HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

 

Theses and dissertations from the graduate programs of Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography at Nova Southeastern University.

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Theses/Dissertations from 2016

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Thesis: An Endemic Commensal Leucothoid Discovered in the Tunicate Cnemidocarpa bicornuta, from New Zealand (Crustacea, Amphipoda), Kaitlyn M. Brucker

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Thesis: Geographic and Depth Distributions of Decapod Shrimps (Caridea: Oplophoridae) from the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico with Notes on Ontogeny and Reproductive Seasonality, Eric A. Burdett

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Thesis: Beach Nourishment: Effects on the Hatching & Emergence Success Rates of Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and Green (Chelonia mydas) Sea Turtles, Jenna Caderas

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Thesis: Systematic Patterning of Sediments in French Polynesian Coral Reef Systems, Andrew Calhoun

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Thesis: Bacterial Indicators of Fecal Pollution: Exploring Relationships between Fecal Coliform and Enterococcus Groups in Central and South Florida Surface Waters, Shelby G. Craig

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Thesis: The Vertical and Horizontal Distribution of Deep-Sea Crustaceans of the Order Euphausiacea (Malacostraca: Eucarida) from the northern Gulf of Mexico with notes on reproductive seasonality., Charles Douglas Fine

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Thesis: Reef Fish Spatial Distribution and Benthic Habitat Associations on the Southeast Florida Reef Tract, Dana Fisco

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Thesis: Changes in Tursiops truncatus Distribution and Behavior in the Drowned Cayes, Belize, and Correlation to Human Impacts, Jazmin Garcia

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Thesis: Distribution, Abundance and Movement of Fish among Seagrass and Mangrove Habitats in Biscayne Bay, Patrick C. Goebel

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Thesis: Coral Genotype Influence on Growth and Stress Resistance in Acropora cervicornis: Investigating Potential Energy Tradeoffs, Peter T. Grasso

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Thesis: Establishing an Ecological Baseline of Macroinfaunal Assemblages in Nearshore Sediments of Southeast Florida, Candace Grimes

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Thesis: Can Skeletal Morphology Support New Molecular Phylogenies of Antedonidae (Crinoidea: Comatulida)?, Brenna Hays

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Thesis: An Evaluation of the Seagrass Habitat in North Biscayne Bay, Florida, in Relation to a Changing Environment and Urbanization in the Port of Miami Harbor Basin 2005-2011, Sara M. Jarossy

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Thesis: Effects of EMF Emissions from Undersea Electric Cables on Coral Reef Fishes, Robert F. Jermain

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Thesis: Population Demographics and Sexual Reproduction Potential of the Pillar Coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, on the Florida Reef Tract, Lystina Kabay

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Thesis: Using Regression-Based Effect Size Meta-Analysis to Investigate Coral Responses to Climate Change, Niklas Alexander Kornder

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Thesis: Transgenerational Effects of Thermal Stress: Impacts On and Beyond Coral Reproduction, Alyson Kuba

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Thesis: Acoustic Repertoire of Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) Bachelor Groups in the Waters Surrounding Ischia, Italy (Tyrrhenian Sea), Cristina M. Ledon

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Thesis: Reproductive Ecology of Dragonfishes (Family: Stomiidae) in the Gulf of Mexico, Alex D. Marks

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Thesis: Abundance and Diversity of Deep-Sea Crustaceans of Bear Seamount, New England Seamount Chain, Valerie Renee Miranda

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Thesis: Can Twilight Reefs Usher In A New Dawn For Depauperate Shallow Coral Reefs?, Hunter KG Noren

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Thesis: Ports, Prosperity, and Pests: Assessing the Threat of Aquatic Invasive Species Introduced by Maritime Shipping Activity in Cuba, Charleen O'Brien

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Thesis: Artificial Reefs as Juvenile Fish Habitats in Marinas, Allison Patranella

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Thesis: Characterization of the Marine Sponge Amphimedon compressa Microbiome Across a Spatial Gradient, Renee Michelle Potens

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Thesis: Trophic Ecology of Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) From Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, David C. Roche

