Microscope work: Summer interns conduct some microscope work aboard the RV Bay Eagle during a field trip on the York River.
: Melanie Schultz Peters (L) monitors her experimental tanks during her REU research project.
Plankton Tow: Summer interns collect plankton from the "cod end" of a plankton net during a field trip on the York River.
: VIMS graduate student Dave Hewitt shows a summer flounder to summer interns during a field trip on the York River.
York River Field Trip: Professor Deb Steinberg (C) shows a jar of zooplankton to summer interns during their field trip on the York River.
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Seine Net: Summer interns learn how to use a seine net.
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: Summer interns prepare to take a sediment core from the RV Pelican.
REU Research: Summer Intern David James (Norfolk State University) assists VIMS researcher Mark Patterson in trials with the robotic vehicle Fetch. Patterson is using the clear, calm waters of his home swimming pool as a controlled setting to find out what blue crabs and jellyfish look like on sonar. Their research will help scientists to better understand, and perhaps someday manage, one of the most common and nettlesome residents of Chesapeake Bay.
REU Research: Summer REU interns Cielomar Rodriguez (L, University of Puerto Rico) and Laura Twichell (R, Swarthmore College) extract a sediment core during a research cruise on the York River in 2005.
REU Field Trip: VIMS graduate student Dave Hewitt (R) shows a blue crab from a trawl net to REU students during their field trip on the York River.
Summer Intern Program
REU Research Projects
- Caitlin Adams ('09) Swarthmore College, "Using Molecular Diagnostics to Determine Host Type and Geographic Range of Perkinsus Species", Mentor: Kimberly S. Reece
- Stacy Aguilera ('09) Stanford University, "Secondary Production of Subtidal and Intertidal Rip-Rap Shorelines of the Patuxent and Lynnhaven Rivers", Mentor: Rochelle Seitz
- Cara Babineaux (’06) Hampton University, “Comparison of shallow and deep- water wave models in the York River, Virginia”, Mentor: John Brubaker
- Alexandra Badia ('11) Chatham University "Examining a Contemporary Method for Monitoring the Flux of Volatile Organic Carbon across Air-Sea Interface", Mentor: Rebecca Dickhut
- Lydia Bienlien (’12) Morningside College, "Molecular analysis of Perkinsus marinus infection acquisition in Crassostrea virginica." Mentor: Dr. Ryan Carnegie
- Leslie Bland ('10) James Madison University, "Studying and Comparing Chesapeake Bay 3-D Hydrodynamic Models", Mentors: Marjy Friedrichs, Carl Friedrichs
- Jessica Braunstein (’12) Lee University, "Effects of varying shoreline times on crab and fish species: Abundance, size and juvenile blue crab survival." Mentor: Dr. Rochelle Seitz
- Pearce Cooper (’12) Virginia Tech, "Determining the connectivity of cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus, populations in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico using microsatellite DNA markers." Mentor: Dr. Jan McDowell
- Cynthia Craig ('03) Morgan State University, "Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton biomass in the Gulf of Mexico", Mentor: Deborah Bronk
- Samuel Diaz-Muñoz ('01), Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez, "Quantification of essential fish habitat at LEO 15", Mentor: Robert Diaz
- James Douglass ('01), Rice University, "Functional differences and competitive interactions of four pericaridean crustaceans common in the submerged aquatic vegetation of Chesapeake Bay", Mentor: Emmett Duffy
- Carolyn Ewers (’07) California Polytechnic State University, “Comparing benthic community secondary productivity in various shallow-water habitats”, Mentor: Rochelle Seitz
- Caitlin Fikes (’12) University of Miami, "Effect of prey and habitat types on predation intensity in seagrass communities." Mentors: Dr. Emmett Duffy, Dr. Pamela Reynolds
- Dominique Franson (’06), University of Maryland, “Development of an apparatus to capture gaseous, water-soluble volatile organic carbon”, Mentors: Rebecca Dickhut, Jim Bauer
- Bárbara García-Pérez ('01), Colegio Universitario del Este, "The role of Molgula manhattensis in water quality of the York River estuary", Mentor: Linda Schaffner
- Ed Gorecki (’04) “Ecophysiology of key Antarctic phytoplankton: combined effects of temperature and light”, Mentor: Walker Smith
- Natasha Gownaris ('09) Gettysburg College, "Nitrogen Uptake Dynamics of Macroalgae and Phytoplankton in Shallow Marine Systems", Mentor: Mark Brush
- Drew Howard ('11) University of North Carolina Wilmington, "Comparison of length-weight relationships for three fish species from the James, York, and Rappahannock rivers", Mentors: Mary C. Fabrizio, Troy Tuckey.
