| |
 |
|
 |
| |
Past Projects
| |
| A pilot study of the extralimital West Indian Manatee population in Mobile Bay, AL |
Pictures from project
Full Project Text
In The News
Public Presentations |
 |
|
Increased awareness of the importance of fringe habitats such as in Mobile Bay has prompted demand for studies to guide development of management programs outside areas covered under the Florida Manatee Recovery Program (to date, the only approved guidance document to protect manatees as a federally listed Endangered Species in the continental U.S.; USFWS 2001). In accordance with this need, the objective of this project is to determine when and how extralimital manatees use habitat in Mobile Bay by. |
Adult and Juvenile Manatee
credit: Monica Ross, Wildlife Trust |
This study will include aerial and ground surveys of manatees in Mobile Bay and research to determine what manatees eat while in the Bay. The project, funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, is a collaboration between Dauphin Island Sea lab and researchers at Wildlife Trust in Florida. |
Use of telemetry and GPS to monitor West Indian manatee movements in Alabama waters
 |
Radio-telemetry and global positioning system (GPS) technology are valuable to track and monitor manatee movements. The technology is attached as a tag that links the manatee to a remote monitor, but allows natural movement. Despite the need for spatial data to complement monitoring efforts, define fringe habitats and how they are used, and clarify relationships among populations, there have been no directed tagging studies of manatees in Alabama waters. This study will extend the collaboration between DISL and Wildlife Trust in Florida to include telemetry and GPS tagging of local manatees. This project will provide the first high-resolution spatial and temporal data to help define local manatee movements, migratory patterns, and habitat use. |
A tagged manatee and companion in FL, M. Ross, Wildlife Trust |
These studies will include aerial and ground surveys of manatees in Mobile Bay and surrounding waters along with research to determine what manatees eat while in the Bay. The projects, funded by the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, are a collaboration between Dauphin Island Sea lab and researchers at Wildlife Trust in Florida. |
For more information and to report a sighting please visit http://manatee.disl.org
|
Use of stable isotope ratios to link wastewater sources to effects on shellfish and human health |
Pictures from project
Full Project Text
|
 |
|
Wastewater treatment plants (WTP) account for more than 30% of shellfish area closures in the U.S. and>70,000 ac in Mobile Bay. Shellfishing areas near WTPs are typically closed to fishing due to high bacteria concentrations. Bacteria concentrations, however, are not necessarily accurate predictors of human health risk. The U.S. FDA on Dauphin Island is testing an alternative (viral) indicator, male-specific bacteriophage (MSB), but lacks a method to definitely link their findings to wastewater sources. |
Graduate student Peter Biancani measures growth of an oyster transplanted near a WTP in Mobile Bay credit: R. H. Carmichael
|
|
We offered a biochemical method, using nitrogen stable isotopes, which allowed us to team with the FDA to identify wastewater sources parallel with microbial indicators. We combined measurements of pathogens by the FDA with our own measurements in tissues of oysters (C. virginica) and particles in the water at locations varying in proximity from the Clifton C. Williams WTP in Mobile Bay.
This project was funded by the MS-AL Sea Grant Consortium and is a collaboration between the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and researchers at the USFDA on Dauphin Island.
|
The effects of nutrient enrichment on oyster ecology in Mobile Bay |
 |
|
Native shellfish and land available for harvesting or aquaculture are declining due to habitat degradation and shellfish area closures. Wastewater is the anthropogenic (human-derived) N source that has had the greatest documented effect on shellfish growth and survival by affecting food supply and habitat. For this project, we:
- Defined effects of N loads on food supply and habitat for oysters,
- Measured effects on oyster growth and survival,
- Linked shellfish responses to N sources such as wastewater,
- Identified nutritionally important components of oyster diet, and
- Determines the space and time scales of effects
|
DISL 2007 REU, Josh Daskin, marks oysters for transplant at field sites in Mobile Bay
credit: R. H. Carmichael |
| |
This project is funded by the Alabama Oyster Reef & Fisheries Habitat Enhancement Program of the University of South Alabama. |
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
 |
For questions or comments about this page, please contact the webmaster
Last Date Updated: |
|
