐column concentrations corresponded with cell standing crops and chlorophyll a concentrations during bloom events in Sarasota Bay, Florida. Unlike other carotenoids, the relative abundance of gyroxanthin‐diester did not change throughout a range of physiological states in culture and the gyroxanthin‐diester: chlorophyll a ratio exhibited little variability in a natural assemblage during bloom senescence. Stepwise discriminant analysis indicated that wavelengths indicative of in vivo …

Age And Growth Of Larval And Juvenile Atlantic Croaker, Micropogonias Undulatus, From The Middle Atlantic Bight And Estuarine Waters Of Virginia, Stephen W. Nixon, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

Sagittal otoliths were used to determine age and growth of 605 larval and juvenile Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus, collected in the Middle Atlantic Bight and estuarine waters of Virginia. This study is the first to use age-based analysis for young Atlantic croaker collected in this region. A Laird-Gompertz model (r2=0.95) was used to describe the growth of Atlantic croaker up to 65 mm standard length (SL) and 142 days (t): SL((t)) = 2.657 exp (4.656 [1-exp (-0.0081t)]); where SL((t)) = standard length at day t. Spatial and temporal patterns in the size and age of Atlantic croaker showed a …

Response Of Otolith Microchemistry To Environmental Variations Experienced By Larval And Juvenile Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias Undulatus), Simon R. Thorrold, Cynthia M. Jones, Steven E. Campana

OES Faculty Publications

Minor and trace elements incorporated into otoliths during growth may permanently record environmental conditions experienced by fishes. To determine the validity of this approach, we used laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) to assay sectioned otoliths from juvenile Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) collected from each of three sites in the Neuse River, North Carolina, and the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Elemental concentrations at the center of the otoliths did not differ between locations, although both Mg : Ca and Ba : Ca were significantly higher at the edge of otoliths from the Neuse River than from the …

Yield-Per-Recruit Analysis And Management Strategies For Atlantic Croaker, Micropogonias Undulatus, In The Middle Atlantic Bight, Luiz R. Barbieri, Mark E. Chittenden, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

The effect of different fishing mortality (F) and natural mortality (M), and age at first capture (t(c)) on yield-per-recruit of Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus, in the lower Chesapeake Bay and North Carolina were evaluated with the Beverton-Holt model. Independent of the level of M (0.20-0.35) or F (0.01-2.0) used in simulations, yield-per-recruit values for Chesapeake Bay were consistently higher at t((c)) = 1 and decreased continuously with increases in t(c) (2-5). Although maximum yield-per-recruit always occurred at the maximum level off (F=2.0), marginal increases in yield beyond F = 0.50-0.75 were negligible. Current F (F(CUR)) is estimated to be …

Destruction Of Chloropigments In Copepod Guts, A. B. Bochdansky, D. Deibel

OES Faculty Publications

In a recent account regarding the destruction of chloropigments within the guts of copepods, Head & Harris (1996) (H&H) presented valuable data on pigment destruction in copepods. However, in one of their main conclusions, the authors invoked 2 enzyme pools to explain the pattern of pigment destruction: one directly derived from copepods, the other one produced by the ingested algae. If this conclusion is correct, it would have tremendous impact on the interpretation of data collected by the gut pigment technique. Estimating ingestion rates of copepods in the field would be very difficult, if not impossible, if pigment destruction was …

Preservation Of Community Structure In Death Assemblages Of Deep‐Water Caribbean Reef Corals, John M. Pandolfi, Benjamin J. Greenstein

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

An in situ survey of deep reef environments (20 and 30 m) was conducted to determine the degree to which the community structure of live reef coral assemblages was faithfully represented in the adjacent death assemblages accumulating on the sea floor. Relative abundance of species was significantly different between life and death assemblages, and zonation patterns (in species relative abundance, coral growth form, and diversity) present in the life assemblages showed both similarities and differences to those found in the death assemblages. The difference in species distribution patterns between life and death assemblages is shown by a striking growth form …

Front Matter, Southeastern Fishes Council

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Fishes Of The Little River Drainage In Alabama, Terri L. Ballard, J. Malcom Pierson

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Number 34 (December 1996), Southern Fishes Council

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

(December 1996) - The Fishes of the Little River Drainage in Alabama. By Terri L. Ballard and J. Malcolm Pierson, 6pp., plus News Notes.

