• European Marine Science
• Research softwareclose
• Other research productsclose
• US close
• GB close

These supplementary teaching resources align to the open textbook, Fish, Fishing, and Conservation which is a 389-page, peer-reviewed publicly-available, openly-licensed textbook intended for undergraduate students who are exploring majors in Fish & Wildlife. It is also relevant to a general audience or for use in courses which explore social and ethical aspects of fish, fishing and conservation. The open textbook, Fish, Fishing, and Conservation, is freely available at https://doi.org/10.21061/fishandconservation Supplementary teaching resources include a sample course syllabus, schedule, and a variety of assignments. Individuals who wish to share their materials relevant to teaching in this subject area are encouraged to join and share their openly-licensed resources via the Fish, Fishing, and Conservation Instructor Group in OERCommons Are you reviewing or adopting Fish, Fishing, and Conservation for a course? Please help us understand your use by completing this form https://bit.ly/fishandconservation_interest VIVA (Virtual Library of Virginia)

The creation, movement, and consumption of distinct biomolecules by marine organisms has far reaching implications regarding ecosystem material and energy flow and how we manage the marine environment. Lipids are ubiquitous, energy rich biomolecules that are essential for all life and are used for cell membrane structure, energy storage and serve as useful indicators for ecosystem and food web dynamics. In this dissertation, the flow of specific lipid biomolecules through multiple marine environments is measured, explored, and clarified to better understand biogeochemical cycles, marine food webs and ecosystem connectivity. In the first chapter of my dissertation, I measure, quantify, and close the loop of the open ocean microbial hydrocarbon cycle, with implications for priming effects of the ocean microbiome to oil spills. It is estimated that seeps, spills, and other oil pollution introduce ~ 1.3 million tons (1.3 Tg) of hydrocarbons into the ocean each year. Additionally, it is known that globally abundant marine cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus which account for ~25% of ocean net primary production also produce hydrocarbons from fatty acids. But little is known about the size, turnover and fate of these cyanobacterial hydrocarbons and the implications for the ocean’s microbiome response to future oil spills. From a research expedition in the North Atlantic, I report that cyanobacteria in an oligotrophic gyre mainly produce n-pentadecane which correlates tightly with fluorescence and Prochlorococcus abundance in oligotrophic waters. Using chemical and isotopic tracing I find that pentadecane production and diel dynamics mainly occurs in the lower euphotic zone at the deep chlorophyll maximum. I estimate the global flux of cyanobacteria-produced pentadecane exceeds total oil input in the ocean by 100 to 500-fold, with cyanobacteria producing ~ 130-650 million tons of pentadecane per year. Analysis of sinking particles at the base of the euphotic zone show that nearly all pentadecane (< 0.001 % remaining) is consumed within the euphotic zone, suggesting near complete consumption of these hydrocarbons by hydrocarbon degrading microbes. These findings characterize a wide-spread microbial hydrocarbon cycle that selectively primes the ocean’s microbiome with long-chain alkanes. In the second chapter of my dissertation, I conduct a large-scale feeding experiment on a symbiotic reef-building coral (Stylophora pistillata) in the Red Sea to clarify fatty acid and isotopic biomarker patterns of coral heterotrophy for use in the field. Coral heterotrophy is an often-overlooked facet of coral nutrition that provides essential nutrients that help corals resist and recover from thermally induced bleaching that is degrading reef ecosystems around the world due to rising global ocean temperatures. Yet, methods for measuring coral mixotrophy, the balance between organic matter contributions to the coral host from autotrophic photo endosymbionts and heterotrophy on particles and plankton have typically been too coarse to elucidate source contributions. Through my experiment I show that fatty acids and isotopic biomarkers reliably separate experimental and reef nutritional source groups (heterotrophic or autotrophic). I show that heterotrophic fatty acid biomarkers are reliably recorded into coral host and symbiont tissues, with a divergent metabolic pattern of autotrophic biomarkers as feeding increases due to positive feedback of heterotrophy on the in hospite photo symbiont population. Additionally, I show that nitrogen and essential fatty acids are preferentially recorded into coral tissue while most heterotrophic carbon is respired or exuded as mucous; this shows that the use of bulk carbon isotopes as a feeding proxy for the last ~ 40 years is largely underestimating the contribution of heterotrophy to the trophic ecology of reef building corals. Overall, this finding underscores a connectivity between oceanic phyto- and zooplankton and reef-building coral. In the third chapter of my dissertation, I explore the mixotrophic differences of divergent bleaching responses of Acropora hyacinthus colonies on the forereef of Mo’orea during the 2019 mass bleaching event. During this bleaching event, all colonies of A. hyacinthus on the deep forereef (14 m) bleached and recovered, while colonies on the shallow forereef (5 m) near the reef crest resisted bleaching entirely, despite the same temperature stress. Using fatty acid and isotopic biomarkers I show through several lines of evidence that bleaching resistant colonies near the reef crest were likely consuming more particulate organic matter than deep forereef colonies. This conclusion is supported by isotopic feeding proxies, less isotopic niche overlap of the host and symbiont of resistant colonies, and larger proportions of putative POM fatty acid biomarkers in the host of resistant colonies relative to recovered colonies. This interpretation is in line with observations that benthic communities on the reef crest are a net sink of oceanic POM and that increased reliance on heterotrophy is associated with bleaching resistance. These data show the vital importance of reef environment, coral heterotrophy, and planktonic subsidies in structuring bleaching response of corals in a warming ocean and ultimately show that the reef crest may serve as a potent zone for reseeding coral populations after marine heat waves.

