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    • The impacts of purple marsh crabs on salt marshes can be viewed from space. The crabs leave expansive, fan-shaped mudflats as they burrow into the marsh and consume large swaths of cordgrass. Photo by Virginia Sea Grant
      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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      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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      Popular, free camps enable rising third through eighth graders to learn about the Chesapeake Bay, coastal ecosystems and environmental stewardship.

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    • An abandoned spiny lobster trap off the coast of California. Derelict fishing equipment can continue to trap and kill animals, harming marine ecosystems and competing with actively fished gear.

      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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      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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  • Jellyfish

Jellyfish

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The bay nettle {em}Chrysaora chesapeakei{/em}. Photo by Jon Lefcheck.

Jellyfish are one of the more common animals encountered by visitors to Chesapeake Bay and nearby coastal waters, especially during summer. The most common jellyfish in the summertime Bay, and the one most responsible for stinging swimmers, is the bay nettle Chrysaora chesapeakei.

Here you can

  • discover how to identify different jellyfish species,
  • learn how to avoid and treat jellyfish stings
  • follow the jellyfish lifecycle, and
  • explore the role that jellyfish play in marine food webs.
View or report jellyfish sightings
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