Global ETD Search

1	Developing Commercial-Scale Low-Salinity Culture Protocols for Gulf Killifish, Fundulus Grandis Chesser, Brittany Morgan 03 May 2019 (has links) Gulf Killifish Fundulus grandis is an estuarine species used as a live bait for marine sport fishes, native from Veracruz, Mexico, along the Northern Gulf of Mexico coast, to the eastern coast of Florida. Culture protocols are established, but Gulf Killifish have not been fully adopted as a commercially produced species by producers, possibly due to economic efficiency and needs for advances related to inland production. Therefore, production methods from spawning in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) to grow-out to market size in earthen ponds were examined. Increasing broodstock density or spawning substrate surface area did not increase egg production in RAS. In freshwater, juvenile Gulf Killifish exhibited broad pH and hardness tolerances, and multiple cohorts were stocked and grown to market size in one season in earthen ponds, with rapid growth rates at 50,000 fish/ha. After low-salinity rearing, osmotic stress differed between cohorts, but overall salinity tolerance was not affected. production Gulf Killifish
2	Acclimation, long-term repeatability, and phenotypic correlations of aerobic metabolic traits in the Gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis Reemeyer, Jessica E 20 December 2019 (has links) This research examined the effects of acclimation to lowered salinity, elevated temperature, and hypoxia on aerobic metabolism of the Gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis, a common estuarine resident of the Gulf of Mexico. Standard metabolic rate (SMR), maximum metabolic rate (MMR), absolute aerobic scope (AAS), and critical oxygen tension (Pcrit) were each influenced by one or more acclimation treatments. Assessing the consistency of these traits measured in the same individuals over time, all were found to be significantly repeatable with no indication that the repeatability of any traits was affected by acclimation conditions. Significant correlations were found between SMR and Pcrit (positively correlated), between SMR and AAS (negatively correlated), between MMR and AAS (positive), and between AAS and Pcrit (negative). This study, therefore, documents the effects of acclimation on these traits, their repeatability, and correlations among them. It further suggests that repeatability of these traits is not context dependent. repeatability metabolism hypoxia tolerance Fundulus grandis Gulf killifish Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Laboratory and Basic Science Research Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
3	Cardiotoxic effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and abiotic stressors in early life stage estuarine teleosts Elizabeth B Allmon (10724124) 29 April 2021 (has links) <div>Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, extensive research has been conducted on the toxicity of oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the aquatic environment. The location and timing of the Deepwater Horizon surface slick coincided with the spawning seasons of many important pelagic and estuarine fish species. As such, there has been particular emphasis placed on the effects of PAHs on sensitive life history stages in fish, such as the embryonic and larval periods. Additionally, the spill occurred throughout the spring and summer months which, in estuaries, are marked by regular fluctuations in abiotic environmental factors such as dissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature. Until recently, there has been little work done to elucidate the combined effects that PAHs from oil spills and adverse environmental conditions (hypoxia, increased salinity, and elevated temperatures).</div><div>Work presented in this dissertation uses next generation sequencing technology (RNA Seq) to determine differential gene expression in larval estuarine teleosts following exposure to adverse environmental conditions and PAHs. Downstream canonical pathway and toxicological function analysis were then applied to the identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to predict cardiotoxic responses at the organismal level. To verify the predicted responses, a phenotypic anchoring study was conducted and identified a cardiotoxic phenotype (pericardial edema) and reduced cardiac output in embryos exposed to oil. Finally, the mechano-genetic interplay governing the morphological development of the teleost heart was investigated and correlations between developmental gene expression and blood flow forces within the cardiovascular system were identified.</div> Molecular Biology Physiology Toxicology Developmental Biology Marine Biology Bioinformatics Genomics polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons hypoxia Deepwater Horizon Cardiac Development estuarine fish species transcriptomics Cardiac output Fundulus grandis Gulf killifish Cyprinodon variegatus sheepshead minnow Japanese medaka Oryzias latipes mechano-genetics teleost gene expression PAHs RNASeq early life history embryo larval fish

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