Marine Biology Commons^™

Tropical Fish Study In Tahiti, French Polynesia, Miranda Brainard, Caitlyn Swango, Paityn Houglan, Richard Londraville

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In May of 2023, I embarked on an exciting research journey to Moorea, French Polynesia, alongside fellow students and faculty members from the University of Akron and Syracuse University. This expedition was part of the university-sponsored Tropical Vertebrate Biology course, where we delved into the exploration of various tropical species inhabiting the island, including sea urchins, geckos, and my primary focus, the blackspotted rockskipper.

My research team, composed of my co-authors and me, was particularly intrigued by the unique refuge-seeking behavior displayed by blackspotted rockskippers. These amphibious fish are renowned for their remarkable ability to inhabit tide pools and rocky …

Monitoring Faunal Responses To Biodegradable Oyster Reef Restoration Materials With Camera Traps, Tara L. Blanchard

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Restoration of the oyster reefs has become increasingly crucial due to great population declines around the globe. Intertidal oyster reefs provide essential foraging and loafing grounds to many faunal species, including several threatened/endangered wading bird species. Biodegradable oyster reef restoration materials have been introduced to avoid potential plastic pollution from traditional materials. Studies have shown success regarding oyster recruitment rates to these materials. However, their impacts on fauna using restored oyster reefs are unknown. This project aims to evaluate oyster reef restoration using biodegradable materials to increase faunal diversity, abundance, and foraging behaviors. Camera traps were deployed to observe fauna …

Examining Wrack In Mosquito Lagoon To Analyze Biodiversity And Seagrass Viability, Nicole Jerrell

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Seagrass restoration of Halodule wrightii, has become crucial as seagrass coverage in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) declined by 58% between 2011 and 2019. To understand the abundance of seagrass fragments available for natural recruitment and restoration, we tracked the abundance of viable fragments found in the wrack in Mosquito Lagoon. Wrack is plant material, including seagrass fragments, mangrove propagules, and detritus. Seagrass fragments were considered viable if the fragment had an apical meristem present. Replicate samples were collected from 5 locations every two weeks, starting in September 2022 and ending in September 2023, and the samples were processed …

Poor Water Quality As A Trigger Of Harmful Algal Blooms In Lake Manzala, Mohammed A. Hussein, Alaa Eldin Eissa, Reham M. Eltarabily, Mohamed F. Abdelghany, Mahmoud A. Elnakeeb, Eman M. Ismail, Reham H. Ragab, Amina A. Dessouki

Mansoura Veterinary Medical Journal

Objective: The current study aimed to assess the direct effects of poor water quality on the eruption of heavy harmful algal blooms and to assess the physicochemical properties of water in Lake Manzala, as well as the molecular identification of the retrieved green algae.

Procedures: Subsurface water samples were collected from three different sites in September 2023 for water quality assessment. Moreover, morphological and molecular identification of suspected harmful algae is the most reliable diagnostic tool for this eruption.

Results: This study was conducted in the northern and northeastern regions of Lake Manzala. These regions receive large amounts of municipal, …

Workshop On Recreational Fisheries In Stock Assessments (Wkrfsa), International Council For The Exploration Of The Sea (Ices)

Fisheries Research Articles

ICES Technical Report Contributors (Editors)

Martina Scanu; Zachary Radford

Contributors (Authors)

David Curtis; Didzis Ustups; Eneko Bachiller; Estanis Mugerza; Gwladys Lambert; Hans Jakob Olesen; Ioannis Thasitis; Ivo Sics; Jonnathan White; Karina Ryan; Kieran Hyder; Kjell Nedreaas; Lennert van de Pol; Lucia Zarauz; Manos Koutrakis; Marie Storr-Paulsen; Martina Scanu; Matthew Farthing; Nicola Walker; Paul Bouch; Pia Schuchert; Sean Tracy; Simon Weltersbach; Sophy Phillips; Zachary Radford.

