Marine Biology Commons^™

Na+/K+-Atpase α1 Mrna Expression In The Gill And Rectal Gland Of The Atlantic Stingray, Dasyatis Sabina, Following Acclimation To Increased Salinity Physiology, Andrew N. Evans, Faith N. Lambert

Faculty Publications

Background: The salt-secreting rectal gland plays a major role in elasmobranch osmoregulation, facilitating ion balance in hyperosmotic environments in a manner analogous to the teleost gill. Several studies have examined the central role of the sodium pump Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase in osmoregulatory tissues of euryhaline elasmobranch species, including regulation of Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity and abundance in response to salinity acclimation. However, while the transcriptional regulation of Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase in the teleost gill has been well documented the potential for mRNA regulation to facilitate rectal gland plasticity during salinity acclimation in elasmobranchs …

Natural Shorelines Promote The Stability Of Fish Communities In An Urbanized Coastal System, Steven B. Scyphers, Tarik C. Gouhier, Jonathan H. Grabowski, Michael W. Beck, John Mareska, Sean P. Powers

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Habitat loss and fragmentation are leading causes of species extinctions in terrestrial, aquatic and marine systems. Along coastlines, natural habitats support high biodiversity and valuable ecosystem services but are often replaced with engineered structures for coastal protection or erosion control. We coupled high-resolution shoreline condition data with an eleven-year time series of fish community structure to examine how coastal protection structures impact community stability. Our analyses revealed that the most stable fish communities were nearest natural shorelines. Structurally complex engineered shorelines appeared to promote greater stability than simpler alternatives as communities nearest vertical walls, which are among the most prevalent …

An International Assessment Of Mangrove Management: Incorporation In Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Haille N. Carter, Steffen W. Schmidt, Amy Hirons

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Due to increasing recognition of the benefits provided by mangrove ecosystems, protection policies have emerged under both wetland and forestry programs. However, little consistency remains among these programs and inadequate coordination exists among sectors of government. With approximately 123 countries containing mangroves, the need for global management of these ecosystems is crucial to sustain the industries (i.e., fisheries, timber, and tourism) and coastal communities that mangroves support and protect. To determine the most effective form of mangrove management, this review examines management guidelines, particularly those associated with Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). Five case studies were reviewed to further explore …

Reproductive Ecology And Hatchling Behavior Of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles In Honduras, Noemi Duran Royo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

In this dissertation, I investigated the reproductive ecology and hatchling behavior of the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) sea turtle population nesting in Pacific Honduras. I begin by reviewing olive ridley reproduction, human use of this species, and past and present conservation on nesting beaches. I also propose a conservation strategy to improve nesting beach conservation programs in developing countries. In the first of four empirical studies, I used microsatellite markers to assess multiple paternity levels of the Honduran population, and found evidence for multiple paternity in 75% of the nests examined. This rate, higher than expected for a population of …

Investigation Of Larval Sensory Systems In The Marine Bryozoan, Bugula Neritina, Heather Leigh Price

Master's Theses

Bugula neritina is a sessile marine bryozoan with a pelagic larval stage. Larvae frequently settle on boat hulls, facilitating the introduction of B. neritina to bays and estuaries worldwide. Adrenergic agonists, such as the vertebrate hormone noradrenaline, inhibit larval settlement in a variety of marine invertebrate species, including B. neritina. Light also inhibits B. neritina larval settlement, yet the underlying mechanisms by which light and adrenergic compounds exert their effects on larvae are not well understood. Octopamine is considered the invertebrate analog of noradrenaline, and may be an endogenous hormone involved in larval settlement pathways. I observed the effects of …

Hydrocarbons In Deep-Sea Sediments Following The 2010 Deepwater Horizon Blowout In The Northeast Gulf Of Mexico, Isabel C. Romero, Patrick Schwing, Gregg R Brooks, Rebekka A Larson, David W. Hastings, Greg Ellis, Ethan Goddard, David Hollander

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill released 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) over 87 days. Sediment and water sampling efforts were concentrated SW of the DWH and in coastal areas. Here we present geochemistry data from sediment cores collected in the aftermath of the DWH event from 1000-1500 m water depth in the DeSoto Canyon, NE of the DWH wellhead. Cores were analyzed at high-resolution (at 2 mm and 5 mm intervals) in order to evaluate the concentration, composition and input of hydrocarbons to the seafloor. Specifically, we analyzed total organic carbon (TOC), aliphatic, polycyclic …

Management Recommendations For Restoration Of The Degraded Olympia Oyster, Ostrea Lurida Carpenter 1864 In Tomales Bay, Ca, Carolyn M. Gibson

Master's Projects and Capstones

This research addresses the effective restoration of Olympia oyster populations in Tomales Bay, Marin County, California. Chapter 2 provides background information on the Tomales Bay estuary, regional history, and ecology of the Olympia oyster. Following this background discussion, each of the three aforementioned degraders of Olympia oyster populations in Tomales Bay is presented: ocean acidification (Chapter 3), sedimentation (Chapter 4), and invasive species (Chapter 5). Each of these issues creates numerous barriers that require the attention of resource protection managers. Chapter 6 presents overall Research Conclusions and Chapter 7 identifies management recommendations to effectively begin the restoration of the Olympia …

