SEMINAR: BOOKBAG LEFT IN RSMAS SEMINAR ROOM TODAY

[Pam Harris <pharris@rsmas.miami.edu>]

PLEASE RETRIEVE FROM MY OFFICE

Pamela Harris
Administrative Assistant
Marine Biology and Fisheries
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
University of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway/SLAB-118
Miami, FL 33149
(305) 421-4176
fax - (305) 421-4600
pharris@rsmas.miami.edu
http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/academics/divisions/marine-biology-fisheries/

On 1/20/2012 10:04 AM, Pam Harris wrote:

 

MBF Student Seminar Series

 

Dominique Lazarre

Advisor: Dr. David Die

“Lionfish Bycatch in the Florida Keys Commercial

Spiny Lobster Fishery”

 In the three years since lionfish were first seen on reefs in the Florida Keys their numbers have increased dramatically, allowing this species to become a common feature in coastal areas.  Not only are these fish observed frequently by divers and snorkelers, they have become a large portion of the bycatch in the commercial spiny lobster fishery.  This study aims to learn more about the distribution, catch rates, size distribution of lionfish and the potential negative impacts lionfish have on lobster catches.  An observer has sampled the catch from a single commercial lobster vessel, weekly to bi-weekly, over the course of the current fishing season.  Locations and depths were recorded for each trap sampled, and each organism in a trap was identified and measured.  Preliminary results show that lionfish catch rates increase with water depth, the highest catch rates occurring at depths greater than 150 feet.  Mean total length of lionfish appears to be increasing as the season progresses and with water depth.  Within trawl-line residuals of median catch rates of lionfish and lobster are negative correlated, possibly confirming the perceptions of fisherman that lionfish presence results in reductions of spiny lobster catch rates. 

 

Esther Goldstein
Advisor: Dr. Su Sponaugle

“Spatial and temporal variability in damselfish early

 life-history traits and survival”

  For reef organisms with complex life cycles, environmental conditions can affect early life history traits and survival. Oceanographic features and other aspects of the larval environment can affect survival and the condition of larvae prior to settlement. After settlement, particular early life history traits may confer a survival advantage that can vary based on environmental conditions and habitat, creating local patterns in traits. I used otolith microstructure analysis to examine whether early life history traits varied spatially along the Florida Keys. I compared larval growth rates, pelagic larval duration, and size at settlement of two cohorts of settlement stage bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus) collected from the upper and lower Keys in June and July, 2008. In addition, I compared larval traits of newly settled juveniles to their respective settler cohorts to assess differences in selective mortality between the upper and lower Keys. There were significant differences in growth, pelagic larval duration, and size at settlement between months, but not locations. Selection for faster growth and larger size at settlement was consistent for both June and July across both regions. These preliminary results indicate that despite temporal variability there was little spatial variation in traits after selective loss over time.

 

 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012

1:00pm

RSMAS campus, S/A 103

Pamela Harris
Administrative Assistant
Marine Biology and Fisheries
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
University of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway/SLAB-118
Miami, FL 33149
(305) 421-4176
fax - (305) 421-4600
pharris@rsmas.miami.edu
http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/academics/divisions/marine-biology-fisheries/