Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/1969.6/31365
Browse
Browsing Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies by Issue Date
Now showing 1 - 20 of 542
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item 2011 SAC discussion paper consideration of attainment frequencies and hydrologic conditions in developing and implementing instream environmental flow regimes(1/1/2011) Huston, RobertAt this point, the SAC considers it inappropriate and possibly misleading to suggest a single recommended approach for dealing with attainment frequencies in the development of e-flow regimes and implementation of those regimes through adopted environmental flow standards. Site-specific circumstances can dictate different methodologies, and the BBESTs, through their studies and eliberations, can decide on the best course of action for their respective basins in order to meet their legislative charge of developing e-flow regime recommendations "considerin all reasonably available science, wothout regard to the need for the water for other uses" (SB3, Sec. 11.02362m). On the other hand, the basin-bay stakeholders and the TCEQ, with their broader legislantive mandates under SB 3 to develop e-flow standards while also considering human needs for water, have greater latitude with regard to the structure and implementation of e-flow regimes, including the procedures used for addressing attainment frequencies.Item 2004 SAC report on water for environmental flows final report(10/26/2004) Armbrister, Kenneth; Puente, Robert; Wentworth, Jeff; Staples, Todd; Callegari, William; Geren, Charlie; Clark, Jerry; West, Bill; Beal, Joseph; Sansom, Andrew; Vaughan IV, Ben; Herndon, David; White, Kathleen; Pittman, E. G. Rod; Fitzsimons, JosephThe question is not whether environmental flows are important and should be protected, but rather, how, when, and where, and in what quantities should flows be reserved for environmental purposes in the state�s rivers and streams and its bays and estuaries. The State of Texas has investigated environmental flow issues for several decades. Scientific methods, protocols, and understanding regarding environmental flows have significantly progressed through the course of the previous 40 years and continue to evolve and improve. Due to the complexities of environmental flow issues and continuing advances in scientific understanding, additional work is needed. While the State of Texas has pioneered tools to address freshwater inflow needs for bays and estuaries, there are limitations to these tools in light of both scientific and public policy evolution. To fully address bay and estuary environmental flow issues, the foundation of work accomplished by the state should be improved. While the Texas Instream Flow Studies program appears to encompass a comprehensive and scientific approach for establishing environmental flow needs for rivers and streams across the state, more extensive review and examination of the details of the program, which may not be fully developed until the program is underway, are needed to ensure an effective tool for evaluating riverine environmental flow conditions.Item 2013 Brazos River BBASC Work plan for adaptive management(10/8/2013) Brazos River and Associated Bay and Estuary System Basin and Bay Area Stakeholders CommitteeSenate Bill 3 (SB3) of the 80th Texas Legislature was written to create a basin-by-basin process for developing environmental flow standards. SB3 requires the creation of a �work plan� to facilitate the adaptive management of the environmental flow standards adopted. The SB3 offers the following language for timing of and what components should be incorporated in the work plan. Section 11.02362 (p) In recognition of the importance of adaptive management, after submitting its recommendation regarding environmental flow standards and strategies to meet the environmental flow standards to the commission, each basin and bay area stakeholders committee, with the assistance of the pertinent basin and bay expert science team, shall prepare and submit for approval by the advisory group a work plan. The work plan must: (1) establish a periodic review of the basin and bay environmental flow analyses and environmental flow regime recommendation, environmental flow standards, and strategies, to occur at least once every 10 years; (2) prescribe specific monitoring, studies, and activities; (3) establish a schedule for continuing the validation or refinement of the basin and bay environmental flow analyses and environmental flow regime recommendations, the environmental flow standards by the commission, and the strategies to achieve those standards. The Brazos River and Associated Bay and Estuary System Basin and Bay Area Stakeholders Committee worked (Brazos BBASC) to develop a Work Plan for Adaptive Management (work plan). After review by the BRAZOS BBASC and Brazos River and Associated Bay and Estuary System Expert Science Team (Brazos BBEST), a final Adaptive Work Plan will be prepared for submittal to the Environmental Flows Advisory Group (EFAG) for approval.Item 2010 SAC report on consideration of methods for evaluating interrelationships between recommended SB-3 environmental flow regimes