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Thesis
SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF KARENIA BREVIS WITHIN THE CHOCTAWHATCHEE BAY SYSTEM
University of West Florida
Master of Science (MS), University of West Florida
2016
Abstract
The coastal region of northwest Florida has been the site of red tide harmful algal blooms caused by the toxic dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. Water samples were collected from six shore locations in two bayous in western Choctawhatchee Bay. Surface-water nutrient levels and chlorophyll a were measured for all samples along with standard physical water characteristics (dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity) to provide relevant biogeochemical framework to assess the observed spatial and temporal variability in K. brevis. Samples were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in order to amplified target cDNA segments of K. brevis for quantification. Spectrophotometric analysis and PCR results were evaluated for spatial and temporal correlation to expose potential causes for the periodic blooms of K. brevis using SPSS. K. brevis cell abundance was found to have an inverse correlation with various nitrogen species as well as N:P ratio; however, no correlation was observed with phosphorus.
Details
- Title
- SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF KARENIA BREVIS WITHIN THE CHOCTAWHATCHEE BAY SYSTEM
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Publisher
- University of West Florida
- Format
- text
- Identifiers
- 99380090729506600
- Academic Unit
- Earth and Environmental Sciences
- Language
- English
- Awarding Institution
- University of West Florida; Master of Science (MS)
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), University of West Florida