Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Influence Of Oyster Genetic Background On Levels Of Human-Pathogenic Vibrio Spp., Corinne Audemard, Kimberly S. Reece, Robert J. Latour, Lydia M. Bienlien, Ryan B. Carnegie

VIMS Articles

Human-pathogenic Vibrio bacteria are common inhabitants of oyster tissues, but our understanding of factors driving the wide range of concentrations found in individual oysters is extremely limited. We examined the influence of oyster sex and parasitism in light of their profound effects on oyster tissues against a backdrop of eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, from two diploid and two triploid aquacultured lines. This allowed us to examine not only the effect of oyster ploidy but also of oyster genetics, a factor never investigated with regard to human-pathogenic Vibrio species. We measured levels of total Vibrio vulnificus (vvhA), and of …

Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve In Virginia Management Plan: 2022-2027, W. G. Reay, J. Baber, H. Brooks, A. Demeo, C. T. Friedrichs, C. Gonzales, J. Kuriawa, T. Hooper, S. Lerberg, E. J. Miles, B. Neikirk, S. Nuss, L. Ott, D. Parrish, T. Rudo, E C. Shields, S. Snyder, S. Wood

Reports

Established through the Coastal Zone Management Act, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) represents a partnership program between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the coastal states to promote informed management of the Nation’s estuaries and habitats. Designated in 1991, and administered by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) of William & Mary, the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia (CBNERR-VA or Reserve) is one of 30 protected areas, which encompass over 1.3 million acres and make up the NERRS.

As the nation's largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay contains a diverse collection of habitats …

Campus Nature Rx: How Investing In Nature Interventions Benefits College Students, Donald A. Rakow, Dorothy C. Ibes

Arts & Sciences Articles

Excerpt from article: "The college experience is a time of discovery, learning, and personal growth. However, many U.S. college students report unprecedentedly high levels of mental health problems during these formative years. According to the 2021 National Collegiate Health Assessment, over 30 percent of students received psychological or mental health services in the previous 12 months..."

Vims Marine Science Day, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Miscellaneous

Brochure describing demonstrations and activities on this day of community outreach.

Town Of Colonial Beach Survey Of Central And Castlewood Beaches, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Cameron W. Green, Alexander R. Milligan

Reports

The Town of Colonial Beach occupies a peninsula between the Potomac River and Monroe Bay. Approximately 2.5 miles of the shoreline is publicly-owned. Two areas on the Potomac River have been enhanced as recreational beaches for swimming and sunbathing. Central Beach is located just south of the Town Pier and is the main recreational beach. Castlewood Beach is south of Central Beach near the entrance to Monroe Bay.

Machicomoco State Park Shoreline Management Plan, Cameron W. Green, Donna A. Milligan, C. Scott Hardaway Jr., Christine A. Wilcox

Reports

Machicomoco State Park (MSP) is located along the York River in Gloucester County, Virginia, between Cedarbush Creek and Timberneck Creek. Figures are shown in Appendix A. Archaeological evidence dating to the Middle and Late Woodland Periods (200 BCE – 1000 CE) strongly suggests that the area is associated with Tsenacommacah and the Powhatan’s chiefdom (DCR, 2021).

The site was primarily used as a base for hunting, fishing, and oystering activities. The area was later settled by English colonists around 1639, and was eventually sold to John Catlett in 1792, where it remained in the Catlett family’s possession for over 200 …

Nitrogen Reductions Have Decreased Hypoxia In The Chesapeake Bay: Evidence From Empirical And Numerical Modeling, Luke T. Frankel, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Aaron J. Bever, Rom Lipcius, Gopal Bhatt, Gary W. Shenk

VIMS Articles

Seasonal hypoxia is a characteristic feature of the Chesapeake Bay due to anthropogenic nutrient input from agriculture and urbanization throughout the watershed. Although coordinated management efforts since 1985 have reduced nutrient inputs to the Bay, oxygen concentrations at depth in the summer still frequently fail to meet water quality standards that have been set to protect critical estuarine living resources. To quantify the impact of watershed nitrogen reductions on Bay hypoxia during a recent period including both average discharge and extremely wet years (2016–2019), this study employed both statistical and three-dimensional (3-D) numerical modeling analyses. Numerical model results suggest that …

Ecological Monitoring Program At Vims Esl: Annual Report 2021, 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 Wachapreague 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 short-term research and grant proposals 3) provide pedagogical enrichment for educators to use in 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 …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia’S Rivers 2022 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results 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 2022, evaluating hatchery programs and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007a; ASMFC 2020). We also report on a fishery-independent monitoring program to determine abundance and stock structure of river herring (A. pseudoharengus, and A. aestivalis) in Virginia by evaluating the adult spawning runs in the Chickahominy River, a major tributary of the James River, and the Rappahannock River. Further, a …

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia’S Rivers 2021 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twenty-fourth 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 2021, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007, ASMFC 2020).