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Thesis: A Comparison of Qualitative and Quantitative Data Collection Techniques to Assess Mapping Accuracy in the Florida Keys, Ian K. Rodericks

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Thesis: Global Genetic Connectivity and Diversity in a Shark of High Conservation Concern, the Oceanic Whitetip, Carcharhinus longimanus, Cassandra L. Ruck

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Thesis: Effects of Sedimentation on the Physiology and Oxidative Stress of Two Common Scleractinian Corals, Margaret E. Rushmore

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Thesis: Sustainable Whale-watching for the Philippines: A Bioeconomic Model of the Spinner Dolphin (Stenella Longirostris), Allison Jenny Santos

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Thesis: Coral Persistence to Ocean Warming via Developmental Acclimation, Heather L. Schaneen

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Thesis: Effects of 17 β-estradiol and Progesterone on Acropora cervicornis and Porites astreoides Growth and Reproduction, Joshua L. Stocker

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Thesis: Quantifying the Toxicity of 1-Methylnaphthalene to the Shallow-Water Coral, Porites divaricata, for Use in the Target Lipid Model, Nicholas Turner

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Thesis: Coral recovery on phase-shifted reefs depend upon the type of macroalgae present, Justin N. Voss

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Thesis: A Tale of Two Theories: Using an Engineered Strain of E. coli to Bridge the Gap Between Quorum Sensing and Diffusion Sensing, Cortney E. Wilson

Theses/Dissertations from 2015

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Thesis: Ecology, Population Dynamics, and Sexual Characteristics of Commensal Leucothoid Amphipods with the Sponge Cliona varians in the Florida Keys (Crustacea: Amphipoda), Stephanie Lynn Andringa

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Thesis: A Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) Spatial Metric with Respect to the Western North Atlantic Pelagic Longline Fishery, Max Appelman

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Thesis: Benthic Invertebrate Communities and Habitat Characterization of the Pourtalès Terrace, Florida with Analysis of the Deepwater Coral Habitat Areas of Particular Concern and the East Hump Marine Protected Area, Jana K. Ash

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Thesis: Thermal Preferences and Critical Temperature Regimes of the Western North Atlantic Invasive Lionfish Complex (Pterois spp.), Benjamin Barker

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Thesis: Translocation of Acropora cervicornis Across Geographic Regions: Investigating Species Recovery and Restoration, Bradley Cody Bliss

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Thesis: Connectivity of Coastal and Oceanic Ecosystems: Pelagic Habitat Use by Juvenile Reef Fishes in the Gulf of Mexico, Katie Bowen

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Thesis: Caffeine Elicits Time Dependent Biphasic Response of Functional Recovery in Carassius auratus Hemilabyrinthectomy Lesion Model, Bethany Brockhoff

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Thesis: The Our Florida Reefs Coastal Use Survey: An Online Survey to Support Stakeholder Management Recommendations for Southeast Florida, Amanda Rose Costaregni

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Dissertation: Feasibility of Using Biofuel By-Products as a Sustainable Nutritional Resource for Aquaculture Production of Litopenaeus vannamei, Erik David DeMicco

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Thesis: Time-Series Evaluation of Suspect Rickettsiales-like Bacteria Presence in Acropora cervicornis off of Broward County from Years 2001–2012, Steven Di Lauro

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Thesis: Species Specific Microcalcification in Reef Building Caribbean Corals in Ocean Acidification Conditions, Ashley M. Dungan

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Thesis: A Quantitative Assessment of the January 2010 Cold Spell Effect on Mangrove Utilizing Coral Reef Fishes from Biscayne National Park, Florida, Jeffrey M. Ellis

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Thesis: Natural vs. Anthropogenic Sedimentation: Does Reducing a Local Stressor Increase Coral Resilience to Climate Change?, Francesca Fourney

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Thesis: A Comparison of Infaunal Community Structure Between Pre- and Post Construction Sampling of Artificial FDOT Rock- Pile Reefs in Broward County, Florida, Joan Lorraine Guerra

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Thesis: DNA Analysis of Surfactant Associated Bacteria in the Sea Surface Microlayer in Application to Satellite Remote Sensing Techniques: Case Studies in the Straits of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, Bryan Hamilton

