Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons^™

Typhoon Haiyan Overwash Sediments From Leyte Gulf Coastlines Show Local Spatial Variations With Hybrid Storm And Tsunami Signatures, Janneli Lea A. Soria, Adam D. Switzer, Jessica E. Pilarczyk, Fernando P. Siringan, Nicole S. Khan, Hermann M. Fritz

Faculty Publications

Marine inundation associated with the 5 to 8 m storm surge of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 left overwash sediments inland on the coastal plains of the northwestern shores of Leyte Gulf, Philippines. The Haiyan overwash deposit provides a modern sedimentary record of storm surge deposition from a Category 5 landfalling typhoon. We studied overwash sediments at two locations that experienced similar storm surge conditions but represent contrasting sedimentological regimes, namely a siliciclastic coast and a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate coast. The contrasting local geology is significantly reflected in the differences in sediment grain size, composition and sorting at the two sites. The …

Large Marine Protected Areas Represent Biodiversity Now And Under Climate Change, T. E. Davies, S. M. Maxwell, K. Kaschner, C. Garilao, N. C. Ban

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Large marine protected areas (>30,000 km²) have a high profile in marine conservation, yet their contribution to conservation is contested. Assessing the overlap of large marine protected areas with 14,172 species, we found large marine protected areas cover 4.4% of the ocean and at least some portion of the range of 83.3% of the species assessed. Of all species within large marine protected areas, 26.9% had at least 10% of their range represented, and this was projected to increase to 40.1% in 2100. Cumulative impacts were significantly higher within large marine protected areas than outside, refuting the …

Environmentally-Driven Variation In The Population Dynamics Of Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia Patronus), Grant D. Adams

Master's Theses

Gulf Menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) is an abundant forage fish distributed throughout the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM). Gulf Menhaden support the second largest fishery, by weight, in the United States and represent a key linkage between upper and lower trophic levels. Variation in the population dynamics can, therefore, pose consequences for the ecology and economy in the NGOM. Here we aim to understand variation in the individual and population dynamics of Gulf Menhaden throughout ontogeny and how such variation relates to environmental processes. We utilized a suite of fishery-dependent and –independent, remote sensing, modeled, and in situ data …

Dna Analysis Of Surfactant-Associated Bacteria In A Natural Sea Slick In The Gulf Of Mexico Observed By Terrasar-X, Kathryn Howe

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Under low wind speed conditions, surfactants accumulate at the air-sea interface, dampen short-gravity capillary (Bragg) waves, and form natural sea slicks that are detectable visually and in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. Marine organisms, such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, seaweed, and bacteria, produce and degrade surfactants during various life processes. This study coordinates in situ sampling with TerraSAR-X satellite overpasses in order to help guide microbiological analysis of the sea surface microlayer (SML) and associated subsurface water (SSW). Samples were collected in the Gulf of Mexico during a research cruise (LASER) in February 2016 to determine abundance of surfactant associated bacteria …

Synergistic Use Of Remote Sensing And Modeling To Assess An Anomalously High Chlorophyll-A Event During Summer 2015 In The South Central Red Sea, Wenzhao Li, Hesham El-Askary, K. P. Manikandan, Mohamed A. Qurban, Michael J. Garay, Olga V. Kalishnikova

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

An anomalously high chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) event (>2 mg/m3) during June 2015 in the South Central Red Sea (17.5° to 22°N, 37° to 42°E) was observed using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from the Terra and Aqua satellite platforms. This differs from the low Chl-a values (<0.5 mg/m3) usually encountered over the same region during summertime. To assess this anomaly and possible causes, we used a wide range of oceanographical and meteorological datasets, including Chl-a concentrations, sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height (SSH), mixed layer depth (MLD), ocean current velocity and aerosol optical depth (AOD) obtained from different sensors and models. Findings confirmed this anomalous behavior in the spatial domain using Hovmöller data analysis techniques, while a time series analysis addressed monthly and daily variability. Our analysis suggests that a combination of factors controlling nutrient supply contributed to the anomalous phytoplankton growth. These factors include horizontal transfer of upwelling water through eddy circulation and possible mineral fertilization from atmospheric dust deposition. Coral reefs might have provided extra nutrient supply, yet this is out of the scope of our analysis. We thought that dust deposition from a coastal dust jet event in late June, coinciding with the phytoplankton blooms in the area under investigation, might have also contributed as shown by our AOD findings. However, a lag cross correlation showed a two- month lag between strong dust outbreak and the high Chl-a anomaly. The high Chl-a concentration at the edge of the eddy emphasizes the importance of horizontal advection in fertilizing oligotrophic (nutrient poor) Red Sea waters.