We also report on two fishery independent monitoring programs using anchor gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 4) and the Chickahominy River (year 7; a major tributary of the James River), to determine relative abundance and stock structure for the adult spawning run …

Marsh Vulnerability Index And Index Applied To Coastal Shorelines, Molly Mitchell, Donna Marie Bilkovic, Julie Herman, Jessica Hendricks, Evan Hill

Data

The Marsh Vulnerability Index (MVI) is a spatially-resolved assessment of Virginia tidal marsh vulnerabilities from important climate-change drivers – erosion vulnerability, inundation from sea level rise, and salinity intrusion from sea level rise – that can support management decisions. Effects were evaluated for two time-steps (near and longer-term planning horizons): 2050 and 2100.

The Marsh Vulnerability Index Applied to Coastal Shorelines layer extends the MVI evaluation for use in evaluating living shoreline (i.e., created or enhanced shoreline marshes) vulnerability and applies it to tidal shorelines in coastal Virginia. Outputs from this analysis were intended to evaluate the vulnerability of areas …

Drones In The Coastal Zone, Center For Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute Of Marine Science

Reports

Rivers & Coast is a periodic publication of the Center for Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute of Marine Science. The goal of Rivers & Coast is to keep readers well informed of current scientific understanding behind key environmental issues related to watershed rivers and coastal ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay.

Management Practices For Urban Areas In The Hampton Roads Vicinity: Data Files, Gary F. Anderson

Data

During 1980 through 1981, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science conducted studies in the Hampton Roads Virginia vicinity to assess pollutant loading in runoff from various land use types. The 13 urban study areas also included established BMPs such as grassy swales and retention ponds to measure their effectiveness in reducing pollutant loads to the Chesapeake Bay. The focus was on nutrients, BOD and suspended solids. The studies were conducted with support of the U.S. EPA under section 208 of the Federal Clean Water Act.

Methods and results are documented in the associated publication. Data files were processed using SPSS …

Coastal Virginia Flooding Duration Maps Current And Projected For 2020, 2050 And 2100, Molly Mitchell, Daniel Schatt, Jessica Hendricks

Data

Geospatial layers displaying annual flooding duration in the coastal zone of Virginia. These were generated from publicly available historical hourly tidal data from the NOAA Tides and Currents website from various tide gauges in the Chesapeake Bay region for the last 20 years. Particular tide gauges were linked to specific localities depending on location. The data was processed to determine average annual flooding duration at various flooding levels. Flood levels corresponding to specified average annual duration levels were then determined and used with lidar-derived digital elevation models to extract flood areas corresponding to the specified ranges of flood duration. Specifically, …

Joint Effects Of Fragmentation And Mercury Contamination On Marsh Periwinkle (Littoraria Irrorata) Movement, Marcos Krull, Michael C. Newman

VIMS Articles

There are different ways contaminants can interact and enhance the effects of habitat fragmentation, such as modifying the movement of organisms. The present study tested the hypothesis that mercury exacerbates the effects of
fragmentation by affecting the movement of the marsh periwinkle Littoraria irrorata and reducing the probability of snails crossing fragmented microlandscape experimental systems. How these changes could affect the search efficiency of organisms in the long term was assessed using hidden Markov models and random walks simulations. Bayesian nonlinear
models were used to analyze the effects of fragmentation and contamination on the mean speed and mean directional change …

A Geospatial Modeling Approach To Assess Site Suitability Of Living Shorelines And Emphasize Best Shoreline Management Practices, Karinna Nunez, Tamia Rudnicky, Pamela Mason, Christine Tombleson, Marcia Berman

VIMS Articles

The Shoreline Management Model (SMM) is a novel geospatial approach used to assess conditions along a shoreline, and recommend best management practices for defended and undefended shorelines. The SMM models available spatial data in order to identify areas where the use of living shorelines would be suitable to address shoreline erosion. The model was developed to support and inform decision-making by shoreline managers responsible for management of shoreline resources, shorefront property owners, and tidal habitat restoration actions. Recommended erosion control strategies are based on scientific knowledge of how shorelines respond to natural conditions and anthropogenic measures used to stabilize shorelines. …

