Fifth Annual Report OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA PUBLIC SERVICE AUTHORITY TO THE ADVISORY BOARD AND Audit Report OF THE SANTEE-COOPER PROJECT July 1, 1939-June 30, 1940

The South Carolina Public Service Authority makes annual reports to the Advisory Board, reports are submitted to the General Assembly by the Governor, in which full information as to all of the Acts of said Board of Directors shall be given, together with financial statement and full information as to the work of the Authority.

Eighth Annual Report OF THE Board of Directors of the South Carolina Public Service Authority TO THE Advisory Board AND AUDIT REPORT OF THE Santee-Cooper project JULY 1, 1942-JUNE 30, 1943

The South Carolina Public Service Authority makes annual reports to the Advisory Board, which reports shall be submitted to the General Assembly by the Governor, in which full information as to all of the Acts of said Board of Directors shall be given, together with financial statement and full information as to the work of the Authority.

PROPERTY TAX BRIEFING PRESENTED TO SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE

This Powerpoint presentation gives statistics on property taxes in South Carolina.

Climate change and children’s health : a call for research on what works to protect children

Climate change is affecting and will increasingly influence human health and wellbeing. Children are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. An extensive literature review regarding the impact of climate change on children’s health was conducted in April 2012 by searching electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science, as well as relevant websites, such as IPCC and WHO. Climate change affects children’s health through increased air pollution, more weather-related disasters, more frequent and intense heat waves, decreased water quality and quantity, food shortage and greater exposure to toxicants. As a result, children experience greater risk of mental disorders, malnutrition, infectious diseases, allergic diseases and respiratory diseases. Mitigation measures like reducing carbon pollution emissions, and adaptation measures such as early warning systems and post-disaster counseling are strongly needed. Future health research directions should focus on: (1) identifying whether climate change impacts on children will be modified by gender, age and socioeconomic status; (2) refining outcome measures of children’s vulnerability to climate change; (3) projecting children’s disease burden under climate change scenarios; (4) exploring children’s disease burden related to climate change in low-income countries, and ; (5) identifying the most cost-effective mitigation and adaptation actions from a children’s health perspective.

Innovations in dietetic training in foodservice management : can early exposure to practice enhance final year competency development?

Student engagement in the delivery of theoretical course materials is a current challenge in the tertiary sector including for dietetic training. In 2011 with the creation of a new nutritionist position for Queensland Meals on Wheels (QMOW), a service learning approach to support this organisation was used with third year dietetic students undertaking two days of structured activities at various QMOW sites in South East Queensland, aligned with coursework in Foodservice Management (FSM). This cohort of students was then followed in their final year post successful completion of five weeks professional practice in FSM to see if this experience supported readiness for placement and competency development. Evaluation was undertaken of eligible students (n = 50) via paper based survey (response rate 94%) with all participating in targeted focus groups. Findings showed that students acknowledged the QMOW experience (on reflection 14 months later) providing opportunity for participation and/or observation in 5 of 12 FSM areas taught in third year, including food safety, meal production, assembly, delivery and dishwashing. Over half the students identified good exposure to FSM competency areas during the QMOW experience, with 83% satisfied with their competency exposure and subsequent practice during final year placements. A consistent theme emerged from focus groups supporting inclusion of practical opportunities with the theoretical component of the FSM subject to highlight relevance to learning. These findings highlight the importance of such teaching initiatives to met student learning preferences, linking theory with practice and supporting competency development in the final year of training programs.

Longevity and Persistence of Triploid Grass Carp Stocked into the Santee Cooper Reservoirs of South Carolina

This study evaluated longevity and population persistence of 768,500 triploid grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella Valenciennes) stocked in the 70,000-ha Santee Cooper system in South Carolina from 1989 through 1996 to control hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle).