and proposed water supply projects(11/12/2010) Brandes, Robert; Huston, Robert; Jensen, Paul; Kelly, Mary; Manhart, Fred; Montagna, Paul; Oborny, Edmund; Ward, George; Wiersema, JamesThe attached guidance document presents tools and methods which can be employed by BBASC groups, and/or their BBEST if deemed appropriate, and the TCEQ to evaluate to what degree a prescribed instream flow scenario (environmentl flow regime or standard) is satisfied based on some current or future infrastructure/water rights assumptions (Section 3 of the report), and analyze impacts of a proposed E-flow regime on a specific water supply project (Sections 4 and 5 of the report).Item 2009 SAC water quality overlay of hydrology-based instream flow recommendations working draft(11/3/2009) Brandes, Robert; Huston, Robert; Jensen, Paul; Kelly, Mary; Manhart, Fred; Montagna, Paul; Oborny, Edmund; Ward, George; Wiersema, JamesSB 3 directed the development of environmental flow recommendations for Texas waters through a science-based determination and stakeholder process, followed by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) rulemaking. Environmental flow regimes are defined as schedules of flow quantities that reflect seasonal and yearly fluctuations for specific areas of watersheds, support a sound ecological environment, and maintain the productivity, extent, and persistence of key aquatic habitats. The Science Advisory Committee (SAC) provides an overview of how hydrologic data might be used to develop hydrology-based flow regime recommendations (SAC 2009a) and describes one piece of the collaborative process envisioned by SB 3 for the identification of flows to maintain a sound ecological environment in rivers and streams. The document notes that other disciplines such as biology, geomorphology, and water quality also warrant specific attention to ensure that instream flow recommendations are based on the broadest set of information available. The approach taken by the SAC is to have these disciplines addressed as separate assessments or overlays on the hydrology-based analyses. Water quality is the focus of this overlay document. Numeric and narrative criteria developed by the state address matter carried in suspension and solution, such as dissolved and suspended solids, as well as nutrients, toxics, indicator bacteria, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and other parameters. Under some circumstances all might play a role in the determination of an environmental flow regime. Changes in a flow regime can be expected to produce changes in water quality conditions. The challenge is to ensure that the recommended flow regime protects water quality, particularly during low or subsistence flow conditions, and also considers water quality needs during higher flow conditions. It is often assumed that under natural conditions, which may have existed prior to human impacts, the quality of the water supports the desired sound ecological environment. While this may be true it should be recognized that it may be impossible to return to the naturalized flow condition due to land use changes, point and nonpoint source discharges, water supply needs and operational constraints. In addition, ecological changes may have already occurred in response to altered land use patterns and flow regimes. It must also be recognized that natural conditions encompass a substantial range in all of the dimensions of water quality in response to hydrologic, seasonal and weather variations and include a full range of outcomes. The Water Quality Overlay provides an overview of Texas water quality programs along with the programs that collect and make water quality data available. It then discusses various aspects of the relationship between water quality and subsistence flows and water quality and base and higher flow conditions. The document includes a specific example of the relationship between flow and various water quality parameters and provides steps the BBESTs can take to consider water quality issues in their recommended flow regimes.Item 2009 BBEST Trinity and San Jacinto and Galveston Bay environmental flows recommendations report(11/30/2009) Espey Jr., William; Lester, L. James; Browning, Richard; Buzan, David; Frossard, Woody; Guillen, George; McFarlane,Robert; Reedy, Mike; Plummer, Alan; Quigg, Antonietta; Ray, Sammy; Smith, Tony; Trungale, Joseph; Turco, Mike; Woodrow, Jr., JarrettFor your consideration, the Trinity and San Jacinto and Galveston Bay Basin and Bay Expert Science Team (Trinity?San Jacinto BBEST) hereby submits its final report pursuant to its charge under Senate Bill 3 (80th R, 2007), including environmental flow recommendations with rationales.