{"id":{"repo_id":"buffalo","oai_identifier":"oai:ubir.buffalo.edu:10477/80849"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/buffalo/oai:ubir.buffalo.edu:10477/80849","repository":{"repo_id":"buffalo","name":"Buffalo","base_url":"https://ubir.buffalo.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Canopy Effects of Octocoral Communities on Sedimentation: Modern Baffles on the Shallow-Water Reefs of St. John, USVI","abstract":"M.S.","abstract_html":"M.S.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Cerpovicz, Alexandria; 0000-0002-7772-6219"],"institution":"State University of New York at Buffalo","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lasker, Howard","Geology"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-10-29T16:47:32Z","date_published":"2019-10-29T16:47:32Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:05:25Z","subjects":["marine geology"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10477/80849","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lasker, Howard","Geology"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Cerpovicz, Alexandria; 0000-0002-7772-6219"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2019-10-29T16:47:32Z","2019","2019-07-15 01:23:09"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["State University of New York at Buffalo"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Text","Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["marine geology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10477/80849"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["M.S.","Recent shifts in the presence and abundance of species on shallow Caribbean coral reefs have left octocorals as some of the dominant species. This transition has created a physical change in the reef profile affecting the hydrodynamics on the reef. Research was conducted to determine if the octocoral canopy changes water flow and sedimentation in and around the canopy. Research took place over 10 weeks in Grootpan Bay, along the southern shore of the island of St. John, USVI. Fifteen paired sampling locations with and without octocoral canopy were selected based on the density of octocorals. The sites were classified further by depth and the height and genera of octocorals present. The effects of water flow and turbulence at the locations were compared based on dissolution of clod cards. The effect of the octocoral canopy on deposition was measured using sediment traps. Sedimentation rate and sediment composition in areas with and without an octocoral canopy were compared based on sediment dry weight, organic content (loss on ignition) and grain size analysis. Mass loss from clod cards was greatest in the canopy suggesting an effect of increased turbulence within the upper part of the canopy. Areas of dense octocoral canopy had greater amounts of sedimentation and coarser, more rounded grains. The deposition of organic material was greatest in canopy areas across the reef system. The increase in turbulence in the canopy was likely due to wave driven oscillatory flow interacting with the density and morphology of the colonies making up the canopy. Sediment traps in the canopy likely had greater sediment accumulation due to both increased turbulence resuspending and subsequently depositing sediments, and suspended sediments depositing out of flow when moving onto the reef system. The presence of octocoral canopies and the reworking of sediment within them may affect the success of settling larvae and potential for reef building within these depositional environments."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Canopy Effects of Octocoral Communities on Sedimentation: Modern Baffles on the Shallow-Water Reefs of St. John, USVI"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Lasker, Howard","Geology"],"dc:creator":["Cerpovicz, Alexandria; 0000-0002-7772-6219"],"dc:date":["2019-10-29T16:47:32Z","2019","2019-07-15 01:23:09"],"dc:description":["M.S.","Recent shifts in the presence and abundance of species on shallow Caribbean coral reefs have left octocorals as some of the dominant species. This transition has created a physical change in the reef profile affecting the hydrodynamics on the reef. Research was conducted to determine if the octocoral canopy changes water flow and sedimentation in and around the canopy. Research took place over 10 weeks in Grootpan Bay, along the southern shore of the island of St. John, USVI. Fifteen paired sampling locations with and without octocoral canopy were selected based on the density of octocorals. The sites were classified further by depth and the height and genera of octocorals present. The effects of water flow and turbulence at the locations were compared based on dissolution of clod cards. The effect of the octocoral canopy on deposition was measured using sediment traps. Sedimentation rate and sediment composition in areas with and without an octocoral canopy were compared based on sediment dry weight, organic content (loss on ignition) and grain size analysis. Mass loss from clod cards was greatest in the canopy suggesting an effect of increased turbulence within the upper part of the canopy. Areas of dense octocoral canopy had greater amounts of sedimentation and coarser, more rounded grains. The deposition of organic material was greatest in canopy areas across the reef system. The increase in turbulence in the canopy was likely due to wave driven oscillatory flow interacting with the density and morphology of the colonies making up the canopy. Sediment traps in the canopy likely had greater sediment accumulation due to both increased turbulence resuspending and subsequently depositing sediments, and suspended sediments depositing out of flow when moving onto the reef system. The presence of octocoral canopies and the reworking of sediment within them may affect the success of settling larvae and potential for reef building within these depositional environments."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/10477/80849"],"dc:language":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["State University of New York at Buffalo"],"dc:rights":["Users of works found in University at Buffalo Institutional Repository (UBIR) are responsible for identifying and contacting the copyright owner for permission to reuse. University at Buffalo Libraries do not manage rights for copyright-protected works and cannot assist with permissions.","Copyright retained by author."],"dc:subject":["marine geology"],"dc:title":["Canopy Effects of Octocoral Communities on Sedimentation: Modern Baffles on the Shallow-Water Reefs of St. John, USVI"],"dc:type":["Text","Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:05:25Z"}