Evidence Of Intermittent Residency In The Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus Ursinus)., Megan Foley

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

This study found evidence of intermittent, multi-year residency periods in northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) using stable isotope ratios in vibrissae and canine teeth. Northern fur seals migrate from the Bering Sea during summer months to lower latitudes and slightly warmer waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean and California Current in the winter. To determine the length of time spent away from the Bering Sea, growth rate was estimated using the covarying oscillations δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, estimated to be 0.09 mm/day. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in vibrissae from 30 male …

Investigating The Effect Of Mechanical Beach Cleaning On Nesting, Hatching And Emergence Success Of Loggerhead (Caretta Caretta) And Green (Chelonia Mydas) Sea Turtles In Broward County, Florida, Megan A. Earney

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Sea turtles face many threats to their populations globally. Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List as Endangered. In Florida, loggerhead and green sea turtles nest along the coastline during April-September. Mechanical beach cleaning is an aesthetic service performed daily on some beaches in Florida to clean the wrack line and/or the entire beach of debris. Alterations made to beaches by methods such as mechanical beach cleaning have the potential to impact sea turtle nesting, hatching, and emergence success. Generalized …

Microbial Community Richness Distinguishes Shark Species Microbiomes In South Florida, Rachael Cassandra Karns

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The microbiome (microbial community) of individuals is crucial when characterizing and understanding processes that are required for organism function and survival. Microbial organisms, which make up an individual’s microbiome, can be linked to disease or function of the host organism. In humans, individuals differ substantially in their microbiome compositions in various areas of the body. The cause of much of the composition diversity is yet unexplained, however, it is speculated that habitat, diet, and early exposure to microbes could be altering the microbiomes of individuals (Human Microbiome Project Consortium, 2012b, 2012a). To date, only one study has reported on microbiome …

Reconciling The Challenge Of Aphanic Species Within Marine Conservation, Kerri L. Bolow

HCNSO Student Capstones

Aphanic species are those within a taxonomic complex that may not be readily distinguishable from other sympatric species. The existence of these species is becoming apparent at an increasing rate through the use of technological tools like molecular genetic analyses. A lack of clarity on the definitions of terms used to describe similar species, how these species are identified, and how prevalent they are can confound identification, description, and management of these organisms. This review collects and defines the terms used to describe these hidden species and suggests the use of the term aphanic for situations where additional information (and …

Shark Bycatch In Commercial Fisheries: A Global Perspective, Stephanie M. Bettis

HCNSO Student Capstones

Many shark species have global distributions and are caught incidentally in different types of fisheries. Over the last two decades, shark populations have declined tremendously, with one of the leading causes of this decline bycatch in primarily teleost fisheries. Bycatch occurs throughout the world’s fisheries, but is not well documented in terms of species composition and numbers of each species captured. Information on shark bycatch is spread through the primary and grey literature, but has not been compiled in summary to date. The goal of my capstone is to present global shark bycatch data and provide a comparative review to …

Estimation Of Bubble-Mediated Air–Sea Gas Exchange From Concurrent Dms And Co2 Transfer Velocities At Intermediate–High Wind Speeds, Thomas G. Bell, Sebastian Landwehr, Scott D. Miller, Warren J. De Bruyn, Adrian H. Callaghan, Brian Scanlon, Brian Ward, Mingxi Yang, Eric S. Saltzman

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Simultaneous air–sea fluxes and concentration differences of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and carbon dioxide (CO2/ were measured during a summertime North Atlantic cruise in 2011. This data set reveals significant differences between the gas transfer velocities of these two gases (1kw/ over a range of wind speeds up to 21ms􀀀1. These differences occur at and above the approximate wind speed threshold when waves begin breaking. Whitecap fraction (a proxy for bubbles) was also measured and has a positive relationship with 1kw, consistent with enhanced bubble-mediated transfer of the less soluble CO2 relative to that of the more soluble DMS. However, the correlation …

Effects Of Climate Warming On Net Primary Productivity In China During 1961–2010, Fengxue Gu, Yuandong Zhang, Mei Huang, Bo Tao, Rui Guo, Changrong Yan

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

The response of ecosystems to different magnitudes of climate warming and corresponding precipitation changes during the last few decades may provide an important reference for predicting the magnitude and trajectory of net primary productivity (NPP) in the future. In this study, a process-based ecosystem model, Carbon Exchange between Vegetation, Soil and Atmosphere (CEVSA), was used to investigate the response of NPP to warming at both national and subregional scales during 1961–2010. The results suggest that a 1.3°C increase in temperature stimulated the positive changing trend in NPP at national scale during the past 50 years. Regardless of the magnitude of …

Bacterial Communities Associated With Healthy And Diseased Acropora Cervicornis (Staghorn Coral) Using High-Throughput Sequencing, Charles Walton

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Coral diseases were first noted in the 1960s and 1970s and have had major impacts globally on coral reef community structures. In the Caribbean, a major outbreak of white band disease has been considered responsible for the drastic decline of Caribbean Acroporids since the 1970s. In addition to white band disease, another more recently described condition known as rapid tissue loss (RTL) has had major impacts on Acropora cervicornis populations, specifically offshore Broward County Southeast Florida. While these diseases have contributed to the population decline, determining their etiologies has been elusive.