Executive summary

The Workshop on Recreational Fisheries in Stock Assessments (WKRFSA) aimed to establish a process for integrating recreational fisheries (RF) data into stock assessments. The workshop addressed three questions: identifying obstacles to RF inclusion, creating …

Half Of Atlantic Reef-Building Corals At Elevated Risk Of Extinction Due To Climate Change And Other Threats, Luis Gutierrez, Beth Polidoro, David Obura, Francoise Cabada-Blanco, Christi Linardich, Emma Pettersson, Paul Pearce-Kelly, Krista Kemppinen, Juan Jose Alvarado, Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Anastazia Banaszak, Pilar Casado De Amezua, James Crabbe, Aldo Croquer, Joshua Feingold, Elizabeth Goergen, Stefano Goffredo, Bert Hoeksema, Danwei Huang, Emma Kennedy, Diego Kersting, Marcelo Kitahara, Petar Kružić, Margaret Miller, Flavia Nunes, Juan Pablo Quimbayo, Andrea Rivera-Sosa, Rosa Rodríguez-Martínez, Nadia Santodomingo, Michael Sweet, Mark Vermeij, Estrella Villamizar, Greta Aeby, Khatija Alliji, Daniel Bayley, Elena Couce, Benjamin Cowburn, C. Isabel Nuñez Lendo, Sean Porter, Kaveh Samimi-Namin, Tom Shlesinger, Bryan Wilson

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Atlantic reef-building corals and coral reefs continue to experience extensive decline due to increased stressors related to climate change, disease, pollution, and numerous anthropogenic threats. To understand the impact of ocean warming and reef loss on the estimated extinction risk of shallow water Atlantic reef-building scleractinians and milleporids, all 85 valid species were reassessed under the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, updating the previous Red List assessment of Atlantic corals published in 2008. For the present assessment, individual species declines were estimated based on the modeled coral cover loss (1989–2019) and projected onset of annual severe bleaching events (2020–2050) …

Turtlegrass (Thalassia Testudinum) Undergoes A Coordinated Hypersensitive Response When Challenged With Pathogenic Labyrinthula Sp., Ava Vasile Larson

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Infection of the subtropical seagrass Thalassia testudinum Banks ex König by pathogenic Labyrinthula sp. was found to induce lesion progression, alterations to the host’s oxidative metabolism, and production of defense metabolites over the early stages of infection (monitored over a 72-hr time course). By 48-hrs post-infection, host oxygen consumption, internal reactive oxygen concentrations, and caspase-3 proteolytic activity reached their highest levels. The formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) were detected in T. testudinum lesions by use of redox-sensitive probes/substrates and fluorescent imaging. To our knowledge, this work represents the first time NO has been detected in …

Integrating Remote Sensing With Ground-Based Observations To Quantify The Effects Of An Extreme Freeze Event On Black Mangroves (Avicennia Germinans) At The Landscape Scale, Melinda Martinez, Michael J. Osland, James B. Grace, Nicholas M. Enwright, Camille L. Stagg, Camille L. Stagg, Simen Kaalstad, Gordon H. Anderson, Elena A. Flores, Alejandro Fierro-Cabo

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Climate change is altering the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Quantifying ecosystem responses to extreme events at the landscape scale is critical for understanding and responding to climate-driven change but is constrained by limited data availability. Here, we integrated remote sensing with ground-based observations to quantify landscape-scale vegetation damage from an extreme climatic event. We used ground- and satellite-based black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) leaf damage data from the northern Gulf of Mexico (USA and Mexico) to examine the effects of an extreme freeze in a region where black mangroves are expanding their range. The February 2021 …

Mangroves Of The Warm Temperate Northwest Atlantic, Daniel A. Friess, Ena L. Suárez, Anna R. Armitage, Cheryl Doughty, Laura C. Feher, Ilka C. Feller, Alejandro Fierro, Kara R. Radabaugh, Lorae T. Simpson, William C. V Vervaeke, Carlos Zamora-Tovar

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The ‘Mangroves of the Warm Temperate Northwest Atlantic’ province is a regional ecosystem subgroup (level 4 unit of the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology). It includes the marine ecoregions of Carolinian and Northern Gulf of Mexico. The biota is characterized by 3 species of mangroves: Avicennia germinans, Laguncularia racemosa, and Rhizophora mangle, and 1 mangrove associate Conocarpus erectus, though not all species are equally distributed throughout the province. Mangroves in this province cross the USA and Mexico and are quite unique, as they exist at the latitudinal range limit of the mangrove ecosystem. The majority of mangroves in this province are …

