Marine Biology Commons^™

Cell Cycle Regulation In The Florida Red Tide Dinoflagellate, Karenia Brevis, Stephanie Alexandra Brunelle

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

The dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, produces harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Mexico that cause extensive marine animal mortalities and human illness nearly annually. The molecular mechanisms controlling cell cycle entry in this dinoflagellate are important because bloom development occurs through asexual cell division. The cell cycle of K. brevis is phased to the diel cycle such that any cells entering the cell cycle on a given day do so synchronously. However, a microarray study of gene expression over a diel/cell cycle found no change in cell cycle transcript levels in actively dividing populations, including genes that code for replication …

Sampling Methods For Acropora Corals, Other Benthic Coral Reef Organisms, And Marine Debris In The Florida Keys: Field Protocol Manual For 2011-2012 Assessments, Steven Miller, Leanne M. Rutten, Mark Chiappone

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

The 2011-2012 sampling of Acropora corals, other coral reef benthic invertebrates, and marine debris in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) is being undertaken as a spatially intensive effort to provide updated population distribution and abundance information. The particular focus of surveys in the Florida Keys, as well as in the U.S. Caribbean (Puerto Rico and the U.S.V.I.), concerns the habitat distribution, colony density, size, condition, and population abundance of Acropora corals. Surveys in the Florida Keys also include assessments of urchins, mollusks, anemones, corallimorpharians, and marine debris. These additional assessments are relatively fast and easy to perform. Annual …

Testing Of Great Bay Oysters For Two Protozoan Pathogens, New Hampshire Fish And Game Department, Douglas E. Grout

PREP Reports & Publications

Two protozoan pathogens, Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) and Perkinsus marinus (Dermo), are known to be present in Great Bay oysters. With funds provided by the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership ( PREP ), the Marine Fisheries Division of the New Ham pshire Fish and Game Department (NHF&G) continues to assess the presence and intensity of both of these disease conditions in oysters from the major beds within the Great Bay estuarine system. Histological examination s of Great Bay oysters have also revea led other endoparasites.

Ontogenetic Changes In The Bell Morphology And Kinematics And Swimming Behavior Of Rowing Medusae: The Special Case Of The Limnomedusa Liriope Tetraphylla, Tasia Blough, Sean Colin, John H. Costello, Antonio C. Marques

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Swimming animals may experience significant changes in the Reynolds number (Re) of their surrounding fluid flows throughout ontogeny. Many medusae experience Re environments with significant viscous forces as small juveniles but inertially dominated Re environments as adults. These different environments may affect their propulsive strategies. In particular, rowing, a propulsive strategy with ecological advantages for large adults, may be constrained by viscosity for small juvenile medusae. We examined changes in the bell morphology and swimming kinematics of the limnomedusa Liriope tetraphylla at different stages of development. L. tetraphylla maintained an oblate bell (fineness ratio _ 0.5–0.6), large velar …

Characterization Of Heterogeneities And Domains In Aquatic And Sedimentary Organic Matter By 1 H Spin Diffusion: Potential For Elucidating The Formation Mechanisms, Jingdong Mao, Xiaoyan Cao

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Although the information on domains and heterogeneities of natural organic matter (NOM) can provide insights into its formation mechanisms, the appropriate solid-state NMR technique for measuring them is still lacking. The traditional technique requires mobility differences in NOM whereas NOM components are primarily rigid. We introduced a new ¹H spin diffusion technique, ¹H-¹³C two-dimensional heteronuclear correlation (2D HETCOR) NMR with ¹H spin diffusion, for characterization of domains and heterogeneities in aquatic and sedimentary organic matter. It was achieved by collecting a series of 2D HETCOR spectra with a variable mixing time, t_m', and …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of An Invasive Planktonic Predator On Pelagic Food Webs, Angela L. Strecker, Beatrix E. Beisner, Shelley E. Arnott, Andrew M. Paterson, Jennifer G. Winter, Ora E. Johannsson, Norman D. Yan

