Marine Biology Commons^™

Ecological Monitoring Program At Vims Esl - Annual Report 2018-2019, Paige G. Ross, Richard A. Snyder

Reports

An Ecological Monitoring Program (EMP) has been established at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Eastern Shore Laboratory (VIMS ESL) for the coastal environment near the lab. The goals of the initiative are to 1) provide status and trends information to scientists who study and regulators who manage Virginia’s marine resources, 2) provide a scientific context for scientists’ research and grant proposals 3) provide pedagogical enrichment to educators for their classes, and 4) build capacity in staff expertise and training of interns and students at VIMS ESL.

The program formalizes and standardizes data collection for a long-term status and trends …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers - 2019 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Robert Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-second year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2019, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007). We also report on two fishery-independent monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 2) and the Chickahominy River (year 5; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of river herring …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers - 2018 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Robert Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-first year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2018, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007). We also report on two fishery-independent monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 1) and the Chickahominy River (year 4; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of river herring …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers - 2017 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Rob Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twentieth year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2017, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007). We also report on two fishery-independent monitoring programs, one using staked gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 2) and the other using anchor gillnets in the Chickahominy River (year 3; a major tributary of the James River),to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers - 2016 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Robert Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the nineteenth year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2016, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007). We also report on a new fishery-independent monitoring program using staked gillnets to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run of river herring (A. pseudoharengus, and A. aestivalis) in the Rappahannock River. Data are also reported from two separate fishery-independent monitoring …

Population Size And Survival Rates Of Blue Catfish In Chesapeake Bay Tributaries, Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy D. Tuckey, Robert J. Latour, Gary C. White, Alicia J. Norris, Mary Groves

Reports

This report comprises two studies conducted from 2012 to 2015 to estimate population size, survival rates, and movements of invasive blue catfish in Chesapeake Bay tributaries. The first study of population-size and survival was conducted in the James River, VA (Population Size and Survival Rates of Invasive Blue Catfish in Tidal Waters of the James River Subestuary). The second study on movement and survival of blue catfish was conducted in the Potomac River, the natural boundary between Maryland and Virginia (Movement Patterns and Survival Rate of Blue Catfish in a Non-Native Habitat Estimated with a Tagging Study). The Executive Summary …

Evaluating Recruitment Of American Eel, Anguilla Rostrata, In The Potomac River (Spring 2016), Troy D. Tuckey, Mary C. Fabrizio

Reports

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) is a valuable commercial species along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick to Florida. Landings from Chesapeake Bay typically represent 60% of the annual United States commercial harvest (ASMFC 2012). American Eel is also important to the recreational fishery as it is often used live as bait for Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum). In 2012, Chesapeake Bay commercial landings of American Eel (771,536 lbs) were 72% of the U.S. landings (personal communication from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division). Since the 1980s, harvest along the U.S. Atlantic Coast …

Virginia Coastal And Ocean Resource Issues, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Fisheries, aquaculture and marine recreation in Chesapeake Bay and the coastal ocean are important economic engines adding greatly to the economy of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia’s commercial harvest ranks 3rd largest and 7th in total value nationwide. Research at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) shows that Virginia’s water-dependent resource-based industries, including commercial and recreational fisheries, shellfish aquaculture and recreational boating, annually generate $2.53 billion in sales and approximately $1.25–$1.5 billion in income, supporting over 20,000 jobs. . . .

Thin-Layer Sediment Addition Of Dredge Material For Enhancing Marsh Resilience, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Building marsh elevations with sediment delivered from nearby dredging projects is a potentially valuable tool for creating, restoring, and maintaining coastal marshes, and may help slow or reverse losses of wetlands due to coastal development and sea-level rise (Woodhouse et al., 1972). . . .

Water Quality Conditions And Restoration Of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (Sav) In The Tidal Freshwater James River, 2008, Ken Moore, Betty Berry Neikirk, Erin C. Shields, David Parrish

Reports

In 2008, wild celery (Vallisneria americana), water stargrass (Heteranthera dubia) and hydrilla (Hydrilla verticilata) shoots were transplanted into shallow water sites in the Hopewell region of the tidal James River and sampled for survivorship and growth throughout the SA V growing season. Water quality sampling was conducted at bi-weekly intervals throughout the year for water column nutrients, chlorophyll a, suspended solids, water transparency and other chemical and physical constituents important for SA V growth. Continuous water quality sampling was also conducted along the James River from the mouth of the Chickahominy River to the upstream limits of tidal water at …

The Chesapeake Bay : A Synopsis, William J. Hargis Jr.

Reports

No abstract provided.

