Biology Theses and Dissertations

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Adenyl Cyclase and Its Relationship to Insect Diapause in the European Corn Borer, Ostrinia Nubilalis (Hubner)
(1978) Gelman, Dale Berkman; Lockard, J. David; Hayes, Dora K.; Botany and Science Teaching; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)
The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a link between adenyl cyclase activity and the diapause condition in the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis. Insects inhabiting those latitudes where cold and warm seasons alternate with one another have evolved mechanisms which allow them to remain dormant (in a state of diapause) during the winter months of the year. Photoperiod, as well as temperature and humidity, has been shown to control the onset, maintenance and termination of insect diapause. In recent years, evidence supporting a role for the cyclic AMP system, including adenyl cyclase, as well as a role for one or more biogenic amines in the pathway between light reception and the neuroendocrine regulation of the insect life cycle and in the multitude of neuroendocrine pathways controlling insect growth and metamorphosis has been accumulating. In light of this evidence, it was decided to investigate the effects of two light regimens, short day (diapausing-inducing) and long day (pupation-inducing), on adenyl cyclase activity of various stages of fifth instar European corn borer larval heads, and to determine the effects of the biogenic amine neurotransmitters, norepinephrine, octopamine, and dopamine on this activity. Adenyl cyclase activity was measured by a modification of the method of Krishna, et al., (1968). A summary of the results follows. In head extracts of fifth instar European corn borer larvae reared under both long day and short day photoperiodic regimens, adenyl cyclase activity in the presence of sodium fluoride increased as the larvae progressed through early, middle and mature stages. In long day larval heads, activity decreased in late prepupae and reached a low in pharate pupae. In contrast, adenyl cyclase activity in short day larval heads peaked in early diapause and then returned to prediapause levels during late diapause. Norepinephrine significantly enhanced adenyl cyclase activity only in early diapause larval head extracts, while octopamine significantly enhanced adenyl cyclase activity in head extracts of late short day mature and early diapause larvae. Dopamine was ineffective as an activator. An analysis of the combined effect of neurotransmitter and developmental stage revealed that in general, a given neurotransmitter in combination with short day larval head extracts resulted in higher adenyl cyclase levels than that neurotransmitter in combination with long day head extracts.
PREDICTING THE SALINITY HISTORY OF OYSTERS IN DELAWARE BAY USING OBSERVING SYSTEMS DATA AND NONLINEAR REGRESSION
(2022) HOWLADER, ARCHI; NORTH, ELIZABETH; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Salinity is a major environmental factor that influences the population dynamics of fish and shellfish along coasts and estuaries, yet methods for predicting the salinity history at specific sampling stations are not widely available. The specific aim of this research was to predict the history of salinity experienced by juvenile and adult oysters (Crassostrea virginica) collected at sampling stations in Delaware Bay as part of the Selection along Estuarine Gradients in Oysters (SEGO) project. To do so, empirical relationships were created to predict salinity at five oyster bed stations using observing systems data and then applied to construct indices of salinity exposure over an oyster’s lifetime. The desired accuracy was +/- 2 psu. Three independent sources of salinity data were used in conjunction with observing systems data to construct and validate the predictive relationships. Observing systems data from the USGS station at Reedy Island Jetty and continuous near-bottom measurements taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) from 2012-2015 and 2018 were employed to fit nonlinear empirical models at each station. Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory (Haskin) data were used to evaluate model fit, then ACOE data from 2018 (withheld from model fitting in the validation analysis) and SEGO data from 2021 were used to validate models. The best-fitting models for predicting salinity at the oyster bed stations given the salinity at Reedy Island Jetty were logarithmic in form. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the models ranged from 1.3 to 1.6 psu when model predictions were compared with Haskin data, 0.5 to 1.5 when compared with ACOE data, and 0.6 to 0.8 when compared with SEGO data. All of these models were within the desired accuracy range. Results demonstrate that observing systems data can be used for predicting salinity within +/- 2 psu at oyster bed stations within 39 km in upper Delaware Bay. When these models were applied to estimate low salinity exposure of 2-year-old oysters via the metric of consecutive days below 5 psu, the indices suggested that there could be as much as a 42-day difference in low salinity exposure for oysters at stations 31 km apart. This study helps further our understanding of the salt distribution in Delaware Bay as well as the effect of low-salinity stress on the life cycle and genetic differentiation of oysters. In addition, the approach of using observing systems data to predict salinity could be applied to advance understanding of salt distribution and the effect of low salinity exposure on living resources in other estuaries.
