Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Riding The Wave Of Microplastics In Bermuda, Molly E. Riihiluoma

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The presence of marine debris and microplastics in the Earth’s oceans are a global environmental issue. Bermuda’s location in the middle of the North Atlantic Gyre makes it the perfect case study for this work. As the crisis unfolds, Bermuda’s environment, economy, and population are at risk of witnessing firsthand the effects of plastic pollution. This paper relies on scholarly research as well as anecdotal evidence from retail stores and locals to compile information in order to provide necessary recommendations to benefit Bermuda’s ocean health. This research evaluates the pros and cons of policies which could mitigate the problem. Analysis …

Along-Shelf Connectivity And Circumpolar Gene Flow In Antarctic Silverfish (Pleuragramma Antarctica), Jilda Alicia Caccavo, Chiara Papetti, Maj Wetjen, Rainer Knust, Julian R. Ashford, Lorenzo Zane

OES Faculty Publications

The Antarctic silverfish (Pleuragramma antarctica) is a critically important forage species with a circumpolar distribution and is unique among other notothenioid species for its wholly pelagic life cycle. Previous studies have provided mixed evidence of population structure over regional and circumpolar scales. The aim of the present study was to test the recent population hypothesis for Antarctic silverfish, which emphasizes the interplay between life history and hydrography in shaping connectivity. A total of 1067 individuals were collected over 25 years from different locations on a circumpolar scale. Samples were genotyped at fifteen microsatellites to assess population differentiation and …

Symbiotic Unicellular Cyanobacteria Fix Nitrogen In The Arctic Ocean, K. Harding, K. A. Turk-Kubo, Rachel E. Sipler, M. M. Mills, D. A. Bronk

VIMS Articles

Biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation is an important source of nitrogen (N) in low-latitude open oceans. The unusual N2-fixing unicellular cyanobacteria (UCYN-A)/haptophyte symbiosis has been found in an increasing number of unexpected environments, including northern waters of the Danish Straight and Bering and Chukchi Seas. We used nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) to measure 15N2 uptake into UCYN-A/haptophyte symbiosis and found that UCYN-A strains identical to low-latitude strains are fixing N2 in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, at rates comparable to subtropical waters. These results show definitively that cyanobacterial N2 fixation is not constrained to subtropical waters, challenging paradigms and …

Spectral Sensitivity In Ray-Finned Fishes: Diversity, Ecology And Shared Descent, Lorian E. Schweikert, Robert R. Fitak, Eleanor M. Caves, Tracey Sutton, Sonke Johnsen

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

A major goal of sensory ecology is to identify factors that underlie sensory-trait variation. One open question centers on why fishes show the greatest diversity among vertebrates in their capacity to detect color (i.e. spectral sensitivity). Over the past several decades, λ_max values (photoreceptor class peak sensitivity) and chromacy (photoreceptor class number) have been cataloged for hundreds of fish species, yet the ecological basis of this diversity and the functional significance of high chromacy levels (e.g. tetra- and pentachromacy) remain unclear. In this study, we examined phylogenetic, physiological and ecological patterns of spectral sensitivity of ray-finned fishes (Actinoptergyii) via …

Serotonin: Octopus Love Potion?, Lauren E. Nadler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Spatial Generalization Characteristics Of A Robust Classifier As Applied To Coral Reef Habitats In Remote Islands Of The Pacific Ocean, Justin J. Gapper, Hesham El-Askary, Erik J. Linstead, Thomas Piechota

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This study was an evaluation of the spectral signature generalization properties of coral across four remote Pacific Ocean reefs. The sites under consideration have not been the subject of previous studies for coral classification using remote sensing data. Previous research regarding using remote sensing to identify reefs has been limited to in-situ assessment, with some researchers also performing temporal analysis of a selected area of interest. This study expanded the previous in-situ analyses by evaluating the ability of a basic predictor, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), trained on Depth Invariant Indices calculated from the spectral signature of coral in one location …

