Mary C. Fabrizio

Moses D. Nunnally Distinguished Associate Professor of Marine Science

Email: [[mfabrizio]]
Phone: (804) 684-7308
Office: Fisheries Science Lab 135
Department: Fisheries Science

Education

• B.S., Summa Cum Laude, Biological Sciences, 1978, Fordham University, New York, NY
• Ph.D., Biological Oceanography, 1985, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI

Research Interests

• Recruitment dynamics of Chesapeake Bay fishes (especially striped bass, summer flounder, American eel, and Atlantic croaker)
• Spatial ecology of estuarine fishes (summer flounder, striped bass)
• Population dynamics of juvenile fishes
• Sampling designs for fishery-independent surveys

Current Projects

• Virginia trawl survey for juvenile fishes (with T. Tuckey)
  • Influence of survey design on juvenile fish community metrics
  • Evaluating relationships among indices of abundance from fishery-independent surveys

• Juvenile striped bass seine survey (with L. Machut)
  
  • Habitat use by juvenile striped bass in lower Chesapeake Bay tributaries
• Recruitment of American eel to Virginia tributaries 
• Stock structure and mortality rates of summer flounder based on multiple tagging technologies.  Mark Henderson dissertation research (NMFS-SeaGrant Population Dynamics Fellow)
  
  • Residency and dispersal of summer flounder from Chesapeake Bay
  • Localized movements and habitat associations of adult summer flounder using passive acoustic telemetry

• Physiological impacts of hypoxia on healthy and Mycobacterium-infected striped bass. Collaboration with W. K. Vogelbein (VIMS- Environmental and Aquatic Animal Health), R. W. Brill (NOAA-Fisheries Service), and D. Gauthier (Old Dominion University-Biology Department). 

• Physiological effects of hypoxia and environmental contaminants on Atlantic croaker in the Chesapeake and coastal bays.  Collaboration with R. W. Brill (NOAA-Fisheries Service) and A. Johnson (University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Center for the Integrated Study of Coastal Ecosystem Processes and Dynamics in the Mid-Atlantic Region).

• Establishing field-based evidence for the effects of hypoxia on the reproductive capacity of Chesapeake Bay fishes.  Collaboration with T. Tuckey (VIMS-Fisheries Science).

• The role of variation in condition of individual young-of-the-year fish: implications for recruitment dynamics of striped bass and summer flounder in Chesapeake Bay.  R. Schloesser dissertation research (VA Sea Grant Fellowship).

• Ecologically-framed mercury database, exposure modeling and risk/benefit communication to lower Chesapeake Bay fish consumers.  Collaboration with M. Newman (VIMS-Environmental and Aquatic Animal Health)
• Invasive blue catfish in Chesapeake Bay tributaries. Multiple projects aimed at estimating abundance (using mark-recapture studies), historical biomass, contaminant concentrations, and trophic interactions. Collaborative work with VDGIF, VCU, MDDNR, and others at VIMS. (R. Hale, R. Latour, and T. Tuckey)

Selected Publications

• Fabrizio, M. C., J. Uphoff, D. Secor, J. Kramer, S. Green, E. Martino, J. Cimino, D. Gauthier, J. Jacobs, M. Topolski, A. Sharov, W. Vogelbein, and K. Culzoni.  In Review.  Ecosystem considerations for management of Chesapeake Bay striped bass.  For: Northeast Atlantic Coast Striped Bass Fisheries Management.  M. Armstrong and P. Perra, eds. 

• Capossela, K. M., R. W. Brill, M. C. Fabrizio, and P. G. Bushnell.  In Press.  Metabolic and cardiorespiratory responses of summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus to hypoxia at two temperatures.  Journal of Fish Biology. 

• Woodland, R. J., D. H. Secor , M. C. Fabrizio and M. J. Wilberg.  2012.  Comparing the nursery role of inner continental shelf and estuarine habitats for temperate marine fishes.  Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science. 99: 61-73.

