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Local variation among rocky subtidal habitats in the San Juan Archipelago: are differences in community structure associated with small-scale changes in abiotic factors?
(2011)
Previous studies have demonstrated that regional variation in community structure is largely driven by abiotic factors, but that these factors have less influence on community structure at smaller scales. We sought to investigate the potential role of select abiotic factors in regulating benthic communities at spatial scales ...
Physical Factors Affecting the Abundance and Distribution of the Pacific Sand Lance Ammodytes hexapterus in the San Juan Archipelago
(2011)
Anecdotal evidence has suggested in the past that the Pacific Sand Lance, Ammodytes hexapterus is present every other year in the San Juan Archipelago. This study found the fish to be present in the San Juans, as they were last year, but not as abundant as in previous years sampling. As in numerous past studies, the A. ...
Seasonal Impacts on the Breakage of Nereocystis Leutkeana: A Break in Time
(2016)
Nereocystis luetkeana is an ecologically important species in the marine
environment and when it washes up as drift it becomes ecologically important to the
terrestrial environment, providing a crucial link between the two ecosystems. The first
appearance of N. luetkeana has been observed to be during early spring and then ...
Effects of ocean acidification on embryo development: Does encapsulation matter?
(2016-08)
As the concentration of CO2 in surface seawaters increases (ocean acidification, or OA) the saturation of calcium carbonate decreases, preventing marine organisms from creating shells and other calcified structures. These effects of elevated CO2 on calcification have been previously shown in free-spawning larvae, but are not ...
PUGETTIA PRODUCTA, THE OSTENSIBLE EPICUREAN
(Friday Harbor Laboratories, 2012-08)
The kelp crab of the northeastern Pacific coast, Pugettia producta, has long been believed
to be a facultative herbivore, feeding on macroalgae in the warmer months and on small
invertebrates when algae are unavailable. Many claims have been made as to which algae
are preferred, information important to determining the ...
The effect of jaw curvature on composite crushing performance: how do stingrays eat shells?
(Friday Harbor Laboratories, 2014-07)
Durophagous animals are equipped with myriad morphological adaptations for consuming durable prey. Convergent traits for processing hard prey generally include robust feeding musculature, cyclical loading patterns for crushing biological composites, reinforced skeletons, and an array of specialized tooth designs (Van Valkenburgh ...
San Juan Channel Seabird Abundance Patterns of Fall
(Friday Harbor Laboratories, 2013-12)
Seabirds are an important component of many marine ecosystems, but are in decline in
many parts of the world. While some studies have shown that Salish Sea seabirds are
declining, PEF has found no evidence of this decline. I attempted to characterize the
seabird community of fall 2013, as well as try to establish whether ...
Differences in gonad somatic indices with depth in Pacific Northwest invertebrates
(Friday Harbor Laboratories, 2012-06)
Drift algal material exported from kelp beds plays a significant role in nearby
ecosystems. Phenotypic traits such as gonad index and jaw diameter can be indicators of
diet consistency and nutrient uptake and thus can be used to assess the possible role of
exported kelp. In this study, individuals of an herbivorous ...
Friend or Foe Wig? Cohabitation Preferences in the Maritime Earwig, Anisolabis maritima
(Friday Harbor Laboratories, 2013-12)
Aggregations can form due to resource limitations but can be potentiated by group
benefits or for temporary mate selection. Maritime earwigs, Anisolabis maritima, are
insects found in aggregations under beach debris in most temperate and tropical regions.
Cohabitation is thought to be due to resource limitation but no ...
Dangers for Unprotected Embryos on the Benthos
(Friday Harbor Laboratories, 2014-08)
One of the arguments for the persistence of planktonic larval stages in the life
cycles of benthic marine invertebrates is that pelagic larvae experience a release from
predation when they move off the benthos and into the water column. However, it is
difficult to substantiate this hypothesis because we lack comparative ...