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Thesis: Feeding Ecology and Habitat Utilization of the Great Barracuda Sphyraena barracuda (Edwards 1771) in Southeast Florida, Noah R. Hansen

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Thesis: Biodiversity and Ecological Dynamics of Sciophilous Benthic Communities on Artificial Plates: Emphasis on Reef Sponges, Caidra Elizabeth Hassanzada

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Thesis: Evaluation of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in the Florida Coastal Pelagic Fish Complex Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Event, Rachel Hickey

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Thesis: Staghorn Coral, Acropora cervicornis, Restoration in South Florida: Growth and Survivorship of Outplanted Nursery Corals, Meaghan Johnson

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Dissertation: Computer Modeling the Incursion Patterns of Marine Invasive Species, Matthew W. Johnston

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Thesis: Modeling of Epizootics on Four Genera of Arabian Gulf Corals, John Alexander Kluge

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Thesis: Cross-Shelf and Latitudinal Benthic Community Investigation in the Nearshore Habitats of the Northern Florida Reef Tract, Katelyn Klug

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Thesis: Faunal Composition and Distribution of Pelagic Larval and Juvenile Flatfishes (Teleostei: Pleuronectiformes) in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Connectivity Between Coastal and Oceanic Epipelagic Ecosystems, Lacey Malarky

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Thesis: A Comparison of Macroinfaunal Community Structure between Artificial Concrete Boulder Reefs and Adjacent Natural Reefs in Broward County, Florida, Amber C. Metallo

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Thesis: Estimating Growth and Mortality in Elasmobranchs: Are we doing it correctly?, Brian J. Moe

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Thesis: Fine-Grained Bacterial Compositional Analsysis of the Port Everglades Inlet (Broward County, FL) Microbiome using High Throughput DNA Sequencing, Lauren M. O'Connell

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Thesis: Land-Based Coral Nurseries: A Valuable Tool for Production and Transplantation of Acropora cervicornis, Keri L. O'Neil

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Thesis: The Effects of Petroleum Pollutants on Sea Urchins Reproduction and Development, Kellie C. Pelikan

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Dissertation: Histology and Ultrastructure of Montastraea cavernosa and Porites astreiodes During Regeneration and Recruitment: Anthropogenic Stressors and Transplant Success, Dorothy-Ellen A. Renegar

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Thesis: A Revision of the Genera of Charitometridae with Abruptly Expanded Genital Pinnules, Alois Romanowski

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Thesis: Seasonal Warm-Water Refuge and Sanctuary Usage by the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in Kings Bay, Citrus County, Florida, Danielle C. Sattelberger

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Thesis: Connectivity of Reef Fishes Between Mangroves and Coral Reefs in Broward County, Florida, Jennifer Savaro

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Thesis: Feeding Ecology of the Invasive Lionfish (Pterois spp.) and Comparison with Two Native Species: Schoolmaster Lutjanus apodus (Walbaum, 1792) and Graysby Cephalopholis cruentata (Lacepède, 1802), Jesse J. Secord

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Thesis: A Comparative Evaluation of Mitigation Wetlands in Broward County, Florida, Using Chironomid (Ditera) Pupal Exuviae: A Potential Technique for Assessing Mitigation Success, Ryan St. George

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Dissertation: A Phylogenetic Revision of Superfamily Himerometroidea (Echinodermata: Crinoidea), Kristian Taylor

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Thesis: Bacterial Community Dynamics In Marine Sponge Cinachyrella kuekenthali Under Irradiance and Antibiotics, Nidhi Vijayan

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Thesis: Assessment of Nursery-Raised Acropora cervicornis Transplants in the Upper Florida Keys, Matthew Ware

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Thesis: Acute and Chronic Effects of Large-Vessel Anchoring on Coral Reef Communities Inside a Designated Commercial Anchorage, Lauren Waters

Theses/Dissertations from 2014

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Thesis: Reproductive parameters of two coastal pelagic fishes off southeast Florida: Blackfin Tuna Thunnus atlanticus and Little Tunny Euthynnus alletteratus, Sonia Ahrabi-Nejad

