Abstract: There were 75 families, 119 genera and 182 species of ichthyoplankton found in the adjacent areas of Kaohsiung and Liuchiu Yu Island. Fifty families, 82 genera and 111 species were collected in the surface waters, and 37 families, 54 genera and 68 species were collected in oblique tows to 100m with an open 1 m net, while 41 families, 48 genera and 73 species were collected by a multiple opening-closing net. Engraulis japonicus was the most dominant species, and was found all year round; other dominant species included coastal fish species (Apogonidae and Pomacentridae), anadromous species (Scombridae), oceanic species (Engraulidae and Myctophidae), and demersal species (Gobiidae). There were only 3 species of ichthyoplankton belonging to 3 genera and 2 families found in the Tapong Bay, all these species are benthic species. The coastal waters of Kaohsiung and Liuchiu Yu Island might be influenced both by the river and the topography of Kaping Trench, and thus the hydrological conditions of this area were more complex, and the ichthyoplankton was more diverse. On the other hand, the hydrological conditions of the semi-closed Tapong Bay changed less than that of the estuary of Kaoping river, thus the species composition of larval fish was simple and less diverse. Overall, the highest abundance of the ichthyoplankton in the adjacent areas of Kaohsiung and Liuchiu Yu Island was found in the wet season(June), with an average of 108¡Ó 116 ind./100 m3. E. japonicus was the most abundant in February, revealed that might be the breeding season of this species. Other dominant species (eg. Bregmaceros japonica and Tridentiger sp.) also showed significant seasonal variation. Higher abundance of ichthyoplankton was usually found in the entrance of Kaohsiung first harbor(St.1) and the estuary of Kaoping river(ie. St.4~6). No significant diel vertical migration of the ichthyoplankton was observed in this study. Most ichthyoplankton were found in the water column above 100 m during both day and night.

Populations (n = 25) of fourth instar Aedes aegypti were introduced into observation arenas that contained one of 5 types of substrates, and were sub-divided into 5 equal 1 cm horizontal zones. The larvae were videotaped to determine effects of food quality, food quantity, and nutrient deprivation on vertical distribution of larvae over time. At least two-thirds of the larvae consistently aggregated at the surface and on the bottom. The proportion depended on the nature of the substratum and was influenced by nutrient deprivation. In contrast, density of larvae in the 3 remaining zones was consistently low and was unaffected by either of these variables. Larvae were typically very active during a 15 minute period of acclimation upon introduction into the observation arena; subsequently, levels of activity declined. Most starved larvae in the presence of a high-quality food substrate fed to repletion faster than fed larvae, whereas in an arena devoid of food, they foraged on the bottom for a longer duration of time than the fed. With a substrate of a semi- or highly non-nutritive nature, foraging again appeared more intense among starved than fed individuals. Starved larvae consistently aggregated on the bottom, in contrast to fed individuals that became more evenly distributed between the surface and the bottom.

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The effect of Plagiorchis elegans cercariae on the vertical distribution of second, third, and fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti in the water column was studied in the laboratory. Under daytime conditions and in the absence of the parasite, larvae divided their time between the top and bottom of the water column. At night larvae spent the majority of their time at rest at the top of the column. In the presence of P. elegans cercariae larvae spent more time at rest at the surface under daytime conditions but increased their active time at the bottom under nighttime conditions. The presence of cercariae elicited escape and grooming responses and tended to reduce and fragment feeding activity.

No description available.

No description available.

