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LOW-ALTITUDE REMOTE SENSING APPLICATIONS FOR CRITICAL ZONE MANAGEMENT IN SOUTH CAROLINA, USA
Salt marshes are incredibly valuable ecosystems to the State of South Carolina. Despite this, salt marshes and other coastal wetlands are threatened by climate change, human encroachment, and both anthropogenic and natural ... -
IMPROVING DIET RESOLUTION FOR REEF-ASSOCIATED LARGE PISCIVOROUS PREDATORS IN THE U.S. SOUTHEAST ATLANTIC USING MOLECULAR TOOLS
The importance of predator-prey interactions on marine fish populations has been recognized for quite some time. Since it is suggested that predation mortality rates often exceed fishing mortality rates, consideration in ... -
Assessing the relationship between geomorphology and deep-sea coral and sponge communities on the West Florida Slope
The distribution of deep-sea corals, and other sessile megafauna, depends primarily on depth, presence of hard substrate, and vertical relief of the seafloor, but less is known about how those assemblages vary among different ... -
Estimating the Storm Protection Value of Coastal Dunes: A Geospatial Approach
As of 2013, 133.2 million people lived in coastal shoreline counties, with population and development rapidly growing. This is not coincident with the increase in costly natural disasters, specifically from storm surge. ... -
Factors that determine the spatial distribution of an introduced species, <i>Phrynosoma cornutum</i>, in South Carolina
The study of spatial distribution can give us insight into which factors are most important for a species to survive and reproduce and can allow scientists to determine species most vulnerable to extinction. Texas horned ... -
A Comparison of Serum Vanin-1 Concentrations in Aquatically Adapted Mammals and Terrestrial Mammals using Mass Spectrometry
A proteomic study of bottlenose dolphin serum identified and measured the highest concentration of pantetheinase (Vanin-1) for any mammal. Vanin-1 catalyzes the formation of the antioxidant cysteamine, from the vitamin B5 ... -
The Influence of Culture on Environmental Education in a Rural School in Paraguay
Despite the need for international data regarding environmental education (EE), published research regarding this topic in Paraguay is non-existent. The context of a culturally diverse community necessitates a thorough ... -
DEPTH-DEPENDENT TEMPERATURE VARIABILITY IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BIGHT WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR SURVIVAL OF THE COLD-WATER GORGONIAN OCTOCORAL <i>Adelogorgia phyllosclera</i>
Water temperature is an important determinant of cold-water coral distribution as these taxa are adapted to stenothermal conditions. In recent years, several marine heatwave events have impacted marine ecosystems, including ... -
THE SOUTHERN NEGRO YOUTH CONGRESS: LEGACIES OF SNYC AND THE SOUTHERN RADICAL TRADITION
Postwar anticommunist rhetoric decimated the American left; however, the Southern Negro Youth Congress (SNYC) continued to shape the post-war political climate through organizational partnerships. This thesis examines ... -
CIRRAL ACTIVITY AND FEEDING BEHAVIOR OF A LAB RAISED SEA TURTLE COMMENSAL <i>Chelonibia testudinaria</i> IN VARIABLE FLOW AND IN THE PRESENCE AND ABSENCE FOOD
Barnacles are sessile suspension feeders whose feeding efficiency and behavior is largely determined by the movement of water through their environment. In low flow environments, where particle capture is difficult, barnacles ... -
DEVELOPING FLOOD MAPS FOR COASTAL RESILIENCE IN CHARLESTON COUNTY AND IN NORTH CHARLESTON NEIGHBORHOODS
Charleston County and the City of North Charleston will experience increasingly severe flooding due to climate change in the coming century. Modeling potential flooding extents caused by sea level rise, riverine flooding, ... -
WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR WEDDING FLOWERS: WHAT PREMIUM WOULD CHARLESTON, SC BRIDES AND GROOMS PAY FOR LOCAL VERSUS FAIR-TRADE, CARBON OFFSETTING, OR ORGANICALLY PRODUCED FLOWERS?
This research investigated the willingness to pay for wedding flowers. Data were collected in Charleston, SC, a major wedding destination, from couples planning their wedding. The marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) of six ... -
A Public Opinion Study on Climate Change Denial and the Use of Renewable Energy
Climate change is a complex, environmental issue, and an issue in which the effects are intensifying and becoming more politically polarized. The public’s support is necessary for the implementation of climate change ... -
STREAMLINING BIG DATA PROCESSING PIPELINES VIA UNIX MEMORY TOOLS, PERSISTENT SPARK DATASETS, AND THE APACHE IGNITE IN-MEMORY FILE SYSTEM
Modern big data processing pipelines speed up individual applications by executing them in extremely fast in-memory frameworks like Apache Spark that run atop distributed disk systems like Apache Hadoop. Many big-data ... -
Acoustic Tracking of Southern Flounder (<i>Paralichthys lethostigma</i>) Released in the Charleston Harbor Estuarine System, South Carolina
Southern flounder is an economically important fish in the southern U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastal regions, but population numbers are declining. Genetic and morphometric studies have shown that the Atlantic ... -
TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL CHANGES IN FISH BIODIVERSITY ALONG THE SOUTHEASTERN ATLANTIC COAST OF THE UNITED STATES
There is increasing concern over biodiversity loss during this age of rapid global change, an issue referred to as a global biodiversity crisis. Though most studies find that global species richness is declining, studies ... -
Microplastic Debris in Charleston Harbor: Identifying Sources and Assessing Effects on Grass Shrimp (<i>Palaemonetes pugio</i>) Immune Function
Microplastics are ubiquitous in the marine environment and are comprised of heterogeneous small plastic particles (<5 mm). Previous research determined that Charleston Harbor contains 414±77 microplastics/m<sup>2</sup> in ... -
Characterization of Growth Anomalies in Finger Coral (<i>Porites compressa</i>) Using Metabolomics and Trace Elemental Analysis
Coral growth anomalies (GAs) are tumor-like coral lesions, generally characterized by localized increased skeletal growth resulting in an abnormal protuberant mass on a coral colony. There are competing hypotheses of ... -
On Coorbital Moons
In 1980, spacecraft Voyager I discovered two new moons around Saturn, Janus and Epimetheus. Because their orbits are so close together, these two moons are called coorbital. Counterintuitively, whenever these two moons get ... -
QUANTIFYING THE DEMOGRAPHICS, HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS, AND FOUNDATION SPECIES ROLE OF THE RIBBED MUSSEL (<i>Geukensia demissa</i>) IN SOUTH CAROLINA SALT MARSHES
<i>Geukensia demissa</i>, the ribbed mussel, is a mytilid bivalve that inhabits salt marshes along the East Coast of North America. It is an important ecosystem engineer, contributing to salt marsh species diversity and ...