Marine Biology Commons^™

Evaluation Of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals In The Florida Coastal Pelagic Fish Complex Following The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Event, Rachel Hickey

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill event, there was a critical need to assess the effects of the oil and dispersant chemicals on the coastal pelagic fish complex in the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Straits. The objective of this study was to determine if spilled crude oil and dispersant chemicals have posed an ecological risk to the coastal pelagic fish complex through the detection of vitellogenesis. Crude oil containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dispersant chemicals and other estrogen-mimicking compounds are suspected to induce vitellogenin production in male and immature female fish, normally only produced by sexually mature …

Land-Based Coral Nurseries: A Valuable Tool For Production And Transplantation Of Acropora Cervicornis, Keri L. O'Neil

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Coral nurseries have become a popular and successful method to produce coral fragments for reef-restocking and restoration projects worldwide. Numerous in-situ coral nurseries have been established and many studies have focused on the most effective way to produce coral fragments in offshore nurseries. In contrast, production of coral fragments in land-based nurseries is rarely studied despite a growing knowledge of coral husbandry and coral aquaculture. Little data exist on the success of tank-raised corals when transplanted back into reef environments. This thesis presents the results of a study designed to assess the use of land-based coral nurseries in production of …

Histology And Ultrastructure Of Montastraea Cavernosa And Porites Astreiodes During Regeneration And Recruitment: Anthropogenic Stressors And Transplant Success, Dorothy-Ellen A. Renegar

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Corals combine photosynthesis and calcification in an intricate and delicately balanced relationship to form large biomineralized structures that are dominant features of tropical coastlines worldwide. Coral reefs have great scientific and economic importance but have recently experienced widespread decline attributed to increasing anthropogenic pressure on reef systems. Physical damage events, such as ship groundings, when coupled with existing nutrient stress and changing global climate present a poor outlook for successful natural recovery of reef communities. The main goal of the proposed research is to better understand how environmental factors, both local and global, affect the coral holobiont and influence overall …

The Influence Of Spines On Predation Of Devonian Brachiopods, Broc S. Kokesh

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2015

Brachiopods are small animals that live on the seafloor and are prominent in the Devonian fossil record from 420 to 360 million years ago. An interesting feature of some species is that large spines develop on their exterior surfaces and are thought to have evolved for defense against predators. Fortunately, this hypothesis can be tested by observing wound marks indicative of attempted predation as described by Zhang et al. (2011). In this study, I examined wound marks on fossils of the spiny brachiopod Atrypa rockfordensis and the spineless Atrypa devoniana. Results show that A. rockfordensis only experienced attacks at …

Kinematics Of Terrestrial Locomotion In Harbor Seals And Gray Seals: Importance Of Spinal Flexion By Amphibious Phocids, Jennifer N. Garrett, Frank E. Fish

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Estimation Of Shape Of The Sea Lion For Hydrodynamic Analysis. Response To 'Cambered Profile Of A California Sea Lion's Body', Frank E. Fish

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Distribution And Identification Of Fish Eggs In An Internal Wave Transport Mechanism, Claire Kuelbs

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Internal waves have been proven to transport invertebrate larvae onshore, but there has been little indication on whether internal waves transport fish eggs. Fish eggs are typically buoyant and are often found in neustonic samples, and internal waves often cause fronts that transport oils and other light particles. This research aims to determine whether there are patterns to the distribution of fish eggs. One possibility is that offshore fish eggs can be transported onshore, to nearshore nursery habitats. Before 2003, when genetic barcoding was proposed as an identification mechanism, fish eggs could only be identified visually, using color, size, and …

The Pelagic Artisanal Fishing Of Mangapwani, Northern Unguja, Shavonne Stanek

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

A total of 99 interviews were conducted. Over a period of 28 days from April 5- May 2, 2015, a total of 75 interviews were conducted with 72 fishermen, 2 drying processors and 1 Bwana Diko. During a 5 day preliminary period from March 12-16, 2015, a total of 24 interviews were conducted with 7 fishermen and 14 drying processors. The interviews focused on their work in the local fishing industry, the amount of fish caught and dried, and their opinions on the sustainability of their industry. The interviews were conducted using a translator who relayed the responses in English …

Fish Use Of Largely Unexplored Sub-Tidal Habitats In The Hinchinbrook Channel Estuary, Queensland, Alexandra Parisien

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study examines the use of sub-tidal open-bottom, rocky, and seagreass habitats by the Siganus genus (herbivores), Gerres genus (benthivores), and planktivores in the Hinchinbrook Channel Estuary in Queensland, Australia. The Hinchinbrook Channel Estuary, a tropical estuary cutting between Hinchinbrook Island and the Australian mainland, is surrounded primarily by mangroves. Its sub-tidal habitats are largely unexplored due to factors such as low visibility and the presence of estuarine crocodiles. In this study, I reviewed 699 underwater videos collected by James Cook University PhD candidate Michael Bradley in order to analyze feeding and movement behavior of pre-identified fish.

