Preliminary Work On Infestation Dynamics And Stable Isotope Ecology Of A Coral Reef Micropredator,
2018
Arkansas State University
Preliminary Work On Infestation Dynamics And Stable Isotope Ecology Of A Coral Reef Micropredator, William Garrett Jenkins
Student Theses and Dissertations
Despite the significant ecological role that parasites likely play within their respective communities, little is understood about the role that they play within food webs. The studies presented herein sought to expand upon the understanding of the role that gnathiid isopods, a marine fish ectoparasite, play within coral reef ecological communities by: a) assessing the effect of host physical condition on susceptibility to exploitation by a gnathiid isopod and b) by conducting a comprehensive, preliminary, study on the stable isotope ecology of these micropredators. Host fish which were experimentally injured during field trials exhibited a higher probability of being parasitized …
Wetlands Evaluation For Philbrick's Pond Marsh Drainage Evaluation North Hampton, Nh,
2018
Jackson Estuarine Laboratory
Wetlands Evaluation For Philbrick's Pond Marsh Drainage Evaluation North Hampton, Nh, David M. Burdick, Chris Peter, Gregg Moore
Natural Resources & the Environment
Philbrick’s Pond is a lagoon type estuary that formed landward of barrier beach spits in North Hampton, NH. Its inlet was stabilized and restricted by the road that is now Route 1A or Ocean Boulevard. Water flow from the Gulf of Maine passes through a culvert running under Route 1A and into a small waterway and is further restricted as it runs through a clay pipe under an old trolley berm. The lagoon is characterized as a 29 acre tidal marsh. The goal of the overall project is to evaluate the condition and hydrology of the two restrictions recognizing the …
Ichthyology Scientific Collection Spreadsheet,
2018
Pittsburg State University
Ichthyology Scientific Collection Spreadsheet, Karisa Boyer
Ichthyology Collection
No abstract provided.
Light Availability And Phytoplankton Growth Beneath Arctic Sea Ice: Integrating Observations And Modeling,
2018
Old Dominion University
Light Availability And Phytoplankton Growth Beneath Arctic Sea Ice: Integrating Observations And Modeling, Victoria J. Hill, Bonnie Light, Michael Steele, Richard C. Zimmerman
OES Faculty Publications
Observations of the seasonal light field in the upper Arctic Ocean are critical to understanding the impacts of changing Arctic ice conditions on phytoplankton growth in the water column. Here we discuss data from a new sensor system, deployed in seasonal ice cover north‐east of Utqiaġvik, Alaska in March 2014. The system was designed to provide observations of light and phytoplankton biomass in the water column during the formation of surface melt ponds and the transition from ice to open water. Hourly observations of downwelling irradiance beneath the ice (at 2.9, 6.9, and 17.9 m depths) and phytoplankton biomass (at …
Changes In The Microbial Community Of Lubomirskia Baicalensis Affected By Red Sponge Disease,
2018
Stephen F Austin State University
Changes In The Microbial Community Of Lubomirskia Baicalensis Affected By Red Sponge Disease, Colin Rorex
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Lake Baikal is the oldest known lake and a unique ecosystem, home to several species of fresh water sponge. A disease outbreak affecting the dominant species, Lubormirskia baialensis, was recently reported. The cause of the disease has not been determined but one of the current hypothesis is that the increase in methane concentration is correlated to the disease outbreak. This pilot study characterized the microbiomes of sick and healthy sponges through the use of 16S rRNA sequencing. Sick sponge microbiomes shared a conserved group of taxa while the healthy sponge microbiomes had greater diversity. Indicator species analysis identified two significant …
Is The Trail-Following Behavior Of Juvenile Physa Acuta Influenced By Kinship And Familiarity?,
2018
Montclair State University
Is The Trail-Following Behavior Of Juvenile Physa Acuta Influenced By Kinship And Familiarity?, Tiana Bonventre
Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects
Trail-following behavior is exhibited by many species ranging from insects to gastropods. In gastropods, this behavior serves many functions such as the facilitation of movement, homing, mate and conspecific location, organization, aggregation, and protection. Kin recognition is also a behavior that is exhibited by a wide variety of species including both vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Kin recognition serves many functions including social interactions and status, discrimination, which can lead to outcrossing, and cooperative behaviors that can increase the likelihood of survival. Familiarity with individuals may also contribute to survival through protection and enhanced cooperation. Kin recognition can involve familiarity in …
Evaluating The Role Of Large Jellyfish And Forage Fishes As Energy Pathways, And Their Interplay With Fisheries, In The Northern Humboldt Current Systems,