News Notes, Southeastern Fishes Council

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Species Composition, Abundance, And Vertical Distribution Of The Stomiid (Pisces: Stomiiformes) Fish Assemblage Of The Gulf Of Mexico, Tracey Sutton, T. L. Hopkins

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Species composition, abundance, and vertical distribution of the stomiid fish assemblage were investigated in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, a low-latitude, oligotrophic oceanic ecosystem. Seventy-two described species, representing 18 genera, and one undescribed species were identified from 1155 trawl samples. With an additional 10 species reported elsewhere, the stomiid species number now known equals 83, making the Stomiidae the most diverse fish family in the Gulf of Mexico. The assemblage was dominated by three species,Photostomias guernei, Chauliodus sloani and Stomias affinis. These species, as well as four other common species, exhibited an asynchronous diel vertical migration pattern (450–900 …

Observation Of Spatial Variability Of Diurnal Thermocline And Rain-Formed Halocline In The Western Pacific Warm Pool, Alexander Soloviev, Roger Lukas

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

High-resolution measurements of temperature and salinity were made in the near-surface layer of the ocean during the Tropical Oceans-Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment, using probes mounted on the bow of the R/V Moana Wave. Because of surface waves and pitching of the vessel, the bow probes profiled the near-surface layer of the ocean within depths of 0–4.0 m. In the near-surface layer of the ocean in the western Pacific warm pool, strong variability of temperature and salinity produced by diurnal heating and/or rain was often observed. The contoured density field revealed cases of pronounced spatial variability. The shallow …

Occurrence Of Lysogenic Bacteria In Marine Microbial Communities As Determined By Prophage Induction, Sunny C. Jiang, John H Paul

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Viruses are abundant and dynamic members of the marine microbial community, and it is important to understand their role in the ecology of natural microbial populations. We have previously found lysogenic bacteria to be a significant proportion (43%) of the cultivable heterotrophic microbial population. As the majority of marine bacteria are not cultivable using standard plating methods, we measured the proportion of marine lysogenic bacteria in natural communities by prophage induction. Mitomycin C, UV radiation, sunlight, temperature and pressure were used to induce prophage in lysogenic bacteria from estuarine, coastal and oligotrophic offshore environments. To determine if hydrocarbon pollutants may …

Fisheries Research Report No 108 - Aspects Of The Biology And Stock Assessment Of The Whitebait, Hyperlophus Vittatus,In South Western Australia, D. J. Gaughan, W. J. Fletcher, R J. Tregonning, J. Goh

Fisheries Research Reports

The biology, distribution and stock size of whitebait along the lower west coast of Western Australia were studied between 1991 and 1994. Age, growth and reproductive biology of whitebait were investigated using samples collected from the commercial fishery. The distribution of adult whitebait and their main spawning times were determined using data on eggs that were caught in plankton samples. Aspects of the population dynamics of whitebait were investigated by examining the relationships of historical catch data with fishing effort and some environmental parameters.

Whitebait are a small species with most growth occurring in the first year (K = I. …

Shark Bay World Heritage Property: Summary Of Public Submissions To The Draft Management Plan For Fish Resources, Kevin A. Francesconi

Fisheries Management Papers

In November 1994, the draft management plan for fish resources for the Shark Bay World Heritage Area (Fisheries Management Paper no 72) was released for public comment. This report summarises and analyses the 28 written public submissions received to the draft fisheries management plan.

Shark Bay Management Paper For Fish Resources, Fisheries Department Of Western Australia, Department Of Conservation And Land Management

Fisheries Management Papers

This paper deals with the management of fish resources in the Shark Bay World Heritage Property which are the responsibility of the Fisheries Department of Western Australia. It was prepared by the Fisheries Department in close liaison with the Department of Conservation and Land Management. The policies and guidelines proposed in this paper will be followed for a period not exceeding 10 years.

