Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Reproductive Phase Determination In Male Meagre (Argyrosomus Regius, Sciaenidae): Testis Development And Histologic Corroboration Of A Gross Anatomical Scale, Nuno Prista, Leonel Gordo, Jose L. Costa, Maria J. Costa, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

Reproductive stage determination of male gonads has received sparse attention in fish biology literature with few studies detailing the building of gross anatomical-and histologic scales. The meagre (Argyrosomus regius) is one of the world's largest sciaenids and supports a significant regional fishery in European and North African waters whose reproductive patterns are yet to be fully investigated. In the present study, we derive a macroscopic grading system for meagre testis using semi-quantitative graphs that feature the testis variability along the species size range and time of the year. We then describe the histological stages and reproductive phases of …

Phytoplankton And Nutrient Dynamics In A Tidally Dominated Eutrophic Estuary: Daily Variability And Controls On Bloom Formation, Ryan E. Morse, Margaret R. Mulholland, Todd A. Egerton, Harold G. Marshall

OES Faculty Publications

To better understand nutrient dynamics and factors that promote the initiation of algal blooms, the Lafayette River, a tidal subestuary of Chesapeake Bay that experiences seasonal algal blooms, was sampled daily for a period of 54 d in the fall of 2005. Three phytoplankton blooms (chl a concentrations exceeding twice the average of monthly measurements from 2000 to 2009) occurred during this period: a mixed bloom of Akashiwo sanguinea and Gymnodinium sp., a monospecific Skeletonema costatum bloom, and a monospecific Gymnodinium sp. bloom. Over the sampling period, nutrient concentrations increased following precipitation events and were elevated between bloom periods but …

Lack Of Equivalence In The Elemental And Stable Isotope Chemistry Within The Sagittal Otolith Pair Of The Summer Flounder, Paralichthys Dentatus, Antranik Kajajian, Jason J. Schaffler, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

In fish that are not bilaterally symmetrical, the left and right sagittae are often not symmetrical, exhibiting divergent growth patterns and mass, and may have differences in chemical composition. We investigated this in the asymmetrical summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus, collected from different nursery habitats along the US east coast. Significant differences were detected in otolith mass, δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O, Li:Ca, Mg:Ca, and Sr:Ca, and overall chemical signatures. These results refute the hypothesis of left-right equivalence that is prevalent for bilaterally symmetrical fishes. We tested whether a specific side was better suited for classification. The best models …

Can We Predict The Future: Juvenile Finfish And Their Seagrass Nurseries In The Chesapeake Bay, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

The importance of estuarine seagrass beds as nurseries for juvenile fish has become a universal paradigm, especially for estuaries that are as important as the Chesapeake Bay. Yet, scientific tests of this hypothesis were equivocal depending on species, location, and metrics. Moreover, seagrasses themselves are under threat and one-third of seagrasses have disappeared worldwide with 65 of their losses occurring in estuaries. Although there have been extensive studies of seagrasses in the Chesapeake Bay, surprisingly few studies have quantified the relationship between seagrass as nurseries for finfish in the Bay. Of the few studies that have directly evaluated the use …

Emergence Of Algal Blooms: The Effects Of Short-Term Variability In Water Quality On Phytoplankton Abundance, Diversity, And Community Composition In A Tidal Estuary, Todd A. Egerton, Ryan E. Morse, Harold G. Marshall, Margaret R. Mulholland

OES Faculty Publications

Algal blooms are dynamic phenomena, often attributed to environmental parameters that vary on short timescales (e.g., hours to days). Phytoplankton monitoring programs are largely designed to examine long-term trends and interannual variability. In order to better understand and evaluate the relationships between water quality variables and the genesis of algal blooms, daily samples were collected over a 34 day period in the eutrophic Lafayette River, a tidal tributary within Chesapeake Bay's estuarine complex, during spring 2006. During this period two distinct algal blooms occurred; the first was a cryptomonad bloom and this was followed by a bloom of the mixotrophic …

Krill, Climate, And Contrasting Future Scenarios For Arctic And Antarctic Fisheries, Margaret M. Mcbride, Padmini Dalpadado, Kenneth F. Drinkwater, Olav Rune Godø, Alistair J. Hobday, Anne B. Hollowed, Trond Kristiansen, Eugene J. Murphy, Patrick H. Ressler, Sam Subbey, Eileen E. Hofmann, Harald Loeng