Vertical structure, the top-to-bottom arrangement of aboveground vegetation, is an important component of forest and shrubland ecosystems. For many decades, ecologists have used foliage height profiles and other measures of vertical structure to identify discrete stages in post-disturbance succession and to quantify the heterogeneity of vegetation. Such studies have, however, required resource-intensive field surveys and have been limited to relatively small spatial extents (e.g.,

In natural systems, it has been observed that plankton exist in patches rather than in an even distribution across a body of water. However, the mechanisms behind this patchiness are not fully understood. Several previous modeling studies have examined the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on patch structure. Yet these models ignore a key point: zooplankton often undergo diel vertical migration. I have formulated a model that incorporates vertical movement into the Rosezweig-MacArthur (R-M) predator-prey model. The R-M model is stable only at a carrying capacity below a critical value. I found that adding vertical movement stabilizes the system even at a high carrying capacity. By analyzing temporal stability and spatial structure, my results show that vertical movement interacts with carrying capacity to determine patch structure. / by Simantha Ather. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The supply of coral reef fish larvae from the open ocean to reefs is vital for the persistence of local fish populations. Whether larvae are dispersed over hundreds of km or only few km depends on biophysical interactions between larvae and their environment. Relationships between environmental variables, larval swimming behavior, and larval transport were examined for reef fish larvae in the Florida Straits. In a series of research cruises, the upper 100 m of the water column was sampled with plankton nets fishing at four different depths. Variability in the vertical distributions of most larvae was not consistently related to measured environmental variables. Relative densities of larvae were predictably related to sampling depth in five taxa. In seven taxa, more developed larvae were distributed significantly deeper than less developed larvae, revealing ontogenic vertical migrations. In three taxa, vertical distributions varied significantly between day and night, revealing diel migrations. Since the Florida Current was strongest near the surface, observed vertical distributions and migrations resulted in reduced larval transport relative to surface currents. To identify cues involved in regulating vertical distributions, behavioral experiments were conducted with larvae from four reef fish families. All four groups showed significant responses to pressure cues, swimming up in response to high pressure and down in response to low pressure. In two families there was a significant correlation between capture depth and experimental pressure preference, suggesting that larvae use similar behavior to regulate depth in situ. To study horizontal swimming behavior, late-stage larvae of one species were caught in light-traps and observed by SCUBA divers ~1 km offshore of the Florida Keys barrier reef. All larvae swam remarkably straight, but their swimming directions were distributed randomly. A simulation model was used to generate swimming trajectories of longer duration than could be observed directly. Observed and simulated trajectories indicated that horizontal swimming by larvae with or without an external reference frame was important at spatial scales of several km. Overall, some larvae exercised a strong influence on transport, either by vertical or horizontal swimming. Behaviors varied between species and families, highlighting the need for more species-specific data.

Convective and long-range transport of air mass controls the global distributions and impacts of the pollutants generated in limited source regions. However, an observational characterization of such transport based on long-term satellite data has been difficult in part because adequate satellite measurements were not available until recent years and lack of an automated method for identifying the transport pathways. My dissertation addresses this problem through three steps: First, I developed a method to automate the identification of two pathways that are responsible for the transport of biomass burning generated tracers from the surface to the upper troposphere (UT). I focused on carbon monoxide (CO) because it has a relatively long lifetime in the atmosphere, and thus it is commonly used as a tracer of convective and long-range mass transport. Next, I applied this method to investigate the relative importance of the two pathways in determining the seasonal pattern of UT CO distribution. Results show that the seasonality of CO concentrations in the tropical UT mainly reflects the seasonality of the “local convection” pathway, because the “local convection” pathway typically transports significantly more CO to the UT than the “advection within the lower troposphere followed by convective transport” pathway. Then, I investigated the impacts of transport pathways on the interannual variation of tropical UT CO concentration. Results show that the interannual variation of CO in the tropical UT is dominated by UT CO anomaly over Southeast Asia related to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, and the average mass of CO transported per event of “local convection” is the factor that accounts for the UT CO difference between two El Niño periods. After that, I began to address the transport of more complex pollutants such as aerosols. First, the seasonal and diurnal variations of the vertical distributions of aerosol properties were characterized through a statistical analysis of aerosol profile data. Then, the transport pathways associated with the aerosol layer at the tropopause level over Asian area during boreal summer were investigated through back-trajectory model analyses. Three major pathways were found and the occurrence frequency of each pathway was analyzed and discussed. / text