Connecting Research and Experts with Journalists

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A new study co-authored by professor Kam Tang of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science reveals that tiny aquatic organisms known as "water fleas" play an important role in carrying hitchhiking bacteria to lake and ocean habitats that are otherwise inaccessible due to stratified density boundaries. For organisms as small as bacteria, the boundary between water masses of different temperature and salinity may as well be a brick wall. Hitching a ride on larger zooplankton helps them break through to greener pastures.

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A new study of sea-level trends by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science brings both good and bad news to localities concerned with coastal inundation and flooding along the shores of Chesapeake Bay.

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A new study by an international team including professor Mark Luckenbach of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows that the decline of oyster reefs is a global problem. The team's analysis shows that oyster reefs are at less than 10% of their prior abundance in 70% of the 144 bays studied around the world.

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An international research team finds that loss of plant biodiversity disrupts the fundamental services that ecosystems provide to humanity.

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A joint study between local oyster growers and researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science suggests that moving farmed oysters into saltier waters just prior to harvest nearly eliminates the presence of a bacterium that can sicken humans.

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A new VIMS study shows that turbulence from boat propellers can and does kill large numbers of copepods—tiny crustaceans that are an important part of marine food webs.

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Tests of a new antibody-based “biosensor” developed by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science show that it can detect marine pollutants like oil much faster and more cheaply than current technologies. The device is small and sturdy enough to be used from a boat.

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A team of 21 researchers from 11 nations has completed the first-ever study of the risk of extinction for individual seagrass species around the world. The 4-year study, requested by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), shows that 10 of the 72 known seagrass species (14%) are at an elevated risk of extinction, while 3 species qualify as endangered.

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A study led by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows that jellyfish can drastically alter marine food webs by shunting food energy from fish toward bacteria.

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Development of disease resistance among Chesapeake Bay oysters calls for a shift in oyster-restoration strategies within the Bay and its tributaries. That’s according to a new study by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.