The results of …

Seagrass Deterrence To Mesograzer Herbivory: Evidence From Mesocosm Experiments And Feeding Preference Trials, Latina Steele, John F. Valentine

Biology Faculty Publications

Two laboratory experiments documented the effects of mesograzers (i.e. the gastropod Crepidula ustulatulina and the isopod Paracerceis caudata) on phenolic acid and condensed tannin production in 2 regionally abundant seagrasses—Thalassia testudinum (turtlegrass) and Halodule wrightii (shoalgrass). Subsequent paired choice experiments tested the hypothesis that phenolic acids and condensed tannins produced by these seagrasses deter mesograzer feeding. At the scale of the shoot, grazing by gastropods and isopods led to ~40 to 50% decreases in concentrations of some phenolic acids and ~20% decreases in condensed tannins in turtlegrass leaves. At a more refined spatial scale, concentrations of 2 of these compounds …

Ocean Food Systems, Barry A. Costa-Pierce

Marine Sciences Faculty Presentations

Presentation given during session on Food Justice, where Barton Seaver, Director of the Healthy and Sustainable Food Program in the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard, described a great nutrition and health crisis in America perpetuated by groups demarketing seafood and promoting meat in the American diet. Seaver noted that Americans consume about 167 lbs. of meat a year and only 14 lbs. of seafood, leading to connected public health and environmental crises, heart disease, and obesity.

According to presenter Barry Costa-Pierce:

Seafood systems in the USA are our most insane foods; America imports nearly every seafood we …

The Status Of Fishes In The Missouri River, Nebraska: Blue Sucker Cycleptus Elongatus, Kirk D. Steffensen, Sam Stukel, Dane A. Shuman

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Blue Sucker Cycleptus elongatus are a large-bodied, benthic fish that are considered an indicator species for riverine health. A combination of historic commercial fishing and anthropogenic modifications to riverine habitat led to blue suckers being listed as a candidate species for the federal threatened or endangered species list in 1993. However, they were never designated a federally protected species. Locally, Blue Suckers are currently listed as a Nebraska Natural Legacy Project’s Tier 1 species but population changes and trends have not been quantified. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the current population status of Blue Sucker in …

A Decline In Benthic Foraminifera Following The Deepwater Horizon Event In The Northeastern Gulf Of Mexico, Patrick Schwing, Isabel Romero, Gregg R. Brooks, David Hastings, Rebekka A. Larson, David Hollander

C-IMAGE Publications

Sediment cores were collected from three sites (1000–1200 m water depth) in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico from December 2010 to June 2011 to assess changes in benthic foraminiferal density related to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) event (April-July 2010, 1500 m water depth). Short-lived radioisotope geochronologies (²¹⁰Pb, ²³⁴Th), organic geochemical assessments, and redox metal concentrations were determined to relate changes in sediment accumulation rate, contamination, and redox conditions with benthic foraminiferal density. Cores collected in December 2010 indicated a decline in density (80–93%). This decline was characterized by a decrease in benthic foraminiferal density and benthic foraminiferal …

Changes In Spatial Patterns Of Caragana Stenophylla Along A Climatic Drought Gradient On The Inner Mongolian Plateau, Li-Na Xie, Hong-Yu Guo, Christopher A. Gabler, Qing-Fang Li, Cheng-Cang Ma

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Few studies have investigated the influence of water availability on plant population spatial patterns. We studied changes in the spatial patterns of Caragana stenophylla along a climatic drought gradient within the Inner Mongolian Plateau, China. We examined spatial patterns, seed density, “nurse effects” of shrubs on seedlings, transpiration rates and water use efficiency (WUE) of C. stenophylla across semi-arid, arid, and intensively arid zones. Our results showed that patches of C. stenophylla populations shifted from a random to a clumped spatial pattern towards drier environments. Seed density and seedling survival rate of C. stenophylla decreased from the semi-arid zone to …

