Research

Selecting a Better Oyster (Part 3): Picking Parents for the Best Traits

VASG-funded researcher develop a strategy for breeding oysters with improved disease resistance and other profitable characteristics for Virginia’s oyster industry.

Stan Allen takes a microscopic view on oysters. ©Margaret Pizer/VASG

Selecting a Better Oyster (Part 2): Back from the Brink

Bringing oysters and industry back after almost a century of disease decimated wild populations was part science, part serendipity.

Selecting a Better Oyster (Part 1): Sea Grant Research Supports Industry Growth

VASG-funded researchers want to improve the bottom line for Virginia’s oyster growers by selectively breeding oysters with more profitable traits.

Clam beds on Virginia's Eastern Shore. ©Kathryn Greves/VASG

Mapping Opportunities for Aquaculture Expansion

As aquaculture efforts expand in Virginia and Maryland, the potential for use conflicts between aquaculture and other uses of the Bay is also growing. The goal of this project is to update a model that maps preferred areas for aquaculture development. In addition, a map viewer will be developed to allows managers to monitor and [...]

Oysters on the half-shell. @Janet Krenn/VASG

Gaining Perspective to Breed a Better Oyster

Three oyster experts took a road trip into the mind of a seafood buyer, visiting high-end restaurants to find out what makes a half-shell oyster worth purchasing. The Virginia Sea Grant-funded research team want to breed a better, more profitable oyster for Virginia’s aquaculture industry.

Wendi Quidort and Katie Reece take water samples from an experiment in Sarah's Creek. ©Margaret Pizer/VASG

Graduate Research Fellow Raises the Profile of Viruses in Wastewater

Viruses tend to fly—or float—under the radar when it comes to most water quality standards, but Wendi Quidort’s research may be changing that soon. The Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellow, who is working towards her Ph.D. at Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), has been making some interesting discoveries about what viruses released from wastewater treatment plants might be doing in Virginia’s creeks and estuaries.

A Picture Tells the Story of Future Coastal Flooding

Seeing — and listening — really does equal believing when it comes to public understanding of the sea-level rise that threatens communities along the Chesapeake Bay. That’s the finding of a recent experiment that tested an interactive, online map and other new ways of showing Marylanders who live by the Bay just how real may be the threat of increased coastal flooding from rising seas.

Tidewatch Forecasts Go Public

VASG-funded researcher John Boon and his team have added forecasts to their tide monitoring website, giving residents of the lower Chesapeake Bay region a new tool for gauging the magnitude of coastal flooding in a given location and minimizing its potential impacts.

Victor Andrade, VT aquaculture intern, releases a tagged cobia into the Hampton River. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

Hatchery-Raised Fish Start a New, Wild Life

These cobia and spadefish hatched to help scientists refine the larvae production process and determine nutrition needs. As tagged fish, they will have one last opportunity to contribute to science as they live out their lives in the wild.

Alia Al-Haj prepares to stake a light meter into the sediment at Magothy Bay. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

Researching the Path to Long-Term Success in VA’s Coastal Bays

University of Virginia graduate student and Virginia Sea Grant Fellow Alia Al-Haj researches how environmental change will affect seagrass restoration efforts.

UVA Graduate Wins Coastal and Ocean Management Award

Melissa Keywood has received a 2012 Walter B. Jones Award for Excellence in Coastal and Ocean Management. Keywood recently finished her master’s in Urban and Environmental Planning at the University of Virginia (UVA).

Jessica Thompson brings in minnow traps filled with mummichog. ©Kathryn Greves/VASG

CNU Research Team Looks for Link Between Living Shorelines and Important Fish

Christopher Newport University biology professor Jessica Thompson wants to know whether man-planted grassy banks designed to stop shoreline erosion might also play an important ecological role: providing habitat for small fish called mummichog.

Terrapin Files

Diamondback terrapins face a variety of threats—from coastal development to crab fishing. A team of VASG-funded researchers are mapping terrapin habitat and threats to aid in the development of effective management strategies.

Marine Scientist Jennifer Stanhope, VASG Graduate Research Fellow Annie Murphy, and Mark Luckenbach take water samples from the cores over the course of the day to measure the nutrient concentrations in the water. ©Margaret Pizer/VASG

Nutrient Flow in Clam Aquaculture

Virginia’s hard clam industry produces between $20 and $30 million of clams annually, and individual clam farms cover areas ranging from 10’s to 100’s of acres. A Virginia Sea Grant-funded research team led by VIMS faculty members Iris Anderson, Mark Luckenbach, and Mark Brush is investigating the effects of these large-scale aquaculture operations on the flow of nutrients in Bay ecosystems. The results will help managers and clam farmers make sure the industry can function sustainably for years to come.

A map of Chesapeake Bay from the wall of the Virginia Sea Grant marine policy interns' office. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

Mapping Fisheries Management

VASG director Troy Hartley brings a social scientist’s perspective to a National Research Council committee to evaluate fishery stock rebuilding efforts.

Christopher Newport University student Lauren Davis carries minnow traps at the Virginia Zoo. Davis is working with professor Jessica Thompson to investigate the effects of fringe marsh width on mummichogs to help managers design more effective marsh conservation strategies. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

Research Ready

Virginia Sea Grant (VASG) supports research efforts in a wide range of disciplines—from ecology to oceanography and from animal health to social science—all providing benefits to Virginia’s coastal environments and communities. VASG offers funding opportunities for graduate student projects, preliminary and pilot research, and larger-scale studies.

Atlantic moonfish (Selene setapinnis) with their stomachs dissected for VASG Graduate Research Fellow Mark Stratton’s research on East Coast fish communities. ©Margaret Pizer/VASG

VASG Welcomes 2012 Graduate Research Fellows

Virginia Sea Grant has awarded two-year Graduate Research Fellowships to five students at Virginia institutions. The fellowship supports Ph.D. students engaged in coastal and marine research relevant to Virginia and the VASG strategic plan. The program emphasizes communication skills, and fellows work with outreach or end-user mentors t

Essential Tools in Every Virginian’s Hurricane Preparedness Kit

Two tools, developed at VIMS with funding by Virginia Sea Grant, help protect property and lives during hurricanes.

Large algal blooms in Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of Mobjack Bay. ©Kim Reece/VIMS

Nutrient Uptake in Harmful Algal Blooms

When scientists and environmental regulators talk about nutrient pollution, they are primarily talking about additional nitrogen and phosphorus that enters the water from wastewater treatment plants, runoff, and other sources. These extra nutrients can allow algae to grow out of control, creating a phenomenon know as harmful algal blooms (HABs). However little is known about [...]