Multiple Dimensions Of Functional Diversity Affect Stream Fish Taxonomic Β-Diversity, Luke M. Bower, Lauren Stoczynski, Brandon K. Peoples, Christopher J. Patrick, Bryan L. Brown

VIMS Articles

1. When investigating metacommunity dynamics, functional differences among
species are often assumed to be as important as environmental differences be-
tween sites in determining β-diversity. However, few studies have examined the
influence of functional diversity on β-diversity. We examine the relative importance of regional functional diversity partitioned by niche dimensions and environmental variation in structuring taxonomic β-diversity of stream fishes using a large dataset of stream fish assemblages (hereafter, simply β-diversity). We predicted that both functional diversity and environmental variation play a rolein determining β-diversity.
2. We tested this prediction by modelling the patterns of stream fish β-diversity as
a …

Enhancing Assessments Of Blue Carbon Stocks In Marsh Soils Using Bayesian Mixed-Effects Modeling With Spatial Autocorrelation — Proof Of Concept Using Proxy Data, Grace S. Chiu, Molly Mitchell, Julie Herman, Christian Longo, Kate Davis

VIMS Articles

Our paper showcases the potential gain in scientific insights about blue carbon stocks (or total organic carbon) when additional rigor, in the form of a spatial autocorrelation component, is formally incorporated into the statistical model for assessing the variability in carbon stocks. Organic carbon stored in marsh soils, or blue carbon (BC), is important for sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. The potential for marshes to store carbon dioxide, mitigating anthropogenic contributions to the atmosphere, makes them a critical conservation target, but efforts have been hampered by the current lack of robust methods for assessing the variability of BC stocks at …

A Global Synthesis Of Human Impacts On The Multifunctionality Of Streams And Rivers, Mario Brauns, Daniel C. Allen, Iola G. Boëchat, Wyatt F. Cross, Verónica Ferreira, Daniel Graeber, Christopher J. Patrick, Et Al

VIMS Articles

Human impacts, particularly nutrient pollution and land-use change, have caused significant declines in the quality and quantity of freshwater resources. Most global assessments have concentrated on species diversity and composition, but effects on the multifunctionality of streams and rivers remain unclear. Here, we analyse the most comprehensive compilation of stream ecosystem functions to date to provide an overview of the responses of nutrient uptake, leaf litter decomposition, ecosystem productivity, and food web complexity to six globally pervasive human stressors. We show that human stressors inhibited ecosystem functioning for most stressor-function pairs. Nitrate uptake efficiency was most affected and was inhibited …

Center For Coastal Resources Management Annual Report 2021, Center For Coastal Resources Management

Reports

No abstract provided.

Vims Marsh Migration Final Report + Metadata Sheets, Molly Mitchell, Karinna Nunez, Christine Tombleson, Julie Herman

Reports

Coastal marsh loss is a significant issue globally, due in part to rising sea levels and high levels of coastal human activity. Marshes have natural mechanisms to allow them to adapt to rising sea levels, however, migration across the landscape is one of those mechanisms and is frequently in conflict with human use of the shoreline. Ensuring the persistence of marshes into the future requires an understanding of where marshes are likely to migrate under sea level rise and targeting those areas for conservation and preservation activities. The goal of this project was to 1) compile existing datasets and information …

Killer From The Deep!, Tor Mowatt-Larssen

Reports

Grades: 6-12 Subjects: Life Science | Ecology

Explore the deep-sea environment and biological adaptations to living in the deep sea through murder-mystery investigation and graphing activities.

Shifting Sands: Coastal Dunes In Motion, Elizabeth Davis

Reports

Grades: 5+ Subjects: General Science, Geology, Environmental Science

Students will use “before & after” dune profile graphics to determine how the dune has changed and hypothesize why this change occurred.

How Resilient Is It? The Resilience Quotient Zoning Ordinance, Qiong Wang, Yao Wang

Reports

Grades: 9-12 Subjects: Environmental Science, Earth Science, Oceanography

The Resilience Quotient (RQ) system uses zoning ordinance to address coastal resilience development issues in the city of Norfolk, Virginia. This lesson plan goes through key resilience concepts and its strategies that can promote flood risk reduction, stormwater management, and energy resilience. The activity provides several scenarios to help students understand, simulate, visualize, discuss, and practice how the Resilience Quotient works for coastal developments in the city.

