Marine Biology Commons^™

Shark Diversity And Relative Abundance At Myrtle Beach, Sc Fishing Piers, Lynsey E. Isner

Honors Theses

Sharks are frequently observed at fishing piers (Barwick et al. 2004; Martin et al. 2019). These piers offer structural habitats for shark prey items, such as smaller fish and invertebrates, which can attract sharks to piers (Barwick et al. 2004; Heupel 2005). Additionally, fishers often clean their catch and discard entrails at the pier, which also may attract sharks (Martin et al. 2019). Moreover, other factors could play a role in attracting sharks to piers. These include water quality parameters, like salinity and temperature, and the physical characteristics of the pier (Ulrich et al. 2007; Castro 1996; Heupel 2005).

The Salas Y Gómez And Nazca Ridges: A Review Of The Importance, Opportunities And Challenges For Protecting A Global Diversity Hotspot On The High Seas, Daniel Wagner, Liesbeth Van Der Meer, Matthias Gorny, Javier Sellanes, Carlos F. Gaymer, Eulogio H. Soto, Erin E. Easton, Alan M. Friedlander, Dhugal J. Lindsay, Tina N. Molodtsova

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges are two seamount chains of volcanic origin, which include over 110 seamounts that collectively stretch across over 2,900 km in the southeastern Pacific. Ecosystems in this region are isolated by the Atacama Trench, the Humboldt Current System, and an extreme oxygen minimum zone. This isolation has produced a unique biodiversity that is marked by one of the highest levels of marine endemism on Earth. These areas also provide important habitats and ecological stepping stones for whales, sea turtles, corals, and a multitude of other ecologically important species, including 82 species that are threatened …

Zooplankton Community Structure And Grazing Within A Stormwater Detention Pond In Coastal South Carolina, Kristen Laccetti

Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater detention ponds (SDPs) on the coast of South Carolina have become increasingly prevalent as the area experiences rapid urbanization. SDPs are man-made reservoirs implemented to minimize pollution inputs into receiving waters and are home to diverse biota, including zooplankton. Zooplankton are a good water quality indicator due to their quick response times and trophic regulators of phytoplankton through grazing. Zooplankton and phytoplankton interactions in stormwater detention ponds are an essential component for understanding plankton community dynamics in SDPs. This purpose of this study was to determine the seasonal variability in zooplankton community composition and grazing rates at 14-day intervals …

Fortnightly Effects Of Urea Additions On Cyanobacteria In A Stormwater Detention Pond, Halley Carruthers

Theses and Dissertations

Increased urban and suburban population growth along the South Carolina (SC) coast has led to a rise in impervious surfaces, altering the course of stormwater runoff events. The construction of stormwater detention ponds (SDPs) is one of the many ways to best mitigate the flow of this water. In their function as natural pollutant traps, SDPs often contain increased levels of nutrients (nitrogen, N and phosphorus, P), which can lead to eutrophication. Under these high eutrophic conditions, primary production is overstimulated, and the formation of phytoplankton blooms, including harmful algal blooms (HABs) can occur. In recent decades, the forms of …

Thermoelectric Generation And Thermophysical Properties Of Metal Oxide Nanofluids, Xinran Hou, Rong-Tsu Wang, Shaowen Huang, Jung-Chang Wang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study describes the comprehensive characterization of the diverse water-based nanofluids involving aluminum oxide, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide nanoparticles, which were prepared through the two-step synthesis method assisted by a microemulsion ultrasound skill with effects of both weight-percent concentration (wt.%) in the range of 1.0% and 5.0% and between 20 ^oC and 40 ⁰C. The mean cluster size, zeta potential, pH value, viscosity, thermal conductivity, absorbance, light absorption, and electrical charge density of the various nanofluids were surveyed by relative experiments. The results showed that the 2 wt.% Al₂O₃, 2 wt.% TiO_{2 …}

Wireless Sensor Network-Based Monitoring Of Bridge Pile Foundations For Detecting Scouring Depth, Han-Tang Huang, H. Ping Tserng, Ruei-Yu Hou, Mirosław Skibniewski

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Climate change brings about unprecedented increases in the occurrence of storms and flooding. In response to increased risk of bridge pier scouring, there is a need for increased safety monitoring of bridges. This paper presents a wireless sensor network (WSN) - based solution developed to measure micro-vibrations of a bridge pier. Test measurement values are converted with the use of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) method to obtain natural frequencies. Scouring depth of the pier is estimated with the use of a Finite Element Method model. WSN is used to collect the signal and to test data transmission stability in …

A New Fuzzy Dea Model For Solving The Mcdm Problems In Supplier Selection, Chi-Mao Tsai, Hsuan-Shih Lee, Guo-Ya Gan

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Supplier selection is a crucial task in supply chain management, and good supply chain management is essential to a company's ability to develop sustainably and gain the trust and satisfaction of its customers. In modern supply chain management, supplier selection often takes the form of a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. Thus, to solve this problem, this study formulated a novel fuzzy MCDM model, which is based on the fuzzy data envelopment analysis model. This novel approach can transform the linguistic variables of assessment criteria into well-founded quantitative data for calculation. Moreover, our approach can effectively discriminate between decision-making units (both …