Surface And Subsurface Application Of Chemical Dispersants And Associated Ecosystem Impacts, Adam V. Radpour

Master's Projects and Capstones

Chemical dispersants are applied to spilled oil in marine environments when other, less controversial, methods are not adequate for the incident. They are considered to be a response method as opposed to a direct cleanup method, with the intended goals of reducing risk of exposure to sensitive shorelines, reducing environmental injury to surface-dwelling sea birds and marine mammals, and facilitating the biodegradation of spilled oil into the water column.

For this research, both surface and subsurface application of dispersants were evaluated in terms of oil characteristics and volume, and oceanic and atmospheric conditions. More data exists to support the effectiveness …

Dna Analysis Of Surfactant Associated Bacteria In The Sea Surface Microlayer In Application To Satellite Remote Sensing Techniques: Case Studies In The Straits Of Florida And The Gulf Of Mexico, Bryan Hamilton

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Several genera of bacteria residing in the sea surface microlayer and in the near-surface layer of the ocean have been found to be involved in the production and decay of surfactants. Under low wind speed conditions, surfactants can suppress short gravity capillary waves at the sea surface and form natural sea slicks. These features can be observed with both airborne and satellite-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Using a new microlayer sampling method, a series of experiments have been conducted in the Straits of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico in 2013 to establish a connection between the presence of surfactant-associated …

Adrenal Gland And Lung Lesions In Gulf Of Mexico Common Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Found Dead Following The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Stephanie Venn-Watson, Kathleen M. Colegrove, Jenny Litz, Michael Kinsel, Karen Terio, Jeremiah Saliki, Spencer Fire, Ruth Carmichael, Connie Chevis, Wendy Hatchett, Jonathan Pitchford, Mandy Tumlin, Cara Field, Suzanne Smith, Ruth Ewing, Deborah Fauquier, Gretchen Lovewell, Heidi Whitehead, David Rotstein, Wayne Mcfee, Erin Fougeres, Teri Rowles

Ocean Engineering and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

A northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) cetacean unusual mortality event (UME) involving primarily bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama began in February 2010 and continued into 2014. Overlapping in time and space with this UME was the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, which was proposed as a contributing cause of adrenal disease, lung disease, and poor health in live dolphins examined during 2011 in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. To assess potential contributing factors and causes of deaths for stranded UME dolphins from June 2010 through December 2012, lung and adrenal gland tissues were histologically evaluated from 46 fresh …

Local Patterns In Host-Selection By Anemone Symbionts In Bocas Del Toro, Panama, Samantha Mercer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The associations made between many symbiotic cleaner shrimps and their host anemone species are influenced by local ecological factors, resulting in regional variations in symbiont-host preferences. These relationships are crucial parts of aquatic ecosystems, and as we face rapid global environmental change, understanding the local patterns of this host specificity will be essential to maintaining healthy marine environments. However, sea anemones, as well as their symbiotic relationships, from the Caribbean coasts of Panama have been poorly studied and are largely under-represented in the current literature. The purpose of this study is to identify the local host-selection patterns, specifically regarding host-size …

Comparing Pseudo-Environmental And Horizontal Plus Pseudo-Environmental Transmission Of A Probiotic Janithinobacterium Lividum Between Green Frog Tadpoles, Stephen Simonetti

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The gram-negative bacteria, Janthinobacterium lividum (J.liv) is able to kill the pathogenic fungus known as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which is known to be causing massive amphibian decline worldwide. The purpose of this research was to identify the ability of the probiotic bacteria, Janthinobacterium lividum (J.liv), to be horizontally transmitted from individual to individual and/or pseudo-environmentally transmitted from individual to environment and back to individual between Lithobates clamitans (green frog) tadpoles. Based on previous findings I hypothesized that pseudo-environmental and horizontal transmission will occur in tadpoles. This would be important for helping stop the decline of amphibians because it would provide …

The Dynamic Effects Of Sea Level Rise On Low-Gradient Coastal Landscapes: A Review, Davina L. Passeri, Scott C. Hagen, Stephen C. Medeiros, Matthew V. Bilskie, Karim Alizad

Faculty Publications

Coastal responses to sea level rise (SLR) include inundation of wetlands, increased shoreline erosion, and increased flooding during storm events. Hydrodynamic parameters such as tidal ranges, tidal prisms, tidal asymmetries, increased flooding depths and inundation extents during storm events respond nonadditively to SLR. Coastal morphology continually adapts toward equilibrium as sea levels rise, inducing changes in the landscape. Marshes may struggle to keep pace with SLR and rely on sediment accumulation and the availability of suitable uplands for migration. Whether hydrodynamic, morphologic, or ecologic, the impacts of SLR are interrelated. To plan for changes under future sea levels, coastal managers …

Size-Fractionated Relationships Between Phytoplankton Production And Biomass, Luke Auman Bassett

Senior Theses

Phytoplankton are the autotrophic foundation of almost all marine ecosystems.