Coral diseases have been characterized by shifts in their …

The Biannual Cycle And Reproductive Morphology Of The Yellow Stingray, Urobatis Jamaicensis (Cuvier, 1817), With A Comparative Analysis From Batoid Reproductive Literature, Daniel P. Fahy

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The yellow stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis (Cuvier, 1816) is the most common elasmobranch encountered in the coastal waters of Southeast Florida. The objectives of the present research were to characterize the reproductive biology of a stable population distributed near the northern extent of the species range. Morphological analyses were conducted to determine the seasonal variation of macroscopic and microscopic development and structural organization of reproductive organs of male and female rays (excluding ovarian histology) during all stages of reproduction. This is the first study to document a seasonal biannual cycle for any elasmobranch, as well as, sexual synchrony with a …

Brackish Groundwater And Its Potential To Augment Freshwater Supplies, Jennifer S. Stanton, Kevin F. Dennehy, Sharon L. Qi, Alta C. Harris

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Document abstract

Secure, reliable, and sustainable water resources are fundamental to the Nation’s food production, energy independence, and ecological and human health and well-being. Indications are that at any given time, water resources are under stress in selected parts of the country. The large-scale development of groundwater resources has caused declines in the amount of groundwater in storage and declines in discharges to surface water bodies (Reilly and others, 2008). Water supply in some regions, particularly in arid and semiarid regions, is not adequate to meet demand, and severe drought intensifies the stresses affecting water resources (National Drought Mitigation Center, …

Biogeophysical And Physiological Processes Drive Movement Patterns In A Marine Predator, Lucy A. Howey, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Emily R. Tolentino, Mahmood S. Shivji

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background

Blue sharks (Prionace glauca) are among the most abundant and widely distributed of oceanic elasmobranchs. Millions are taken annually in pelagic longline fisheries and comprise the highest component of auctioned fin weight in the international shark fin trade. Though studies of blue sharks outnumber those of other large pelagic sharks, the species’ complicated and sexually segregated life history still confound current understanding of Atlantic movement patterns. Lack of detailed information regarding movement and vertical behavior continues to limit management efforts that require such data for stock assessment and sustainable catch modeling. Therefore, this study aims to describe …

Moving From Generalisations To Specificity About Mangrove –Saltmarsh Dynamics, Kerrylee Rogers, Ken W. Krauss

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Spatial and temporal variability in factors influencing mangrove establishment and survival affects the distribution of mangrove, particularly near their latitudinal limit, where mangrove expansion into saltmarsh is conspicuous. In this paper the spatial variability in mangrove distribution and variability in factors influencing mangrove establishment and survival during the Quaternary period are reviewed, focusing on research at latitudinal limits in Australia and mainland USA. Despite similarities in the response of mangrove to some drivers, the expression of these drivers is both spatially and temporally variable, demonstrating the need for analyses of mangrove-saltmarsh dynamics to move beyond generalizations and incorporate regional and …

Passing It Along: Experiments On Creating The Negative Externalities Of Climate Change, Alessandro Del Ponte, Andrew W. Delton, Reuben Kline, Nicholas A. Seltzer

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

Climate change is a global social dilemma. Mitigating it is partly a political problem created by inequitable distributions of the benefits of carbon emissions and the costs of climate change; that is, the people who benefit the most are not the same set of people who pay the most costs. Here we use an experimental economic approach to political science to study these inequities. In two experiments, we show that people willingly create climate problems when those problems are passed along to others. Surprisingly, this is not further exacerbated if those others are from another country. We also show that, …

Efficient Retention Of Mud Drives Land Building On The Mississippi Delta Plain, Christopher R. Esposito, Zhixiong Shen, Torbjörn E. Törnqvist, Jonathan Marshak, Christopher White

Marine Science

Many of the world's deltas - home to major population centers - are rapidly degrading due to reduced sediment supply, making these systems less resilient to increasing rates of relative sea-level rise. The Mississippi Delta faces some of the highest rates of wetland loss in the world. As a result, multibillion dollar plans for coastal restoration by means of river diversions are currently nearing implementation. River diversions aim to bring sediment back to the presently sediment-starved delta plain. Within this context, sediment retention efficiency (SRE) is a critical parameter because it dictates the effectiveness of river diversions. Several recent studies …

Viruses In Marine Animals: Discovery, Detection, And Characterizarion, Elizabeth Fahsbender

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Diseases in marine animals are emerging at an increasing rate. Disease forecasting enabled by virus surveillance presents a proactive solution for managing emerging diseases. Broad viral surveys aid in disease forecasting by providing baseline data on viral diversity associated with various hosts, including many that are not associated with disease. However, these viruses can become pathogens due to expansion in host or geographic range, as well as when changing conditions shift the balance between commensal viruses and the host immune system. Therefore, it is extremely valuable to identify and characterize viruses present in many different hosts in a variety of …