A Multidecade Experiment Shows That Fertilization By Salmon Carcasses Enhanced Tree Growth In The Riparian Zone, Thomas P. Quinn, Helfield M. James, Catherine S. Austin, Rachel A. Hovel, Andrew Godard Bunn

Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

As they return to spawn and die in their natal streams, anadromous, semelparous fishes such as Pacific salmon import marine‐derived nutrients to otherwise nutrient‐poor freshwater and riparian ecosystems. Diverse organisms exploit this resource, and previous studies have indicated that riparian tree growth may be enhanced by such marine‐derived nutrients. However, these studies were largely inferential and did not account for all factors affecting tree growth. As an experimental test of the contribution of carcasses to tree growth, for 20 yr, we systematically deposited all sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) carcasses (217,055 individual salmon) in the riparian zone on one …

Mesobot : An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle For Tracking And Sampling Midwater Targets, Dana R. Yoerger, Molly Curran, Justin Fujii, Christopher R. German, Daniel Gomez-Ibanez, Annette F. Govindarajan, Jonathan C. Howland, Joel K. Llopiz, Peter H. Wiebe, Brett W. Hobson, Kakani Katija, Michael Risi, Bruce H. Robison, Cailean J. Wilkinson, Stephen M. Rock, John A. Breier

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mesobot, a new class of autonomous underwater vehicle, will address specific unmet needs for observing slow-moving targets in the midwater ocean. Mesobot will track targets such as zooplankton, fish, and descending particle aggregates using a control system based on stereo cameras and a combination of thrusters and a variable buoyancy system. The vehicle will also be able to collect biogeochemical and environmental DNA (eDNA) samples using a pumped filter sampler.

A Dexterous, Glove-Based Teleoperable Low-Power Soft Robotic Arm For Delicate Deep-Sea Biological Exploration, Brennan T. Phillips, Kaitlyn P. Becker, Shunichi Kurumaya, Kevin C. Galloway, Griffin Whittredge, Daniel M. Vogt, Clark B. Teeple, Michelle H. Rosen, Vincent A. Pieribone, David F. Gruber, Robert J. Wood

Publications and Research

Modern marine biologists seeking to study or interact with deep-sea organisms are confronted with few options beyond industrial robotic arms, claws, and suction samplers. This limits biological interactions to a subset of “rugged” and mostly immotile fauna. As the deep sea is one of the most biologically diverse and least studied ecosystems on the planet, there is much room for innovation in facilitating delicate interactions with a multitude of organisms. The biodiversity and physiology of shallow marine systems, such as coral reefs, are common study targets due to the easier nature of access; SCUBA diving allows for in situ delicate …

Restoring The Eastern Oyster: How Much Progress Has Been Made In 53 Years?, Ab Hernandez, Rochelle Brumbaugh, P Fredrick, R Grizzle, Mark Luckenbach, Ch Peterson, C Angelini

VIMS Articles

Coastal ecosystem restoration is accelerating globally as a means of enhancing shoreline protection, carbon storage, water quality, fisheries, and biodiversity. Among the most substantial of these efforts have been those focused on re-establishing oyster reefs across the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Despite considerable investment, it is unclear how the scale of and approaches toward oyster restoration have evolved. A synthesis of 1768 projects undertaken since 1964 reveals that oyster substrate restoration efforts have primarily been concentrated in the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf Coast, have been heavily reliant on oyster shell, and have re-established 4.5% of the reef area …

The Octocoral Fishery In The Southeastern U.S. And Gulf Of Mexico, Mark Chiappone, Paola Espitia, Leanne M. Rutten, Steven Miller

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Octocorals, also known as gorgonians and soft corals, were previously managed by the U.S. South Atlantic (SAFMC) and Gulf of Mexico (GMFMC) Fishery Management Councils through a joint Coral Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Because octocorals are mostly collected from Florida waters, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is currently tasked with managing octocoral collection, including the monitoring of colony landings, in the Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) adjacent to Florida. Collection of 70,000 colonies per year total, which applies to both state and EEZ waters off Florida, is permitted under Rule 68B- 42.006 of the Florida Administrative Code, but …

