Current Search: Marine ecology (x)
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Pages
- Title
- Transport over a narrow shelf: Exuma Cays, Bahamas.
- Creator
- Smith, Ned P.
- Date Issued
- 2004
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/2795920
- Subject Headings
- Exuma Islands, Bahamas --Maps, Continental shelf, Continental shelf --Caribbean Area, Marine ecology, Ocean temperature --Caribbean Sea --Charts, diagrams, etc.
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Captive breeding for the gastropod conch (Strombus spp.).
- Creator
- Shawl, Amber L., Davis, Megan, Corsaut, Jerry
- Date Issued
- 2003
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/2171956
- Subject Headings
- Gastropoda --Reproduction, Queen conch, Fisheries --Caribbean Sea --Congresses, Fisheries --Mexico, Gulf of --Congresses, Gastropoda --Eggs --Identification, Marine ecology --Experiments
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Phosphorus limitation in reef macroalgae of South Florida.
- Creator
- Kehler, Courtney., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Center for Environmental Studies
- Abstract/Description
-
Nitrogen (N) has traditionally been regarded as the primary limiting nutrient to algal growth in marine coastal waters, but recent studies suggest that phosphorus (P) can be limiting in carbonate-rich environments. To better understand the importance of P. alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) was measured in reef macroalgae in seven counties of south Florida ; several significant trends emerged : 1) APA decreased geographically from the highest values in Dada>Monroe>Palm Beach>St. Lucie...
Show moreNitrogen (N) has traditionally been regarded as the primary limiting nutrient to algal growth in marine coastal waters, but recent studies suggest that phosphorus (P) can be limiting in carbonate-rich environments. To better understand the importance of P. alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) was measured in reef macroalgae in seven counties of south Florida ; several significant trends emerged : 1) APA decreased geographically from the highest values in Dada>Monroe>Palm Beach>St. Lucie>Broward>Martin>Lee counties 2) APA varied temporally with increasing nutrient-rich runoff in the wet season 3) APA varied due to taxonomic division Phaeophyta>Rhodophyta>Chlorophyta 4) Nutrient enrichment experiments demonstrated that increased N-enrichment enhanced P-limitation while increased P decreased P-limitation. These results suggest that high APA observed in carbonate-rich waters of Dade County and low APA in Broward County resulted from high nutrient inputs associated with anthropogenic nutrient pollution.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3358598
- Subject Headings
- Nitrogen, Environmental aspects, Coral reef ecology, Coral reef biology, Marine algae, Physiology, Algal communities, Physiology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The ascidian Styela plicata as a potential bioremediator of bacterial and algal contamination of marine estuarine waters.
- Creator
- Draughon, Lisa D., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
The tunicate Styela plicata (Ascidiacea) was investigated for its potential use in bioremediation of bacteria and microalgae blooms from estuarine waters. Salinity tolerances, filtration rate, substrate selection, and effects on digested bacteria and ichthyofaunal communities were examined. If acclimated slowly, Styela can be placed in salinities as low as 24 parts per thousand (ppt) before increased fatalities result. An immediate decrease in salinity from 32 ppt to 20 ppt was not...
Show moreThe tunicate Styela plicata (Ascidiacea) was investigated for its potential use in bioremediation of bacteria and microalgae blooms from estuarine waters. Salinity tolerances, filtration rate, substrate selection, and effects on digested bacteria and ichthyofaunal communities were examined. If acclimated slowly, Styela can be placed in salinities as low as 24 parts per thousand (ppt) before increased fatalities result. An immediate decrease in salinity from 32 ppt to 20 ppt was not detrimental at short term exposure (four days). One average-sized (~40g) Styela, exposed to 105 and 106 bacteria or microalgae mL-1, can filter as much as 4.7 L hr-1 and 3.3 L hr-1, respectively. Individual tunicate filtration rates varied from hour to hour, independent of organism size, indicating that filtration rates for this species would be better reported on a population basis rather than on an individual weight or size basis. Bacterial viability in tunicate feces was assessed by ATP analysis. Bacteria were found to be non-viable after passage through the tunicate digestive tract. Filtration of eggs or larvae of recreationally or commercially important fish is of concern. The smallest eggs (~0.6mm) reported in the Indian River Lagoon belong to Cynoscion nebulosus (spotted seatrout) and Bairdiella chrysoura (silver perch). Over the course of two hours, 72.5% of 0.5 mm glass beads (simulated fish eggs) were initially retained, but many were later expelled by the tunicates. For 1.0 mm beads, 49.4% were initially retained and for 2.0 mm beads, 43.5% were initially retained. Neither the size of the oral siphon nor the size of the overall animal was correlated to bead retention. Substrate selection was investigated using the tunicate Phallusia nigra., Newly hatched larvae preferred settling on wood (53.7%), as compared to polyethylene (30.9%), high-density polyethylene (13.0%), and polyvinyl chloride (2.4%). Overall, results of this study indicate S. plicata is very effective at removing bacteria and microalgae from estuarine waters. However, further testing is warranted regarding the unwanted removal of fish eggs and larvae before utilization of S. plicata for bioremedial purposes.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/1927312
- Subject Headings
- Marine bioremediation, Estuarine ecology, Water quality management, Water quality biological assessment
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Aggressive Behaviors Of Adult Male Atlantic Spotted Dolphins (Stenella frontalis) During Intraspecific And Interspecific Aggressive Interactions.