Corals Of The South-West Indian Ocean Iv. The Hard Coral Family Faviidae Gregory, 1900 (Scleractinia: Faviina), Bernhard Riegl

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

This annotated check-list deals with the scleractinian coral family Faviidae in subtropical south-east Africa (the African mainland coast south of the Tropic of Capricorn). Material from the atoll Bassas da India in the Mozambique channel was included. Most species are of wide Indo-Pacific distribution. The faviid fauna of Mozambique was richer (28 species) than the South African fauna (21 species). The fauna of Bassas da India was similar to that on the African mainland coast with four additional species. South-east Africa has a moderately rich faviid fauna compared with other areas in the Indo-Pacific region. Field and laboratory characteristics are …

Evaluation Of Sampling Resolution In Coral Stable Isotope Records: A Case Study Using Records From New Caledonia And Tarawa, Terrence M. Quinn, Frederick W. Taylor, Thomas J. Crowley, Suzanne M. Link

Marine Science Faculty Publications

We have generated a 40‐year‐long, monthly stable isotope record from a Porites lutea coral collected offshore of Amedee, New Caledonia (22°S, 167°E) to investigate the relation between sampling resolution in coral isotope studies and retrieval of sea‐surface environmental information. We interpret the high correlation between our oxygen isotope record and a twenty‐year long sea‐surface temperature record at the monthly timescale (r=0.88) to indicate that our coral isotope record is an accurate monitor of environmental conditions offshore of Amedee. The character of the signal and the percent variance explained in the record at the annual band, at the quasi‐biennial oscillation band …

Nitrogen Fixation Within A Tropical Upwelling Ecosystem: Evidence For A Redfield Budget Of Carbon/Nitrogen Cycling By The Total Phytoplankton Community, John J. Walsh

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Recent measurements and paradigms suggest that (1) the uptake of dissolved carbon and nitrate by phytoplankton may be greater than the Redfield ratio of 6.6 and (2) the oceans may be loosing nitrogen from an imbalance in the global rates of nitrogen fixation and denitrification. An analysis of concurrent ΔDIC/ΔNO₃ depletion ratios within the Venezuelan and Peruvian upwelling ecosystems, indeed, suggests that values of 10.1–28.6 may pertain to these tropical eutrophic habitats. Nitrogen fixation may provide a Redfield balance in at least the former system, with 34–77% of the new production attributed to assimilation of N₂. Independent …

Pearling And Aquaculture In The Dampier Archipelago - Existing And Proposed Operations - A Report For Public Comment, Ben Fraser

Fisheries Management Papers

This discussion paper has been prepared by the Fisheries Department of WA as part of a consultative process to enable the public to comment on existing and proposed pearling and aquaculture activities in the Dampier Archipelago. This report follows on from Fisheries Management Report 90 - the Driscoll Report - and provides more detailed information about pearling and aquaculture to enable the public to consider and comment on individual projects.

Regulation Of Ribulose Bisphosphate Carboxylase Gene Expression In Natural Phytoplankton Communities .1. Diel Rhythms, S. L. Pichard, L. Campbell, J. B. Kang, F. Robert Tabita, John H Paul

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Marine phytoplankton fix carbon dioxide primarily through the action of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO), the first enzyme in the Calvin Cycle. Although the regulation of this enzyme has been studied in algal cultures and higher plants, little is known regarding RubisCO regulation in natural phytoplankton populations. To determine if natural communities of phytoplankton utilize transcriptional regulation to control RubisCO expression, we investigated the diel relationship between ¹⁴C carbon fixation and RubisCO large subunit (rbcL) transcript levels, rbcL DNA, chlorophyll a, autofluorescent cell counts and bacterial direct counts for natural communities of the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. Studies …

Indicators For Determining The Sources And Extent Of Fecal Contamination In Coastal Waters: An Annotated Bibliography, Donald S. Mccorquodale Jr., Curtis M. Burney, Molly Row

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.