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Thesis: Diet of the Antillean Manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) in Belize, Central America, Aarin Conrad Allen

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Dissertation - NSU Access Only: Population Connectivity in the Ocean: A Genetic View of Upper Trophic Level Fishes Displaying Contrasting Life Histories, Andrea M. Bernard

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Thesis: Assessment of Macroinvertebrate Communities and Heavy Metal Contamination Along the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Robert Bernhard

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Thesis: Conch Population Demographics and Habitat Association Near Port Everglades Inlet, Florida, Charlotte A. Berry

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Thesis: The Detection of Amazonian Manatees (Trichechus inunguis) Using Side-Scan Sonar and the Effect of Oil Activities on Their Habitats in Eastern Ecuador, Caitlin E. Brice

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Thesis: Prokaryotic Diversity of the Wastewater Outfalls, Reefs, and Inlets of Broward County, Alexandra Mandina Campbell

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Thesis: A Principal Component Analysis of Vertical Temperature Profiles for Tracking Movements of Swordfish Xiphias gladius, Kathryn G. Carmody

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Dissertation: Increase of Excavating Sponges on Caribbean Coral Reefs: Reproduction, Dispersal, and Coral Deterioration, Andia Chaves-Fonnegra

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Thesis: Biophysical Interactions in the Straits of Florida: Turbulent Mixing Due to Diel Vertical Migrations of Zooplankton, Cayla Whitney Dean

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Thesis: Post Disturbance Coral Populations: Patterns in Live Cover and Colony Size Classes from Transect Studies in Two Oceans, Claire A. Dolphin

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Thesis: Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) Hatchling Disorientation in Broward County, Florida, Allison Durland Donahou

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Thesis: A Mitogenomics View of the Population Structure and Evolutionary History of the Basking Shark Cetorhinus maximum, Kimberly A. Finnegan

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Thesis - NSU Access Only: Evaluating the Role of Seagrass Beds as a Food Resource in Port Everglades, Florida, Christina Gabriel

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Thesis: Global Population Structure of the Dusky Shark and Geographic Sourcing of Shark Fins from Commercial Markets, Teagen K. Gray

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Thesis: The Effects of an Extended Power Plant Shutdown on the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in Port Everglades, Florida, Christopher Grissett

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Thesis: Distribution, Growth, and Impact of the Coral-Excavating Sponge, Cliona delitrix, on the Stony Coral Communities Offshore Southeast Florida, Ari Halperin

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Thesis: Habitat and Seasonal Distribution of the North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) and Vertebrate Species Assemblages in Two Protected Areas of the Florida Everglades, Catherine Faye Hamilton

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Thesis: Changes in Coral Community Composition at Devil's Crown, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador: A 7,700 Year Perspective, Katharine Jane Hendrickson

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Thesis - NSU Access Only: An Evaluation of Inclusion Criteria for Highly Migratory Species in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Shawn Martin

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Thesis: Reproduction and Population of Porites divaricata at Rodriguez Key: The Florida Keys, USA, John McDermond

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Thesis: Trophic Dynamics and Feeding Ecology of the Southeast Florida Coastal Pelagic Fish Community, Travis Allan Moore

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Thesis: Microbial Community Assembly found with Sponge Orange Band Disease in Xestospongia muta (Giant Barrel Sponge), Rebecca Mulheron

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Thesis: Modeling Flightless Galapagos Seabirds as Impacted by El Nino and Climate Change, Brian Seth Putman

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Thesis: Measuring Viability of the Red-Tide Dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedra Following Treatment with Ultraviolet (UV) Light, Scott Riley

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Thesis: Long-Term Stony Coral Transplantation Success Offshore Southeast, Florida, USA, Theresa Elizabeth Robitaille

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Thesis: Evidence of the Enemy Release Hypothesis: Parasites of the Lionfish Complex (Pterios volitans and P. miles) in the Western North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea, Kayelyn Regina Simmons

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Dissertation: Molecular Ecology of Globally Distributed Sharks, Christine B. Testerman