- Creator
- Volker, Cassandra L., Herzing, Denise L., Hughes, Colin, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are two sympatric species resident to the Bahamas. The visibility of the Bahamian water provided a unique opportunity to study spotted dolphin communication during aggression. This study’s main focus was to decipher any similarities or differences in the behaviors used by spotted dolphins during interspecific and intraspecific aggression. Both similarities and differences were discovered. Biting,...
Show moreAtlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are two sympatric species resident to the Bahamas. The visibility of the Bahamian water provided a unique opportunity to study spotted dolphin communication during aggression. This study’s main focus was to decipher any similarities or differences in the behaviors used by spotted dolphins during interspecific and intraspecific aggression. Both similarities and differences were discovered. Biting, following, and chasing behavioral events were used more during interspecific aggression, while the display behavioral class was used more than the contact behavioral class during intrabut not interspecific aggression. This study showed that spotted dolphins use more energy intensive and risky behaviors when fighting interspecifically. This could result from having to fight and defend females from a larger species, trying to avoid sexual harassment from bottlenose males, or needing to use behaviors that are more overt and easily understood during interspecies communication.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004638, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004638
- Subject Headings
- Atlantic spotted dolphin--Bahamas., Aggressive behavior in animals., Social behavior in animals., Aquatic mammals--Behavior., Predation (Biology), Predatory marine animals--Ecology.
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Comparing salinity models in Whitewater Bay using remote sensing.
- Creator
- Selch, Donna, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Geosciences
- Abstract/Description
-
This study compared models that used remote sensing to assess salinity in Whitewater Bay. The quantitative techniques in this research allow for a less costly and quicker assessment of salinity values. Field observations and Landsat 5 TM imagery from 2003-2006 were separated into wet and dry seasons and temporally matched. Interpolation models of Inverse Distance Weighting and Kriging were compared to empirical regression models (Ordinary Least Squares and Geographically Weighted Regression -...
Show moreThis study compared models that used remote sensing to assess salinity in Whitewater Bay. The quantitative techniques in this research allow for a less costly and quicker assessment of salinity values. Field observations and Landsat 5 TM imagery from 2003-2006 were separated into wet and dry seasons and temporally matched. Interpolation models of Inverse Distance Weighting and Kriging were compared to empirical regression models (Ordinary Least Squares and Geographically Weighted Regression - GWR) via their Root Mean Square Error. The results showed that salinity analysis is more accurate in the dry season compared with the wet season. Univariate and multivariate analysis of the Landsat bands revealed the best band combination for salinity analysis in this local area. GWR is the most conducive model for estimating salinity because field observations are not required for future predictions once the local formula is established with available satellite imagery.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3356015
- Subject Headings
- Water quality, Measurement, Marine ecology, Remote sensing, Electromagnetic interactions, Water-supply
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Salinity Assessment, Change, and Impact on Plant Stress / Canopy Water Content (CWC) in Florida Bay using Remote Sensing and GIS.
- Creator
- Selch, Donna, Zhang, Caiyun, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Geosciences
- Abstract/Description
-
Human activities in the past century have caused a variety of environmental problems in South Florida. In 2000, Congress authorized the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), a $10.5-billion mission to restore the South Florida ecosystem. Environmental projects in CERP require salinity monitoring in Florida Bay to provide measures of the effects of restoration on the Everglades ecosystem. However current salinity monitoring cannot cover large areas and is costly, time-consuming,...
Show moreHuman activities in the past century have caused a variety of environmental problems in South Florida. In 2000, Congress authorized the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), a $10.5-billion mission to restore the South Florida ecosystem. Environmental projects in CERP require salinity monitoring in Florida Bay to provide measures of the effects of restoration on the Everglades ecosystem. However current salinity monitoring cannot cover large areas and is costly, time-consuming, and laborintensive. The purpose of this dissertation is to model salinity, detect salinity changes, and evaluate the impact of salinity in Florida Bay using remote sensing and geospatial information sciences (GIS) techniques. The specific objectives are to: 1) examine the capability of Landsat multispectral imagery for salinity modeling and monitoring; 2) detect salinity changes by building a series of salinity maps using archived Landsat images; and 3) assess the capability of spectroscopy techniques in characterizing plant stress / canopy water content (CWC) with varying salinity, sea level rise (SLR), and nutrient levels. Geographic weighted regression (GWR) models created using the first three imagery components with atmospheric and sun glint corrections proved to be more correlated (R^2 = 0.458) to salinity data versus ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models (R^2 = 0.158) and therefore GWR was the ideal regression model for continued Florida Bay salinity assessment. J. roemerianus was also examined to assess the coastal Everglades where salinity modeling is important to the water-land interface. Multivariate greenhouse studies determined the impact of nutrients to be inconsequential but increases in salinity and sea level rise both negatively affected J. roemerianus. Field spectroscopic data was then used to ascertain correlations between CWC and reflectance spectra using spectral indices and derivative analysis. It was determined that established spectral indices (max R^2 = 0.195) and continuum removal (max R^2= 0.331) were not significantly correlated to CWC but derivative analysis showed a higher correlation (R^2 = 0.515 using the first derivative at 948.5 nm). These models can be input into future imagery to predict the salinity of the South Florida water ecosystem.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004686, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004686
- Subject Headings
- Environmental management, Florida Bay (Fla.), Geographic information systems, Geospatial data, Marine ecology, Plant water relationships, Remote sensing, Salinity -- Florida -- Florida Bay -- Measurement
- Format
- Document (PDF)