��The Trinity?San Jacinto BBEST members have reached consensus on the presentation of the recommendations submitted in this document.Item 2010 Sabine and Neches Rivers and Sabine Lake Bay BBASC work plan(12/6/2010) Clark, Jerry; Stroder, Robert; Alford, David; Arnold, Joe; Bean, Christopher; Bonds, Keith; Carter, W. Greg; Davis, Katherine; Dickson, Kenneth; Drury, Bruce; Glenn, Walter; Holcomb, Kelley; Jackson, Kathleen Thea; Kirkpatrick, Will; Newman,Rodney; Nichols, Jerry; Oubre, Fr. Sinclair; Pickett, Jo M.; Roemer, David; Shank, Monty; Sherron, C.R.; Staton, Jr., Robert Neal; Turk, Jeanie; Tatum, Jack; Hall, Scott; Graham, Gary; Harrel, Richard; Hunt, Rex; Kelley, J. Roger; McBroom, Matthew; McCullough, Jack; Parkhill, David; Vaugh, Samuel Kent; Winemiller, KirkThe Sabine and Neches Rivers and Sabine Lake Bay Basin and Bay Expert Science Team (Sabine-Neches BBEST) submitted its Environmental Flows Recommendations Report in November, 2009, 5 and the Sabine and Neches Rivers and Sabine Lake Bay Basin and Bay Area Stakeholder Committee submitted its Recommendations Report in May, 2010.Item Distributional notes of Harpacticoida (Crustacea: Copepoda) collected from the Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean)(1978) Montagna, Paul A.; Carey Jr., Andrew G.Forty-one species of large-size Harpacticoida have been sorted from Smith-McIntyre grab samples sieved through 1.00 and 0.2 mm aperture screens. Fifty-eight stations were occupied throughout the southwestern Beaufort Sea, ranging from Point Barrow, Alaska (USA) west, to Demarcation Point, the eastern border with Canada. The depth of the study area ranged from 5-3500 m. Harpacticus superflexus Willey and Stenhelia nuwukensis M. S. Wilson dominated the samples numerically. Though H. superflexus was ubiquitous, S. nuwukensis was restricted to a narrow range of shallow waters. The female to male ratio was 99:1. It is not known why there is such a preponderance of females, but sexually dimorphic characters may be absent or the smaller males may have passed through the sieve.Item Liljeborgiid Amphipods from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea(Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, 1979) D. McKinney, LThe family Liljeborgiidae is represented in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea by two genera and five species. One species, Listriella barnardi Wigley, 1963, has previously been described from the east coast of North America. The remaining four species, Liljeborgia bousfieldi, Listriella quintana, Listriella bahia, and Listriella carinata are described as new species. L. bousfieldi appears closely related to the Hawaiian liljeborgiids while the listriellas appear more closely related to the east coast members of their genus.Item Cervinia langi n. sp. and Pseudocervinia magna (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from the Beaufort Sea (Alaska, U.S.A.)(Transactions of the American Microscopy Society, 1979) Montagna, Paul A.Two species of the family Cerviniidae have been collected from the Beaufort Sea off the coast of Alaska. Pseudocervinia magna (Smirnov, 1946) and Cervinia langi n. sp. were found in association. Lang (1936, 1948) described the new species as a variant of Cervinia synarthra Sars, 1911. However, C. langi is consistent and unique in the setation of its swimming legs and in details of the mandible and maxilliped. A key to the species and a table of salient morphological characters of the genus Cervinia are given. Appendages from the cephalothorax of P. magna are also figured, and its taxonomic position is discussed.Item Two new bathyal species of Pseudotachidius (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from the Beaufort Sea (Alaska, U.S.A.)(Journal of Natural History, 1980) Montagna, Paul A.During the summer of 1977, the Oregon State University Benthic Group participated in a USCGC GLACIER cruise off the northeastern coast of Alaska, U.S.A. Two new species of Harpacticoida (Copepoda) were found from several of the bathyal stations occupied. Pseudotachidius brevisetosus sp. nov. occurred in 15 samples from 4 stations. Pseudotachidius bipartitus sp. nov. co-occurred with P. brevisetosus in 5 samples from 3 stations. The areal extent was not great, hut the depth ranged from 659-1144 m for the 3 stations where both species occurred. A single P. brevisetosus female was found at the fourth station, where the depth was 403 m. Pseudotachidius bipartitus is .most similar to Pseudotachidius vikingus Drzycimski, but differs from it and other members of the genus in that the endopod of the first leg is 2-segmented. Pseudotachidius brevisetosus is most nearly related to Pseudotachidius coronatus T. Scott, but differs from it in the setal arrangement of the fourth and fifth legs, and most importantly in the transformed endoped of the male second legs. The setal arrangements ofP. coronatus and Pseudotachidius similis T. Scott are in question, due to differing interpretations of the original descriptions. A re- examination of the literature is discussed so that the relationships of the new species are clearly defined. All figures were made with the aid of a camera lucida. The nomenclature and descriptive terminology are adopted from Lang (1948, 1965) and Coull (1977). The following abbreviations are used throughout the text: R = rostrum, A 1 -- antennule, A 2 = antennae, Md = mandible, Mxl = maxillula, Mx = maxilla, Mxp = maxilliped, P1-P6 = legs 1-6, CR = caudal rami, GF = genital field, Bend. = baseoendopodite. Body length measurements are from the base of the R to the base of the CR, excluding both. CR L/W (=length to width ratio) is measured from the inner proximal edge to the inner distal edge for length, and at the widest