Thesis (M.S. in environmental science)--Washington State University, December 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Mar. 4, 2009). "School of Earth and Environmental Science." Includes bibliographical references (p. 24-27).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1984. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 451-473).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1984. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 451-473).

Neocalanus plumchrus is the most common copepod in the Northeast Pacific, and as such plays in important role in the ecosystems of that area. The bulk of N. plumchrus’ annual life cycle is spent in a dormant overwintering state, and little is known of its ecology, behaviour, or physiology during that period. The goal of this thesis is to describe the physiological changes that occur during the overwintering period, and explain how they interact with the physical environment to produce observed life history patterns. Lipid stores in N. plumchrus were primarily wax esters, and were in highest abundance in overwintering stage 5 copepodids. Consumption of wax ester stores began approximately two months prior to moulting in situ. Rates of lipid use in the in situ population and a number of laboratory incubations ranged from 0.3 - 1% d⁻¹ , with 22 - 60% of total wax ester reserves used prior to moulting, presumably to fuel gonadogenesis. Concurrent measurements of protein content and glutamate dehydrogenase activity (an enzyme involved in protein catabolism) did not show any significant protein use during overwintering. Incubation experiments suggest that N. plumchrus has some concept of the time of year (i.e. an endogenous clock), but the use of external cues cannot be ruled out. It is often assumed that the abundant lipids found in calanoid copepods play some role in buoyancy regulation. However, lipids are generally more compressible, and more thermally expansive than seawater, which means that neutral buoyancy will be inherently unstable. A simple model of mass density shows that (i) individuals will only be able to stay at depth if they are able to diagnose where they are neutrally buoyant, and (ii) the buoyancy properties of an individual are extremely sensitive to its chemical composition. In the Strait of Georgia, depth-specific measurements of abundance showed a shift towards deeper depth distributions over the course of the overwintering period. Model results suggest that lipid use could be responsible for those changes, though deep water renewal events that occur regularly in the Strait of Georgia in winter may also have been partially responsible. / Graduate

Most marine invertebrates have a complex life cycle involving a benthic adult phase, and a planktonic larval phase. The process whereby tiny larvae are able to locate, settle and metamorphose in a habitat where juveniles are then capable of successfully establishing themselves is a key stage in the life cycle and a central theme of current marine research. Bacterial biofilms are an important settlement cue for many larvae, and it appears that particular strains within environmental communities may be responsible for the inducing ability of some biofilms. The focus of this thesis is the importance of biofilms for larval settlement of the blacklip abalone Haliotis rubra and the sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma. Larval development of the sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii was also examined, but this species was problematic for a larval settlement study. H. rubra larval settlement occurred in response to several macroalgal species. Biofilmed (but otherwise abiotic) surfaces did not induce settlement of H. rubra larvae and reduction of surface films of bacteria and diatoms on inducing algae did not reduce the settlement response. Macroalgae, particularly green algal species, may play an important role in the recruitment of H. rubra larvae in the field and can be used to induce settlement in hatcheries. H. erythrogramma settled in response to a range of surfaces with highest settlement on coralline algae. Settlement was reduced by autoclaving plants and treating plants with antibiotics. Molecular and culture based analysis revealed a shift in microbial community structure between plants treated with antibiotics and unmanipulated plants. Many bacterial strains, dominated by the genera Pseudoalteromonas, Shewanella and Vibrio, induced larval settlement. Three probes targeting Pseudoalteromonas, Shewanella and Vibrio were developed for CARD-FISH, enabling quantification of these genera in biofilms on algae. The three genera were found in highest numbers on coralline algae and in variable numbers on the surfaces of other algae. Recruitment of H. erythrogramma also occurs in highest numbers on coralline algae, and in low amounts on co-occurring algae. This is the first example demonstrating that bacteria that induce settlement in the laboratory are also present in the juvenile recruitment habitat.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

The British Columbian (BC) coast spans a 1000 km range of complex coastal geographic and oceanographic conditions that include thousands of islands, glacial carved fjords, exposed rocky coastline, and warm inlands seas. Very little is known about invertebrate fouling communities along the BC coast as studies are usually localised, focused in ports, or are conducted in the intertidal environment. This study provides the first high resolution study of invertebrate fouling communities of the BC coast by describing the identity, richness, diversity, and community composition of invertebrate fouling communities. Studying fouling communities on artificial surfaces was useful because the limiting resource (space) was defined, the researcher could control the timeframe, the samples were easily transported long distances, and the system can be easily replicated. Settlement structures were deployed in the spring of 2007 from the floating structures of marinas, docks, and aquaculture facilities. The deployment sites spanned a range of coastal environments from the Alaskan border to the southern tip of Vancouver Island, and included the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island. The settlement arrays were collected roughly five months following deployment. Samples were transported back to the laboratory where all organisms present on the settlement arrays were identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible and their relative abundance recorded. The invertebrate fouling community was very species rich with 171 species identified and an additional 34 categories of unresolved taxa. This high richness may be attributed to the fact that the settlement arrays sampled the community as a whole, including motile and rare species. The richness per sample ranged from 1 to 29 species with the average being 12 species, of which more than one (1.25) was introduced to the BC coast. This invertebrate fouling community was dominated by relatively few species. Only 20% of the sessile species had an average cover over 1% and only 13% of the motile species had an average count over 0.5 individuals per sample. Of the sessile species, the Mytilus sp. complex was the most common with an average coverage of 35%. The Mytilus sp. complex was also found in 78% (126/162) of all samples. There were eleven introduced and twelve cryptogenic species identified in this study. Introduced species represented 30% of the dominant (=most abundant) sessile species and 20% of the dominant motile species study. The introduced and cryptogenic species were more abundant than native species when comparing abundance based on their distributions in the samples. The prominence and abundance of the introduced species in these communities may be an artefact of studying anthropogenic sites. However, it underscores the fact that the establishment and spread of non-native species are continuing along our coast, and that the strong competitive ability of a number of these species may have negative ecological and economic impacts. There were strong similarities in community composition across all geographic areas of the BC (Strait of Georgia-SOG, Juan de Fuca Strait- JFS, west coast of Vancouver Island-WCVI, Johnstone Strait-JS, and the north coast of the mainland-NC). The most common species assemblage was the Mytilus sp. complex and its associated species. The species assemblages observed across numerous geographic areas included species that were strong space competitors, had ranges that included the length of our study area, had key reproductive periods during the sampling period, and were able to recruit to artificial substrates. Anthropogenic structures may also be partially responsible for the strong similarities in community composition along the coast as we may be sampling species that are best adapted to these environments. Additionally, anthropogenic structures and activities may serve as vectors of species dispersal. Pairwise comparisons showed that the WCVI differed from the JFS and QCI in community composition in that the WCVI was strongly influenced by the Mytilus sp. community but the JFS and QCI were influenced by introduced and cryptogenic species. This study is the first to examine fouling communities that span the length of the BC coast. The data collected can be used as a baseline of comparison for future studies on subjects such as climate change, human mediated species introductions, and anthropogenic disasters. / Graduate

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-105). / Microfiche. / xiv, 105 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2007. / Ph.D. in Marine Environmental Science. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in electronic version.