Untapped Potential Of Gorgonian Octocorals For Detecting Environmental Change In Biscayne National Park, Florida, Usa,
2019
University of South Florida
Untapped Potential Of Gorgonian Octocorals For Detecting Environmental Change In Biscayne National Park, Florida, Usa, Selena A. Kupfner Johnson
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
One consequence of dramatic stony-coral loss has been recognition that gorgonian octocorals (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) have emerged among the dominant reef fauna. However, gorgonians are notoriously difficult to field-identify and consequently have been underrepresented in most monitoring efforts resulting in a lack of long-term data. The rich diversity of habitats, close proximity to the urban center of Miami, and connectivity to other areas of Florida have made Biscayne National Park an active location for reef research since its establishment in 1968. As such, a plethora of data (e.g., museum specimen and species abundance data) has been collected and stored in archives …
The Adaptations Of The Sulfur-Oxidizing, Gammaproteobacterium "Candidatus Endoriftia Persephone", Endosymbiont Of The Giant Tubeworm Riftia Pachyptila, To Hydrothermal Vent Habitat Heterogeneity,
2019
University of South Florida
The Adaptations Of The Sulfur-Oxidizing, Gammaproteobacterium "Candidatus Endoriftia Persephone", Endosymbiont Of The Giant Tubeworm Riftia Pachyptila, To Hydrothermal Vent Habitat Heterogeneity, Juliana M. Leonard
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The siboglinid tubeworm Riftia pachyptila is a dominant member of the deep-sea megafauna where seawater and hydrothermal vent (HTV) effluent interface and mix. It is one of the fastest growing invertebrates on land or in the sea. It does not have a digestive tract (e.g. mouth, gut, or anus), and is completely dependent on its sulfur-oxidizing endosymbiont, the Gammaproteobacterium “Candidatus Endoriftia persephone” for its nutritional requirements. This association was the first and is the most well studied among chemolithoautotrophic symbioses. “Ca. E. persephone” is a chemolithoautotrophic bacterium that oxidizes sulfide as an electron donor for energy, reduces oxygen as a …
Can Florida's Springs Coast Provide A Potential Refuge For Calcifying Organisms? Evidence From Benthic Foraminifera,
2019
University of South Florida
Can Florida's Springs Coast Provide A Potential Refuge For Calcifying Organisms? Evidence From Benthic Foraminifera, Kyle E. Amergian
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Florida’s Springs Coast, located in the northeast Gulf of Mexico, includes an extensive system of salt marshes that discharge millions of liters of fresh water into coastal waters daily. The chemical properties of the spring waters include high alkalinity and high calcium concentrations due to the Paleogene limestone lithology of this region of Florida. Benthic foraminifers, which are recognized as ecologically important bioindicators, occur abundantly on the shallow shelf off the Springs Coast. Based on the prevalence of the benthic foraminifer Archaias angulatus in the seagrass beds along this shallow shelf, a previous study proposed that the Springs Coast provides …
Life History Through The Eyes Of A Hogfish: Evidence Of Trophic Growth And Differential Juvenile Habitat Use,
2019
University of South Florida
Life History Through The Eyes Of A Hogfish: Evidence Of Trophic Growth And Differential Juvenile Habitat Use, Meaghan E. Faletti
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Understanding ontogenetic linkages among fish habitats is critical for conservation of fish populations and the ecosystems on which they rely. Natural tags such as stable isotopes are an effective tool commonly used to investigate ecological questions regarding fish movement and habitat use. Here, I analyzed stable isotopes from the sequentially deposited laminae of Hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus) eye lenses from the eastern Gulf of Mexico (eGOM) to investigate trophic and geographic changes across individual life histories. I documented evidence of entire-life scale trophic growth through increases in δ15N. I also observed depth separation at the juvenile stage, evidenced by variation in …
A Collection Of On-Ice Arctic Measurements 1879-2013,
2019
JPL
A Collection Of On-Ice Arctic Measurements 1879-2013, Ryan Avila
STAR Program Research Presentations