A Climatological Dataset Of Nutrient, Chlorophyll, And Particulate Matter Distributions On The Ross Sea Continental Shelf Derived From Cruise-Based Measurements Spanning 1967 To 2016, Walker O. Smith Jr., Daniel E. Kaufman

Data

This dataset includes data used in the publication Smith and Kaufman (2018), Progress in Oceanography, which examines the temporal and spatial distributions of nutrients and particulate matter in the Ross Sea continental Shelf using cruise-based observations, and compares the resulting annual productivity estimates with previously reported satellite-based estimates. Specifically, these data represent distributions of nutrients, chlorophyll, particulate organic carbon, particulate organic nitrogen, and biogenic silica that were compiled from 42 cruises (from 1967 - 2016) to the Ross Sea continental shelf to generate a comprehensive climatological dataset for November, December, January, and February. This climatology provides a novel look at …

The Influence Of Habitat Preference On Longitudinal Population Composition And Distribution Of Groupers (Serranidae) In Chumbe Island Coral Park, Zanzibar Tanzania, Caroline Daley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A survey of six common grouper (Serranidae) species was conducted on both the western protected and eastern unprotected reefs around Chumbe Island. Species, estimated maturity, and fundamental niche and general habitat preference was extrapolated based on observed realized niche and qualified according to substrate, depth, slope position, and general reef region. Abundance, biomass density, and biodiversity of Serranid populations were compared among locations on the reef with habitat preference in mind in order to best assess how habitat influences population composition, distribution, and health. The results of this study provide depth to previous research on the protected reef and indicate …

Particulate Metal Exposures Induce Plasma Metabolome Changes In A Commuter Panel Study, Chandresh N. Ladva, Rachel Golan, Donghai Liang, Roby Greenwald, Douglas I. Walker, Amit U. Raysoni, Vilinh Tran, Tianwei Yu, W. Dana Flanders, Gary W. Miller

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction

Advances in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) have enabled high-resolution metabolomics (HRM) to emerge as a sensitive tool for measuring environmental exposures and corresponding biological response. Using measurements collected as part of a large, panel-based study of car commuters, the current analysis examines in-vehicle air pollution concentrations, targeted inflammatory biomarker levels, and metabolomic profiles to trace potential metabolic perturbations associated with on-road traffic exposures.

Methods

A 60-person panel of adults participated in a crossover study, where each participant conducted a highway commute and randomized to either a side-street commute or clinic exposure session. In addition to in-vehicle exposure characterizations, participants …

Role Of Water Flow Regime In The Swimming Behaviour And Escape Performance Of A Schooling Fish, Lauren E. Nadler, Shaun S. Killen, Paolo Domenici, Mark I. Mccormick

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Animals are exposed to variable and rapidly changing environmental flow conditions, such as wind in terrestrial habitats and currents in aquatic systems. For fishes, previous work suggests that individuals exhibit flow-induced changes in aerobic swimming performance. Yet, no one has examined whether similar plasticity is found in fast-start escape responses, which are modulated by anaerobic swimming performance, sensory stimuli and neural control. In this study, we used fish from wild schools of the tropical damselfish Chromis viridis from shallow reefs surrounding Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The flow regime at each site was measured to ascertain differences …

An Additional Nomenclatural Transfer In The Pantropical Genus Myrsine (Primulaceae: Myrsinoideae), John J. Pipoly Iii, Jon M. Ricketson

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Rapanea pellucidostriata Gilg & Schellenb. is transferred to Myrsine L. as M. pellucidostriata (Gilg & Schellenb.) Pipoly & Ricketson, comb. nov. To our knowledge, this is the last species of Rapanea Aubl. remaining that did not have a name in the genus Myrsine. With the transfer of this species complete, all species of Rapanea and Suttonia A. Rich. have been transferred into Myrsine.