Boat Scarring Effects On Submerged Aquatic Vegetation In Virginia (Year 1), R J. Orth, James R. Fishman, Amy Tillman, Sara Everett, Kenneth A. Moore

Reports

Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) in Chesapeake Bay has received significant attention in recent decades due to increasing understanding of the importance of these habitats for ecological functions, including fisheries habitat. Yet, SAV in many regions of the bay are at some of the lowest levels of abundance in recorded history. This has led state management agencies to adopt numerous policies and regulations to protect and restore these valuable communities. The Chesapeake Bay 2000 Agreement highlights SAV by recommitting to the goal of protecting and restoring 114,000 acres, revising existing restoration goals and strategies by 2002, and implementing a strategy to …

Oyster Reef Habitat Restoration : A Synopsis And Synthesis Of Approaches; Proceedings From The Symposium, Williamsburg, Virginia, April 1995, Mark Luckenbach, Roger L. Mann, James A. Wesson

Reports

This volume has its origin in a symposium held in Williamsburg, VA in April 1995, though most of the chapters have been significantly revised in the interim. The primary purpose of the symposium was to bring together state fisheries managers involved in fisheries-directed oyster enhancement and research scientists to refine approaches for enhancing oyster populations and to better develop the rationale for restoring reef habitats. We could hardly have anticipated the degree to which this been successful. In the interim between the symposium and the publication of this volume the notion that oyster reefs are valuable habitats, both for oysters …

Eutrophication Of Lake Matoaka Assessment And Projection, Bruce Neilson, Gary F. Anderson, Martha Rhodes

Reports

No abstract provided.

The York River: A Brief Review Of Its Physical, Chemical And Biological Characteristics, Michael E. Bender

Reports

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the York River, Virginia. The river is formed by the confluence of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers at West Point, Virginia. It is tidal over its entire length and flows to the western shore of Chesapeake Bay.

Baltimore Harbor And Channels Aquatic Benthos Investigations : Final Technical Report, Robert J. Diaz, Linda C. Schaffner, Robert J. Byrne, Robert A. Gammisch

Reports

This report describes work performed by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, School of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary, Gloucester Point, VA, to document the existing preoperational conditions at four locations in the Chesapeake Bay selected as possible dredged material disposal areas for the deepening of the Baltimore Channel. The work was sponsored by the Baltimore District Corps of Engineers.

The objectives of this work were at each of the four potential disposal sites:

1 -document the surface (0-15 em) sediment conditions spatially and temporally

2 - document macrobenthic communities spatially and temporally.

3 - empty …

York River Slack Water Data Report : Temperature, Salinity, Dissolved Oxygen, 1971 - 1980, T. J. Brooks

Reports

The slack water survey program, provides an extended series of temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and nutrient measurements along the York River. These have been used to:

1) calibrate, verify, and update mathematical models; 2) provide a baseline against which effects of unusual events have been measured; and could be used to: 3) establish annual and longer period "climatological" trends in response to changing natural phenomena and man-made modifications to the estuary; 4) provide a basis against which fluctuations in biota could be compared.

This report contains station locations, survey schedules, field procedures, sample handling procedures, and data reduction and storage …

Fine Scale Circulation Near "Foxtrot" In Hampton Roads, Virginia, Christopher S. Welch, Bruce J. Neilson

Reports

During 1974 the Virginia Institute of Marine Science conducted a series of oceanographic, water quality and modeling studies for the outfall from the proposed Nansemond Wastewater Treatment Plant (VIMS, 1975). One of these studies included dye releases to determine the dispersion and transport of material discharged to Hampton Roads near Pig Point. These dye releases were made from the munitions loading piers known as "Foxtrot".

The proposed outfall, as given in the Facilities Plan is located roughly one kilometer to the east-south-east of Foxtrot. Tidal circulation in Hampton Roads is quite complex and there was concern that the distribution patterns …

Yorktown Power Station Ecological Study, Phase Ii : Final Technical Report, R. A. Jordan, R. W. Virnstein, J. E. Illowsky, J. Colvocoresses

Reports

No abstract provided.

A Check List Of The Biota Of Lower Chesapeake Bay : With Inclusions From The Upper Bay And The Virginian Sea, Marvin L. Wass

Reports

The biota of Chesapeake Bay seems generally less known than that of New England and much of our West Coast. The present work attempts to mollify this discrepancy. The compilation has been revised and expanded to include plants and vertebrates. Inclusion of creatures not strictly aquatic but which may occasionally found their areas flooded by tidal waters has necessitated subjective declsions of limitation.

Includes:

• Lower Plants
• Wetland and Dune Plants
• Phylum Protozoa
• Free-living Invertebrates (except Protozoa)
• Fishes of Chesapeake Bay and the Adjacent Coastal Plain
• Herptiles of the Maryland and Virginia
• Coastal Plain Birds Dependent on Open Water or Wetlands …

A Taxonomic Code For The Biota Of The Chesapeake Bay, Richard C. Schwarz, Marvin L. Wass, Donald F. Boesch

Reports

No abstract provided.

The Environment And Biological Community Of The Lower York River, Virginia : A Literature Review, Robert A. Jordan, Michael E. Bender, Douglas F. Markle

Reports

Section 1: Physical and chemical parameters / R.A. Jordan

Section 2: Phytoplankton and primary productivity / R.A. Jordan

Section 3: Zooplankton and meroplankton / R.A. Jordan

Section 4: Benthos and shellfish / M.E. Bender

Section 5: Finfish / Douglas Markle.