Field Guide to Nonindigenous Marine Fishes of Florida

The purpose of this field guide is to provide information on nonindigenous (i.e., non-native) fishes that have been observed in Florida’s marine waters. Introductions of non-native marine fishes into Florida’s waters could be intentional or unintentional, and are likely from a variety of sources, including aquarium releases, escape from aquaculture, loss due to extreme weather events (e.g., flooding from hurricanes), and possibly transfer with ballast water or hull-fouling. Presently the lionfishes (Pterois volitans and P. miles) are the only non-native marine fish species known to be established along the coast of Florida. All other marine fishes in this guide (except the euryhaline species, see below) have infrequent occurrences, occur singly or in small groups, and have not yet become self-sustaining populations. Aquarium releases are one of the major pathways whereby nonindigenous fishes gain access to new environments (Ruiz et al. 1997; Fuller et al. 1999). Most of the nonindigenous marine fishes found in Florida’s waters are thought to be aquarium fishes that either were illegally released into the ocean or escaped captivity (e.g., during severe storm/flooding events). Indeed, south Florida is a hotspot for nonindigenous marine aquarium fishes (Semmens et al. 2004). Increased public awareness of the problems caused by released or escaped aquarium fishes may aid in stemming the frequency of releases. For example, HabitattitudeTM (www.habitattitude.net) is a national public awareness and partnership campaign that encourages aquarists and water gardeners to prevent the release of unwanted aquarium plants, fish and other animals. It prompts hobbyists to adopt alternative actions when dealing with these aquatic plants and animals. (PDF file contains 133 pages.)

Field Guide to the Searobins (Prionotus and Bellator) in the Western North Atlantic

Species identifications of Prionotus and Bellator are often difficult under field conditions owing to the large number of species and their overlapping taxonomic characteristics. This key is intended to provide a simplified, accurate means to identify adult searobins greater than 10 cm standard length. All recognized species from the western North Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea are included. (PDF file contains 30 pages.)

Soviet-American Cooperative Research on Marine Mammals. Volume 1- Pinnipeds: Under Project V.6. Marine Mammals, of the US-USSR Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection

Some 25 to 30 yr ago, when we as students were beginning our respective careers and were developing for the first time our awareness of marine mammals in the waters separating western North America from eastern Asia, we had visions of eventually bridging the communication gap which existed between our two countries at that time. Each of us was anxious to obtain information on the distribution, biology, and ecological relations of "our" seals and walruses on "the other side," beyond our respective political boundari~s where we were not permitted to go to study them. We were concerned that the resource management practices on the other side of the Bering and Chukchi Seas, implemented in isolation, on a purely unilateral basis, might endanger the species which we had come to know and were striving to conserve. At once apparent to both of us was the need for free exchange of biological information between our two countries and, ultimately, joint management of our shared resources. In a small way, we and others made some initial efforts to generate that exchange by personal correspondence and through vocal interchange at the annual meetings of the North Pacific Fur Seal Commission. By the enabling Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection, reached between our two countries in 1972, our earlier visions at last came true. Since that time, within the framework of the Marine Mammal Project under Area V of that Agreement, we and our colleagues have forged a strong bond of professional accord and respect, in an atmosphere of free intercommunication and mutual understanding. The strength and utility of this arrangement from the beginning of our joint research are reflected in the reports contained in this, the first compendium of our work. The need for a series of such a compendia became apparent to us in 1976, and its implementation was agreed on by the regular meeting of the Project in La Jolla, Calif., in January 1977. Obviously, the preparation and publication of this first volume has been excessively delayed, in part by continuing political distrust between our governments but mainly by increasing demands placed on the time of the contributors. In this period of growing environmental concern in both countries, we and our colleagues have been totally immersed in other tasks and have experienced great difficulty in drawing together the works presented here. Much of the support for doing so was provided by the State of Alaska, through funding for Organized Research at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. For its ultimate completion in publishable form we wish to thank Helen Stockholm, Director of Publications, Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, and her staff, especially Ruth Hand, and the numerous referees narned herein who gave willingly oftheir time to review each ofthe manuscripts critically and to provide a high measure of professionalism to the final product. (PDF file contains 110 pages.)

Exchange biased FeNi/FeMn bilayers with coercivity and switching field enhanced by FeMn surface oxidation

FeNi/FeMn bilayers were grown in a magnetic field and subjected to heat treatments at temperatures of 50 to 350 degrees C in vacuum or in a gas mixture containing oxygen. In the as-deposited state, the hysteresis loop of 30 nm FeNi layer was shifted. Low temperature annealing leads to a decrease of the exchange bias field. Heat treatments at higher temperatures in gas mixture result in partial oxidation of 20 nm thick FeMn layer leading to a nonlinear dependence of coercivity and a switching field of FeNi layer on annealing temperature. The maximum of coercivity and switching field were observed after annealing at 300 degrees C.

The effects of disorder in dimerized quantum magnets in mean field approximations

15 p.

African Clarias taxonomy: Implications for the field worker

The taxonomy of African Clarias was reviewed. It was emphasized that much confusion still exists in this taxonomy. The major sources of this confusion were outlined. There are now only about 33 valid species of the 122 original species so far described in Africa. The implications of the present state of African Clarias taxonomy for the field worker were highlighted. In particular the need for the field worker to be an informed amateur taxonomist in addition to the possession of a good knowledge of the biology of his fish was emphasized. The connection between this and a successful Clarias culture was pointed out

Two-Phase Flow In Anode Flow Field Of A Small Direct Methanol Fuel Cell In Different Gravities

An in-situ visualization of two-phase flow inside anode flow bed of a small liquid fed direct methanol fuel cells in normal and reduced gravity has been conducted in a drop tower. The anode flow bed consists of 11 parallel straight channels. The length, width and depth of single channel, which had rectangular cross section, are 48.0, 2.5 and 2.0 mm, respectively. The rib width was 2.0 mm. The experimental results indicated that when the fuel cell orientation is vertical, two-phase flow pattern in anode channels can evolve from bubbly flow in normal gravity into slug flow in microgravity. The size of bubbles in the reduced gravity is also bigger. In microgravity, the bubbles rising speed in vertical channels is obviously slower than that in normal gravity. When the fuel cell orientation is horizontal, the slug flow in the reduced gravity has almost the same characteristic with that in normal gravity. It implies that the effect of gravity on two-phase flow is small and the bubbles removal is governed by viscous drag. When the gas slugs or gas columns occupy channels, the performance of liquid fed direct methanol fuel cells is failing rapidly. It infers that in long-term microgravity, flow bed and operating condition should be optimized to avoid concentration polarization of fuel cells.