Training The Concept Of Innovate In Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Is Both Creative And Cognitively Stimulating, Deirdre Yeater, Kathleen M. Dudzinski, Dawn Melzer, Andrew R. Magee, Michaela Robinett, Gonzalo Guerra, Kimberly Salazar, Terri Bolton, Heather Manitzas Hill

Psychology Faculty Publications

Creative or novel behaviors in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) can be indicators of flexible thinking and problem solving. Over 50 years ago, two rough-tooth dolphins demonstrated creative novel behaviors acquired through reinforcement training in human care. Since this novel training, a variety of species have been trained to respond to this conceptual cue. The current study assessed the creativity of 12 bottlenose dolphins (5 females, 7 males) housed at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS) in Roatan, Honduras. Individual differences were found across four constructs measured for creativity: fluency, flexibility, elaboration, and originality. Variability in performance occurred across test …

Benthic And Epibenthic Invertebrate Assemblages Associated With Estuarine Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Differ Between Native And Invasive Plants, Marissa Hall, Kathryn O'Shaughnessy, Bethany Kiley, Ashley Mcdonald, Taber Faurie, Zoey Hendrickson, Anna Reimer, Samantha Smith, Charles Martin

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Estuarine submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) provides vital habitat for macroinvertebrate communities that support diverse food webs and subsequent ecosystem services. Invasive SAV, however, has the potential to alter estuarine food webs through competition with native SAV, resulting in different associated biological communities. In the Mobile-Tensaw Delta (Alabama, USA), the invasive Eurasian milfoil, Myriophyllum spicatum, is fast becoming the dominant SAV, out-competing native SAV such as wild celery, Vallisneria americana. This study investigated the above- and belowground macroinvertebrate assemblages associated with these SAV habitats. We found significantly different assemblages between the SAV, with V. americana supporting more even and …

Studying Redtail And Silver Surfperch In Sandy Beach Surf Zones With Mpas In Humboldt County, California, Usa, Noah G. Angell

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The sandy beach surf zone (SBSZ) represents an ecologically, economically, and culturally important marine habitat around the world. Despite its significance, the SBSZ has been historically underrepresented in marine and coastal ecology research. This in turn has caused many inshore marine species that prefer this habitat to be largely ignored. Two particular species, the Redtail surfperch Amphistichus rhodoterus and the Silver surfperch Hyperprosopon ellipticum, have not been well studied in the PNW region . There are merely three studies conducted on the Redtail surfperch in the Pacific Northwest region and the Silver surfperch has received even less research attention with …

Navigating The Noise: Implications Of Increasing Ship Noise For An Arctic Ocean Soundscape, Andrea Lynn

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

There is no quiet way to churn water. Noise pollution caused by ships is increasing in the Arctic Ocean as sea ice melts, creating more open channels for vessels. This study provides a glimpse into the sources and balance of sounds in a portion of the Arctic Ocean soundscape surrounding the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Characterization of the soundscape provides essential data as the region quickly transforms. This study also considers human perceptions of underwater ocean noise and its impacts in the region, and it reviews current ocean policy, suggesting mitigation strategies and ways forward. Before the rapid development of …

Nitrogen Uptake Rates And Phytoplankton Composition Across Contrasting North Atlantic Ocean Coastal Regimes North And South Of Cape Hatteras, Yifan Zhu, Margaret R. Mulholland, Peter W. Bernhardt, Aimee Renee Neeley, Brittany Widner, Alfonso Macías Tapia, Michael E. Echevarria

OES Faculty Publications

Understanding nitrogen (N) uptake rates respect to nutrient availability and the biogeography of phytoplankton communities is crucial for untangling the complexities of marine ecosystems and the physical, biological, and chemical forces shaping them. In the summer of 2016, we conducted measurements of bulk microbial uptake rates for six ¹⁵N-labeled substrates: nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, urea, cyanate, and dissolve free amino acids across distinct marine provinces, including the continental shelf of the Mid-and South Atlantic Bights (MAB and SAB), the Slope Sea, and the Gulf Stream, marking the first instance of simultaneously measuring six different N uptake rates in this dynamic region. …

Diel Vertical Migration Rates Of The Dinoflagellate Species Margalefidinium Polykrikoides In A Lower Chesapeake Bay Tributary, S. Clayton, Jacqueline B. Chrabot, Michael Echevarria, Leah Gibala-Smith, Kathryn Mogatas, Peter Bernhardt, Margaret R. Mulholland