Understanding what factors shape the magnitude of divergence under rapid evolution is critical. Phenotypic divergence, specifically, can be influenced by selective forces such as the environment (climate, geographic distance) as well as non-selective forces (genetic composition of the founding population). Threespine sticklebacks provide a unique opportunity to study the magnitude of divergence under rapid evolution. Marine sticklebacks independently colonized freshwater habitats at the end of the last ice age (~12,000 years ago) generating multiple replicate pairs that represent a natural experiment. However, studies rely on untested assumptions that marine sticklebacks are not phenotypically varied and are unchanged from their ancestors. Here, we test how differential environmental conditions impact the estimated magnitude of phenotypic divergence and parallelism of independent freshwater stickleback populations. We find that marine variation is comparable to freshwater variation. Importantly, the inferred magnitude of phenotypic divergence of each freshwater population is dependent on marine sampling location. The geographic distance and environmental similarity between the marine and freshwater pairs explain a significant degree of variance. When estimating the degree of parallelism among freshwater pairs, marine reference also affects the inferred magnitude. The observed pattern suggests the choice of reference population and its geographic distance are important aspects to consider when estimating freshwater divergence and parallelism. Results also implicate a signature of local adaptation and/or isolation by distance. We provide recommendations for choosing ecologically relevant marine references in future studies on this important evolutionary model system.

Widespread overuse and large-scale production of antibiotics create antibiotic pollution, disrupting environmental microbiota and creating a public health risk. Highly urbanized coastal environments can be under high impact from antibiotic pollution from many trails of polluted effluents and runoff. The city of Long Beach is one such coastal area under high impact, since it is highly urban, industrialized, and experiences frequent sewage spills. We collected water samples from the LA River in a transect running southwest into the San Pedro Channel in order to investigate (1) how does strength of antibiotic resistance change as distance from shore increases, and (2) does antibiotic resistance correlate with composition of the bacterial community. There was no consistent relationship between strength of antibiotic resistance and distance from shore. Instead, we found that bacteria from the Pacific Ocean showed higher antibiotic resistance than bacteria from the LA River in five out of eleven antibiotic treatments. We also found that the alpha diversity of bacterial communities was lower in the LA River samples compared, and alpha diversity positively correlated with strength of antibiotic resistance in four antibiotic treatments. Our findings highlight how prevalence of antibiotic pollution does not always follow a distance dilution, as well as the need for understanding the strength behind antibiotic resistance in marine bacteria.