2018
University of Southern Mississippi
Evaluating The Role Of Large Jellyfish And Forage Fishes As Energy Pathways, And Their Interplay With Fisheries, In The Northern Humboldt Current Systems, Luciano M. Chiaverino, Kelly L. Robinson, Jorge Tam, James J. Ruzicka, Javier Quiñones, Katrina Aleksa, Frank J. Hernandez Jr., Richard D. Brodeur, Robert T. Leaf, Shin-Ichi Uye, Mary Beth Decker, Marcelo Acha, Hermes Mianzan, William M. Graham
Faculty Publications
Large jellyfish are important consumers of plankton, fish eggs and fish larvae in heavily fished ecosystems worldwide; yet they are seldom included in fisheries production models. Here we developed a trophic network model with 41 functional groups using ECOPATH re-expressed in a donor-driven, end-to-end format to directly evaluate the efficiency of large jellyfish and forage fish at transferring energy to higher trophic levels, as well as the ecosystem-wide effects of varying jellyfish and forage fish consumption rates and fishing rates, in the Northern Humboldt Current system (NHCS) off of Peru. Large jellyfish were an energy-loss pathway for high …
Spatial Dynamics And Mixing Of Bluefin Tuna In The Atlantic Ocean And Mediterranean Sea Revealed Using Next-Generation Sequencing,
2018
University of New Brunswick
Spatial Dynamics And Mixing Of Bluefin Tuna In The Atlantic Ocean And Mediterranean Sea Revealed Using Next-Generation Sequencing, Gregory N. Puncher, Alessia Cariani, Gregory E. Maes, Jeroen Van Houdt, Koen Herten, Rita Cannas, Naiara Rodriguez-Ezpeleta, Aitor Albania, Andone Estonba, Molly Lutcavage, Alex Hanke, Jay Rooker, James S. Franks, Joseph M. Quattro, Gualtiero Basilone, Igaratza Fraile, Urtzi Laconcha, Nicolas Goñi, Ai Kimoto, David Macías, Francisco Alemany, Simeon Deguara, Salem W. Zgozi, Fulvio Garibaldi, Isik K. Oray, Firdes Saadet Karakulak, Noureddine Abid, Miguel N. Santos, Piero Addis, Haritz Arrizabalaga, Fausto Tinti
Faculty Publications
The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a highly migratory species emblematic of the challenges associated with shared fisheries management. In an effort to resolve the species’ stock dynamics, a genomewide search for spatially informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was undertaken, by way of sequencing reduced representation libraries. An allele frequency approach to SNP discovery was used, combining the data of 555 larvae and young‐of‐the‐year (LYOY) into pools representing major geographical areas and mapping against a newly assembled genomic reference. From a set of 184,895 candidate loci, 384 were selected for validation using 167 LYOY. A highly discriminatory genotyping panel of 95 …
Linkages Between Marsh Fragmentation, Prey Availability, And Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) Abundance And Mortality,
2018
University of Southern Mississippi
Linkages Between Marsh Fragmentation, Prey Availability, And Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) Abundance And Mortality, Lennah Shakeri
Master's Theses
Coastal marshes are important nursery habitats for many commercially important invertebrate species, yet these marshes are being lost worldwide at an unprecedented rate due to subsidence, erosion, climate change, and human activity. As marsh is lost, it creates the opportunity for submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) colonization and establishment in newly created open water areas. Blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, use both marsh edge and SAV habitat during the juvenile stages and support one of the largest fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, worth over $70 million in 2015. This thesis studied the linkages between habitat type, SAV cover, benthic prey …
Evaluating In Situ Grazing Patterns Of Lytechinus Variegatus And Their Effects On Seagrass Beds Of Thalassia Testudinum,
2018
Kennesaw State University
Evaluating In Situ Grazing Patterns Of Lytechinus Variegatus And Their Effects On Seagrass Beds Of Thalassia Testudinum, Adrianna Parson
Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses
The sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus is a known grazer of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum, and has been known to denude vast stands of seagrass beds at high densities. Outside of these denudation events, the effects of sea urchins on seagrass are poorly understood. This study examines the effects of L. variegatus on T. testudinum in situ, to understand how sea urchins are affecting seagrasses in situ. Results indicate that urchins were found in the offshore portion of the seagrass bed at densities up to 4 urchins/m2. Changes in temperature and sediment size in the bay indicate …
Regional Variation In Migratory Behavior And Reproductive Output Of The Gulf Of Mexico Blue Crab Spawning Stock,
2018
University of Southern Mississippi
Regional Variation In Migratory Behavior And Reproductive Output Of The Gulf Of Mexico Blue Crab Spawning Stock, Adam Kemberling
