- 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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Richard A. Snyder

Emeritus Professor

Retired: 2025
Email: [[rsnyder]]
Section: Natural Resources

Education

B.S. Biology, College of Charleston, SC
M.S., Ph.D. Zoology, University of Maryland

About

I am a broadly trained interdisciplinary ecologist focusing mostly on microbial ecology, especially eukaryotic microbes, from basic explorations of microbial diversity to applied aspects related to biofilm formation, water quality, disease, and response to pollutants. I have also worked with plant community ecology in coastal acidic bogs and barrier islands, and have conducted studies on the spatial and species-specific distributions and concentrations of metals (including Hg), PAHs, PCBs, and Dioxin-Furans in fish and shellfish.