Climate change is predicted to alter salinity in many coastal regions. This exerts significant physiological stress on coastal invertebrates whose body fluid osmolality follows that of seawater ('osmoconformers'). Osmolytes are the cellular actors in osmoconformers that regulate acclimation to salinity changes. Inspite of their cellular importance in salinity tolerance, cellular volume regulation and its osmotic components, are not sufficiently understood. Which compounds are commonly used as osmolytes? Are inorganic and organic osmolytes used in long-term salinity acclimation? Are there taxonomic- or tissue specific differences? By conducting an extensive literature search, this study aimed to answer these questions. By using a meta-analysis approach over an ordinary literature review we were able to statistically evaluate the individual effect sizes by computing a summary effect for multiple studies to estimate the mean of the distribution of the true effect sizes. Meta-analysis is useful to reveal research gaps, common actors across taxa, or overall effects of biotic factors. We thus conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of osmolyte data (both organic and inorganic) utilized by osmoconforming marine invertebrates during a >14-day acclimation to reduced salinity. This study offers a valuable overview of the various listed organic compounds across species and whether and in which organisms they are used as osmolytes under low salinity stress. This study thereby creates a valuable baseline for future research. 2389 studies were screened according to standard systematic review procedures (title scan, abstract scan and full-exam) resulting a total of 56 studies that fulfilled the search criteria. The data includes the list of all papers that underwent a full-exam in the systematic review process and passed the search criteria and study details of the studies used for meta-analysis. For all included studies the input data necessary to conduct a meta-analysis with a hedge's g effect size is given. Namely, mean osmolyte concentrations, variance measure and replicate numbers are given for the high and low salinity treatment. The data for any benthic osmoconforming species and any osmolyte type is included. The data table is sorted by study but gives additional information on taxonomy, experimental details, study design, osmolyte type, tissue type, etc. Additionally, data is available for a number of studies that reported an extensive osmolyte budget (i.e. multiple compounds). Here, for each study and study organism osmolytes (that were present in more than one study) are listed as percent of the total organic osmolyte pool. This dataset is the first systematically compiled list of studies investigating osmolyte concentrations in osmoconformers after long-term (>14 days) acclimation to low salinity. Data can be used to compare own osmolyte data (species/osmolyte compound) with a comprehensive list of osmolyte literature data. Additionally, this data can be used to address other hypotheses via meta-analysis. As this was a systematic review, no biological samples were collected in this study. Information of the origin of the data from each of the included studies can be found in the list of all included studies.

The radiocarbon analysis of uranium-thorium-dated cold-water corals (CWCs) provides an excellent opportunity for qualitative reconstruction of past ocean circulation and water mass aging. While mid-depth water mass aging has been studied in the Atlantic Ocean, the evolution of the thermocline, tightly coupled to the atmosphere, is still largely unknown. Here we present a combined 14C and 230Th/U age record obtained from thermocline dwelling CWCs with partially centennial resolution over the last 32 ka at various locations in the central and east Atlantic Ocean (Azores Front, Mauritania, Angola), as well as in the Alboran Sea.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been implemented worldwide as a tool for improving the overall health and function of fisheries and marine ecosystems impacted by fishing activity. Monitoring the performance of MPAs in a comprehensive way is crucial for the effective management and thoughtful implementation of new MPAs. In California, mesophotic (30-100m) rocky reef fish communities are a valuable commercial/recreational resource, though the effects of MPAs on this community remain relatively understudied. This is at least partially a result of depth restricted sampling tools that do not typically overlap; SCUBA surveys are generally limited to shallow depths (<30 m) and Remotely Operated Vehicle/Autonomous Underwater Vehicle surveys are often used for deep water (>100m). Additionally, traditional extractive techniques like trawl surveys are limited by their inability to effectively sample high relief rocky habitats, and are not commonly used in MPAs due to their destructive nature. With this study we tested the effects of two MPAs on demersal fish communities living on mesophotic rocky reefs utilizing Baited Remove Underwater Video (BRUV) surveys. We deployed BRUV landers annually from 2019 to 2021 at Anacapa State Marine Reserve/State Marine Conservation Area (SMR/SMCA) and Carrington Pt. SMR. We observed significant positive reserve effects on the total biomass of targeted (i.e., fished) species and on the size structure of individual focal species at both study sites. Relative abundance (MaxN) proved to be a less sensitive metric than biomass for detecting MPA effects, underscoring the utility of a stereo-video camera system that is capable of capturing highly accurate fish measurements. Dissimilar rocky habitat abundance for the deepest depth zones at Anacapa Island, where rockfish (Sebastes spp.) represent the largest proportion of the fish community, is likely one explanation for the negative reserve effect we observed for targeted rockfish abundance at this site. The results of this study provide useful information on how two California MPAs affect valuable fish communities that have historically been understudied and emphasize the importance of accurate fish measurement to detect these effects. This work also highlights the significance of habitat availability on the distribution of species with high habitat affinity. The continued monitoring of demersal fish communities on mesophotic rocky reefs would provide resource managers a more comprehensive understanding of MPA performance in California.

