- About
- With 500+ faculty, staff and students and three campus locations, the Batten School & VIMS are equipped to tackle pressing challenges through research, education and advisory service.
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- Research & Advisory
- Purple marsh crabs are significantly disrupting carbon cycling in salt marshes along the East Coast of the U.S., according to a study led by Batten School & VIMS scientists.
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- Batten School
- The R. Todd Stravitz Scholars Program will provide full tuition support for students pursuing the new bachelor’s degree in coastal & marine sciences at the Batten School & VIMS.
  
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- Engage
- Popular, free camps enable rising third through eighth graders to learn about the Chesapeake Bay, coastal ecosystems and environmental stewardship.
  
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- News & Events
- National TRAP Program funds large-scale cleanup of discarded fishing gear, first round of subawards totaling more than $1.4M supports 11 projects focused on removing derelict fishing gear from coastal waters in nine U.S. states and Palau.
  
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- Giving
- As an expression of parental pride in their daughter, Taylor Spencer ‘83 and Martha Spencer recently established an undergraduate field research endowment at the Batten School & VIMS.
  
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Erin Shields

Assistant Research Scientist

Email: eshields@vims.edu
Phone: (804) 684-7702
Office: Wilson House 101
Section: Coastal & Ocean Processes
Unit: Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Education

B.A. Biology. Connecticut College, 2004.
M.S. Marine Science. College of William and Mary, School of Marine Science, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 2008.

About

As a team member of the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia, I manage the submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) program and support the water quality monitoring program conducted at our reserve sites and throughout the estuarine environments of the Chesapeake Bay. I am involved in the collection and synthesis of data for the Virginia Estuarine and Coastal Observing System (VECOS) http://web2.vims.edu/vecos/. My research relates changes in water quality to SAV abundance and species dynamics, currently focusing specifically on eelgrass resilience to climate change.