Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii, 1965. / Bibliography: leaves 186-193. / xix, 193 l graphs, maps, tables, mounted photos

Lingula is one of the most morphologlcally conservative genera known. Thls brachiopod has remained essentially unmodified for 350-400 mllllon years (Hyman, 1959. Paine, 1963). It is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, llvlng animal genus wlth a fossil record, and is well represented in the geologic column from the Ordovician. Deposits containing Lingula are thought to have been formed in a shallow, warm, sea water environment (Weller, 1957, Cloud, 1948). Their fossil remains occur on all continents (except possibly Africa) in most kinds of sedimentary facies, but most frequently ln black-shales and related sediments (Moore, Lalioker and Fisher, 1952). [...] This investigation, which extended from June 1967 to February 1969, deals with the distribution, limiting factors, interspecific interactions, feeding, growth and other aspects of the life history of Lingula reevii in the southern sector of Kaneohe Bay. The main objectives were 1) to understand the ecological position of Lingula reevii, especially with respect to limiting factors, interspecific interactions, distributional pattern and growth and 2) to use this ecological information as an aid in the understanding of the ancient environments in which Lingula is found as a fossil. / Typescript. Bibliography: leaves 48-49.

Typescript. Bibliography: leaves 46-47.

The chaetognath Sagitta enflata dominates the standing stock of macrozooplankton,and of planktonic carnivores, in the southern basin of Kaneohe Bay. During 1973-74, sampling with vertical net hauls showed no horizontal patchiness in the population. The abundance varied temporally, mainly over periods of months; shorter-term variations were similar to those expected between replicate hauls. Between 1968-69 and 1973-74, both the stock and the dominance of Sagitta in the community increased; both may be related to enrichment of the basin with sewage. Individual Sagitta eat an average of seven prey items per animal per day. The ration in terms of nitrogen or other weight measures varies with animal length, larger Sagitta ingesting more material each day, but smaller Sagitta ingesting a larger fraction of their own body weight daily. Sagitta's predation has little impact on the prey populations, other than Oikopleura, which is the main food of larger Sagitta. Sagitta excretes ammonium and phosphate at rates roughly similar to other zooplankton of similar size. When feeding is prevented during excretion experiments, the specific excretion rates decrease rapidly with time, approaching those observed in laboratory-starved animals. Like other zooplankton, Sagitta has higher N/P ratios in its body tissue than its prey; its soluble excreta thus have a still lower ratio. Despite its abundance and dominance of macroplankton stock, Sagitta is only a minor contributor to nutrient regeneration in the southern basin, which is to be expected, based on its trophic position. The population's rates of growth and mortality were considerably higher than the net change in the stock during most periods analyzed. The instantaneous rates of birth and death are strongly correlated, suggesting a feedback mechanism regulating the population. The population incorporates carbon at about 1% of the rate of primary production in the basin. This is consistent with ecological efficiencies of 10% at each of the two steps froln producers to herbivores to Sagitta's position as the dominant primary carnivore among the plankton. Most of Sagitta's production is probably consumed by predators in the southern basin. The major predator may be nehu, a fish taken for tuna bait from this and other nearby environments. With the planned diversion of sewage from the basin, it is likely that both the stock and the dominance of Sagitta in the southern basin will decrease. / Thesis for the degree of Master of Science (University of Hawaii at Manoa). Typescript. Bibliography: leaves 140-147.

