Academic Programs
Graduate students in the Department of Fisheries Science at VIMS have a unique opportunity to integrate cutting-edge research with advisory service to citizens and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Faculty, students, and staff conduct research in the following areas and programs.
Anadromous Fishes
Studies of relative abundance, reproductive ecology, life history and exploitation of highly migratory marine species such as striped bass, Atlantic sturgeon, river herrings and American shad that spawn in fresh water. Studies include monitoring commercial and recreational landings, monitoring stock status with fishery-independent surveys, developing novel approaches to stock assessment, conducting surveys of juvenile abundance, mark/recapture and telemetry methods for estimation of fishing rates and description of migratory behavior.
Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center
Development of brood stocks of shellfish; selective breeding (especially for disease resistance), chromosome set manipulation, and evaluation of non-native species.
Chondrichthyan Biology
Studies of relative abundance, population dynamics, reproduction, feeding strategies and energetics of coastal and deep-sea sharks; management of shark fisheries.
Crustacean Ecology
Investigations of the ecology, population dynamics, and conservation of the blue crab in Chesapeake Bay and spiny lobster in the Caribbean. Emphasis on predator-prey interactions, with additional concentration on population and fisheries modeling and the ecology of natural and artificial reef systems.
Deep-Sea Ecology
Research on oceanic ecosystems with emphasis on community structure, trophic dynamics, biophysical coupling, and ecosystem functioning, with emphasis on deep-sea fishes and their prey.
Fisheries Genetics
The application of molecular genetic techniques to address problems in fisheries science. Studies of stock structure, use of molecular characters to identify early life history stages of marine organisms, and the evaluation of taxonomic and biogeographic hypotheses with molecular genetic information.
Invasive Species Biology
History and pathways of invasions. Investigations of the characteristics of invasive species, ecosystem impacts, and mechanisms of control.
Marine Conservation Biology
Ecology and conservation of the blue crab, sea turtles (loggerhead and Kemp’s Ridley). Caribbean spiny lobster, queen conch, Nassau grouper, and marine bivalves. Emphasis on metapopulation and source-sink dynamics, marine reserves and dispersal corridors, habitat fragmentation, degradation and loss effects on marine invertebrates, recruitment processes, and predator-prey interactions.
Marine Finfish Dynamics
Recruitment dynamics of finfish in coastal ecosystems based on long-term bottom-trawl and beach seine surveys in Chesapeake Bay. A primary goal of these studies is to calculate recruitment indices to gauge the strength of the current year class and permit informed management of coastal fisheries.
Marine Resource Policy and Fisheries Management
Research to support determination of socially optimal rates of exploitation and optimum allocation of marine resources among competing user groups. Studies emphasize assessment and estimation of net social benefits to society and the economic impacts of proposed management and regulatory options.
Molluscan Ecology
Ecology and stock assessment of estuarine and continental shelf molluscs. Studies of behavior of molluscan larvae, life history, population dynamics and molluscs as indicators of climate and environmental change.
Multispecies Fisheries Research
Multispecies fisheries research includes studies of age, sex, and maturity; predator-prey interactions; seasonal variations in species distributions, and water-quality effects. Development of multispecies stock assessments to inform ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management.
Stock Assessment Methodology
Systematic evaluation of stock assessment procedures and the development of new mathematical models and statistical methods for studying populations and their responses to exploitation.
Systematics and Taxonomy
Taxonomically diverse studies that focus on the taxonomy, morphology, phylogenetic systematics, zoogeography, and evolutionary biology of various vertebrate and invertebrate groups. The program promotes a total evidence approach to phylogenetic research, including molecular techniques and morphological studies of larval, juvenile and adult forms.