Magnitude and extent of sediment toxicity in selected estuaries of South Carolina and Georgia

Toxic chemicals can enter the marine environment through numerous routes: stormwater runoff, industrial point source discharges, municipal wastewater discharges, atmospheric deposition, accidental spills, illegal dumping, pesticide applications and agricultural practices. Once they enter a receiving system, toxicants often become bound to suspended particles and increase in density sufficiently to sink to the bottom. Sediments are one of the major repositories of contaminants in aquatic envronments. Furthermore, if they become sufficiently contaminated sediments can act as sources of toxicants to important biota. Sediment quality data are direct indicators of the health of coastal aquatic habitats. Sediment quality investigations conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and others have indicated that toxic chemicals are found in the sediments and biota of some estuaries in South Carolina and Georgia (NOAA, 1992). This report documents the toxicity of sediments collected within five selected estuaries: Savannah River, Winyah Bay, Charleston Harbor, St. Simons Sound, and Leadenwah Creek (Figure 1). (PDF contains 292 pages)

Genetics in Aquaculture: Proceedings of the Sixteenth U.S.-Japan Meeting on Aquaculture Charleston, South Carolina October 20 and 21, 1987

The United States and Japanese counterpart panels on aquaculture were formed in 1969 under the United States-Japan Cooperative Program in Natural Resources (UJNR). The panels currently include specialists drawn from the federal departments most concerned with aquaculture. Charged with exploring and developing bilateral cooperation, the panels have focused their efforts on exchanging information related to aquaculture which could be of benefit to both countries. The UJNR was begun during the Third Cabinet-Level Meeting of the Joint United States-Japan Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs in January 1964. In addition to aquaculture, current subjects in the program include desalination of seawater, toxic microorganisms, air pollution, energy, forage crops, national park management, mycoplasmosis, wind and seismic effects, protein resources, forestry, and several joint panels and committees in marine resources research, development, and utilization. Accomplishments include: Increased communication and cooperation among technical specialists; exchanges of information, data, and research findings; annual meetings of the panels, a policy-coordinative body; administrative staff meetings; exchanges of equipment, materials, and samples; several major technical conferences; and beneficial effects on international relations. (PDF file contains 88 pages.)

Assessing tourist demand for traditional coastal dependent businesses on the South Carolina coast

Tourism driven development and coastal gentrification have resulted in a notable decline in traditional coastaldependent businesses on the South Carolina (SC) coast. We examined the sustainability of these businesses by assessing tourists’ demand for local, traditional, and marine related products and services. The research integrated focus groups and an intercept-based mail survey. This paper reports selected survey results and discusses how the findings will be incorporated into small-business training materials. (PDF contains 4 pages)

Challenges in using science-based shoreline setbacks: Examples from South Carolina

Beachfront jurisdictional lines were established by the South Carolina Beachfront Management Act (SC Code §48- 39-250 et seq.) in 1988 to regulate the new construction, repair, or reconstruction of buildings and erosion control structures along the state’s ocean shorelines. Building within the state’s beachfront “setback area” is allowed, but is subject to special regulations. For “standard beaches” (those not influenced by tidal inlets or associated shoals), a baseline is established at the crest of the primary oceanfront sand dune; for “unstabilized inlet zones,” the baseline is drawn at the most landward point of erosion during the past forty years. The parallel setback line is then established landward of the baseline a distance of forty times the long-term average annual erosion rate (not less than twenty feet from the baseline in stable or accreting areas). The positions of the baseline and setback line are updated every 8-10 years using the best available scientific and historical data, including aerial imagery, LiDAR, historical shorelines, beach profiles, and long-term erosion rates. One advantage of science-based setbacks is that, by using actual historical and current shoreline positions and beach profile data, they reflect the general erosion threat to beachfront structures. However, recent experiences with revising the baseline and setback line indicate that significant challenges and management implications also exist. (PDF contains 3 pages)

Catch rates and demographics of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) captured from the Charleston, South Carolina, shipping channel during the period of mandatory use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs)

