PERFORMANCE OF FISH LARVAE: EFFECTS OF ATRAZINE,

Abstract

To my husband, Rafael Perez, to whom I owe everything, who has been with me through the “good and the bad”. To my son, Diego T. Perez, and my daughter, Cecilia A. Perez, who have always brightened my day with laughter and love. And to my parents, Alvaro Alvarez and Marie Cecilie d’Otreppe de Bouvette, who, without ever a doubt, have supported me on every decision I have made. Thank you. Acknowledgements I wish to thank my adviser Dr. Lee A. Fuiman, for his guidance, support, and encouragement. I am also grateful to the members of my committee, Dr. David P. Crews, Dr. G. Joan Holt, Dr. B. Scott Nunez and Dr. Peter Thomas for their helpful suggestions and critical review of this dissertation. Thanks to my laboratory mates; Hunter Samberson and Brie Sarkisian for their help with fish rearing; Ian McCarthy for helping with fish rearing and collection of data, and Kiersten Madden for her support and critique of this work. My special thanks to Rafael Perez, Scott Applebaum, and Ian McCarthy for discussion in the development of the research presented here. I am sincerely thankful to all my friends at the Marine Science Institute and Port Aransas for their help and support, without whom this dissertation would not have happened. v SIGNIFICANCE OF ENVIRONMENTALLY REALISTI