Marine Science Work
Photo: Close-up of A. cervicornis Polyps on the MesoAmerican Barrier Reef in Belize
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Caribbean Coral Reef Restoration
Photo analysis of reef fabric & reef-building coral restoration
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Sea Urchin Phototaxis
Sea urchins can see all around them- but do they like the dark?
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Skates and Cables- GIS
Skates can sense electricity- what about those undersea wires?
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MA Salt Marsh Tidal Flux
Does it really need to take all day to study the tides in a salt marsh?
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Scale and Otolith Analysis
Studying growth and age of a commercially important snapper species
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CARIBBEAN CORAL REEF RESTORATION
A fieldwork course took my classmates and me down to Belize to study the MesoAmerican Barrier Reef ecosystem. Our course, Coral Reef Restoration and Resilience, focused on both understanding the ecosystem and working on practical ways to protect and revive it.
Leaves of A. Tenufolia, aka Lettuce Coral
My work buddies: A Moray and a Sea Urchin
Close-up of Polyps of A. tenufolia
Atlantic Coral Reef Fabric Photo Analysis
A fabric is a small-scale ecosystem, in this case, the fore reef dominated by A. tenufolia and M. Complanata in Calabash Caye Reef.
In this project, I analyzed the structure of A. tenufolia considering blade density and the presence of M. complanata. I took 24 quadrat samples and used Image J to determine the number of blades, the number of splits per blade, and the length and width in cm for 3 densities (low, med, high) of A. tenufolia.
The analysis demonstrated that the blade width decreased on average with increasing density for both A. tenufolia and M. complanata. This leads to more questions regarding coral structuring for future studies.
Atlantic Coral Reef Restoration
Team secures ropes with A. cervicornis coral fragments to an elevated frame. Concrete ‘cookies’ with fragments of A. palmata are secured to the wire mesh. The frame provides a stable habitat for the corals to grow.
Close-up Polyps of A. cervicornis
Fragments of A. cervicornis are twisted into the rope approx. 30cm / 1 ft apart. In the next year these fragments will grow into branching colonies of A. cervicornis large enough to transplant onto a reef.
No conservation science is complete without practical application. Our class teamed up with a local NGO to learn about the coral restoration practices on Turneffe Atoll and to help implement them. Two of the keystone species on the reefs of this atoll are A. cervicornis (staghorn coral) and A. palmata (elkhorn coral).
Recent research has shown that breaking off small pieces of healthy coral and replanting them in a coral nursery allows the corals to grow at a rapid rate. This is especially true for A. cervicornis.
We worked with the NGO to harvest healthy coral fragments, fracture them and set up and place shallow-water coral nurseries. A 2-3 in long fragment of A. cervicornis can grow enough in just 1 year to be replanted on a reef and help restore the reef ecosystem.
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SEA URCHIN PHOTOTAXIS
It has recently been discovered that sea urchins can see- they have 'eyes'; all over their body, in fact. My team came across a study performed on pacific purple urchins which demonstrated they have very strong phototaxis (movement in response to light or color).
We replicated the study on Atlantic purple urchins. We tested the urchins' response to different shapes, contrasts, and colors. Our results, however, demonstrated no significant phototaxis, leaving us wondering why. One possible explanation is that Atlantic purple sea urchins live at a greater depth than their Pacific counterparts. Therefore, phototaxis may not be as important for survival, however, additional research is needed.
Experimental Setup
Urchin in the “arena” during an experimental trial
Atlantic Purple Sea Urchin
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SKATES AND CABLES - MARINE GIS
Habitat component suitability analysis for smooth skate
Undersea cables in study area
Cable overlaid on ideal smooth skate habitat in the Gulf of Maine
Like Their close relatives, sharks, skates have the ability to detect electric fields, which helps them center in on their prey and also avoid predators. Undersea cables are becoming more common, and these cables generate electric fields. Being benthic animals, skates have a greater chance of being affected by these cables' fields.
Using Esri ArcGIS, suitable habitats of 4 skate species in the Gulf of Maine were overlayed with the known undersea cables present to determine if there is significant habitat disruption by the cables. Though the cables overlaid all 4 habitats, they do not cover a significant amount of surface area, and thus their effects on skates cannot be determined to be significant, but further studies are needed to confirm this finding.
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MA SALT MARSH TIDAL FLUX
Experimental Site- MA Salt Marsh
Tidal stage vs flux graph demonstrating greatest flux around high tide
Sled with ADCP attached with cable setup spanning channel
As intertidal zones, salt marshes are heavily influenced by tidal cycles, which impact their geomorphology and nutrient transport. To quantify tidal flux in salt marsh channels, a device called acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) can be used.
Our work was part of an ongoing experiment to quantify salt marsh parameters in MA. We used a mobile ADCP attached to a sled, as well as data from a static ADCP in the center of the channel. We compared our results to known channel behaviors and compared the mobile and static ADCP data.
The mobile and static data corresponded strongly enough that the static ADCP data can reasonably be extrapolated to the entire channel, which will allow continuous channel monitoring.
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SCALE AND OTOLITH ANALYSIS
Commercially important fish stocks must be constantly monitored and their catch restricted to ensure the continued stability of the stock. One form of monitoring is to analyze the average age and size of the catch and the stock. In bony fish, size and age can be determined by analyzing scales and otoliths.
The Problem:
Estimating the age and growth rate of fish helps fisheries scientists understand the fish stock. Scales and otoliths can be used to calculate the age and growth rates of fish, and the fork length of the tail can be used to back age the fish. When these data are analyzed, they can provide valuable information on the stock's status and comparison to other stocks.
The Test:
Scales and Otoliths from snapper were analyzed under a microscope and the measurements taken were used to generate a Ford-Walford Plot and determine maximum length and growth rate.
The Conclusion:
The values generated from the Ford- Walford plot were used to create Von Bertalanffy Growth Curves and the average was compared to other snapper stock averages which demonstrated that this stock grows slower and smaller on average than other stocks.
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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE WRITING
Without public understanding and support, we scientists struggle to accomplish anything.