CCPO Publications

Arctic and Antarcticmarine systems have incommon high latitudes, large seasonal changes in light levels, cold air and sea temperatures, and sea ice. In other ways, however, they are strikingly different, including their: age, extent, geological structure, ice stability, and foodweb structure. Both regions contain very rapidly warming areas and climate impacts have been reported, as have dramatic future projections. However, the combined effects of a changing climate on oceanographic processes and foodweb dynamics are likely to influence their future fisheries in very different ways. Differences in the life-history strategies of the key zooplankton species (Antarctic krill in the Southern Ocean …

Monitoring Ship Noise To Assess The Impact Of Coastal Developments On Marine Mammals, Nathan D. Merchant, Enrico Pirotta, Tim R. Barton, Paul M. Thompson

Biology - All Scholarship

The potential impacts of underwater noise on marine mammals are widely recognised, but uncertainty over variability in baseline noise levels often constrains efforts to manage these impacts. This paper characterises natural and anthropogenic contributors to underwater noise at two sites in the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation, an important marine mammal habitat that may be exposed to increased shipping activity from proposed offshore energy developments. We aimed to establish a pre-develop- ment baseline, and to develop ship noise monitoring methods using Automatic Identification System (AIS) and time-lapse video to record trends in noise levels and shipping activity. Our results …

Estimating Sustainable Harvests Of Eastern Oysters, Crassostrea Virginica, Thomas M. Soniat, Nathan Cooper, Eric N. Powell, John M. Klinck, Mahdi Abdelguerfi, Shengru Tu, Roger Mann, Patrick D. Banks

CCPO Publications

Sustainability of a fishery is traditionally and typically considered achieved if the exploited population does not decline in numbers or biomass over time as a result of fishing relative to biological reference point goals. Oysters, however, exhibit atypical population dynamics compared with many other commercial species. The population dynamics often display extreme natural interannual variation in numbers and biomass, and oysters create their own habitat--the reef itself. With the worldwide decline of oyster reef habitat and the oyster fisheries dependent thereon, the maintenance of shell has received renewed attention as essential to population sustainability. We apply a shell budget model …

Diuron From Maui Sugarcane Field Runoff Is Potentially Harmful To Local Coral Reefs, Thomas C. Royer, Patricia A. Tester, Thomas N. Stewart

CCPO Publications

In a grassroots effort to identify stressors influencing the health of Maui’s coral reefs, samples for the pre- and post-emergent herbicide, Diuron, were taken in July–August 2013, prior to, during, and after the passage of Tropical Storm Flossie on the south central coast of Maui, Hawaii. Diuron is routinely used on sugarcane fields adjacent to Hawaiian coastal waters and is a component of the anti-fouling paint used on small boats. It inhibits photosynthesis of terrestrial plants at concentrations as low as 0.1 parts per billion and can be lethal to endosymbiotic dinoflagellates in corals at concentrations less than 3 parts …

State Of The River Report For The Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida: Water Quality, Fisheries, Aquatic Life, And Contaminants 2014, Environmental Protection Board, City Of Jacksonville, University Of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Lucy Sonnenberg, Gerry Pinto, Nisse Goldberg, Kimberly Mann, Radha Pyati, Gretchen Bielmyer-Fraser, Stuart Chalk, Peter Bacopoulos, Brian P. Zoellner

State of the River Report

No abstract provided.

So, You Want To Use Next Generation Sequencing In Marine Systems? Insight From The Pan Pacific Advanced Studies Institute, D. A. Willette, F. W. Allendorf, P. H. Barber, D. J. Barshis, K. E. Carpenter, E. D. Crandall, W. A. Cresko, I. Fernandez-Silva, M. V. Matz, E. Meyer, M. D. Santos, L. W. Seeb, J. E. Seeb

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The emerging field of next-generation sequencing (NGS) is rapidly expanding capabilities for cutting edge genomic research, with applications that can help meet marine conservation challenges of food security, biodiversity loss, and climate change. Navigating the use of these tools, however, is complex at best. Furthermore, applications of marine genomic questions are limited in developing nations where both marine biodiversity and threats to marine biodiversity are most concentrated. This is particularly true in Southeast Asia. The first Pan-Pacific Advanced Studies Institute (PacASI) entitled "Genomic Applications to Marine Science and Resource Management in Southeast Asia" was held in July 2012 in Dumaguete, …

Evolution Of The Freshwater Sardinella, Sardinella Tawilis (Clupeiformes: Clupeidae), In Taal Lake, Philippines And Identification Of Iits Marine Sister-Species, Sardinella Hualiensis, Demian Willette, Kent E. Carpenter, Mudjekeewis Santos