Trawling was conducted in the Charleston, South Carolina, shipping channel between May and August during 2004–07 to evaluate loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) catch rates and demographic distributions. Two hundred and twenty individual loggerheads were captured in 432 trawling events during eight sampling periods lasting 2–10 days each. Catch was analyzed by using a generalized linear model. Data were fitted to a negative binomial distribution with the log of standardized sampling effort (i.e., an hour of sampling with a net head rope length standardized to 30.5 m) for each event treated as an offset term. Among 21 variables, factors, and interactions, five terms were significant in the final model, which accounted for 45% of model deviance. Highly significant differences in catch were noted among sampling periods and sampling locations within the channel, with greatest catch furthest seaward consistent with historical observations. Loggerhead sea turtle catch rates in 2004–07 were greater than in 1991–92 when mandatory use of turtle excluder devices was beginning to be phased in. Concurrent with increased catch rates, loggerheads captured in 2004–07 were larger than in 1991–92. Eighty-five percent of loggerheads captured were ≤75.0 cm straight-line carapace length (nuchal notch to tip of carapace) and there was a 3.9:1 female-to-male bias, consistent with limited data for this location two decades earlier. Only juvenile loggerheads ≤75.0 cm possessed haplotypes other than CC-A01 or CC-A02 that dominate in the region. Six rare and one un-described haplotype were predominantly found in June 2004.

Sexual differentiation and gonad development in striped mullet (Mugil cephalus L.) from South Carolina estuaries*

This study examined the sexual differentiation and reproductive dynamics of striped mullet (Mugil cephalus L.) in the estuaries of South Carolina. A total of 16,464 specimens were captured during the study and histological examination of sex and maturity was performed on a subsample of 3670 fish. Striped mullet were sexually undifferentiated for the first 12 months, began differentiation at 13 months, and were 90% fully differentiated by 15 to 19 months of age and 225 mm total length (TL). The defining morphological characteristics for differentiating males was the elongation of the protogonial germ tissue in a corradiating pattern towards the center of the lobe, the development of primary and secondary ducts, and the lack of any recognizable ovarian wall structure. The defining female characteristics were the formation of protogonial germ tissue into spherical germ cell nests, separation of a tissue layer from the outer epithelial layer of the lobe-forming ovarian walls, a tissue bud growing from the suspensory tissue that helped form the ovary wall, and the proliferation of oogonia and oocytes. Sexual maturation in male striped mullet first occurred at 1 year and 248 mm TL and 100% maturity occurred at age 2 and 300 mm TL. Female striped mullet first matured at 2 years and 291 mm total length and 100% maturity occurred at 400 mm TL and age 4. Because of the open ocean spawning behavior of striped mullet, all stages of maturity were observed in males and females except for functionally mature females with hydrated oocytes. The spawning season for striped mullet recruiting to South Carolina estuaries lasts from October to April; the majority of spawning activity, however, occurs from November to January. Ovarian atresia was observed to have four distinct phases. This study presents morpholog ical analysis of reproductive ontogeny in relation to size and age in South Carolina striped mullet. Because of the length of the undifferentiated gonad stage in juvenile striped mullet, previous studies have proposed the possibility of protandric hermaphrodism in this species. The results of our study indicate that striped mullet are gonochoristic but capable of exhibiting nonfunctional hermaphroditic characteristics in differentiated mature gonads.

Temporal and spatial aspects of bottlenose dolphin occurrence in coastal and estuarine waters near Charleston, South Carolina

The spatial and temporal occurrence of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the coastal and estuarine waters near Charleston, SC were evaluated. Sighting and photographic data from photo-identification (ID), remote biopsy, capture-release and radio-tracking studies, conducted from 1994 through 2003, were analyzed in order to further delineate residence patterns of Charleston area bottlenose dolphins. Data from 250 photo-ID, 106 remote biopsy, 15 capture-release and 83 radio-tracking surveys were collected in the Stono River Estuary (n = 247), Charleston Harbor (n = 86), North Edisto River (n = 54), Intracoastal Waterway (n = 26) and the coastal waters north and south of Charleston Harbor (n = 41). Coverage for all survey types was spatially and temporally variable, and in the case of biopsy, capture-release and radio-tracking surveys, data analyzed in this report were collected incidental to other research. Eight-hundred and thirty-nine individuals were photographically identified during the study period. One-hundred and fifteen (13.7%) of the 839 photographically identified individuals were sighted between 11-40 times, evidence of consistent occurrence in the Charleston area (i.e., site fidelity). Adjusted sighting proportions (ASP), which reflect an individual’s sighting frequency in a subarea relative to other subareas after adjusting for survey effort, were analyzed in order to evaluate dolphin spatial occurrence. Forty-three percent (n = 139) of dolphins that qualified for ASP analyses exhibited a strong subarea affiliation while the remaining 57% (n = 187) showed no strong subarea preference. Group size data were derived from field estimates of 2,342 dolphin groups encountered in the five Charleston subareas. Group size appeared positively correlated with degree of “openness” of the body of water where dolphins were encountered; and for sightings along the coast, group size was larger during summer months. This study provides valuable information on the complex nature of bottlenose dolphin spatial and temporal occurrence near Charleston, SC. In addition, it helps us to better understand the stock structure of dolphins along the Atlantic seaboard.