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The relative importance of top-down invader effects relative to environmental drivers was determined by sampling crustacean zooplankton, rotifer, and phytoplankton communities in a set of invaded and noninvaded reference lakes. The non-native invertebrate predator Bythotrephes had significant effects on zooplankton community size structure, rotifers, and phytoplankton taxonomic composition, but no significant effects on crustacean zooplankton taxonomic and functional group composition. Part of the variation in phytoplankton communities was explained by the presence of the invader. Because Bythotrephes is generally known to be a carnivore and to not consume phytoplankton, this effect is likely mediated by the zooplankton community’s response to …

Spring 2011, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Biology Department Newsletter, No.1, Sacred Heart University

Biology Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Wetland Assessment Methods, Kerstin Green

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

After many decades of being considered useless and often destroyed wetlands have become valued for the many functions they provide. To make informed wetland management decisions biologists have to develop practical, rapid, and inexpensive ways to assess biological conditions and functions. Ideally these assessment methods have to measure more than one attribute of the wetland to represent the overall condition of the biological community. For this project I conducted field assessments at mitigation sites in Pembroke Pines, Florida, to see how the newest method used in the State of Florida, the Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM), compared to the older …

Phylogeny And Adaptive Evolution Of The Brain-Development Gene Microcephalin (Mcph1) In Cetaceans, Michael R. Mcgowen, Stephen H. Montgomery, Clay Clark, John Gatesy

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Representatives of Cetacea have the greatest absolute brain size among animals, and the largest relative brain size aside from humans. Despite this, genes implicated in the evolution of large brain size in primates have yet to be surveyed in cetaceans.

Results

We sequenced ~1240 basepairs of the brain development gene microcephalin (MCPH1) in 38 cetacean species. Alignments of these data and a published complete sequence from Tursiops truncatus with primate MCPH1 were utilized in phylogenetic analyses and to estimate ω (rate of nonsynonymous substitution/rate of synonymous substitution) using site and branch models of molecular evolution. We also tested …

A Supermatrix Analysis Of Genomic, Morphological, And Paleontological Data From Crown Cetacea, Jonathan H. Geisler, Michael R. Mcgowen, Guang Yang, John Gatesy

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Cetacea (dolphins, porpoises, and whales) is a clade of aquatic species that includes the most massive, deepest diving, and largest brained mammals. Understanding the temporal pattern of diversification in the group as well as the evolution of cetacean anatomy and behavior requires a robust and well-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis. Although a large body of molecular data has accumulated over the past 20 years, DNA sequences of cetaceans have not been directly integrated with the rich, cetacean fossil record to reconcile discrepancies among molecular and morphological characters.

Results

We combined new nuclear DNA sequences, including segments of six genes (~2800 …

Distribution And Abundance Of The Kittlitz's Murrelet Brachyramphus Brevirostris In Selected Areas Of Southeastern Alaska, Michelle L. Kissling, Paul M. Lukacs, Stephen B. Lewis, Scott M. Gende, Katherine J. Kuletz, Nicholas R. Hatch, Sarah K. Schoen, Susan Oehlers

Wildlife Biology Faculty Publications

We conducted boat-based surveys for the Kittlitz’s Murrelet Brachyramphus brevirostris during the breeding season in southeastern Alaska from 2002 to 2009. We completed a single survey in seven areas and multiple annual surveys in three areas. Although surveys spanned a broad geographic area, from LeConte Bay in the south to the Lost Coast in the north (~655 km linear distance), roughly 79% of the regional population of Kittlitz’s Murrelet was found in and between Icy and Yakutat bays (~95 km linear distance). The congeneric Marbled Murrelet B. marmoratus outnumbered the Kittlitz’s Murrelet in all areas surveyed except Icy Bay; in …

Trade-Offs Between Gear Selectivity And Logistics When Sampling Nekton From Shallow Open Water Habitats: A Gear Comparison Study, Ronald Baker, Thomas J. Minello

Gulf and Caribbean Research

We compared logistical issues and the catch composition, density, and size structure of nekton samples collected with a drop sampler, benthic sled, and a fine mesh cast net in shallow non-vegetated habitats of Galveston Bay, Texas. Approximately 16 cast net replicates were collected and sorted for every one drop or benthic sled sample. The drop sampler collected the greatest number of species and provided the highest density estimates for the majority of crustaceans and small demersal fishes; the sled provided comparable density estimates for penaeids and small demersal nekton, while under-representing more mobile fishes. Densities of small benthic nekton were …

