PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A DEVELOPMENT SITE, AND THE CONTENT DOES NOT REFLECT THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION.

Data Type: Sponsored Research

Identification of a vacuolar proton channel that triggers the bioluminescent flash in dinoflagellates

In 1972, J. Woodland Hastings and colleagues predicted the existence of a proton selective channel (HV1) that opens in response to depolarizing voltage across the vacuole membrane of bioluminescent dinoflagellates and conducts protons into specialized luminescence compartments (scintillons), thereby causing a pH drop that triggers light emission. HV1 channels were subsequently identified and demonstrated to … Read more

Numerical Modeling of Hypoxia and Its Effects: Synthesis and Going Forward

Numerical models can provide the needed information for understanding hypoxia and ensuring effective management, and this book provides a snapshot of representative modeling analyses of hypoxia and its effects. In this chapter, we used the modeling and analyses across the other 14 chapters to illustrate 8 themes that relate to the general strengths, uncertainties, and … Read more

Modeling the Population Effects of Hypoxia on Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Part 1 – Model Description and Idealized Hypoxia

We developed a spatially explicit, individual-based model to analyze how hypoxia effects on reproduction, growth, and mortality of Atlantic croaker in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico lead to population-level responses. The model follows the hourly growth, mortality, reproduction, and movement of individuals on a 300 × 800 spatial grid of 1-km2 cells for 140 years. … Read more

Ensemble modeling informs hypoxia management in the northern Gulf of Mexico

A large region of low-dissolved-oxygen bottom waters (hypoxia) forms nearly every summer in the northern Gulf of Mexico because of nutrient inputs from the Mississippi River Basin and water column stratification. Policymakers developed goals to reduce the area of hypoxic extent because of its ecological, economic, and commercial fisheries impacts. However, the goals remain elusive … Read more

A new species of Longipedia Claus, 1863 (Copepoda: Harpacticoida: Longipediidae) from Caribbean mesophotic reefs with remarks on the phylogenetic affinities of Polyarthra

Mesophotic coral reefs are largely unexplored nearshore habitats. We present illustrations of both sexes of a new copepod species of the family Longipediidae Sars, 1903 collected via scuba-diving with tri-mix rebreathers from mesophotic coral reefs in Puerto Rico as an example of the rich fauna encountered in these habitats. The new species, Longipedia gonzalezi, displays … Read more

Local and regional disturbances associated with the invasion of Chesapeake Bay marshes by the common reed Phragmites australis

Invasions are dynamic as both the invading organism and the invaded ecosystem change. Intrinsic changes to the invader (invasion process) can involve population level genetic and reproductive changes. Extrinsic changes (invasion effect) occur to the environment that is invaded (e.g., alterations to the physical environment), to the invaded plant community (e.g., changes in species diversity … Read more

Subsurface seeding of surface harmful algal blooms observed through the integration of autonomous gliders, moored environmental sample processors, and satellite remote sensing in southern California

An observational study was performed in the central Southern California Bight in Spring 2010 to understand the relationship between seasonal spring phytoplankton blooms and coastal processes that included nutrient input from upwelling, wastewater effluent plumes, and other processes. Multi-month Webb Slocum glider deployments combined with MBARI environmental sample processors (ESPs), weekly pier sampling, and ocean … Read more

Effects of shoreline stabilization and environmental variables on benthic infaunal communities in the Lynnhaven River System of Chesapeake Bay

Coastlines worldwide are being altered due to shoreline hardening and stabilization and while highly altered systems are subject to change, variability exists in how shoreline hardening affects benthic communities depending on the landscape features of the system and regional production. Oyster reefs have been used to stabilize shorelines and offer a potentially positive effect on … Read more

Linking Coasts and Seas to Address Ocean Deoxygenation

Accelerated oxygen loss in both coastal and open oceans is generating complex biological responses; future understanding and management will require holistic integration of currently fragmented oxygen observation and research programmes.

Direct and indirect impacts of shoreline development on shallow-water benthic communities in a depauperate estuarine system

Modification of natural coastlines is prevalent as human coastal populations swell and effects of global climate change become clearer. We investigated effects of shoreline hardening and environmental factors on benthic infauna and trophic structure in the Patuxent River, Maryland, a stressed mesohaline Chesapeake Bay tributary. We characterized differences in density, diversity, biomass, and trophic structure … Read more