W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1998 Caribbean spiny lobster and their molluscan prey: Are top-down forces key in structuring prey assemblages in a Florida Bay seagrass system Martha Nizinski College of William and Mary - Virginia Institute of Marine Science Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Fresh Water Studies Commons, Oceanography Commons, and the Zoology Commons Recommended Citation Nizinski, Martha, "Caribbean spiny lobster and their molluscan prey: Are top-down forces key in structuring prey assemblages in a Florida Bay seagrass system" (1998). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539616795. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25773/v5-fwqp-km37 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. 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Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. CARIBBEAN SPINY LOBSTER AND THEIR MOLLUSCAN PREY: ARE TOP-DOWN FORCES KEY IN STRUCTURING PREY ASSEMBLAGES IN A FLORIDA BAY SEAGRASS SYSTEM? A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Marine Science The College of William and Mary The Virginia Institute of Marine Science In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Martha S. Nizinski 1998 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 99032 64 Copyright 199 8 by Nizinski, Martha Susan All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9903264 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Martha S. Approved, July 1998 Romuald N. Lipcius, Ph.D. Committee Chairman/Advisor Robert J/©iaz, Ph.D. David A. Ev / Jafcques van Montfrans William F. Herrnkind, Ph.D. Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES.........................................................................................................ix ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................xiv CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................. 2 Introduction CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................... 14 Background CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................... 41 Quantitative description of experimental areas in a Florida Bay seagrass/macroalgal community: Habitat characterization and molluscan diversity and patterns of distribution CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................... 155 The role of predation in structuring macrobenthic communities: Are spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) the key to regulation of the molluscan assemblage in a Florida Bay seagrass system? SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS..........................................................................289 V ITA E........................................................................................................................ 292 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dedicated to Thomas Munroe and William and Dolores Nizinski for their constant love and support Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A work of this magnitude is not possible without the help and assistance of many people. The scope of the project was improved through the advice and instruction provided by: R. Lipcius, dissertation advisor, and committee members R. Diaz, D. Evans, W. Hermkind, and J. van Montfrans. I appreciate all your efforts on my behalf. Funding was generously provided by a grant from NOAA/NURP, Caribbean Marine Research Center, to R. Lipcius and D. Eggleston, the VIMS/SMS graduate student fellowship, and a teaching assistantship funded through the Commonwealth of Virginia. Dean Milliman provided administrative support, especially with details of the academic program. Working at distant locations requires support and assistance of numerous people. M. Cavalluzzi, E. Farrar, M. Seebo, R. Seitz assisted in construction of collecting gear prototypes and mass production of casita structural components; the staff of the machine shop in Physical Oceanography, VIMS, allowed the use of their equipment. E. Farrar and M. Seebo assisted with maintenance of sampling gear to ensure equipment was in working order and available for the numerous trips south. CMRC logistical support in Virginia was provided by L. Marshall, W. Stockhausen and P. Gerdes. Initiation of this experiment went smoothly due to the efforts of M. Seebo and J. Haner who enthusiastically helped to build casitas, setup experimental sites, and collect initial samples. My utmost appreciation goes to L. Boles, L. Coba, M. Seebo, and D. Plotner. These able-bodied, hard working field assistants travelled many miles, worked through all hours of the day and night, in all weather conditions (hurricanes not withstanding), without complaints and made collecting the data an enjoyable task as well as an adventure. Logistical support in Florida was provided by the staff, past and present, of the Keys Marine Laboratory, Long Key, especially R. Craft, the late R. Durner, B. Gibbs, and E. Seymour. Other logistical support and comradery in the field were provided by the spiny lobster groups of Florida State University and Old Dominion University under the direction of W. Hermkind and M. Butler, respectively. Fish faunal survey data from Florida Bay were generously provided by J. Colvocoreses, Florida Department of Environmental Protection. C. Cox, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, provided relevant literature and updates on environmental conditions in Florida Bay. J. Boyer, Florida International University, generously provided water quality data in the region of my experimental sites. Insightful comments on experimental design and statistics were provided by R. Lipcius, R. Diaz, L. Garrison, W. Stockhausen, and R. Wood. J. Heltshe, University of Rhode Island, provided helpful statistical consultations. K. Metcalf, M. Montane, and especially W. Stockhausen provided consultations clarifying computer graphics applications. G. Anderson taught me the wonders of ArcView and enthusiastically assisted with the preparation of the map of the study sites. D. Weiss provided technical assistance with computers. S. Stein was very patient and helpful with slide preparation. M. Lara provided relevant literature and translations. P. Mikkelsen, formerly of the Delaware Natural History Museum, provided assistance with identifications of Florida Bay molluscs. R. German, Division of Molluscs, provided access to and assistance with