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We identify the sister species of the world's only freshwater sardinella, Sardinella tawilis (Herre, 1927) of Taal Lake, Philippines as the morphologically-similar marine Taiwanese sardinella Sardinella hualiensis (Chu and Tsai, 1958). Evidence of incomplete lineage sorting and a species tree derived from three mitochondrial genes and one nuclear gene indicate that S. tawilis diverged from S. hualiensis in the late Pleistocene. Neutrality tests, mismatch distribution analysis, sequence diversity indices, and species tree analysis indicate populations of both species have long been stable and that the divergence between these two lineages occurred prior to the putative 18th century formation of Taal …

Effects Of Predation Upon The Long-Spined Sea Urchin Diadema Antillarum By The Spotted Spiny Lobster Panulirus Guttatus, Meredith D. Kintzing, Mark J. Butler Iv

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Sea urchins, important herbivores in marine ecosystems, are strongly impacted by both the direct and indirect effects of predation, and the long-spined sea urchin Diadema antillarum is no exception. Once abundant on Caribbean coral reefs, D. antillarum populations were decimated by disease in the early 1980s, and only where their natural predators have been over-fished has D. antillarum recovery been observed. Spiny lobsters (Palinuridae) are predators of sea urchins, and although there are several species of spiny lobster in the Caribbean, only the spotted spiny lobster Panulirus guttatus is restricted to coral reefs where D. antillarum dwells. We investigated the …

Robinson Point, Belize: An Important Foraging Ground For Endangered Sea Turtles In The Western Caribbean Sea, Linda Searle

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Anecdotal reports, flipper tag returns, satellite migration paths, and above-water and net surveys have identified an important foraging area for sea turtles in the Robinson Point area, 12 kilometers southwest of Belize City. Visual observations confirmed that sea turtles were actively foraging at Robinson Point. Sixteen 30 minute visual observations from stationary and drifting boats made 132 sea turtle sightings from October 2007 through January 2008, with a maximum of 40 sightings made in one survey. In-water capture methodology tested the traditional turtle net, which captured 14 turtles in 63 sets for a success rate of only 22%. There were …

Development And Application Of A Gis-Based Long Island Sound Eelgrass Habitat Suitability Index Model, Jamie M.P. Vaudrey, Justin Eddings, Christopher Pickerell, Lorne Brousseau, Charles Yarish

Department of Marine Sciences

The primary objectives of the Eelgrass Habitat Suitability Index Model (EHSI Model) are to assist in the evaluation of sites being considered for eelgrass restoration efforts in the Long Island Sound (LIS) area and to identify areas where water quality issues reduce or eliminate the potential for natural eelgrass colonization. To achieve this goal, geospatial processing of data available from the Long Island Sound area was conducted using ArcGIS v10.0 including the 3D Analyst and Spatial Analyst extensions. The result is a series of maps presented in this report and a GIS-based model available for users to interact with the …

Species Composition And Reproductive Strategies Of Commensal Synalpheus Shrimp (Decapoda:Alpheidae) Occupying The Sponges Spheciospongia Vesparium And Spongia Sp. Of The Florida Reef Tract, Brittnee Nicole Barris

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Synalpheus shrimp species of the gambarelloides group are the only marine organisms displaying the highest level of social functioning, eusociality. Their social hierarchies are equally complex compared to the reproductive abnormalities that have been recently discovered. For instance, snapping shrimp of the genus Synalpheus were thought to be gonochoric, i.e. developing as independent sexes, until scanning electron microscopy studies revealed intersexed gonopores in several species. This project analyzed both the species composition, and accompanying reproductive structures, of Synalpheus spp. (Caridea: Alpheidae) comprised of densely aggregating communal and pair-living colonies in the Florida Keys, Florida.

Colonies of pair-living and communal Synalpheus …

Educating The Masses: Human Attitudes Affecting Reef Health, Ashley Wiehl

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

About two thirds of the world’s population lives within 60 km of a coastline, however many members of the public do not recognize the importance of the nearby coral reef ecosystems. Although reef degradation is currently occurring at alarming rates, there is hope for the future of coral reef health. It is proven that humans have a large effect on the current health of coral reefs. This thesis aims to determine how marine scientists and educators can best influence the general public to affect behaviors to improve reef health. To do this involves taking analyzing the many effects of human …

Determining The Extent And Characterizing Coral Reef Habitats Of The Northern Latitudes Of The Florida Reef Tract (Martin County), Brian K. Walker, David S. Gilliam