points for width.Item A New Species And A New Genus Of Cerviniidae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) From The Beaufort Sea, With A Revision Of The Family(Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 1980) Montagna, Paul A.Cercinia unisetosa n. sp. from the bathyal zone of the Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean) is unique in the Cervinia in that is possesses a reduced fifth leg, moderate length caudal rami, and only one seta on the bases of the mandible and the maxilliped. The discovery of the male of Pseudocervinia magna (Smirnov, 1946) proves that the species should be redesignated as a Cervinia as originally described. Expansicervinia glacieria n. gen, & n. sp. from the deep-sea of the same area proves to be unique in the Cerviniidae in three expansions; the ventral margins of second thoracic segment; the basal segment of the antennule; and the terminal endopodite of the second leg. The genus Stratiopontotes Soyer, 1970 is synonymized with Ameliotes Por, 1969. Keys to the genus Cervinia and the family Cerviniidae are presented.Item Decomposition of Spartina alterniflora in different seasons and habitats of a Northern Massachusetts salt marsh, and a comparison with other Atlantic regions(Estuaries, 1980-03) Montagna, Paul A.; Ruber, ErnestPackets of freshly harvested liveSpartina alterniflora were placed on the marsh surface, in a tidal ditch, in a pool contacting sides and bottom, and in the center-bottom of the same pool in September 1972. Rates of loss were the same for all four sites through day 242. After that packets on the marsh surface decomposed slower. A second experiment was begun in July only at the marsh surface and pool side sites. These lost dry weight much more rapidly than packets started in September. Populations of bacteria, fungi, diatoms, flagellates, ciliates and nematodes within the packets peaked within 60 days then decreased proportionately with the loss of dry weight in packets through day 242. After this, bacterial numbers decreased more rapidly presumably in response to a qualitative change in the packet material. Populations of flagellates and ciliates also declined rapidly after day 300. This decline occurred in new packets at around this date as well. In a limited set of samples 12 taxa were analyzed for date or detritus-age dependent occurrence. Of these, eight were data dependent, two were dependent on packet age, and two could not be determined from the data.Item Production of dominant emergent vegetation and of pool algae on a northern Massachusetts salt marsh(Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 1981) Ruber, Ernest; Gillis, Gregory; Montagna, Paul A.Cover frequency for the emergent vegetation of three representative sections of a salt marsh is presented. Annual production values are calculated using the ash-free dry weights of a series of harvests of standing live and dead crops, and estimating export or decomposition losses from the standing crops from data on litterbag-losses. Production values are provided for tall and dwarf Spartina alterniflora, S. patens, Distichlis spicata, Juncus Gerardi, Salicornia europaea, Typha angustifolia and Scirpus olneyi, the last two being based on end-of-season harvests only. These species account for from 88 to 96% of the emergent cover of these marsh sections. Salt marsh pool production and cover values are obtained and integrated for 8 months of the year. Such pools comprise from 0 to 26% of the sections studied. These data provide a baseline for studies of energy transfer in this marsh.Item Morphological adaptation in the deep-sea benthic harpacticoid copepod family Cerviniidae(Crustaceana, 1982) Montagna, Paul A.Por (1964) suggested that deep-sea harpacticoids were adapted to an "epipelic way of life", by means of a "gradual elongation of limbs". To test this hypothesis I examined four closely related Arctic species to determine if such a predicted gradient of morphological characteristics exists with increasing depth. The deep-sea macrobenthos is highly diverse (Sanders & Hessler, 1969), and harpacticoid copepod assemblages follow this trend (Coull, 1972). Species and genera from the family Cerviniidae are often dominant members of deep-sea benthic copepod communities (Brodskaya, 1963; Por, 1964; Por, 1969; Coull, 1972; Dinet, 1977; Montagna & Carey, 1978). Thus, members of the Cerviniidae are especially good for testing hypotheses about the deep-sea. In general, deep-sea harpacticoids are found patchily distributed at cm and m scales (Thistle, 1978), in agreement with Jumar's (1975) ''grainmatching model". Disturbance/predation is probably also important in structuring these communities since harpacticoids are negatively correlated with the presence of sessile surface-deposit feeding polychaetes (Thistle, 1979). In this study I pro vide information about the nature of speciation in deep-sea harpacticoids.Item Sampling Design and Enumeration Statistics for Bacteria Extracted from Marine Sediments(American Society for Microbiology, 1982) Montagna, Paul A.The spatial and temporal distributions of marine bacteria were studied at both a muddy and a sandy subtidal site in North Inlet, S.C. The sampling design was