Spatial and temporal analysis of bottlenose dolphin strandings in South Carolina, 1992-2005

This CD contains summary data of bottlenose dolphins stranded in South Carolina using a Geographical Information System (GIS) and contains two published manuscripts in .pdf files. The intent of this CD is to provide data on bottlenose dolphin strandings in South Carolina to marine mammal researchers and managers. This CD is an accumulation of 14 years of stranding data collected through the collaborations of the National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research (CCEHBR), the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and numerous volunteers and veterinarians that comprised the South Carolina Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Spatial and temporal information can be visually represented on maps using GIS. For this CD, maps were created to show relationships of stranding densities with land use, human population density, human interaction with dolphins, high geographical regions of live strandings, and seasonal changes. Point maps were also created to show individual strandings within South Carolina. In summary, spatial analysis revealed higher densities of bottlenose dolphin strandings in Charleston and Beaufort Counties, which consist of urban land with agricultural input. This trend was positively correlated with higher human population levels in these coastal counties as compared with other coastal counties. However, spatial analysis revealed that certain areas within a county may have low human population levels but high stranding density, suggesting that the level of effort to respond to strandings is not necessarily positively correlated with the density of strandings in South Carolina. Temporal analysis revealed a significantly higher density of bottlenose dolphin strandings in the northern portion of the State in the fall, mostly due to an increase of neonate strandings. On a finer geographic scale, seasonal stranding densities may fluctuate depending on the region of interest. Charleston Harbor had the highest density of live bottlenose dolphin strandings compared to the rest of the State. This was due in large part to the number of live dolphin entanglements in the crab pot fishery, the largest source of fishery-related mortality for bottlenose dolphins in South Carolina (Burdett and McFee 2004). Spatial density calculations also revealed that Charleston and Beaufort accounted for the majority of dolphins that were involved with human activities. 1

Effects of land use and physicochemical water quality on grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, and its parasitic isopod, Probopyrus pandalicola, in South Carolina, USA tidal creeks

Grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, are a common inhabitant of US East and Gulf coast salt marshes and are a food source for recreationally and economically important fish and crustacean species. Due to the relationship of grass shrimp with their ecosystem, any significant changes in grass shrimp population may have the potential to affect the estuarine system. Land use is a crucial concern in coastal areas where increasing development impacts the surrounding estuaries and salt marshes and has made grass shrimp population studies a logical choice to investigate urbanization effects. Any impact on tidal creeks will be an impact on grass shrimp populations and their associated micro-environment whether predator, prey or parasitic symbiont. Anthropogenic stressors introduced into the grass shrimp ecosystem may even change the intensity of infections from parasitic symbionts. An ectoparasite found on P. pugio is the bopyrid isopod Probopyrus pandalicola. Little is known about factors that may affect the occurrence of this isopod in grass shrimp populations. The goal was to analyze the prevalence of P. pandalicola in grass shrimp in relation to land use classifications, water quality parameters, and grass shrimp population metrics. Eight tidal creeks in coastal South Carolina were sampled monthly over a three year period. The occurrence of P. pandalicola ranged from 1.2% to 5.7%. Analysis indicated that greater percent water and marsh coverage resulted in a higher incidence of bopyrid occurrence. Analysis also indicated that higher bopyrid incidence occurred in creeks with higher salinity, temperature, and pH but lower dissolved oxygen. The land use characteristics found to limit bopyrid incidence were limiting to grass shrimp (definitive host) populations and probably copepod (intermediate host) populations as well.