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Climate change has recently been implicated in poleward shifts of many tropical species including corals; thus attention focused on higher-latitude coral communities is warranted to investigate possible range expansions and ecosystem shifts due to global warming. As the northern extension of the Florida Reef Tract (FRT), the third-largest barrier reef ecosystem in the world, southeast Florida (25–27° N latitude) is a prime region to study such effects. Most of the shallow-water FRT benthic habitats have been mapped, however minimal data and limited knowledge exist about the coral reef communities of its northernmost reaches off Martin County. First benthic habitat mapping …

Tracking Transmission Of Apicomplexan Symbionts In Diverse Caribbean Corals, Nathan L. Kirk, Raphael Ritson-Williams, Mary Alice Coffroth, Margaret W. Miller, Nicole D. Fogarty, Scott R. Santos

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Symbionts in each generation are transmitted to new host individuals either vertically (parent to offspring), horizontally (from exogenous sources), or a combination of both. Scleractinian corals make an excellent study system for understanding patterns of symbiont transmission since they harbor diverse symbionts and possess distinct reproductive modes of either internal brooding or external broadcast spawning that generally correlate with vertical or horizontal transmission, respectively. Here, we focused on the under-recognized, but apparently widespread, coral-associated apicomplexans (Protista: Alveolata) to determine if symbiont transmission depends on host reproductive mode. Specifically, a PCR-based assay was utilized towards identifying whether planula larvae and reproductive …

Migratory Patterns And Habitat Use Of The Sand Tiger Shark (Carcharias Taurus) In The Western North Atlantic Ocean, Shara Marie Teter

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Large population declines for sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus) in parts of its global range are well documented, resulting in a strong need for biologically informed conservation and management measures. Although sand tigers in the western North Atlantic have been listed as a Species of Concern by the US government since 1997, details of their seasonal migratory movements and especially vertical habitat use patterns along the US East Coast are limited. Understanding these movement patterns is vital to reducing fishery-related mortality of these sharks and informing other management efforts aimed at recovery of their stocks in the US Atlantic. …

Technical Appendix: Economic Impact Of Commercial Fisheries On Local County Economies From Catch In California National Marine Sanctuaries 2010, 2011 And 2012, Vernon R. Leeworthy, Desiree Jerome, Kelsey Schueler

Working Papers

This report documents the data and methods of estimation used in estimating the economic impact of commercial fishing catch from all four National Marine Sanctuaries in California on local county economies in terms of harvest revenue received by fishermen and the associated economic impacts, including multiplier impacts, on total output, value added, income and the number of full- and part-time jobs.

This report is part of a series of reports meeting the priorities in the “Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) West Coast Region Socioeconomic Plan FY 2013 – FY 2014” and “national program priorities” on establishing the connection between …

The General Qapp For Long Island Sound Volunteer Coastal Monitoring (With Adoption Form), Jamie M.P. Vaudrey, Kimberly Gallagher

Department of Marine Sciences

The General QAPP for Long Island Sound Volunteer Coastal Monitoring is designed to streamline the process of writing a QAPP for Monitoring Programs in the Long Island Sound area. This document does not replace guidance on developing a program and is not sufficient as a stand-alone document to guide the initial development and sample design process for a monitoring program.

Evaluation Of Current Community-Based Monitoring Efforts And Recommendations For Developing A Cohesive Network Of Support For Monitoring Long Island Sound Embayments., Jamie M.P. Vaudrey, Jamie Alonzo, Adrienne Esposito, Curt Johnson, Maureen Dolan Murphy, Charles Yarish

Department of Marine Sciences

This project focuses on Long Island Sound embayments and represents an exploration of the potential for coordination among community-based water quality monitoring groups, and coordination between community-based groups and data end users, including scientists and managers. Community-based monitoring groups represent a potential valuable source of water quality information. The development of standardized protocols, training methods and reporting procedures will serve to provide end users with the confidence necessary to utilize the data collected as part of community-based monitoring programs. Both groups of stakeholders stand to benefit from this type of coordination with the ultimate benefit being a healthier, better understood …

Buoy Gear- A Potential For Bycatch Reduction In The Small-Scale Swordfish Fisheries: A Florida Experience And Indian Ocean Perspective., Evgeny V. Romanov, David W. Kerstetter, Travis Allan Moore, Pascal Bach

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

A swordfish buoy gear, an innovative fishing practice developed in USA in early 2000s, provide a possibility of direct swordfish targeting yielding high CPUE of target species and very low bycatch levels. Here we present a summary of US experience and discuss potential application of this gear in the Indian Ocean region in the perspective of small-scale fisheries development and bycatch reduction.