The surface temperature in the Arctic has warmed at twice the rate of the global mean temperature during recent decades. This Arctic amplification of global warming has been a striking feature of climate change, and many studies have investigated what processes contribute to this phenomenon. Many of these processes are often described in the context of climate feedbacks using analyses focused on top-of-the-atmosphere radiative changes. In this context, regional surface warming can then be partitioned into contributions from each feedback process. However, this partitioning can be complicated by interactions between feedbacks themselves and atmospheric heat transport. In the second chapter, we instead apply a feedback-locking approach and evaluate the resulting changes in surface temperature. These results are strikingly different from previous feedback analyses, highlighting the important role of interactions within the climate system. This chapter and many other previous studies focus only on the role of atmospheric and surface processes in Arctic amplification. However, substantial questions remain regarding the role of ocean heat transport. In the third chapter, we investigate changes in oceanic heat fluxes under global warming. We find a mechanism associated with the presence of sea ice that drives enhanced horizontal ocean heat transport into the Arctic region and can contribute substantially to Arctic amplification if this heat is allowed to reach the surface. Currently, only a small amount of the heat stored at depth in the Arctic Ocean can reach the surface, but recent observational studies have argued that sea ice retreat could result in enhanced vertical mixing. In the fourth chapter, we investigate the impacts of a positive feedback whereby increased vertical mixing due to sea ice retreat causes the previously isolated subsurface Arctic Ocean heat to melt more sea ice. We find that an abrupt “tipping point” can occur under global warming, with an associated hysteresis window, for a limited range of parameters. Throughout the thesis, we use idealized models to show how ocean and climate processes can impact Arctic warming, providing insights into possible physical mechanisms that could be at play now or in the future.

Tropospheric ozone (O3) concentrations depend on a combination of hemispheric, regional, and local-scale processes. Estimates of how much O3 is produced locally vs. transported from further afield are essential in air quality management and regulatory policies. Here, a tagged-ozone mechanism within the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem) is used to quantify the contributions to surface O3 in the UK from anthropogenic nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from inside and outside the UK during May–August 2015. The contribution of the different source regions to three regulatory O3 metrics is also examined. It is shown that model simulations predict the concentration and spatial distribution of surface O3 with a domain-wide mean bias of −3.7 ppbv. Anthropogenic NOx emissions from the UK and Europe account for 13 % and 16 %, respectively, of the monthly mean surface O3 in the UK, as the majority (71 %) of O3 originates from the hemispheric background. Hemispheric O3 contributes the most to concentrations in the north and the west of the UK with peaks in May, whereas European and UK contributions are most significant in the east, south-east, and London, i.e. the UK's most populated areas, intensifying towards June and July. Moreover, O3 from European sources is generally transported to the UK rather than produced in situ. It is demonstrated that more stringent emission controls over continental Europe, particularly in western Europe, would be necessary to improve the health-related metric MDA8 O3 above 50 and 60 ppbv. Emission controls over larger areas, such as the Northern Hemisphere, are instead required to lessen the impacts on ecosystems as quantified by the AOT40 metric.

This research was supported by the National Decommissioning Research Initiative (NDRI Australia). We acknowledge the time contribution of all co-authors and additionally via research undertaken through the UKRI INSITE Programme including projects ANChor, CHASANS (NE/T010886/1), EcoConnect, EcoSTAR (NE/T010614/1), FuECoMMS (NE/T010800/1), MAPS, NSERC. DMP was supported through The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) funded by the Scottish Funding Council and contributing institutions. SNRB and KH (Cefas) were funded by Cefas and the UK INSITE North Sea programme. Offshore platforms, subsea pipelines, wells and related fixed structures supporting the oil and gas (O&G) industry are prevalent in oceans across the globe, with many approaching the end of their operational life and requiring decommissioning. Although structures can possess high ecological diversity and productivity, information on how they interact with broader ecological processes remains unclear. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on the role of O&G infrastructure in maintaining, altering or enhancing ecological connectivity with natural marine habitats. There is a paucity of studies on the subject with only 33 papers specifically targeting connectivity and O&G structures, although other studies provide important related information. Evidence for O&G structures facilitating vertical and horizontal seascape connectivity exists for larvae and mobile adult invertebrates, fish and megafauna; including threatened and commercially important species. The degree to which these structures represent a beneficial or detrimental net impact remains unclear, is complex and ultimately needs more research to determine the extent to which natural connectivity networks are conserved, enhanced or disrupted. We discuss the potential impacts of different decommissioning approaches on seascape connectivity and identify, through expert elicitation, critical knowledge gaps that, if addressed, may further inform decision making for the life cycle of O&G infrastructure, with relevance for other industries (e.g. renewables). The most highly ranked critical knowledge gap was a need to understand how O&G structures modify and influence the movement patterns of mobile species and dispersal stages of sessile marine species. Understanding how different decommissioning options affect species survival and movement was also highly ranked, as was understanding the extent to which O&G structures contribute to extending species distributions by providing rest stops, foraging habitat, and stepping stones. These questions could be addressed with further dedicated studies of animal movement in relation to structures using telemetry, molecular techniques and movement models. Our review and these priority questions provide a roadmap for advancing research needed to support evidence-based decision making for decommissioning O&G infrastructure. Publisher PDF Peer reviewed