Hypoplectrus Liberte, A New And Endangered Microendemic Hamlet From Haiti (Teleostei: Serranidae), Benjamin C. Victor, Kenneth W. Marks

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The hamlets of the genus Hypoplectrus comprise a species flock of about 20 species found on coral reefs of the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, distinguished by complex color patterns and sharing mitochondrial DNA haplotypes within the Caribbean Sea (Gulf of Mexico and Florida-centered species are about 3% divergent in the COI marker). The species show a variety of biogeographic patterns, from widespread common species to relatively rare species limited to small parts of the Greater Caribbean region. We describe here a distinctive striped morph of barred hamlet, apparently limited to Fort-Liberté Bay in northeastern Haiti, as the new species Hypoplectrus …

Impacts Of A Regional, Multi-Year, Multi-Species Coral Disease Outbreak In Southeast Florida, Charles Walton, Nicole K. Hayes, David S. Gilliam

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Globally coral reefs have been declining at alarming rates as a result of anthropogenic stressors, leading to increased frequency and severity of widespread bleaching and disease events. These events are often associated with increased water temperatures due to climate change as well as regional and local stress from nutrient enrichment through runoff and sedimentation from coastal development. In late 2014, a white syndrome disease outbreak was reported off the coast of southeast Florida and was subsequently documented spreading throughout the region. This study examined the regional impacts of the disease event on the southeast Florida stony coral population utilizing stony …

Short-Term Low Salinity Mitigates Effects Of Oil And Dispersant On Juvenile Eastern Oysters: A Laboratory Experiment With Implications For Oil Spill Response Activities, Meagan N. Schrandt, Sean Powers, F.Scott Rikard, Wilawan Thongda, Eric Peatman

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reefs in the northern Gulf of Mexico were exposed to oil and various associated clean-up activities that may have compromised oyster reef health. Included in the exposure was oil, dispersant, and in some locales, atypical salinity regimes. Oil and dispersants can be detrimental to oysters and the effects of salinity depend on the level. In addition to these extrinsic factors, genetic diversity of oyster populations may help the oysters respond to stressors, as demonstrated in other systems. We used a 3×3×2 factorial design to experimentally examine the effects …

Development Of Hurricane Storm Surge Model To Predict Coastal Highway Inundation For South Texas, Sara E. Davila, Adan Garza, Jungseok Ho

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Forecasting areas prone to flooding will allow us to send off our information gathered to departments such as TxDOT and the United States Department of Transportation. This would then enable these departments to create appropriate evacuation routes, depicting which roads are clear and which cannot be used in the event of a storm. Simulating hurricanes that have passed through this area such as Dolly in 2008, Beulah in 1967, and Bret in 1999 will display the roads and federal highways that frequently tend to get flooded. Identifying the “danger roads” and which federal highways will ultimately be useful for various …

Living Shorelines Support Nearshore Benthic Communities In Upper And Lower Chesapeake Bay, Tm Davenport, Rochelle D. Seitz, Ke Knick, N Jackson

VIMS Articles

Human population growth and sea-level rise are increasing the demand for protection of coastal property against shoreline erosion. Living shorelines are designed to provide shoreline protection and are constructed or reinforced using natural elements. While living shorelines are gaining popularity with homeowners, their ability to provide ecological services (e.g., habitat provision and trophic transfer) is not well understood, and information is needed to improve coastal and resource management decision-making. We examined benthic community responses to living shorelines in two case-study subestuaries of Chesapeake Bay using a before-after control-impact study design. At Windy Hill, a bulkhead was removed and replaced by …

