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Full-Text Articles in Fresh Water Studies

A Molecular Analysis Of Atlantic Menhaden (Brevoortia Tyrannus) Stock Structure, Abigail J. Lynch Jan 2008

A Molecular Analysis Of Atlantic Menhaden (Brevoortia Tyrannus) Stock Structure, Abigail J. Lynch

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Atlantic menhaden is an ecologically and economically important species along the U.S. east coast. As a filter-feeder and key prey fish, it provides a critical link between primary production, phytoplankton, and larger piscivorous predators, such as striped bass, bluefish, and weakfish. The species is also the target of one of the largest commercial fisheries in the country. Menhaden are assessed as a single, coastwide stock, and recent assessments indicate that it is not overfished. However, there is very limited population genetics data to support the assumption of a single stock. Additionally, the recent consolidation of the fishery and localization of …


Twine-Top Modifications Of Sea-Scallop Dredges: Reducing Yellowtail-Flounder Bycatch, Kelli A. Milleville Jan 2008

Twine-Top Modifications Of Sea-Scallop Dredges: Reducing Yellowtail-Flounder Bycatch, Kelli A. Milleville

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Idiopathic Lesions And Visual Deficits In The American Lobster (Homarus Americanus) From Longs Island Sound, Ny, Christopher Robert Magel Jan 2008

Idiopathic Lesions And Visual Deficits In The American Lobster (Homarus Americanus) From Longs Island Sound, Ny, Christopher Robert Magel

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

In 1999 a mass mortality of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) occurred in western Long Island Sound (WLIS). Although the etiology remains unknown, warm bottom water temperature, hypoxia, heavy metal poisoning, and pesticides have been suggested as casual factors. Subsequently, lobsters from WLIS have continued to display symptoms of morbidity that include lethargy and cloudy grey eyes, caused by idiopathic lesions. The effects of these lesions on lobster vision are unknown. We therefore used electoretinography (ERG) to document changes in visual function in lobsters obtained from WLIS, while simultaneously using histology to quantify the extent of damage. Of the lobsters …


The Use Of Extractable Lipofuscin For Age Determination Of Crustaceans: Reply To Sheehy (2008), H. Rodger Harvey, David H. Secor, Se-Jong Ju Jan 2008

The Use Of Extractable Lipofuscin For Age Determination Of Crustaceans: Reply To Sheehy (2008), H. Rodger Harvey, David H. Secor, Se-Jong Ju

OES Faculty Publications

The heterogeneous mixture of metabolic by-products termed lipofuscin (LF) or age pigments has long been known to accumulate in post mitotic cells with increasing age. In crustaceans several approaches have been developed over the years to track LF accumulation and provide a proxy for chronological age. Histological approaches have been traditionally used for LF determination of crustaceans (e.g. Sheehy et al. 1994, Mar Biol 121:237-245), but over the last decade extraction approaches for neural tissues have been introduced (Ju et al. 1999, Mar Ecol Prog Ser 185:171-179) and tested (Ju et al. 2001, Mar Ecol Prog Ser 224:197-205; 2003, Fish …


Novel Use Of A Natural Isotope Signature To Track Recruitment And Evaluate Age Determination Methods For The 2002 Year Class Of American Shad In The York River, Sally A. Upton Jan 2008

Novel Use Of A Natural Isotope Signature To Track Recruitment And Evaluate Age Determination Methods For The 2002 Year Class Of American Shad In The York River, Sally A. Upton

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Age, Growth, And Demography Of The Sandbar Shark, Carcharhinus Plumbeus, Over Temporal And Spatial Scales, Jason G. Romine Jan 2008

Age, Growth, And Demography Of The Sandbar Shark, Carcharhinus Plumbeus, Over Temporal And Spatial Scales, Jason G. Romine

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Numbers of sandbar sharks, Carcharhinus plumbeus, in the Northwest Atlantic have experienced drastic declines since the early 1980's reaching their minima during the early 1990's. Catch rates in the early 1990's were a mere 25% of those during the 1980's. Such drastic reductions in other fish stocks have often caused compensatory responses, most notably the cod stocks in the Northwest Atlantic. Compensatory responses in depressed populations may include decreased natural mortality, increased fecundity, or increased growth rates. Compensation for population fluctuations below carrying capacities have been recognized for many terrestrial and oceanic r-selected organisms, but few instances have been noted …


Absorption Spectral Slopes And Slope Ratios As Indicators Of Molecular Weight, Source, And Photobleaching Of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter, John R. Helms, Aron Stubbins, Jason D. Ritchie, Elizabeth C. Minor, David J. Kieber, Kenneth Mopper Jan 2008

Absorption Spectral Slopes And Slope Ratios As Indicators Of Molecular Weight, Source, And Photobleaching Of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter, John R. Helms, Aron Stubbins, Jason D. Ritchie, Elizabeth C. Minor, David J. Kieber, Kenneth Mopper

