2012 After Hours Lectures
The secret social lives of shrimp: cooperation and homeland defense on the reef
(October 25, 2012) VIMS professor Emmett Duffy describes his groundbreaking discovery of the first case of eusociality in a marine animal, the sponge-dwelling Caribbean shrimp Synalpheus regalis. View archived video online.
Natural selection in Chesapeake Bay oysters: Disease-resistance and restoration
(September 27, 2012) VIMS professor Ryan Carnegie explores how development of disease resistance among Bay oysters calls for a shift in restoration strategies. View archived video online.
A new tool for your hurricane toolkit
(August 23, 2012) VIMS emeritus professor John Boon unveils the newly launched public portal to VIMS' 36-hour Tidewatch forecasts. The forecast system—tested and refined in partnership with meteorologists and emergency managers during hurricanes and nor'easters over the last few years—provides computer-generated guidance concerning predicted changes in local water levels during future storms. View archived video online.
Jamestown and the "Starving Time:" Did groundwater play a role?
(March 29, 2012) During the "Starving Time" of 1609-1610, nearly half the Jamestown colonists perished before supplies and reinforcements arrived from England. W&M geologist Greg Hancock describes his research into the role that bad drinking water may have played in this tragic event and the fate of the Jamestown colony.
Is Mycobacteriosis killing Virginia's striped bass?
(February 23, 2012) A chronic bacterial disease known as Mycobacteriosis infects more than half of all striped bass in Chesapeake Bay. VIMS professor Wolfgang Vogelbein describes his team's research into the nature of this disease and how it might be affecting the Bay's rockfish populations. View archived lecture online.
Earthquakes in Virginia: Past, present, and future
(January 26, 2012) W&M geology professor Chuck Bailey explores the nature and history of earthquakes in Virginia and the probability of future temblors, with a focus on the magnitude 5.8 temblor that struck Virginia on August 23, 2011. View archived lecture online.