OES Faculty Publications

Margalefidinium polykrikoides is a mixotrophic dinoflagellate harmful algal bloom (HAB) species that blooms annually in the lower Chesapeake Bay. M. polykrikoides undertakes a diel vertical migration (DVM) which may give it a competitive advantage over purely phototrophic organisms who cannot access deeper nutrient pools and allow it to form large toxic blooms. Laboratory-based estimates of M. polykrikoides’ DVM rates suggest that it is one of the fastest known dinoflagellate swimmers and understanding this behavior is likely important for modeling and predicting M. polykrikoides blooms. However, to date, no field-derived estimates of M. polykrikoides’ DVM rates have been made in the …

Density Dependent Calling Behavior In North Pacific Humpback Whales, Lucas J. Anderson

Honors Theses and Capstones

Animal density can define factors such as mating success, food acquisition, and communication. Inferring animal density from vocal rates is an important tool for estimating abundance and space use in difficult-to-study species like marine mammals and requires an understanding of the relationship between social context and calling rates. The goal of this project was to investigate the relationship between animal density and call rate in Southeast Alaskan humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Passive acoustic monitoring data were collected along with visual observations gathered near Frederick Sound and Stephen’s Passage, Southeast Alaska, over two summers (2019, 2022). Observers watched whales …

Investigation Of The Effects Of Ocean Acidification On Juvenile Homarus Americanus Feeding Behavior, Sophia Roy

Honors Theses and Capstones

Climate change has led to increased CO2 absorption by ocean surface waters, resulting in decreased pH levels, a phenomenon known as ocean acidification (OA). A primary class of marine organism behavior is impacted by OA, in particular, olfactory-mediated behaviors related to foraging and feeding success. However, the biological mechanisms responsible for the documented impairment of foraging and feeding-related behaviors remains in question. We find that juvenile American lobsters (H. americanus) exhibit significantly faster rates of total feeding times in response to short-term low pH exposure. However, total search time and total handling time were not affected by pH when examined …

Spatial And Temporal Variation In Population Genetic Diversity In Seagrasses And The Implications For Resilience, Anna Maria Frouws

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Seagrass ecosystems are highly productive and fulfil vital roles in the coastal environment as ecosystem engineers and keystone species. Unfortunately, anthropogenic pressures have resulted in a significant loss of seagrass habitat and associated ecosystem services. The complex and unpredictable nature of these pressures, and their increasing extent and intensity globally, makes resilience-based ecosystem management a valuable approach. Resilience-based management requires knowledge on processes enhancing ecosystem resilience and on actions supporting these processes. Genetic diversity, which is the allelic variation among individuals of a population, has been recognised as one of the pillars of resilient ecosystems. Genetic diversity within a population …

Managing Inter-Organizational Trust And Risk Perceptions In Transboundary Fisheries Governance Networks, Evelyn Roozee, Dongkyu Kim, Antonia Sohns, Jasper R. De Vries, Owen Temby, Gordon M. Hickey

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Transboundary fishery management represents a significant governance challenge that requires ongoing inter-organizational communication, collaboration, and collective action to ensure sustainability. Previous research suggests that different dimensions of perceived risk, trust, and control interact in complex ways to affect inter-organizational collaborative performance, providing an administrative ‘architecture’ that enables partners to share resources, engage in teamwork, resolve conflict, and coordinate tasks and responsibilities while also allaying their concerns about the alliance. However, the extent to which different control mechanisms influence trust and mitigate the perceived risks of collaboration between the diverse organizations involved in transboundary fisheries management remains unclear. This paper presents …

Variation In The Fear Response Of Atlantic Sand Fiddler Crabs (Leptuca Pugilator) To Anthropogenic Disturbance, Katrina L. Buttram

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Leptuca pugilator is a common inhabitant of southeast Georgia salt marshes. This study examined the boldness of Leptuca pugilator across environmental conditions and human impacts. Here, boldness was defined as time taken to reemerge from a burrow after a fear stimulus. I hypothesized that crabs would vary in their boldness based on their surroundings, reproductive timing, and sex. Field and experimental trials were conducted to isolate which factors most influence boldness. Field trials were conducted at four sites varying in human influence throughout the breeding season. During each survey, vegetation height, substrate temperature, average burrow width, burrow count, and distance …