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

A new approach for parameterizing dissolved organic matter ( DOM) ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra is presented. Two distinct spectral slope regions ( 275-295 nm and 350-400 nm) within log-transformed absorption spectra were used to compare DOM from contrasting water types, ranging from wetlands (Great Dismal Swamp and Suwannee River) to photobleached oceanic water ( Atlantic Ocean). On the basis of DOM size-fractionation studies ( ultrafiltration and gel filtration chromatography), the slope of the 275-295- nm region and the ratio of these slopes (SR; 275-295- nm slope : 350-400- nm slope) were related to DOM molecular weight ( MW) and …


Bottom-Up And Top-Down Controls On Sedimentary Ecosystem Functioning In A Seagrass Habitat, Amanda C. Spivak Jan 2008

Bottom-Up And Top-Down Controls On Sedimentary Ecosystem Functioning In A Seagrass Habitat, Amanda C. Spivak

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Coastal seagrass ecosystems are complex habitats that are increasingly influenced by human perturbations. Disturbances that affect the strength of bottom-up (i.e. resource availability) and top-down (i.e. consumer) controls may also influence biomass distribution between trophic levels, sediment biogeochemistry, and seagrass ecosystem metabolism. Here, I experimentally tested how top-down and bottom-up perturbations interact with community structure (diversity, food chain length of epibenthic consumers) to alter sediment biogeochemistry and ecosystem metabolism in an experimental eelgrass (Zostera marina ) system. My data indicated that resource availability influenced SOM composition and ecosystem metabolism. Light availability tended to be a stronger determinant of SOM composition …


Naturally Present Fatty Acids As Internal Calibrants For Fourier Transform Mass Spectra Of Dissolved Organic Matter, Rachel L. Sleighter, Georgina A. Mckee, Zhanfei Liu, Patrick G. Hatcher Jan 2008

Naturally Present Fatty Acids As Internal Calibrants For Fourier Transform Mass Spectra Of Dissolved Organic Matter, Rachel L. Sleighter, Georgina A. Mckee, Zhanfei Liu, Patrick G. Hatcher

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The analysis of dissolved organic matter ( DOM) by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry ( FTICR- MS) has gained wide interest recently, driven primarily by its ultrahigh resolving power and mass accuracy. Accurate calibration of mass spectra is a key step to successfully decipher the DOM components. We propose a simple and accurate method to internally calibrate the peaks in the complex spectra without the need to add a calibrant. Mass spectra of DOM samples from the Dismal Swamp, Virginia, and the lower Chesapeake Bay display the presence of naturally occurring fatty acids which can be readily recognized …


Effects Of Shoreline Development And Oyster Reefs On Benthic Communities In Lynnhaven, Virginia, Amanda Sue Lawless Jan 2008

Effects Of Shoreline Development And Oyster Reefs On Benthic Communities In Lynnhaven, Virginia, Amanda Sue Lawless

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Shoreline hardening and construction of restoration oyster reefs are occurring at rapid rates throughout Chesapeake Bay and little research has been conducted to determine whether installment of a hardened shoreline and oyster reef placement has an effect on the surrounding benthic infaunal communities. I investigated the effects of shoreline development and oyster reefs on benthic communities in Lynnhaven, Virginia. Throughout Lynnhaven, I determined the effects of shoreline type (natural marsh, oyster reef, rip-rap and bulkhead), sediment grain size, Total Organic Carbon/Total Nitrogen (TOC/TN) of the sediment, and predation (caging study) on density, biomass, and diversity of benthic infauna. An information-theoretic …


A Bio-Economic Feasibility Model For Remote Setting: Potential For Oyster Aquaculture In Virginia, Michael Spohn Congrove Jan 2008

A Bio-Economic Feasibility Model For Remote Setting: Potential For Oyster Aquaculture In Virginia, Michael Spohn Congrove

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.


Natural Mortality Of Blue Crab: Estimation And Influence On Population Dynamics, David A. Hewitt Jan 2008

Natural Mortality Of Blue Crab: Estimation And Influence On Population Dynamics, David A. Hewitt

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The blue crab Callinectes sapidus supports one of the most important fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay and is the leading contributor to blue crab landings in the United States. Assessment and management of blue crab stocks has been hampered by a lack of estimates of natural mortality rates, a key parameter in assessment models. In Chapter 2, we demonstrate that the approach used for estimating natural mortality that had been used in past assessments was flawed, and provide justification for a superior alternative. In Chapter 3, we synthesize our current understanding of natural mortality rates in adult blue crab and …


The Survival Benefit Of Benthic Macroalgae Gracilaria Vermiculophylla As An Alternative Nursery Habitat For Juvenile Blue Crabs, Justin A. Falls Jan 2008

The Survival Benefit Of Benthic Macroalgae Gracilaria Vermiculophylla As An Alternative Nursery Habitat For Juvenile Blue Crabs, Justin A. Falls

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The Chesapeake Bay blue crab is in decline. One of the threats to it is the loss of its once plentiful nursery habitat, seagrass, due to baywide eutrophication and climate change. The emergence of the non-native benthic macroalga Gracilaria vermiculophylla may offer the blue crab an alternative nursery if it can provide juvenile crabs a refuge from predation. The ability of Gracilaria to protect juvenile blue crabs was investigated in mesocosm and field survival studies, which were combined into a larger dataset. All of these studies used tethering and therefore a tethering validation study in mesocosms accompanied these experiments. In …