- Cora Ann Johnston (’07) Hampshire College, “Evaluation of macroalgae (Gracilaria spp.) as alternative nursery habitat for blue crab in Chesapeake Bay using the growth rate/predation risk trade-off hypothesis: A study of survival”, Mentor: Rom Lipcius
- Madeline Karp (’12) The College of William & Mary, "Comparison of insect diversity in three marshes in the Pamunkey River." Mentors: Dr. Jim Perry, Lori Sutter
- Alex Kellum (’12) Clemson University, "Analysis of temporal tidal cycle variations of ground water discharge in the York River." Mentors: Dr. Aaron Beck, Jenna Luek
- Jonathan Lefcheck (’08) Colby College, “Factors affecting trophic control of community structure and ecosystem functioning in experimental seagrass mesocosms”, Mentor: Emmett Duffy
- Sean Lusk (’12) Virginia Tech, "Occurrence and growth rate of juvenile southern flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma, in the Chesapeake Bay." Mentor: Dr. Eric Hilton
- Lisa Marko ('03) Western Washington University, "Effects of trophic upgrading on egg production and egg hatching success of the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa", Mentor: Kam Tang
- Phillip Matich (’06) University of South Carolina, “Migration rates of invertebrate grazers in eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds: Variation with species, time, and distance among patches”, Mentor: Emmett Duffy
- Joseph Matt (’12) Wake Forest, "The effect of tetraploid mosaicism on triploid progeny of Crassostrea virginica. Mentor: Dr. Stan Allen
- Tim Montgomery (’04) College of William and Mary, “Sediment organic matter abundance in eelgrass beds of the York River”, Mentor: Elizabeth Canuel
- Julia Moriarty (’08) University of Chicago, “The effect of seasonal variation on sediment transport and deposition on a collision margin: the Umpqua River”, Mentors: Tara Kniskern, Courtney Harris
- Emilee Mroz (’06) St. Lawrence University, “Physical versus biological controls on seabed erodibility in a muddy, partially mixed estuary”, Mentor: Carl Friedrichs
- John Nichols ('02) UNC Chapel Hill, "Evaluating the biological integrity of wetlands through floristic quality assessments", Mentors: Jim Perry, Jim Kirkley
- Sabrina Ramirez (’12) Old Dominion University, "Community structure of tidal freshwater benthic communities associated with the Asian clam, Corbicula fluminea, in the tributaries of the York River." Mentors: Dr. Linda Schaffner, Jennifer Dreyer
- Natalie Ross (’12) North Carolina State University, "Effects of clam aquaculture on dissolved oxygen gradients in the sediment." Mentors: Dr. Iris Anderson, Jennifer Stanhope
- Nyanza Rothman ('10) Vassar College, "Trace Metal Cycling in an Algal Floway System", Mentors: Aaron Beck, Elizabeth Canuel
- Ryan Scott (’08) Old Dominion University, “The uses of acoustic doppler velocimeter measurements to infer the evolution of seabed erodibility in the York River Estuary”, Mentor: Carl Friedrichs
- Margaret Simon (’07) Haverford College, “Seasonal sediment erodibility and tidal effects in an idealized numerical model of the York River Estuary”, Mentor: Courtney Harris
- Laura Tait (’12) Amherst University, "The use of acoustic Doppler velocimeter backscatter response to determine the suspended sediment concentration." Mentors: Dr. Carl Friedrichs, Grace Cartwright
- Margaret Walker (’12) University of Mary Washington, "Mortality of eastern oysters as prey of blue crabs: Effects of size and reef complexity." Mentor: Dr. Rom Lipcius