Insights into benthic macroinvertebrate ecology in the northern Bering and southern Chukchi Seas from stable isotope analysis
(2022) Green, Emma Mackenzie; Cooper, Lee W; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In the Pacific Arctic Region, the northern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea support large and diverse communities of benthic macroinvertebrates that provide an important link to the pelagic communities and marine mammals that rely on the benthic populations for food. While the abundance and biomass of these benthic macroinvertebrates are well documented, little is known about how benthic macroinvertebrates interact with each other and how these interactions are affected by climate change. I measured the stable isotope composition (bulk δ15N and δ13C values) of similar species collected in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2021 in the northern Bering and southern Chukchi Seas. Although there was little change over time in either δ15N or δ13C values, both stable isotope ratios were significantly different between stations with differing production phenologies. The southern Chukchi Sea (a productive set of sites with high chlorophyll concentrations throughout the summer) had lower δ15N values and higher δ13C values, while the northern Bering Sea site with production mostly associated with the period of sea ice breakup had higher δ15N values and lower δ13C values. This pattern was observed across similar species and feeding types. The higher δ15N values in the northern Bering Sea could be due to an extra step in the food chain from bacterial reworking. The contrast between these two regions in δ13C might indicate higher primary production in the southern Chukchi Sea compared to the northern Bering Sea. The differing food web dynamics between these two sites highlight the benthic diversity across small scales and similar organisms in Pacific Arctic food webs.
DRIVERS OF EPIBENTHIC BIODIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE IN BARROW CANYON, CHUKCHI SEA UTILIZING DROP CAMERA VIDEO DATA
(2022) Pfaff, Andrea Ruth; Grebmeier, Jacqueline M; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In the Northeastern Chukchi Sea’s Barrow Canyon, modeling indicates that converging currents rapidly downwell high volumes of labile carbon creating a benthic biological hotspot. Utilizing a Drop Camera Video System, this thesis analyzes the epibenthic population across upper Barrow Canyon along the Distributed Biological Observatory transect DBO5. Results show that overall abundance of epibenthic fauna is highly correlated with depth while diversity is correlated with water mass variables such as bottom water temperature, salinity, nutrient concentrations, current speeds, and sediment grain size. Higher taxonomic diversity is found along the inshore slope of Barrow Canyon and correlated with conditions associated with the swifter inshore Alaskan Coastal Water. Taken together these data show that while particulate food and associated epibenthic abundance is highest in the Canyon’s trough, there is a zonation of organisms between the inshore and offshore slope with the inshore slope supporting a higher diversity and predominantly suspension feeding organisms.
EVALUATING CARBON SEQUESTRATION POTENTIAL OF NATURAL AND RESTORED TIDAL MARSHES IN CHESAPEAKE BAY THROUGH QUANTIFICATION OF METHANE FLUXES AND IDENTIFICATION OF DRIVERS
(2022) Hanacek, Daniella; Staver, Lorie; Cornwell, Jeffrey; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
The production of methane in brackish marshes may offset the carbon sequestered by these wetlands. Brackish tidal marshes are widespread in Chesapeake Bay and there exists a need for understanding the carbon balance of these ecosystems. This thesis presents the results of measurements of methane flux, through static flux chamber experiments, and analysis of marsh porewater to examine biogeochemical and plant-mediated drivers of methane flux in marshes of Chesapeake Bay. In addition, there is growing interest from the scientific and resource management community in how natural marshes cycle carbon and whether restored marshes show biogeochemical similarities. Therefore, I tested my hypotheses in the natural marshes of Monie Bay, part of the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve – Maryland, and in restored tidal marshes created with dredged sediments at Poplar Island. Methane emissions offset annual carbon storage at Monie Bay and Poplar Island by 0.7 and 2.1 percent, respectively, based on average values of annual fluxes. However, there remains uncertainty in the accuracy of this estimate given the spatial and temporal variability in my observed fluxes, and the limited sampling frequency and spatial extent of my study. Within such uncertainty lays a justification for continued long-term monitoring of methane emissions in restored and natural marshes of Chesapeake Bay to resolve this important marsh management question.

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