- 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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Multidisciplinary Research Sections

David Johnson

Associate Professor

Email: [[dsjohnson]]
Phone: (804) 684-7513
Office: Andrews Hall 336
Section: Ecosystem Health
Links: {{http://jlabresearch.wixsite.com/jlab, Lab Website}}, {{http://www.manayunkia.com/, Blog}}

Education

B.S. Environmental Science with Honor, University of Central Arkansas, 2003
Ph.D. Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, 2008
Post-doc: Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory; Supervisor: Linda Deegan

About

I am a marine ecologist. My primary research goal is to understand how global change affects marine animals and their habitats. Primarily, I focus on bottom-dwelling invertebrates. Some people study fish, I study fish food. From polychaetes the size of rice grains that feed on phytoplankton to charismatic fiddler crabs that wave oversized claws and pick algae from the ground, these animals are important links to food webs, biodiversity and ecosystem processes such as carbon storage and primary production.