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Sarahwebb Thesis 2016.Pdf (2.592Mb) DIFFERENCES IN HABITAT UTILIZATION AND TEMPERATURE PREFERENCE BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE ATLANTIC STINGRAYS DASYATIS SABINA IN THE HERB RIVER NEAR SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, AND INCORPORATING STINGRAY DATA INTO A K-12 CLASSROOM ACTIVITY by SARAH FAE WEBB A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN MARINE SCIENCES SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY August 2016 DIFFERENCES IN HABITAT UTILIZATION AND TEMPERATURE PREFERENCE BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE ATLANTIC STINGRAYS DASYATIS SABINA IN THE HERB RIVER NEAR SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, AND INCORPORATING STINGRAY PRESENCE DATA INTO A K-12 CLASSROOM ACTIVITY by SARAH FAE WEBB Approved: ______________________________ Thesis Advisor Committee Members ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ Approved: ______________________________ ________________ Director Date of Thesis Defense ______________________________ Chair ______________________________ Dean, College of Sciences and Technology DEDICATION For my chums. Thank you for everything. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Mary Carla Curran, for helping me reach my full potential and guiding me along the way. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Tara Cox and Dr. Amanda Kaltenberg, for your guidance and assistance. To the Marine Science faculty and staff, thank you for making my time at Savannah State University a very enjoyable and adventurous one. Thank you to my lab mates, B. Brinton, C. Brinton, J. Güt, S. Ramsden, H. Reilly, and D. Smith, for continuous help and support along the way. To my lab technician and editor, Michele Sherman, thank you for everything. Thank you to the many Marine Sciences graduate students for always being willing to fish or clean receivers with me. Thank you to Captain Shawn Smith for his assistance with field work. To various undergraduates at Savannah State University and volunteers, thank you for your support in the field. To my friends, and family, thank you for your patience and support during this journey and always encouraging me to follow my dreams and passion. Thank you to Dr. Pride for providing me with my funding sources, the National Science Foundation (NSF) GK-12 Award #DGE-0841372, as well as the Department of Education Title VII Award #P382G090003, and Savannah State University, for the financial support to complete this project. iv ABSTRACT Atlantic Stingrays Dasyatis sabina are ecosystem engineers and benthic predators inhabiting coastal waters along the eastern coast of the United States. These stingrays are seasonal residents of the Herb River near Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of this study was to determine differences in habitat utilization and temperature preferences between sexes across a 14-month study. Stingrays were surgically implanted with acoustic transmitters and a mean percent usage of receiver location was calculated, then mapped. Both male and female Atlantic Stingrays were present in all months of the study (67.5±32.51% and 79.6±28.45% of d, respectively). A few female stingrays had temperatures that were 1-6°C warmer than other stingrays for brief periods during reproductive months. It is possible that female stingrays are exhibiting maternal thermophily but only during brief periods of time. There is suggested evidence of the Atlantic Stingray exhibiting maternal thermophily in a natural setting on a fine scale. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1: A REVIEW OF THE ATLANTIC STINGRAY DASYATIS SABINA .........1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................2 LITERATURE CITED ..........................................................................................12 CHAPTER 2: DIFFERENCES IN HABITAT UTILIZATION AND TEMPERATURE PREFERENCE BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE ATLANTIC STINGRAYS DASYATIS SABINA IN THE HERB RIVER NEAR SAVANNAH, GEORGIA .................................................................................................16 ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................17 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................18 MATERIALS AND METHODS ...........................................................................25 RESULTS ..............................................................................................................34 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................43 LITERATURE CITED ..........................................................................................56 CHAPTER 3: COASTAL RESIDENTS, STINGRAY STYLE: SELECTING THE BEST INTERTIDAL CREEKS FOR SEASONAL LIVING ..................................89 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................92 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................93 RELATIONSHIP TO STANDARDS...........................................................................95 vi PROCEDURE ...............................................................................................................98 DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................100 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................100 PROPERTY PACKET................................................................................................102 LITERATURE CITED ...............................................................................................106 LITERATURE CITED (THESIS) ...................................................................................113 APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................120 CURRICULUM VITAE ........................................................................................121 vii LIST OF TABLES CHAPTER 2: DIFFERENCES IN HABITAT UTILIZATION AND TEMPERATURE PREFERENCE BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE ATLANTIC STINGRAYS DASYATIS SABINA IN THE HERB RIVER NEAR SAVANNAH, GEORGIA Table 1. Atlantic Stingrays Dasyatis sabina caught and tagged within the Herb River near Savannah, GA between 8 April-26 June 2015 including sex, tag identification number, transmitter type, external tag number, and body measurements ± 1 SD. Mass is the wet weight measured for each fish. A “T” after the tag model indicates that the tag is temperature sensing. An asterisk (*) next to the tag type indicates that the tag is a continuous, active tracking tag ......................................................................................................................... 61 Table 2. List of Vemco VR2W receivers deployed in the Herb River near Savannah, Georgia. Receivers are marked by a station ID number 1-10 in ascending order from smallest stream order to largest An asterisk (*) indicates a receiver with a bottom-water temperature logger attached... ............................ 62 Table 3. List of receiver download dates within the Herb River and Romerly Marsh Creek from January 2015-July 2016. A double dash (--) indicates that no downloads were completed. ............................................................................ 63 Table 4. Mean monthly presence of Atlantic Stingrays Dasyatis sabina within the Herb River receiver array from April 2015-December 2015. ND indicates that there is no data for a given month as the stingray may not have been tagged. Overall means (±1 SD) are listed below as well as by sex. ……….…...64 Table 5. Mean monthly presence of Atlantic Stingrays Dasyatis sabina within the Herb River receiver array from January-June 2016. Overall means (±1 SD) are listed below as well as by sex. ....................................................................... 65 Table 6. Number of receivers at which individual Atlantic Stingrays Dasyatis sabina were detected at each month within the Herb River near Savannah, Georgia from April 2015-June 2016. Detections of the first fish tagged began 8 April 2015. A mean (±1 SD) of receivers at which stingrays were detected at is listed for all stingrays as well as by sex. Overall means are in bold ............ 66 Table 7. Mean water temperature recorded by bottom-water temperature loggers in stream orders 1-5, not including 4th order, during reproductive months in 2016 (April-June) within the Herb River near Savannah, Georgia ..... 68 Table 8. Mean creek temperature from 3rd order stream bottom-water temperature sensors and mean temperatures recorded by male
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