• Williams, B. D., and M. C. Fabrizio. 2011.  Detectability of estuarine fishes in a beach seine survey of tidal tributaries of lower Chesapeake Bay.  Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 140: 1340-1350.

• Schloesser, R. W., M. C. Fabrizio, R. J. Latour, G. C. Garman, R. Greenlee, M. Groves, J. Gartland. 2011.  Ecological role of blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) in Chesapeake Bay communities and implications for management.  In P. Michaletz and V. Travnichek, eds., Conservation, ecology, and management of worldwide catfish populations and habitats.  American Fisheries Society, symosium 77: 369-382, Bethesda, MD.
• Fenske, K. H., M. J. Wilberg, D. H. Secor, and M. C. Fabrizio.  2011.  An age- and sex-structured assessment model for American eels (Anguilla rostrata) in the Potomac River, Maryland.  Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 68: 1024-1037. 
• Hewitt, A., J. Ellis, and M. C. Fabrizio.  2009.  Fisheries of the York River system.  Journal of Coastal Research 57:99-110.
• McKenna, Jr., J. E., B. M. Davis, M. C. Fabrizio, J. F. Savino, T. N. Todd, and M. Bur.  2008.  Ichthyoplankton assemblages of coastal west-central Lake Erie and associated habitat characteristics.  Journal of Great Lakes Research 34:755-769.
• Fabrizio, M. C., F. S. Scharf, G. R. Shepherd, and J. E. Rosendale.  2008. Factors affecting catch-and-release mortality of bluefish.  North American Journal of Fisheries Management 28:533-546.
• Hubert, W. and M. C. Fabrizio.2007. Relative abundance and catch/effort relationships. Chapter 7 in Analysis and Interpretation of Freshwater Fisheries Data. Edited by M. Brown and C. Guy. American Fisheries Society.
• M. C. Fabrizio and J. P. Pessutti. 2007. Long-term effects and recovery from surgical implantation of dummy transmitters in two marine fishes. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 351:243-254.
• Pollock, K. H., J. Yoshizaki, M. C. Fabrizio, and S. T. Schram. 2007. Factors affecting survival rates of a recovering lake trout population estimated by mark-recapture in Lake Superior, 1969-1996. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 136:185-194.
• Scharf, F. S., J. P. Manderson and M. C. Fabrizio. 2006. The effects of seafloor habitat complexity on survival of juvenile fishes: species-specific interactions with structural refuge. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 335:167-176.
• Scharf, F. S., J. P. Manderson, M. C. Fabrizio, J. P. Pessutti, J. E. Rosendale, A. J. Bejda, and R. J. Chant. 2004. Seasonal and interannual patterns of distribution and diet of bluefish within a Middle Atlantic Bight estuary in relation to abiotic and biotic factors. Estuaries 27:426-436.
• Fabrizio, M. C. 2004. Experimental design and sampling strategies for mixed-stock analysis. Chapter 23 in Stock Identification Methods. Edited by S. Cadrin, K. Friedland, and J. Waldman. Academic Press.
• Fabrizio, M. C., R. M. Dorazio, and S. T. Schram. 2001. Dynamics of individual growth in a recovering population of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences 58: 262-272.
• Fabrizio, M. C., J. Raz, and R. Bandekar. 2000. Using linear models with correlated errors to analyze changes in abundance of Lake Michigan fishes: 1973-1992. Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences 57:775-788.
• Fabrizio, M. C., J. D. Nichols, J. E. Hines, B. L. Swanson, and S. T. Schram. 1999. Modeling data from double-tagging experiments to estimate heterogeneous rates of tag shedding in lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush). Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences 56:1409-1419.