Growth Of A Deep-Water, Predatory Fish Is Influenced By The Productivity Of A Boundary Current System, Hoang Minh Nguyen, Adam N. Rountrey, Jessica J. Meeuwig, Peter G. Coulson, Ming Feng, Stephen J. Newman, Anya M. Waite, Corey B. Wakefield, Mark G. Meekan

Fisheries Research Articles

The effects of climate change on predatory fishes in deep shelf areas are difficult to predict because complex processes may govern food availability and temperature at depth. We characterised the net impact of recent environmental changes on hapuku (Polyprion oxygeneios), an apex predator found in continental slope habitats (>200 m depth) by using dendrochronology techniques to develop a multi-decadal record of growth from otoliths. Fish were sampled off temperate south-western Australia, a region strongly influenced by the Leeuwin Current, a poleward-flowing, eastern boundary current. The common variance among individual growth records was relatively low (3.4%), but the …

Dynamics Of Marine Bacterial Community Diversity Of The Coastal Waters Of The Reefs, Inlets, And Wastewater Outfalls Of Southeast Florida, Alexandra Mandina Campbell, Jay Fleisher, Christopher D. Sinigalliano, James R. White, Jose V. Lopez

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Coastal waters adjacent to populated southeast Florida possess different habitats (reefs, oceanic inlets, sewage outfalls) that may affect the composition of their inherent microbiomes. To determine variation according to site, season, and depth, over the course of 1 year, we characterized the bacterioplankton communities within 38 nearshore seawater samples derived from the Florida Area Coastal Environment (FACE) water quality survey. Six distinct coastal locales were profiled – the Port Everglades and Hillsboro Inlets, Hollywood and Broward wastewater outfalls, and associated reef sites using culture-independent, high-throughput pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA V4 region. More than 227,000 sequences helped describe longitudinal taxonomic …

Memorandum: Quality Assurance Of 2013 Great Bay Estuary Eelgrass Mapping Conducted By Fred Short, Matthew A. Wood

Quality Assurance Project Plans

The purpose of this memorandum is to document the results of quality assurance checks on the 2013 Great Bay Estuary Eelgrass Mapping conducted by Fred Short.

Ocean Currents Generate Large Footprints In Marine Palaeoclimate Proxies, Erik Van Sebille, Paolo Scussolini, Jonathan V. Durgadoo, Frank J. C. Peeters, Arne Biastoch, Wilbert Weijer, Chris Turney, Claire B. Paris, Rainer Zahn

C-IMAGE Publications

Fossils of marine microorganisms such as planktic foraminifera are among the cornerstones of palaeoclimatological studies. It is often assumed that the proxies derived from their shells represent ocean conditions above the location where they were deposited. Planktic foraminifera, however, are carried by ocean currents and, depending on the life traits of the species, potentially incorporate distant ocean conditions. Here we use high-resolution ocean models to assess the footprint of planktic foraminifera and validate our method with proxy analyses from two locations. Results show that foraminifera, and thus recorded palaeoclimatic conditions, may originate from areas up to several thousands of kilometres …

Shifts In Attack Behavior Of An Important Kelp Forest Predator Within Marine Reserves, J. S. Berriman, M. C. Kay, D. C. Reed, A. Rassweiler, D. A. Goldstein, William G. Wright

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Marine reserves have become increasingly valuable tools with which to manage ecosystems. These reserves consistently restore populations of top predators, often reducing availability of their favored prey. We hypothesized that such prey reduction in reserves causes protected predators to alter their attack behavior to include less palatable prey, potentially amplifying top-down effects on community structure. To test this hypothesis, we presented the relatively unpalatable sea hare Aplysia californica to freely foraging spiny lobsters Panulirus interruptus in 4 marine no-take reserves, each paired with an adjacent fished area. We found that lobsters only attacked sea hares inside reserves, where lobster density …

Textures And Traction: How Tube-Dwelling Polychaetes Get A Leg Up, Rachel Merz

Biology Faculty Works

By controlling the traction between its body and the tube wall, a tube-dwelling polychaete can move efficiently from one end of its tube to the other, brace its body during normal functions (e.g., ventilation and feeding), and anchor within its tube avoiding removal by predators. To examine the potential physical interaction between worms and the tubes they live in, scanning electron microscopy was used to reveal and quantify the morphology of worm bodies and the tubes they produce for species representing 13 families of tube-dwelling polychaetes. In the tubes of most species there were macroscopic or nearly macroscopic (~10 μm–1 …