Twenty-seven species of known or suspected coral skeletal borers were identified from shallow Hawaiian reefs. In comnarison to inventories of the borer communities collected from other tropical areas Hawaiian corals had an abundance of polychaetous annelids, fewer species of sipunculans,and acrothoracican barnacles, and far fewer boring sponges. Polychaetes were responsible for the majority of the bioerosion of dead coral in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. Comparisons of living and dead sections of coral colonies indicated that the borer community was more diverse and abundant in areas of the skeletons lacking living tissue. Skeletal densities of three common coral species with branching growth form were found to influence the abundance of coral borers. The least dense skeletons had greater population densities of borers. It is suggested that these three species of corals can coexist in close proximity due, in part, to the development of varying abilities to withstand invasion by skeletal borers. In order to determine rates, si te preference and seasona.li.ty of settlement a series of settlement plates were cut from coral and placed in the field at ten sites in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. Extrapolating from the surface area of the settlement plates, mean recruitment rates of coral borers were found to be 10,000 - 50,000 individuals m-2 month-1. The recruitment rates and species composition of epibiotic and borer faunas settling; on the dead coral plates differed dramatically between areas in Kaneohe Bay due to the effects of differences in physical and biological factors caused by sewage and slltation. The larvae of coral borers generally lacked clear seasonal settlement periods, suggesting that one or more mechanisms (e.g. continuous reproduction, long pelagic phase, etc.) functioned to assure the presence of larvae throughout the year. The ultimate cause for the development of such a strategy may be that the time and location of the production of suitable settlement sites on the reef surface is. unpredictable. Some of the larvae of both epibiotic and borer species exhibited settlement selectivity with respect to the position of the settlement surface. This finding indicates that the distribution of borers in coral skeletons might be due, in part, to active selection by the laryae for particular conditions. Development of the epibiotic and borer communities of dead coral was monitored using sequentially collected blocks cut from the coral Porites lobata. The abundance and species composition of these communities were found to differ between sites in Kaneohe Bay because of several biological and physical factors. In the south bay increased food supplies (in the form of plankton and plankton-derived detrital material). due to sewage enrichment, support extensive populations of filter and deposit-feeding invertebrates including coral borers. Sewage diversion did not appear to have had any dramatic effect on these communities by the end of the study period. In the north bay, where food availability is lower, fewer borers and epibiotic organisms were collected. The effects of fish grazing are considered to be another important factor determining the species composition and abundance of the coral borer community. Grazing fish were rare in south Kaneohe Bay during the study period, which may help to explain the abundance of sessile epifaunal species. In the north bay fish grazing is extensive and contributes to the growth of encrusting coralline algae on the test blocks and the benthos. Based on the results of the long term block study it was found that in Hawaii sessile filter-feeding invertebrates do not exclude coral borers from the substratum or inhibit their growth. In south Kaneohe Bay, where conditions caused increased abundances and growth rates of filter and depositfeeding invertebrates, bioerosion rates were accelerated. Encrusting coralline algae, which flourish on reefs exposed to fish grazing (eg. north Kaneohe Bay), inhibit settlement of borers and grow over burrow apertures, thus reducing the population of borers within the dead coral. Bioerosion rates of exposed, coralline algal covered, dead coral substrata are very low on pristine shallow Hawaiian reefs. / Bibliography: leaves 181-192.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-96). / vi, 149 leaves, bound ill., map 29 cm

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-70). / xii, 70 leaves, bound ill., maps 29 cm

Thesis (M.A.)--St. Paul Seminary. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

The spatial and temporal distribution of modern diatom assemblages in surface sediments, on the most dominant macrophytes, and in the water column at 96 locations in Florida Bay, Biscayne Bay and adjacent regions were examined in order to develop paleoenvironmental prediction models for this region. Analyses of these distributions revealed distinct temporal and spatial differences in assemblages among the locations. The differences among diatom assemblages living on subaquatic vegetation and sediments, and in the water column were significant. Because concentrations of salts, total phosphorus (WTP), total nitrogen (WTN) and total organic carbon (WTOC) are partly controlled by water management in this region, diatom-based models were produced to assess these variables. Discriminant function analyses showed that diatoms can also be successfully used to reconstruct changes in the abundance of diatom assemblages typical for different habitats and life habits. To interpret paleoenvironmental changes, changes in salinity, WTN, WTP and WTOC were inferred from diatoms preserved in sediment cores collected along environmental gradients in Florida Bay (4 cores) and from nearshore and offshore locations in Biscayne Bay (3 cores). The reconstructions showed that water quality conditions in these estuaries have been fluctuating for thousands of years due to natural processes and sea-level changes, but almost synchronized shifts in diatom assemblages occurred in the mid-1960’s at all coring locations (except Ninemile Bank and Bob Allen Bank in Florida Bay). These alterations correspond to the major construction of numerous water management structures on the mainland. Additionally, all the coring sites (except Card Sound Bank, Biscayne Bay and Trout Cove, Florida Bay) showed decreasing salinity and fluctuations in nutrient levels in the last two decades that correspond to increased rainfall in the 1990’s and increased freshwater discharge to the bays, a result of increased freshwater deliveries to the Everglades by South Florida Water Management District in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Reconstructions of the abundance of diatom assemblages typical for different habitats and life habits revealed multiple sources of diatoms to the coring locations and that epiphytic assemblages in both bays increased in abundance since the early 1990’s.