hierarchical, since subsampling (by a dilution series) of the sediments was necessary to count bacterial cells using acridine orange epifluoresence microscopy. The cell count data fit a log-normal distribution. The abundance of bacteria was 1011 g−1 (dry weight) of mud and 109 g−1 (dry weight) of sand. Variance component analyses demonstrated that variation due to the subsampling procedures was always statistically significant. Thus the common practice of counting 20 fields from one filter preparation is inadequate for estimating the true bacterial population variance in marine sediments. It is recommended that replication of the subsampling level be performed. Standardization of data (by dry weight of sediment) decreased sampling variance at the mud site but not at the sand site, implying that bacteria are more homogeneously distributed in sand than in mud.Item Arctic Sea Ice Faunal Assemblage: First Approach to Description and Source of the Underice Meiofauna(InterResearch, 1982) Carey, Jr., Andrew G.; Montagna, Paul A.The ice meiofaunal assemblage in shallow Stefansson Sound off the northern coast of Alaska included Polychaeta, Nematoda. Rotifera and Crustacea. The crustaceans conlprised calanoid copepods, nauplii, 2 species of harpacticoids (Halectinosoma neglecturn and Pseudobradya sp.) shared with the benthos and a cyclopoid copepod (Cycloplna gracilis), probably a benthic epiphytic form. Much of the ice meiofaunal assemblage was dominated by larvae and juveniles. The ice taxa were sparse in numbers (100-1,000 tlmes less than the sediments) and depauperate in specles (e.g. 2 species of harpacticoids versus 28 in the sediments). The ice meiofauna appears to be derived from both sediments and water column. We hypothesize that during sprlng the undersurface of nearshore sea ice acts as a substrate for benthic recruitment and for nourishment of a highly selected fauna. However, the meiofauna is too sparse to be significant in the food web or energy budget in the protected nearshore Beaufort Sea.Item Live controls for radioisotope tracer food chain experiments using meiofauna(InterResearch, 1983) Montagna, Paul A.malin poisoned samples are inadequate for measuring the amount of label to be subtracted as control values for certain food chain studies that employ radioactive tracers. In some studies, tracer is added just before incubation to label 'food' during the feeding study. Commonly, parallel, poisoned incubations are used to distinguish between biotic and abiotic label incorporation. But, a poisoned control does not account for label that could enter a consumer via active transport, epicuticular microfloral uptake, or grazing on labeled, non-food particles. Experiments were performed to test if label uptake is greater in live non-grazing than dead organisms. Marine benthic meiofauna incoporate from 3 to 133 times more tracer when they are alive and not grazing than when they are formalin killed. These results suggest that control experiments with live animals be performed to measure all processes by which label can enter consumers in food chain experiments.Item Mouse Trap Recovered in Harrier Nest(Raptor Research, 1983) Gawlik, Dale E.An annual vole (Microtus sp.) index is an important part of Hamerstrom's study of the Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) in central Wisconsin (Hamerstrom, F., Auk 96:370-374, 1979). Vole trapping on her study area began in 1964 and 28,911 trap nights have been accumulated by Hamerstrom and her coworkers through 1981. On 4July 1981 I found evidence that a harrier had stolen a trap.Item In situ measurement of meiobenthic grazing rates on sediment bacteria and edaphic diatoms(InterResearch, 1984) Montagna, Paul A.A radioactive tracer technique was used to measure meiofaunal grazing on bacteria and diatom communities in natural sediments. Radioactive '4C-glucose and 14C-bicarbonate were used to label heterotrophs (bacteria) and autotrophs (diatoms), respectively. The labeled compounds were added to undisturbed sediment cores and incubated for 4 h at in situ temperatures. After incubation, radioactivity was determined for the sediment (microbes) and the major meiofaunal taxa. To quantify meiofaunal grazing on microbes, a 3-compartment model was used where: available label is not limiting, microbial uptake is linear, and meiofaunal uptake is hyperbolic. The formula to calculate meiofaunal grazing rate (k) is: k = 2f/t, where f = fraction of meiofaunal radioactivity (DPM) relative to microbial radioactivity at time t. Although microbial actlvity was greater in summer than winter, there were no differences between meiofaunal grazing rates in winter and summer Total meiofaunal ingestion of microbes was dominated by polychaetes. Preliminary results suggest that, on the average, 3 % of the bacteria and 1 % of the diatom communities were removed per hour Thus turnover times of approximately 30 h for bacteria and 6.5 d for diatoms are apparently sufficient to maintain the microbial community in steady state under the meiofaunal grazing regime. This meiofaunal grazing pressure (60 pg bacterial C and 27 pg diatom C ingested 10 cm-2 h-') probably represents a significant stimulatory effect on the microbial community.