The flow of energy through an ecosystem is largely dependent how productivity moves through organisms of various sizes. For this reason, numerous studies have set out to quantify the respective contributions of these size-fractions to biomass and rates of primary production. This is done through field measurements of production or through mathematic models that infer production contributions from the easier field measured contributions to biomass. However, the accuracy of this method has been called into question. Can contributions to biomass really be used to accurately interpret contributions to production?

The …

The Dynamic Effects Of Sea Level Rise On Low‐Gradient Coastal Landscapes: A Review, Davina L. Passeri, Scott C. Hagen, Stephen C. Medeiros, Matthew V. Bilskie, Karim Alizad

Faculty Publications

Coastal responses to sea level rise (SLR) include inundation of wetlands, increased shore-line erosion, and increased flooding during storm events. Hydrodynamic parameters such as tidal ranges, tidal prisms, tidal asymmetries, increased flooding depths and inundation extents during storm events respond non additively to SLR. Coastal morphology continually adapts toward equilibrium as sea levels rise, inducing changes in the landscape. Marshes may struggle to keep pace with SLR and rely on sediment accumulation and the availability of suitable uplands for migration. Whether hydrodynamic, morphologic, or ecologic, the impacts of SLR are interrelated. To plan for changes under future sea lev-els, coastal …

Does Reproductive Investment Decrease Telomere Length In Menidia Menidia?, Jin Gao, Stephan B. Munch

Department of Biomedical Engineering Faculty Publications

Given finite resources, intense investment in one life history trait is expected to reduce investment in others. Although telomere length appears to be strongly tied to age in many taxa, telomere maintenance requires energy. We therefore hypothesize that telomere maintenance may trade off against other life history characters. We used natural variation in laboratory populations of Atlantic silversides (Menidia menidia) to study the relationship between growth, fecundity, life expectancy, and relative telomere length. In keeping with several other studies on fishes, we found no clear dependence of telomere length on age. However, we did find that more fecund …

Spatial, Temporal And Demographical Analysis Of Gulf Of Mexico Research Priorities, The Effect Of The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Stephen Hiller Sempier

Dissertations

A set of twenty equally-weighted national ocean research priorities were define in 2007, but it was not clear if these priorities applied for the Gulf of Mexico. A series of three longitudinal surveys of people who conduct research, sponsor research or use research for professional or recreational purposes was released that focused on the twenty research priorities and asked people how they rated each. A convenience sampling method was employed, which suggests that the results are constrained to the survey respondents and should not be extrapolated to a larger population. More than 1,500 people completed the 2013 GMRP survey and …

Fisheries Management Paper No 274 - Finfish Resources Of The Peel-Harvey Estuary - Harvest Strategy 2015-2020 (Version 1.0), Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

WEST COAST ESTUARINE MANAGED FISHERY (AREA 2)

Harvest strategies for aquatic resources managed by the Western Australian Department of Fisheries (the Department) are formal documents prepared to support the decision-making processes required to ensure the management of these resources are consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). The objectives of ESD are reflected in the objects of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA), Section 3, and the draft Aquatic Resources Management Bill 2013 (ARMB), Clause 9, which will replace the FRMA once enacted.

The publication of these strategies is intended to make the decision-making considerations and processes …

Acute And Chronic Effects Of Large-Vessel Anchoring On Coral Reef Communities Inside A Designated Commercial Anchorage, Lauren Waters

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Coral reefs provide economic and environmental services to millions of people as areas for recreation, sources of food, jobs, and shoreline protection; and are now under threat from multiple stresses (NOAA 2002). Anthropogenic impact from acute physical events such as commercial vessel grounding and anchor drags have been well documented throughout the world and southeast Florida. However little data exist on the chronic effects of large commercial vessels anchoring on reef resources. The Port Miami commercial anchorage was designated circa 1927 and was delineated over approximately 700 acres of reef resources. Anchorage use, benthic resources, and substrate composition were surveyed …

Herbivore Impacts On The Invasive Marine Alga Grateloupia Turuturu, Emily Bishop, Carol Thornber

Senior Honors Projects

Invasive species have the ability to outcompete natives, and can create a monoculture if not mitigated by herbivores or some other mechanism. Limited information exists on the ecology of the invasive macroalga Grateloupia turuturu and how it is impacted by herbivores. Using laboratory mesocosm experiments, we investigated the ability of two invasive herbivore species common in Rhode Island, the snail Littorina littorea and Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus, to control Grateloupia populations. In the first trial, Grateloupia was provided to a single herbivore (either Littorina or Hemigrapsus) or both herbivores together. Grateloupia controls were in the same mesocosms …