Evaluation Of The Human Discomfort Caused By Ship Vibrations, Laurentiu Picu, Eugen Rusu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The present work analyzes the subjective responses of people exposed to transient vibrations caused by systems with a single degree of freedom. In this context, the main objective of the research was to identify the main effect of vibrations on people's well-being at work (in particular on vessels crew) and to discover those frequencies that lead to the greatest discomfort. In order to achieve this goal, 12 laboratory experiments were carried out involving ten male subjects in good health, aged between 28 and 42. The variables of the vibratory system considered are: acceleration (4.8 ÷ 8.6 m/s¡2), amplitude (1 ÷ …

Application Of Physically Based Semi-Distributed Hec-Hms Model For Flow Simulation In Tributary Catchments Of Kaohsiung Area Taiwan, Fiaz Hussain, Ray-Shyan Wu, Kai-Chun Yu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Hydrologic modeling is a commonly used tool to understand the rainfallerunoff processes of gauged and ungauged catchments for proper quantitative estimation of water resources availability. In the present study, an attempt is made to simulate surface runoff using a physically based semi-distributed hydrological (HEC-HMS) model for four local-scale tributary catchments of Kaohsiung area Taiwan. The input physical parameters of the model were calculated and preprocessed in HEC-GeoHMS based on digital elevation model (DEM), land use, soil and hydro-meteorological data. The model performance was satisfactory with Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) ¼ 0.51 to 0.86 and the coefficient of determination (R2) ¼ …

Evaluating Key Factors Of Container Shipping Lines From The Perspective Of High-Tech Industry Shippers, Chien-Lung Hsu, Tien-Chun Ho

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Because of the changes in customers' needs and demands created by the development of container transport in the 1960s, the global container transport business has become increasingly competitive. With the high-tech industry ranged with one of the few competitive industries in Taiwan from 2002, container shipping lines have been forced to implement innovative operating patterns to meet the evolving demands of the high-tech industry shippers. This study conducts a survey questionnaire of domestic high-tech industry shippers to explore the different factors affecting their selection of container shipping lines, evaluating the key influencing factors by maritime marketing's 4C framework: customer needs, …

Beach Topography Surveying Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Photogrammetry Technology, Hui-Ming Fang, Kuan-Tsung Chang, Sung-Shan Hsiao, Shih-Peng Chiang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The mechanisms of in situ topography changes must be identified for spatial planning in coastal areas. In this study, the authors used in situ direct measurement methods and indirect remote-sensing technologies to develop a method for beach topography surveillance. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have advantages of high portability and mobility and low operating altitude. Therefore, a UAV was equipped with a lightweight camera and a positioning system that comprised a global positioning system and an inertial measurement unit. Aerial photogrammetry and aerial triangu-lation methods were adopted for matching image feature points to obtain the corresponding topographic points in the sand. …

Microplastics, Oysters, And The Indian River Lagoon – Final Report To Irl Nep, March 2021, Linda Walters, Casey Craig

CEELAB Research Data

UCF and partners initiated microplastics (MP) sampling in the Indian River Lagoon in March 2019, with monthly sampling of water samples at 35 locations, and quarterly sampling of oysters through February 2020. Additionally, the ability of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica to excrete microplastics was examined. Forty-four percent of water samples contained MP and there was an overall mean (± S.E.) of 1.47 (± 0.05) MP per liter of lagoon water (range: 0 – 25 MP). Fibers were the dominant MP type of MP (95.6%) and no nurdles or microbeads were collected. The dominant color of MP in water was …

Success Of Glover’S Reef Marine Reserve On Queen Conch (Strombus Gigas) Populations In Belize, Gianna Fanelli, Ciera Jarrett, Sara Joralemon

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The queen conch (Strombus gigas) provides important economic, ecological, and societal benefits to local communities throughout the Caribbean. The species, however, has fallen victim to commercial exploitation and overfishing in many areas. In Belize, even with restricted harvesting seasons, size restrictions, and regulations set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), harvesting practices have significantly depleted populations. Marine reserves, including the Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve, were established to protect biodiversity and maintain populations of Belize’s natural coral reefs. Utilizing size, frequency, and evidence of harvesting (shell notches), the 2018 Tropical Marine Biology (BSC 3355) course …

First Description Of Deep Benthic Habitats And Communities Of Oceanic Islands And Seamounts Of The Nazca Desventuradas Marine Park, Chile, Jan M. Tapia-Guerra, Ariadna Mecho, Erin E. Easton, María De Los Ángeles Gallardo, Matthias Gorny, Javier Sellanes

