HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Copyright Statement
All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.
Defense Date
3-2008
Document Type
Thesis - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
M.S. Marine Biology
Department
Oceanographic Center
First Advisor
James D. Thomas
Second Advisor
Curtis Burney
Third Advisor
Charles Messing
Abstract
This work examined the leucothoid amphipods collected during the Hourglass cruises (R/V Hernan Cortez 1965 – 1967) across the West Florida Shelf (Joyce et al., 1969), focusing on species identification and distributional patterns. Five of the six species identified were known from Caribbean and eastern Atlantic waters. This collection expands the known range of all five species to the Gulf of Mexico. The sixth species, Leucothoe L, is diagnosed as new. Although 16 stations were sampled, data was analyzed statistically only from the 10 stations where leucothoids were found, (stas. A-E and I-M). A SIMPROF dendogram generated from relative abundance data identified three groups of stations with similar community composition (Group 1 - I, A, J at the 100% level; Group 2 - D, C, L at the 83% level, and Group 3 - E, M, B, K at the 87% level). A SIMPER analysis revealed that L. kensleyi was the most statistically influential species in community composition when comparing groups 1 versus 2 and 1 versus 3, while L. ashelyae, L. barana, L. kensleyi, and L. urospinosa contributed equally to the difference seen between groups 2 and 3.
NSUWorks Citation
Joseph D. Hall. 2008. Ecology, Distribution, and Systematics of Leucothoid Amphipods of the West Florida Shelf Benthic Ecosystem. Master's thesis. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Oceanographic Center. (253)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/253.