A Multidisciplinary Approach For Generating Globally Consistent Data On Mesophotic, Deep-Pelagic, And Bathyal Biological Communities, Lucy C. Woodall, Dominic A. Andradi-Brown, Andrew S. Brierley, Malcolm R. Clark, Douglas Connelly, Rob A. Hall, Kerry L. Howell, Veerle A. I. Huvenne, Katrin Linse, Rebecca E. Ross, Paul Snelgrove, Paris V. Stefanoudis, Tracey Sutton, Michelle Taylor, Thomas F. Thornton, Alex D. Rogers

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Approaches to measuring marine biological parameters remain almost as diverse as the researchers who measure them. However, understanding the patterns of diversity in ocean life over different temporal and geographic scales requires consistent data and information on the potential environmental drivers. As a group of marine scientists from different disciplines, we suggest a formalized, consistent framework of 20 biological, chemical, physical, and socioeconomic parameters that we consider the most important for describing environmental and biological variability. We call our proposed framework the General Ocean Survey and Sampling Iterative Protocol (GOSSIP). We hope that this framework will establish a consistent approach …

Genetic Patterns In Peripheral Marine Populations Of The Fusilier Fish Caesio Cuning Within The Kuroshio Current, Amanda S. Ackiss, Christopher E. Bird, Yuichi Akita, Mudjekeewis D. Santos, Katsunori Tachihara, Kent E. Carpenter

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Aim: Mayr’s central‐peripheral population model (CCPM) describes the marked differences between central and peripheral populations in genetic diversity, gene flow, and census size. When isolation leads to genetic divergence, these peripheral populations have high evolutionary value and can influence biogeographic patterns. In tropical marine species with pelagic larvae, powerful western‐boundary currents have great potential to shape the genetic characteristics of peripheral populations at latitudinal extremes. We tested for the genetic patterns expected by the CCPM in peripheral populations that are located within the Kuroshio Current for the Indo‐Pacific reef fish, Caesio cuning.

Methods: We used a panel of 2,677 …

Thresholds And Drivers Of Coral Calcification Responses To Climate Change, Niklas Kornder, Bernhard Riegl, Joana Figueiredo

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Increased temperature and CO₂ levels are considered key drivers of coral reef degradation. However, individual assessments of ecological responses (calcification) to these stressors are often contradicting. To detect underlying drivers of heterogeneity in coral calcification responses, we developed a procedure for the inclusion of stress–effect relationships in ecological meta‐analyses. We applied this technique to a dataset of 294 empirical observations from 62 peer‐reviewed publications testing individual and combined effects of elevated temperature and pCO₂ on coral calcification. Our results show an additive interaction between warming and acidification, which reduces coral calcification by 20% when pCO₂ levels exceed …

Antipredatory Escape Behaviors Of Two Benthic Ctenophores In South Florida, Peter W. Glynn, Brian Coffman, Jeongran Vanderwoude, Nicolas Martinez, Joshua H. Dominguez, Julie M. Gross, Dorothy-Ellen A. Renegar

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Benthic ctenophores, members of the family Coeloplanidae (Order Platyctenida, Phylum Ctenophora) are more widespread and abundant in tropical and subtropical marine environments than formerly recognized. Coeloplanid ctenophores are members of the most speciose family of benthic ctenophores, with 33 recognized species of Coeloplana and one species of the genus Vallicula (Mills 1998). The majority of coeloplanids are ectosymbionts of algae and diverse benthic invertebrates (Matsumoto 1999, Alamaru et al. 2015). Hundreds to thousands of individuals can occupy preferred habitats in < 1 m² of substrate patches. Galt (1998) noted Vallicula multiformis inhabiting algae in Hawaii at population densities as high as 10,000 …

Presence/Absence And Density Data For Epipelagic Tows Collected During R/V Blazing Seven Cruises Lf2016a And Lf2016b, Northern Gulf Of Mexico From 2016-06-09 To 2016-07-28, Jay R. Rooker, David Wells