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Seamounts and oceanic islands of the Chilean Exclusive Economic Zone at the intersection of the Nazca and Salas y Gómez ridges lie within one of the least explored areas in the world. The sparse information available, mainly for seamounts outside Chilean jurisdiction and shallow-water fauna of the Desventuradas Islands, suggests that the area is a hotspot of endemism. This apparent uniqueness of the fauna motivated the creation of the large Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park (NDMP, ~ 300,000 km2) around the small islands San Felix and San Ambrosio in 2015. We report for the first time a detailed description of benthic microhabitats …

Fish Associations With Shallow Water Subsea Pipelines Compared To Surrounding Reef And Soft Sediment Habitats, Karl D. Schramm, Michael J. Marnane, Travis S. Elsdon, Christopher M. Jones, Benjamin J. Saunders, Stephen J. Newman, Euan S. Harvey

Fisheries Research Articles

Offshore decommissioning activities are expected to increase as oil and gas subsea infrastructure becomes obsolete. Decisions on decommissioning alternatives will benefit from quantifying and understanding the marine communities associated with these structures. As a case study, fish assemblages associated with an inshore network of subsea pipelines located on the North West shelf of Western Australia were compared to those in surrounding natural reef and soft sediment habitats using remotely operated vehicles fitted with a stereo-video system (stereo-ROVs). The number of species, the abundance, biomass, feeding guild composition and the economic value of fishes were compared among habitats. The community composition …

Fish Associations With Shallow Water Subsea Pipelines Compared To Surrounding Reef And Soft Sediment Habitats, Karl D. Schramm, Michael J. Marnane, Travis S. Elsdon, Christopher M. Jones, Benjamin J. Saunders, Stephen J. Newman, Euan S. Harvey

Fisheries Research Articles

Offshore decommissioning activities are expected to increase as oil and gas subsea infrastructure becomes obsolete. Decisions on decommissioning alternatives will benefit from quantifying and understanding the marine communities associated with these structures. As a case study, fish assemblages associated with an inshore network of subsea pipelines located on the North West shelf of Western Australia were compared to those in surrounding natural reef and soft sediment habitats using remotely operated vehicles fitted with a stereo-video system (stereo-ROVs). The number of species, the abundance, biomass, feeding guild composition and the economic value of fishes were compared among habitats. The community composition …

Isolated Reefs Support Stable Fish Communities With High Abundances Of Regionally Fished Species, Matthew J. Birt, Katherine Cure, Shaun Wilson, Stephen J. Newman, Euan S. Harvey, Mark G. Meekan, Conrad W. Speed, Andrew Heyward, Jordan Goetze, James Gilmour

Fisheries Research Articles

Anthropogenic impacts at isolated and inaccessible reefs are often minimal, offering rare opportunities to observe fish assemblages in a relatively undisturbed state. The remote Rowley Shoals are regarded as one of the healthiest reef systems in the Indian Ocean with demonstrated resilience to natural disturbance, no permanent human population nearby, low visitation rates, and large protected areas where fishing prohibitions are enforced. We used baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS) to quantify fish assemblages and the relative abundance of regionally fished species within the lagoon, on the slope and in the mesophotic habitat at the Rowley Shoals at three times …

Caracuel_ Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias) Jaw, Nicolas M. Caracuel, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Female Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) jaw collected in MBIO 3910 Lab on 11/03/2021 by Nicolas M. Caracuel.

2 cm tall at the center/middle of the jaw.

3.1cm tall at the hinges.

7.9 cm long from hinge to hinge.

Editorial: Deep Pelagic Ecosystem Dynamics In A Highly Impacted Water Column: The Gulf Of Mexico After Deepwater Horizon, Tracey Sutton, Kevin M. Boswell, Heather Bracken-Grissom, Jose V. Lopez, Michael Vecchione, Marsh Youngbluth

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The intermediate-sized midwater fauna (fishes, shrimps, and cephalopods; “micronekton” collectively) are dominant components of the pelagic ocean, which is by far the largest ecosystem type on Earth by several metrics (volume, organismal numbers, biomass, and productivity). Deep-pelagic micronekton, those animals residing in the water column below 200 m depth during the day, are the direct link between plankton and oceanic top predators, and through the linked processes of feeding and daily vertical migration facilitate one of Earth's most important ecosystem services to humans, carbon sequestration. Despite increasing recognition of this importance, a disconnect exists between stewardship and human impact; only …

Influence Of Microbial Priming And Seeding Depth On Germination And Growth Of Native Wildflowers, Daniela Barrera, Juan Luera, Kaitlynn Lavallee, Pushpa Soti

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Using native wildflowers for restoring marginal lands has gained considerable popularity. Establishment of wildflowers can be challenging due to several environmental factors. Restoring the microbial community in degraded habitats can potentially result in the native plant performance and habitat restoration. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of native soil microbes and seeding depth on germination of south Texas native wildflowers. Two wildflower species, Ratibida columnifera (Nutt.) (Mexican Hat) and Verbesina encelioides (Cav.) (cowpen daisy), were treated with microbial wash extracted from native soils, and germination rate was recorded for 14-day period. We further analyzed the growth, biomass …