Atlantic menhaden, compared to gulf menhaden, exhibit
a life history pattern that appears to be adapted to a more
unpredictable reproductive environment. From experiments
on laboratory-reared eggs and larvae, Atlantic menhaden have
larger eggs with larger yolk volume. They are larger at
hatching, utilize their yolk faster, begin feeding at...
A primary goal of population genetics is to identify the role of
microevolutionary forces in producing observed patterns of molecular and phenotypic
variation. I conducted four studies in the northern leopard frog, Rana pipiens, to
determine just how mutation, migration, genetic drift, and selection influenced,
genetic structure of mitochondrial DNA...
Predatory lionfishes (Pterois volitans and P. miles) were introduced to Florida waters during the mid to late 1980s, and eventually established self-sustaining breeding populations in the tropical western Atlantic. These invasive species are now widespread along the southeastern seaboard of the United States, across the Caribbean Sea, and in the...
Effective and sustainable fisheries management not only depends on identifying and defining stocks (fundamental unit of management), but also on having knowledge of factors influencing the abundance, distribution and connectivity of stocks. Population structure of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) in the southeastern Bering Sea (EBS) remains unresolved although genetic data...
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) fluxes between the ocean and atmosphere on continental margins are difficult to diagnose because these regions experience large variability over spatial and temporal scales spanning meters to basins and hours to years, respectively. In a global sense, continental margins could represent a significant atmospheric CO₂ sink, equivalent...
Societies around the globe are concerned with climate change and supplementing the use of fossil fuels to create cleaner energy. The emergence of marine alternative energy is of scientific, historical, legal, and political interest. The purpose of the three manuscripts comprising this dissertation is to provide research and analysis of...