Odd Association And Range Extension Of Caligus Rufimaculatus Wilson, 1905; Caligidae, Siphonostomatoida, Copepoda, G.W. Benz, E.C. Greiner, S.R. Bowen, L. Goetz, N. Evou

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The Caligidae (Siphonostomatoida, Copepoda) comprises more than 465 parasitic species, over 250 of which belong to Caligus Müller, 1785 (Boxshall and Halsey 2004). Caligus spp. are primarily marine; but some representatives routinely inhabit brackish or fresh water (Margolis et al. 1975). Some Caligus spp. have been widely reported from several oceans, others have been documented from a single location, and a few have only been collected as free-swimming individuals not associated with a host (Margolis et al. 1975). Caligus spp. range from being stenoxenous to euryxenous, with most species infecting actinopterygians (Actinopterygii), a much smaller group exclusively or non-exclusively infecting …

Observations At A Multispecies Parrotfish (Scaridae) Spawning Aggregation Site At Bermuda With Notes On The Predation Behavior Of Black Grouper (Mycteroperca Bonaci), Brian E. Luckhurst

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The objective of the present study was to describe the spawning behavior of three different species of parrotfishes at the same spawning aggregation site with detailed timing sequences. In addition, observations of other species known to form resident spawning aggregations (i.e., surgeonfishes) and the predatory behavior of black grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci) at this aggregation site are included.

Morphology And Microanatomy Of Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena Phocoena ) Dorsal Fin Tubercles, Carly C. Ginter, S. Anne Boettger, Frank E. Fish

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Caribbean Leucothoidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) Of Panama, Kristine N. White

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Leucothoid amphipods were collected from sponge, ascidian, and bivalve mollusk hosts around Bocas del Toro, Panama. New host and locality records are reported for 10 species. Morphological variation is noted in some species originally described from Belize and South Florida. Future molecular research will help to clarify the importance of this variation. A key to the Caribbean species of the Leucothoidae collected around Bocas del Toro, Panama is provided based on morphological characters.

A 50 Year Accomplishment In Marine Science: A History Of The Journal Published By The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Mark S. Peterson, Nancy J. Brown-Peterson, Sara E. Lecroy, Joyce M. Shaw, James S. Franks, Richard W. Heard

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) has a 50 year history of annual publication of the peer-reviewed journal Gulf and Caribbean Research (GCR, 2000-present; formerly Gulf Research Reports (GRR) from 1961—1999). Other extant journals serving the region during this time include Contributions in Marine Science (since 1945), Proceedings of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute (since 1948), Bulletin of Marine Science (since 1951), Revista de Biología Tropical (since 1953), and Caribbean Journal of Science (since 1961). In the early years of the GCR publication, papers were primarily concerned with research in Mississippi and the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), and …

The Dream Of Seaweed Farming Becomes Reality In Long Island Sound, Margaret (Peg) A. Van_Patten Ms.

Wrack Lines

Charles Yarish and collaborators have established a seaweed farm in Western Long Island Sound, off Bridgeport Connecticut via a research grant from Connecticut Sea Grant. Two species, Gracilaria tikvahiae and the kelp Saccharina latissima, are being grown as crops.

Evaluating Methods For Optimizing Classification Success From Otolith Tracers For Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion Nebulosus) In The Chesapeake Bay, Stacy Kavita Beharry

OES Theses and Dissertations

Identifying the natal sources of fish is an important step in understanding its population dynamics. Adult recruits are often sourced from multiple nursery areas, with good quality locations contributing disproportionately more fish to the adult stock. Because population persistence is strongly influenced by nursery habitat, methods that correctly identify the source of recruits are necessary for effective management. Within the last decade, otolith chemistry signatures have been increasingly used as a natural marker to delineate fish from a mixture of nursery sources. Despite the widespread use of otolith trace element and stable isotope ratios as habitat markers, the statistical approaches …