Virginia Institute of Marine Science

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The main VIMS campus in Gloucester Point, VA

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) is one of the oldest and largest schools of oceanography focused on coastal ocean and estuarine science in the United States. Founded in 1940, VIMS operates three campuses, has 57 faculty members and a total student body ranging from 100 - 125 students, and is a part of the College of William & Mary. It is funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia and includes four academic departments: Biological Sciences, Environmental and Aquatic Animal Health, Fisheries Science, and Physical Sciences, and offers both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in marine science. The main campus is located in Gloucester Point, Virginia.

Mission

VIMS provides research, education, and advisory service in marine science to Virginia, the nation, and the world.

History

VIMS was started by Prof. Donald W. Davis as the William and Mary Maritime Laboratory in 1938, which in 1940 was chartered by the Commonwealth as the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory. Its original building, Maury Hall, is named for Virginian Matthew Fontaine Maury, the “Father of Modern Oceanography”. The Eastern Shore Laboratory was established in 1962, and jumpstarted Virginia’s large hard clam industry. VIMS scientists were leaders in establishing the national Sea Grant and Coastal Zone Management programs in the 1960s.

Research Programs

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VIMS NOMAD real-time data buoy

VIMS research spans a broad range of topics. A 2009 analysis of research citations by Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators found VIMS among the top 1% of institutions in the fields of Plant & Animal Science and Environment & Ecology.

Early programs included:

• oyster research in the 1950s that was the seminal work on the ecology of these shellfish;
• juvenile fish and blue crab surveys in Chesapeake Bay in 1955, key fishery management tools that continue today;
• annual shark survey started in 1973, which is now the world’s longest-running;
• seagrass restoration efforts that are the most successful in the world, with 1,400 acres (5.7 km²) restored to coastal bays.

Current active research includes:

• Coastal Research - more than 50 coastal projects on every continent including Antarctica;
• Blue Crab sustainability
• Oyster restoration and aquaculture
• Bay Grasses / Submerged aquatic vegetation
• Aquatic Diseases & Immunity
• Fisheries and Aquaculture
• Global Change
• Marine Life & Processes
• Observing & Modeling - computer models using real-time data to help predict storm surge, sediment transport, and food-web dynamics.
• Coastal Economies & Recreation
• Pollution detection and risk of marine pollutants

Academics

VIMS’ School of Marine Science is one of four graduate and professional schools of the College of William and Mary. The school has 57 faculty members and a total student body ranging from 100 - 125 students, approximately half of whom are women. M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are offered in four major areas:

• Biological Sciences - biological, physical, and human-induced forces governing marine ecosystems on local and global scales.
• Environmental & Aquatic Animal Health - chemicals and biological factors that can deleteriously affect the health of aquatic ecosystems.
• Fisheries Science - investigation of living marine resources, especially finfish and shellfish
• Physical Sciences - chemical, geological, and physical oceanography

Facilities and Research Vessels

In addition to specialized facilities at the Eastern Shore Laboratory and Kaufman Aquaculture Center, the main campus includes:

• The Seawater Research Laboratory, the largest facility of its kind in the U.S, providing 800-gallons per minute to an acre of research tanks and lab space.

• The William J. Hargis, Jr. Library with 88,000 marine science volumes.

• Visitor Center with aquaria and life-sized models shows how VIMS research benefits Chesapeake Bay and the ocean.

• Fish collection features more than 125,000 specimens in 247 families from Chesapeake Bay and surrounding waters.

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VIMS Bay Eagle

• Andrews Hall, a 71,000-square-foot (6,600 m²) building that features 39 laboratories, 25 faculty offices, and space for nearly 100 students, technicians, and visiting scientists. It houses the Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center, the Prism Autonomous Systems Laboratory, the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation program, the Dominion Conference room, and a distance-learning classroom.

• Chesapeake Bay Hall, a 64,000-square-foot (5,900 m²) facility that houses programs in ecology, ecotoxicology, fishery genetics, immunology, and shellfish pathology.

VIMS owns and operates a fleet of 40 research vessels, including many specialized for research in the Chesapeake Bay and other coastal areas. Vessels include:

• R/V Pelican (74') with a 17’x 24’ working deck and 18,000 lb (8,200 kg) lifting capacity crane.
• R/V Bay Eagle (65') is outfitted with a wet lab containing a flow-through seawater system. The Bay Eagle also has interchangeable stern decks for versatility when changing from trawling, to dredging, long lining or other applications.
• R/V Fish Hawk (29') designed and equipped to perform trawl surveys.

Satellite Campuses

• The Kauffman Aquaculture Center is located on a tributary of the Rappahanock River. It serves VIMS' Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center with quarantine facilities for both native and non-native species.
• The Eastern Shore Laboratory, located on the Virginia Eastern Shore, serves as both a field station for research and teaching and as a site for resident research in coastal ecology and aquaculture. The laboratory is internationally recognized for shellfish research, with important contributions to molluscan ecology and culture.

External links

• VIMS official web site
• Virginia Estuarine and Coastal Observing System - real-time monitoring of Chesapeake Bay

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