Ice thickness measurements have been taken in the arctic through a variety of means for a long time in order to better understand the long-term changes to sea ice. This project is focused on measurements made directly on the ice by using an auger or electromagnetic sounding which have both been shown to be highly accurate compared to other observational methods. Our first goal is to create and update an archive of sea ice data that collects smaller separated data sets in one easy to access location for other researchers to use. Our second goal is to use this data …
Studying The Impact On Urban Health Over The Greater Delta Region In Egypt Due To Aerosol Variability Using Optical Characteristics From Satellite Observations And Ground-Based Aeronet Measurements,
2019
Chapman University
Studying The Impact On Urban Health Over The Greater Delta Region In Egypt Due To Aerosol Variability Using Optical Characteristics From Satellite Observations And Ground-Based Aeronet Measurements, Wenzhao Li, Elham Ali, Islam Abou Al-Magd, Moustafa Mohamed Mourad, Hesham El-Askary
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
This research addresses the aerosol characteristics and variability over Cairo and the Greater Delta region over the last 20 years using an integrative multi-sensor approach of remotely sensed and PM10 ground data. The accuracy of these satellite aerosol products is also evaluated and compared through cross-validation against ground observations from the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) project measured at local stations. The results show the validity of using Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on the Terra and Aqua platforms for quantitative aerosol optical depth (AOD) assessment as compared to Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), Sea-viewingWide Field-of-view …
Response And Recovery Of Horn And Petit Bois Islands, Mississippi, Usa To Tropical Cyclone Impacts: 2004 – 2016,
2019
University of Southern Mississippi
Response And Recovery Of Horn And Petit Bois Islands, Mississippi, Usa To Tropical Cyclone Impacts: 2004 – 2016, Shara Gremillion
Master's Theses
Horn and Petit Bois islands are two of five Mississippi (MS) barrier islands that provide physical protection from tropical cyclones threatening the MS Gulf Coast, in addition to critical habitat for the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). In September 2004, Hurricane Ivan removed a large volume of sediment from the eastern ends of Horn and Petit Bois islands with its 1-2 m storm surge and ~194 kph wind speeds. Then, in August 2005 Hurricane Katrina severely impacted the two islands again with its 3.5-5.5 m storm surge on Horn and Petit Bois islands, and up to 204 kph wind speeds …
Adsorption Driven Regolith-Atmospheric Water Vapor Transfer On Mars: An Analysis Of Phoenix Tecp Data,
2019
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Adsorption Driven Regolith-Atmospheric Water Vapor Transfer On Mars: An Analysis Of Phoenix Tecp Data, Holly Nicole Farris
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
NASA’s Phoenix mission allowed for investigations of Martian diurnal water vapor cycles through the collection of temperature, relative humidity, and electric conductivity data by the Thermal and Electric Conductivity Probe (TECP) instrument. Using this data and previous experimental data, we propose a regolith-driven adsorption-desorption regime at the Phoenix landing site, where parameters intrinsic to the regolith are controlling localized relative humidity at the surface. To constrain these parameters, we model adsorption as a function of temperature and relative humidity across various Mars-relevant materials, defined by two layer-based adsorption theories: Langmuir (monolayer) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller or BET (multilayer). Langmuir serves as an …
Population Demographics Of Golden Tilefish Lopholatilus Chamaeleonticeps In The Gulf Of Mexico,
2019
University of South Florida
Population Demographics Of Golden Tilefish Lopholatilus Chamaeleonticeps In The Gulf Of Mexico, Greta J. Helmueller
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill had catastrophic impacts on aquatic organisms in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Longline gear was used to sample demersal fish species at 344 locations distributed throughout the GoM in the seven years following DWH. Sampling was accomplished deploying 450-500 baited hooks per station in depths ranging from 20-600 m. Using data from these surveys, I analyzed the length and age frequency, condition, growth, and mortality rates of Golden Tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps) throughout the GoM. Demersal habitat use and apparent high contaminant levels in Golden Tilefish makes them potentially vulnerable to oil spills such …