A Novel Antibody-Based Biosensor Method For The Rapid Measurement Of Pah Contamination In Oysters, Kristen M. Prossner, George G. Vadas, Ellen Harvey, Michael A. Unger

VIMS Articles

Conventional PAH analytical methods are time-consuming and expensive, limiting their utility in time sensitive events (i.e. oil spills and floods) or for widespread environmental monitoring. Unreliable and inefficient screening methods intended to prioritize samples for more extensive analyses exacerbate the issue. Antibody-based biosensor technology was implemented as a quantitative screening method to measure total PAH concentration in adult oysters (Crassostrea virginica) — a well-known bioindicator species with ecological and commercial significance. Individual oysters were analyzed throughout the historically polluted Elizabeth River watershed (Virginia, USA). Significant positive association was observed between biosensor and GC–MS measurements that persisted when the method was …

Long-Term Annual Aerial Surveys Of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (Sav) Support Science, Management, And Restoration, Robert J. Orth, William C. Dennison, Cassie Gurbisz, (...), Kenneth A. Moore, Christopher J. Patrick, (..), David J. Wilcox, Richard A. Batiuk

VIMS Articles

Aerial surveys of coastal habitats can uniquely inform the science and management of shallow, coastal zones, and when repeated annually, they reveal changes that are otherwise difficult to assess from ground-based surveys. This paper reviews the utility of a long-term (1984–present) annual aerial monitoring program for submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Chesapeake Bay, its tidal tributaries, and nearby Atlantic coastal bays, USA. We present a series of applications that highlight the program’s importance in assessing anthropogenic impacts, gauging water quality status and trends, establishing and evaluating restoration goals, and understanding the impact of commercial fishing practices on benthic habitats. These …

Extreme Event Ecology Needs Proactive Funding, Christopher J. Patrick, Enie Hensel, John S. Kominoski, Beth A. Stauffer, William H. Mcdowell

VIMS Articles

Commentary:

Extreme events such as wildfires, hurricanes, and floods have increased in frequency and intensity. It is no longer a question of if, but rather when and where these events will occur (Stott 2016), with adverse impacts on essential ecosystem
services including clean water, harvestable materials, and carbon sequestration. In some cases, extreme events such as wildfires may have positive impacts on populations and ecosystems. Managing these impacts requires understanding how environmental context as well as ecosystem and disturbance characteristics drive system responses (Hogan et al. 2020). However, funding for ecological extreme events research, such as through the US National …

Ware River Intensive Watershed Study Data Files - Part 2. Estuarine Receiving Water Quality, Gary F. Anderson

Data

The Ware River is a small coastal estuary draining into the Chesapeake Bay estuary. VIMS monitored the Ware watershed for rain events, runoff, and impacts to the estuary from April 1979 through July 1981. This entry contains the estuarine receiving water quality monitoring data files for the portion of the study known as Part 2 – Estuarine Receiving Water Quality. A set of stations on the tidal estuarine portion of the river were sampled by-monthly during high slack tide events. The stations were also sampled during 24-hour ‘intensive surveys’ and immediately following storm events to document impacts. Methods and results …

Influence Of Salinity On Sav Distribution In A Series Of Intermittently Connected Coastal Lakes, A. Challen Hyman, Rom Lipcius, R. Gray, D. B. Stephens

VIMS Articles

Intermittently closed and open lakes and lagoons (ICOLLs) are coastal lakes that intermittently exchange water with the sea and experience saline intrusions. Understanding effects of seawater exchange on local biota is important to preserve ecosystem functioning and ecological integrity. Coastal dune lakes of northwest Florida are an understudied group of ICOLLs in close geographic proximity and with entrance regimes operating along a frequency continuum. We exploited this natural continuum and corresponding water chemistry gradient to determine effects of water chemistry on resident submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) distributions in these ecosystems. SAV distribution decreased with increases in salinity, but was unaffected …

Virginia Seafood Sustainability, Samantha E. Askin, Robert A. Fisher

Reports

Virginia’s commercial fisheries operate sustainability under a suite of management tools based upon information received from marine scientists and fishery managers who regularly conduct biological sampling of fish while tracking commercial landings and other gathering of required information. Analyses of fishing effort and overall stock conditions, as well as formulas designed to calculate threshold limits for maintaining sustainable stocks are regularly performed. Restrictions on seasons, size, days at sea, and gear are imposed as needed to achieve management supporting long-term biological sustainability.