Master's Theses
The overarching goal of this research was to better understand the structure and boundaries of the blue crab stock(s) in the Gulf of Mexico, focusing on large-scale movements of spawning female crabs. Because spawning location is a primary determinant of larval transport pathways, understanding spawning locations and offshore movements of female blue crabs can inform stock identification and potentially clarify the somewhat conflicting population genetic information available for blue crabs. A large-scale mark-recapture study was conducted through the partnership of state/federal management agencies, the commercial fishing industry, recreational fisherman, tourists, and numerous academic institutions to shed light on the timing …
A Phylogeographic Analysis Of Black Coral (Antipatharia) On Artificial And Natural Reefs In The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico,
2018
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
A Phylogeographic Analysis Of Black Coral (Antipatharia) On Artificial And Natural Reefs In The Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Heather Otte
Theses and Dissertations
NOAA's Islands in the Stream concept (IitS) of designating networks of marine protected areas as refugia in the Gulf of Mexico depends on genetic connectivity. Isolated habitats like those proposed by the IitS occur naturally off the Texas coast where hard-bottom structures protrude from mudflats, offering a small-scale study of the IitS feasibility. Two sequences, mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA and nuclear internal transcribed spacer, were used to build haplotype networks of Antipatharians (Anthozoa: Hexacorallia), corals with planktonic larvae that can act as a proxy for connectivity of other organisms. Two species showed no significant genetic differentiation or pattern of genetic …
Determining The Physiological And Behavioral Aspects Of Salinity Tolerance In The Asian Clam, Corbicula Fluminea,
2018
East Tennessee State University
Determining The Physiological And Behavioral Aspects Of Salinity Tolerance In The Asian Clam, Corbicula Fluminea, John Roden
Undergraduate Honors Theses
The Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea, is an invasive bivalve species that now occurs through most of the lower 48 United States. While a significant degree of salinity tolerance has been observed in C. fluminea, owing to its estuarine lineage, the physiological and behavioral responses to changes in salinity by these organisms are not completely understood. It was hypothesized that Corbicula would initially avoid elevated salinity levels (>1 g/L) behaviorally through valve closure, but would eventually have to open to dispel anaerobic waste products and deal with the salinity. To explore this, Corbicula were collected and put through …
Extraction Of Metazoan Meiofauna From Muddy Deep-Sea Samples: Operator And Taxon Effects On Efficiency,
2018
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Extraction Of Metazoan Meiofauna From Muddy Deep-Sea Samples: Operator And Taxon Effects On Efficiency, Melissa Rohal, David Thistle, Erin E. Easton
School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications
Deep-sea metazoan meiofaunal specimens are usually extracted from muddy samples by centrifugation in a fluid in which meiofauna tend to float and sediment particles tend to sink. Although the procedure is in common use, its efficiency has seldom been examined. The study reported here showed that well-trained operators extracted metazoan meiofauna with efficiencies that were different enough to be a concern in quantitative studies. Therefore, samples should be assigned to operators in a stratified-random manner. In the course of these studies, both operators also extracted individuals of the common nematode family Desmoscolecidae significantly less efficiently than other nematode families, a …
Correlation Of Environmental Exposure To Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons And Polymorphisms In The Proto-Oncogene V-Rel Using Wild Atlantic Menhaden,
2018
Seton Hall University
Correlation Of Environmental Exposure To Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons And Polymorphisms In The Proto-Oncogene V-Rel Using Wild Atlantic Menhaden, Chelsea Rose Defelice
Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)
Hurricane Sandy critically damaged the Atlantic coast of New Jersey in the fall of 2012. This was recorded as the largest storm to hit the Atlantic Ocean, which was manifested by its destruction on the homes and communities of those along the coastline. Contamination of surrounding waters due to this natural disaster was of great interest. The re-suspension of land-based pollution is proposed to make these contaminants more bioavailable to coastal species, such as Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), which are a crucial biomonitoring species through their ecological and economic uses. A proposed increase of body burdens in Atlantic …