The Role Of The Southern Ocean On Global Ocean Circulation And Climate,
2019
University of South Carolina
The Role Of The Southern Ocean On Global Ocean Circulation And Climate, Brady Scott Ferster
Theses and Dissertations
The Southern Ocean (SO) is a unique and highly dynamic region with strong temperature and salinity gradients. A comparison between satellite-derived salinity and observations indicates strong differences along coastal boundaries, areas of low temperature, and regions of strong currents. Although differences throughout much of the SO are shown to be negligible, resolution and smoothing in the products create large biases in horizontal gradients and errors in estimating the water cycle. The three-dimensional movement of water within the SO plays an important role in the global Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC), where the Southern Hemisphere westerlies drive both zonal and meridional transports …
Iron-Virus Interactions: Development And Testing Of The Ferrojan Horse Hypothesis,
2019
University of South Florida
Iron-Virus Interactions: Development And Testing Of The Ferrojan Horse Hypothesis, Chelsea Bonnain
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Iron is an essential micronutrient for phytoplankton metabolism that limits growth in many regions of the surface ocean. More than 99.9% of oceanic dissolved iron is organically complexed to an iron-binding ligand, many of which have yet to be characterized. This thesis puts forth the Ferrojan Horse Hypothesis, which predicts a role for marine phages in oceanic iron cycling. Based on evidence from non-marine model systems, the Ferrojan Horse Hypothesis suggests that some marine phages (short for bacteriophages, or viruses that infect bacteria) can use iron as a “Trojan Horse” to gain access to host siderophore-bound iron receptors for infection. …
Coupling Ocean Currents And Waves With Wind Stress Over The Gulf Stream,
2019
Michigan Technological University
Coupling Ocean Currents And Waves With Wind Stress Over The Gulf Stream, Qi Shi, Mark A. Bourassa
Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1
This study provides the first detailed analysis of oceanic and atmospheric responses to the current-stress, wave-stress, and wave-current-stress interactions around the Gulf Stream using a high-resolution three-way coupled regional modeling system. In general, our results highlight the substantial impact of coupling currents and/or waves with wind stress on the air–sea fluxes over the Gulf Stream. The stress and the curl of the stress are crucial to mixed-layer energy budgets and sea surface temperature. In the wave-current-stress coupled experiment, wind stress increased by 15% over the Gulf Stream. Alternating positive and negative bands of changes of Ekman-related vertical velocity appeared in …
Tropospheric And Ionospheric Anomalies Induced By Volcanic And Saharan Dust Events As Part Of Geosphere Interaction Phenomena,
2019
University of Basilicata
Tropospheric And Ionospheric Anomalies Induced By Volcanic And Saharan Dust Events As Part Of Geosphere Interaction Phenomena, Valerio Tramutoli, Francesco Marchese, Alfredo Falconieri, Carolina Filizzola, Nicola Genzano, Katsumi Hattori, Mariano Lisi, Jann-Yenq Liu, Dimitar Ouzounov, Michel Parrot, Nicola Pergola, Sergey Pulinets
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
In this work, we assessed the possible relation of ionospheric perturbations observed by Detection of Electro-Magnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions (DEMETER), Global Positioning System total electron content (GPS TEC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-derived outgoing longwave-Earth radiation (OLR), and atmospheric chemical potential (ACP) measurements, with volcanic and Saharan dust events identified by ground and satellite-based medium infrared/thermal infrared (MIR/TIR) observations. The results indicated that the Mt. Etna (Italy) volcanic activity of 2006 was probably responsible for the ionospheric perturbations revealed by DEMETER on 4 November and 6 December and by GPS TEC observations on 4 November and 12 …
Analysis Of 2017 Multi-Agency Field Campaign Data For Wintertime Surface Pollution In The Cache Valley Of Utah,
2019
Western Kentucky University
Analysis Of 2017 Multi-Agency Field Campaign Data For Wintertime Surface Pollution In The Cache Valley Of Utah, Gerardo Diaz Jr.
