Biology Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2749
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Item TWO MARINE SPONGES, LENDENFELDIA CHONDRODES AND HYMENIACIDON HELIOPHILA, AND THEIR MICROBIAL SYMBIONTS: ROLES IN MARINE PHOSPHORUS CYCLING.(2021) Jonas, Lauren; Hill, Russell; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Marine sponges have emerged as major players within coral reef biogeochemical cycles, facilitating intake and release of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The majority of studies have investigated the role of sponges in transforming dissolved carbon and nitrogen; however, the same breadth of insights has not been extended to phosphorus. This study uses 32P-labeled orthophosphate and ATP to determine that two marine sponges, Lendenfeldia chondrodes and Hymeniacidon heliophila, both rapidly take up ambient dissolved inorganic phosphate and dissolved organic phosphorus. Subsequent genetic analysis and chemical extraction showed that sponge symbionts store phosphorus in the form of energy-rich polyphosphate (poly-P). L. chondrodes, a sponge from oligotrophic habitats and with a microbiome dominated by cyanobacterial symbionts, stores more phosphorus as poly-P (6–8%) than H. heliophila (0.55%), a eutrophic sponge with low cyanobacterial abundance. This work adds new insights to the roles of the sponge holobiont in cycling the crucial element, phosphorus.Item RESPONSE OF PLANKTON COMMUNITIES IN COASTAL LAGOONS TO CHANGES IN NUTRIENT QUALITY AND QUANTITY: CASE STUDY OF FLORIDA BAY(2016) Shangguan, Yini; Glibert, Patricia M; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was initiated to return Florida Bay to a more natural ecological state. The C-111 project, one phase of this plan and initiated in 2012, was designed to increase freshwater flow into northern Florida Bay. However, it also alters the nutrient regime and, potentially, phytoplankton biomass and assemblage. This dissertation investigated the combined effects of changes in discharge and nutrient on phytoplankton biomass and assemblage in several interconnected, mesohaline coastal lagoon systems (lakes) of Florida Bay using field observations, mesocosm experiments, and a statistical box model. Field measurements on nutrients and phytoplankton were performed before and after C-111 implementation. After C-111, increased freshwater flow and phosphorus (P) input, but decreased salinity and nitrogen (N) input were observed. One set of the lagoon lakes, previously highly eutrophic (average chlorophyll a >20 ug L-1), had a nearly 50% decline in overall phytoplankton biomass. The other set of lakes, originally oligotrophic (average chlorophyll a <2 ug L-1), had a doubling of phytoplankton biomass. Phytoplankton assemblage in both sets of lakes shifted to picocyanobacteria. Mesocosm experiments (5 independent experiments, 5-10 day duration, 1000 L tanks) were conducted to test the effects of nutrient additions. Phytoplankton biomass increased 3 to 10-fold in the +P treatments (alone or +N), but did not increase substantially in the +N alone treatments. The +N+P treatments, particularly the +NO3-+P at a +N:P molar ratio of 32 led to a 20-fold increase in diatoms, whereas N in the form of +NH4+ yielded a > 2-fold increase in picocyanobacteria. A statistical box model based on relationships measured in the field under different salinity regimes was developed to simulate flow, nutrients, and phytoplankton changes in the eutrophic lake chain. Model output showed that higher freshwater discharge decreased phytoplankton biomass in the upper of the connected lakes, but the lower lake had a high potential to generate algal blooms, which is consistent with the field data. Also, picocyanobacteria tripled following an increase in dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). This study recommends co-management of both P and N, particularly NH4+ and DON in Florida Bay if picocyanobacteria blooms are to be controlled.Item Microcosm Studies of Nutrient Cycling in Bahamian Stromatolites(2008-08-13) Jabro, Nicholas; Marinelli, Roberta; Harvey, Rodger; Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)I report results of field observations and experiments that examine the oxygen and nutrient fluxes for stromatolites in Highborne Cay in the Exumas, Bahamas. The aim of this study is to determine whether nutrients play a role in the transition of the community structure within the mats that is thought to be responsible for lithification and, ultimately, mat growth and structure. The research includes nutrient monitoring of the sediment and water column, and measures of rates of oxygen and inorganic nutrient exchange from stirred microcosm chamber incubations of mats with varied community structure. On the basis of mat community composition, I hypothesized that different mat types would have different fluxes, and that Highborne mats would be limited by one or more nutrients that efficient recycling within the mats might otherwise help supply. Samples of the four major mat types were sealed in stirred microcosm flux chambers, incubated in a circulating water bath, and sampled for oxygen, NH4, NO3, PO4, and Silicate. Nutrient addition, treatments of PO4 and Si were employed to investigate whether they stimulate primary productivity, signaling that mats are limited in these solutes. Nutrients in Highborne Cay were high in nitrogen relative to P, with N:P as high as 30. There was no difference in nutrient flux or productivity among mat types, and the addition of nutrients did not change mat productivity. These observations suggest that mat development in Highborne Cay is not limited by nutrients, but more likely structured by external physical factors such as the rate of turbulent flow which may limit the recruitment of competitors such as macroalgae and benthic branching diatoms.