Current Students

• Mark Henderson, Ph. D. candidate, NOAA - Sea Grant Population Dynamics Fellow
• Ryan Schloesser, Ph. D. candidate, VA-Sea Grant Fellow
• Lauren Nys, M. S. candidate

Former Students

• Justine Woodward, M.S. 2009. Thesis: Investigating the relationships between recruitment indices and estimates of adult abundance for striped bass, weakfish, and Atlantic croaker
• Karen Capossela, M.S. 2010. Thesis: Migration dynamics, within-estuary behaviors and cardiorespiratory responses of summer flounder to selected estuarine conditions
• Branson Williams, M.S. 2010. Thesis: Estimating detection probabilities in beach seine surveys for estuarine fishes
• Lynn Waterhouse, M.S. 2010. Thesis: Partial-year tagging models: accounting for changing tag visibility and delayed mixing.

Student Awards

2006

• Branson Williams, Hall-Bonner Fellowship 2006-2009

2007

• Karen Capossela, Oceanside Conservation Corporation Scholarship
• Justine Woodward, AFS Marine Fisheries Section Travel Award
• Mark Henderson, Beazley Fellowship, VIMS Foundation
• Mark Henderson, VIMS Graduate Fellowship, 2007-2010

2008

• Karen Capossela, Oceanside Conservation Corporation Scholarship
• Justine Woodward, AFS Estuaries Section Travel Award
• Mark Henderson, Beazley Fellowship, VIMS Foundation
• Mark Henderson, Reves Graduate Student International Travel Grant

2009

• Karen Capossela, Best Student Presentation, AFS Tidewater Chapter Meeting
• Karen Capossela, AFS Marine Fisheries Section Travel Award
• Branson Williams, AFS Equal Opportunities Section Travel Award
• Mark Henderson, NMFS-Sea Grant Population Dynamics Fellowship: 2009-2012
• Mark Henderson, Beazley Fellowship, VIMS Foundation
• Mark Henderson, Student Travel Award, International Tagging Symposium
• Ryan Schloesser, Ziegler Fellowship, VIMS Foundation

2011

• Ryan Schloesser, AFS Virginia Chapter, Robert D. Ross Graduate Scholarship
• Ryan Schloesser, Perry Grant
• Ryan Schloesser, Eastern Shore Laboratory Research Fund
• Lauren Nys, Eastern Shore Laboratory Research Fund

2012

• Lauren Nys, Oceanside Conservation Co., Inc. Research Scholarship
• Ryan Schloesser, Virginia Sea Grant Fellowship, 2012-2014

Courses Taught/Teaching

• MSCI 528 / 501 F Marine Fisheries Science (with J. Graves)
• MSCI 669 Linear & Generalized Linear Models in Ecology
• MSCI 698 Fisheries Data Management and Analysis (with C. Bonzek)
• MSCI 698 Linear Modeling for Fish Ecologists
• MSCI 698 Got Data? Now what? (Applications & Generalized Linear Models - from Data Collection to Publication)

Awards

• NOAA Bronze Medal Award, 2006
• Distinguished Service Award, American Fisheries Society 1998
• Most significant paper published in 1997 in the Transactions of the American Fisheries Society - August 1998 (Waldman et al. 1997)
• James W. Moffett Award for outstanding scientific paper published in 1997, Great Lakes Science Center - August 1998 (Fabrizio, Adams, and Curtis 1997)

Professional Memberships

• Board of Directors, Hudson River Foundation
• American Fisheries Society (AFS)
  • President (2007-2008)
  • President AFS Marine Fisheries Section (2002-2004)
• American Institute of Fishery Research Biologists - Fellow
• The Biometric Society
• Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation
• Phi Beta Kappa

Other Work of Interest

• Rose, K. A., M. C. Fabrizio, and B. A. Phelan.  In Press. Determining authorship: why is something that seems so simple so difficult?  For:  Scientific Communication for Natural Resource Professionals, Cecil A. Jennings, Thomas E. Lauer, and Bruce Vondracek (Editors)
• Simmonds, R., and M. C. Fabrizio. 2006. Fisheries employment in the US Federal Government. Pages 79-96 in D. A. Hewitt,    W. E. Pine III, and A. V. Zale, eds.  The AFS Guide to Fisheries Employment, 2nd edition. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.