Life-History Characteristics And Fishery Dynamics Of Red Drum (Sciaenops Ocellatus), In The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico,
2018
University of Southern Mississippi
Life-History Characteristics And Fishery Dynamics Of Red Drum (Sciaenops Ocellatus), In The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Corbin Bennetts
Master's Theses
Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) are highly targeted recreationally in the Gulf of Mexico, and support a small commercial fishery in Mississippi. Despite their popularity, the stock is assessed using data limited approaches that necessitate accurate life history information. I estimated the year-specific and year-aggregated escapement rates for the Mississippi stock (years 2004 to 2015), which were sensitive to mortality estimation methods; year-aggregated estimates were 6.9 to 28.2 % depending on the method, but temporal patterns were consistent. I then addressed concerns with previously estimated life-history characteristics by describing the sex-specific growth and reproductive dynamics. The three-parameter von Bertalanffy …
Spatial Variation In Basal Resources And Trophic Position Of Selected Fishes Of The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico,
2018
University of Southern Mississippi
Spatial Variation In Basal Resources And Trophic Position Of Selected Fishes Of The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Christopher Fleming
Master's Theses
The North-central Gulf of Mexico is a complex hydrologic environment with freshwater influx that varies on spatial and temporal scales. Freshwater input exerts influence on the isotope values of organisms living in coastal ecosystems. The objectives of this study were to determine relationships between total length and isotope value, estimate basal resource usage and trophic position of target species from Mississippi Sound, reef, and pelagic environments, and identify differences and similarities in spatial patterns of collection. Muscle tissue samples were collected from October 2014 through September 2015. Stable isotope analysis identified a trophic gradient extending from nearshore to offshore, with …
Bioprospecting Deep-Sea Actinobacteria For Novel Anti-Infective Natural Products,
2018
Florida Atlantic University
Bioprospecting Deep-Sea Actinobacteria For Novel Anti-Infective Natural Products, Dongbo Xu, Linna Han, Chunhui Li, Qi Cao, Duolong Zhu, Nolan H. Barrett, Dedra Harmody, Jing Chen, Haining Zhu, Peter J. Mccarthy, Xingmin Sun, Guojun Wang
Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Faculty Publications
The global prevalence of drug resistance has created an urgent need for the discovery of novel anti-infective drugs. The major source of antibiotics in current clinical practice is terrestrial actinobacteria; the less-exploited deep-sea actinobacteria may serve as an unprecedented source of novel natural products. In this study, we evaluated 50 actinobacteria strains derived from diverse deep water sponges and environmental niches for their anti-microbial activities against a panel of pathogens including Candida albicans, Clostridium difficile, Staphylococcus aureus, and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. More than half of the tested strains (27) were identified as …
Core Extrusion Bulk Density/Pore Water, Northern Gulf Of Mexico, November 2010 To September 2016,
2018
University of South Florida
Core Extrusion Bulk Density/Pore Water, Northern Gulf Of Mexico, November 2010 To September 2016, Rebekka A. Larson, Gregg R. Brooks
C-IMAGE data
Measurement of sediment sample wet weight (g) and dry weight (g) for core sub-samples at 2mm sampling intervals for “surficial unit” and 5mm sampling resolution intervals to base of cores. Bulk density is the dry weight per sampling volume expressed as g/cm^3 and is utilized in the calculation of Mass Accumulation Rates (MAR’s). Samples were collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico from November 2010 to September 2016.
The Role Of Ontogenetic Habitat Shifts On The Parasite Communities Of Five South Florida Fishes,
2018
Nova Southeastern University
The Role Of Ontogenetic Habitat Shifts On The Parasite Communities Of Five South Florida Fishes, Brittany Nicole White
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Many reef fishes initially recruit into mangroves, and then migrate out to reef habitats as they grow and mature. Each ontogenetic habitat shift exposes migrants to previously unencountered parasite taxa, potentially increasing parasite species richness and driving changes in parasite community structure. However, studies on this topic rarely attempt to distinguish between the location effects of habitat shifts versus a simple increase in physical size. Therefore we contrasted parasite community richness and structure in Great Barracuda Sphyraena barracuda (N=84), Atlantic Needlefish Strongylura marina (N=49), Crevalle Jack Caranx hippos (N=59), White Mullet Mugil curema (N=90), and Yellow-fin Mojarra Gerres cinnerus (N=60) …