DEEPEND Datasets

This dataset reports presence/absence and density data for epipelagic tows collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico during R/V Blazing Seven cruises LF2016A and LF2016B (2016-06-09 to 2016-07-28). Larval fishes were sampled from 48 stations and cruise data were collected at each site including latitude/longitude, date, time, environmental data (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen) and Sargassum dry weight. Larval catch data before and after the oil spill will be compared to improve our understanding of the causes of temporal variability as it relates to the Deep-Water Horizon oil spill (DWHOS). Habitat associations of selected taxa (billfishes, tunas, dolphinfishes, flyingfishes) will be …

An Updated Model For Estimating The Tmdl-Related Benefits Of Oyster Reef Restoration Harris Creek, Maryland, Usa, M. Lisa Kellogg, Mark J. Brush, Jeff C. Cornwell

Reports

In 2014, a user-friendly, web-accessible model was developed that allowed restoration practitioners and resource managers to easily estimate the TMDLrelated benefits of oyster reef (Crassostrea virginica) restoration per unit area, run restoration scenarios in Harris Creek, MD to optimize restoration planning and implementation, and calculate the benefits of the chosen plan. The model was rooted in scientifically defensible data and was readily transferrable to systems throughout the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Shore. The model operated in five vertically well-mixed boxes along the main axis of the creek. Exchanges among creeks were computed using a tidal prism approach and were compared …

Climate And Plant Controls On Soil Organic Matter In Coastal Wetlands, Michael J. Osland, Christopher A. Gabler, James B. Grace, Richard H. Day, Meagan L. Mccoy, Jennie L. Mcleod, Andrew S. From, Nicholas M. Enwright, Laura C. Feher, Camille L. Stagg

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coastal wetlands are among the most productive and carbon‐rich ecosystems on Earth. Long‐term carbon storage in coastal wetlands occurs primarily belowground as soil organic matter (SOM). In addition to serving as a carbon sink, SOM influences wetland ecosystem structure, function, and stability. To anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change, there is a need to advance understanding of environmental controls on wetland SOM. Here, we investigated the influence of four soil formation factors: climate, biota, parent materials, and topography. Along the northern Gulf of Mexico, we collected wetland plant and soil data across elevation and zonation gradients within 10 …

Inventory Of Oceanic Fauna Data Including Species, Weight, And Measurements From R/V Point Sur (Cruise Dp05) In The Gulf Of Mexico From 2017-05-01 To 2017-05-11, April Cook, Tracey Sutton

DEEPEND Datasets

This dataset includes an inventory of Gulf of Mexico oceanic fauna data including species, weight, and measurements collected from R/V Point Sur (Cruise DP05) from 2017-05-01 to 2017-05-11. The main gear type used was a 10-m2 Multiple Opening Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System (MOCNESS). The MOCNESS was fitted with 6 nets which were opened according to the following depth scheme: net 0 from the surface to 1500m, net 1 from 1500-1200m, net 2 from 200-1000m, net 3 from 1000-600m, net 4 from 600-200m, and net 5 from 200m to the surface. Two trawls were conducted at each station sampled …

Ongoing Transposon-Mediated Genome Reduction In The Luminous Bacterial Symbionts Of Deep-Sea Ceratioid Anglerfishes, Tory Hendry, Lindsay L. Freed, Dana Fadera, Dante Fenolio, Tracey Sutton, Jose Lopez

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Diverse marine fish and squid form symbiotic associations with extracellular bioluminescent bacteria. These symbionts are typically free-living bacteria with large genomes, but one known lineage of symbionts has undergone genomic reduction and evolution of host dependence. It is not known why distinct evolutionary trajectories have occurred among different luminous symbionts, and not all known lineages previously had genome sequences available. In order to better understand patterns of evolution across diverse bioluminescent symbionts, we de novo sequenced the genomes of bacteria from a poorly studied interaction, the extracellular symbionts from the “lures” of deep-sea ceratioid anglerfishes. Deep-sea anglerfish symbiont genomes are …