A Pre-Zygotic Barrier To Hybridization In Two Con-Generic Species Of Scleractinian Corals, Andrew H. Baird, Vivian R. Cumbo, Joana Figueiredo, Saki Harii

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Hybridization is often cited as a potential source of evolutionary novelty in the order Scleractinia. While hybrid embryos can be produced in vitro, it has been difficult to identify adult hybrids in the wild. Here, we tested the potential for hybridization between two closely related species in the family Fungiidae. We mixed approximately 5000 eggs of Ctenactis echinata with sperm from C. crassa. No hybrid embryos were produced. This observation adds to a growing body of evidence for pre-zygotic barriers to hybridization in corals and challenges the claim that hybridization is a major source of evolutionary novelty …

Ccaat/Enhancer-Binding Protein Delta (C/Ebp-Delta) Expression In Antarctic Fishes: Implications For Cell Cycle And Apoptosis, Isaac Martin Sleadd

Dissertations and Theses

Chapter 1: Antarctic fishes are extremely cold adapted. Despite their inability to upregulate heat shock proteins, recent studies have demonstrated a capacity for heat response in these animals. A cDNA microarray study looked at the Notothenioid fish Trematomus bernacchii and revealed heat sensitivities for hundreds of genes, two of which code for members of the CCAAT/Enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) family of transcription factors. These molecular switches are best known for their roles in apoptosis, inflammation and cell cycle arrest. This dissertation further elucidates the role of C/EBP-delta in the Antarctic fishes T. bernacchii and Pagothenia borchgrevinki.

Chapter 2: C/EBP-delta is constitutively …

Modeling The Potential Spread Of The Recently Identified Non-Native Panther Grouper (Chromileptes Altivelis) In The Atlantic Using A Cellular Automaton Approach, Matthew W. Johnston, Samuel J. Purkis

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The Indo-pacific panther grouper (Chromileptes altiveli) is a predatory fish species and popular imported aquarium fish in the United States which has been recently documented residing in western Atlantic waters. To date, the most successful marine invasive species in the Atlantic is the lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles), which, as for the panther grouper, is assumed to have been introduced to the wild through aquarium releases. However, unlike lionfish, the panther grouper is not yet thought to have an established breeding population in the Atlantic. Using a proven modeling technique developed to track the lionfish invasion, presented is the first …

Vertical Ecology Of The Pelagic Ocean: Quantified Patterns And New Perspectives, Tracey Sutton

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

Applications of acoustic and optical sensing and intensive, discrete-depth sampling, in concert with collaborative international research programs, have substantially advanced our knowledge of pelagic ecosystems in the 17 years since the last Deep-water Fishes FSBI Symposium. Although the epipelagic habitat is the best-known, and remote sensing and high-resolution modeling allow near-synoptic investigation of upper layer biophysical dynamics, ecological studies within the mesopelagic and deep-demersal habitats have begun to link lower and upper trophic level processes. Bathypelagic taxonomic inventories are far from complete but recent projects (MAR-ECO and CMarZ, supported by the Census of Marine Life program) have quantitatively strengthened distribution …

Length Structure Of Deep-Pelagic Fishes Sheds New Light To Their Life Histories, M. Heino, David S. Boukal, Tone Falkenhaug, Uwe Piatkowski, F. M. Porteiro, Tracey Sutton

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

Here we use a new technique to study life history variation in deep-pelagic fishes from a mid-ocean ridge system. Shape of length distribution in a population is to a significant extent determined by the degree to which an average individual approaches its asymptotic maximum size. Analysing the material from the pelagic trawl hauls taken during the 2004 Mar-Eco expedition along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, we show that length distributions in many deep-pelagic fish species are characterised by negative skew (the left tail of the distribution is longer). In other words, a large proportion of individuals had a size close to …

Distribution Of Parasitic Isopods On Caridean Shrimp In South Florida Seagrass Beds, Sarah A. Briggs

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Caridean shrimp are a prominent element of seagrass faunal communities and play an important role in the energy transfer between trophic levels. They are a food source for other organisms and play an integral role in the ecosystem by feeding on algae and assisting with the breakdown of organic matter. Carideans are also fundamental to the marine fishery industry in that they are a food source for potentially valuable juvenile commercial fish. Ectoparasitic isopods (Cymothoida: Bopyridae) that infest caridean shrimps decrease the energy level of the shrimp, resulting in slower reaction time, greater predation rate, slower growth rate, and/or reduced …