Masters Theses & Specialist Projects
Atmospheric motions resulting from rising airborne parcels help to scatter emissions, including PM, away from their sources, decreasing local pollution levels. However this pattern shifts during the wintertime, as cold air damming and inversion layers create stable conditions that limit the vertical transport of air masses. Both point and area sources of emissions currently dot the western United States and are responsible for the production of the vast majority of agricultural pollution in the region. At the same time, population-growth has resulted in an ever-increasing amount of urbansource emissions. The entrapment of PM, which are produced when a wide array …
Zooplankton Community Structure In The Ne Gulf Of Mexico: Impacts Of Environmental Variability And The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill,
2019
University of South Florida
Zooplankton Community Structure In The Ne Gulf Of Mexico: Impacts Of Environmental Variability And The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Kate M. Dubickas
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
In the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, relating changes in zooplankton communities to environmental factors is crucial to understanding the marine ecosystem and impacts of perturbations such as oil spills on marine ecosystems. Zooplankton samples were collected each year between 2005–2014 in spring and summer in the vicinity of the oil spill (Deepwater Horizon) that occurred in spring 2010. Zooplankton assemblages and environmental conditions significantly differed seasonally, driven by strong variations in zooplankton at continental shelf stations, and by environmental factors including Mississippi River discharge, wind direction, temperature, and chlorophyll concentrations. Total zooplankton abundances were greatest at shelf stations, intermediate at …
Species Abundance, Spatial And Vertical Distributionsof Large Heteropods (Pterotracheidae And Carinariidae)In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico,
2019
University of South Florida
Species Abundance, Spatial And Vertical Distributionsof Large Heteropods (Pterotracheidae And Carinariidae)In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Kristine A. Clark
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
A description of species abundance, richness and distribution, and eye size of heteropod molluscs from the families Pterotracheidae and Carinariidae in the oligotrophic ecosystem of the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is described based on discrete-depth sampling protocols. The collections were comprised from two midwater sampling programs conducted sequentially after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS): the Offshore Nekton Sampling and Analysis Program (ONSAP, 2011) and the Deep Pelagic Nekton Dynamics of the Gulf of Mexico (DEEPEND, 2015-2018). Study materials from DEEPEND were collected during the initial five cruises of 2015-2017. These programs collected over 3,495 heteropods in two …
Fish Communities On Natural And Artificial Reefs In The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico,
2019
University of South Florida
Fish Communities On Natural And Artificial Reefs In The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico, Elizabeth C. Viau
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Artificial reefs have been deployed throughout the world’s oceans to act as habitat and fishing enhancement tools. To expand current research on the role of artificial reefs in the marine community, ordination and multivariate regression methods were used here to analyze survey data of natural and artificial reefs. The reefs, located in the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) and on the West Florida Shelf (WFS), had been previously surveyed from 2004 to 2015 using remote operated vehicle and stationary video techniques. This study tested the hypothesis that similar functional roles are accounted for at both natural and artificial reef sites …
Dna Barcoding Of Fish Eggs In The Gulf Of Mexico,
2019
University of South Florida
Dna Barcoding Of Fish Eggs In The Gulf Of Mexico, Makenzie Burrows
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
DNA barcoding of fish eggs is a relatively new technique that enables more accurate identification of early life stages of ecologically and economically important fish species. Using DNA barcoding of individual planktonic percomorph eggs, this thesis determines putative spawning locations of neritic and oceanic fish species in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Surveys at 40 stations in the Gulf of Mexico showed a clear delineation of spawning sites, with neritic fish eggs generally found on continental shelves, and oceanic fish eggs found at the surface of deeper waters. However, samples collected between Florida and Cuba revealed exceptions to this trend …
Regeneration Of Trace Metals During Phytoplankton Decay: An Experimental Study,
2019
University of South Florida
Regeneration Of Trace Metals During Phytoplankton Decay: An Experimental Study, Adrienne P. Hollister
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Trace metals act as important nutrients, and sometimes toxins, to phytoplankton and other marine microorganisms. When phytoplankton decay, the elements in their cells are released back into the water column through regeneration (also referred to as remineralization), one of the processes responsible for governing concentrations of dissolved trace metals and macronutrients in depth profiles. In order to experimentally study regeneration, controlled experimental incubations of mixed phytoplankton assemblages from the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and monocultures of the diatom Pseudo-nitzschia dolorosa and the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis were placed in the dark and monitored as they decayed with naturally present bacteria. Over …
Seasonal Origins Of Soil Water Used By Trees,
2019
ETH Zurich
Seasonal Origins Of Soil Water Used By Trees, Scott T. Allen, James W. Kirchner, Sabine Braun, Rolf T. W. Siegwolf, Gregory R. Goldsmith
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
Rain recharges soil water storages and either percolates downward into aquifers and streams or is returned to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration. Although it is commonly assumed that summer rainfall recharges plant-available water during the growing season, the seasonal origins of water used by plants have not been systematically explored. We characterize the seasonal origins of waters in soils and trees by comparing their midsummer isotopic signatures (δ2H) to seasonal isotopic cycles in precipitation, using a new seasonal origin index. Across 182 Swiss forest sites, xylem water isotopic signatures show that summer rain was not the predominant water source …
