The Chesapeake Bay is one of the largest estuaries in the world, known for its historic, cultural, and ecological significance. Recently, we embarked on a fieldwork trip to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science to study one of the most iconic species of the Chesapeake Bay, the eastern oyster (C. virginica). Our research contributes insight towards understanding how oyster genetics impact survival and success under different environmental conditions.

​While there, our main goal was to monitor success of oysters growing in an ongoing experiment for the Lotterhos lab. This experiment involves raising juvenile eastern oysters with a variety of genetic backgrounds in two different sites within the Chesapeake Bay, the Lewisetta River and the York River. Our visit marked the 18-month point in the study, so we could really start to see substantial differences in survival and success across groups!  

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​10:00 am: Once we collected our samples, we return to the Aquaculture Genetics & Breeding Technology Center in the Acuff Center for Aquaculture at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Zea works on collecting samples for her own independent thesis! Madeline removes the predatory blue crabs from bags, where they have been eating the oysters. Unfortunately, this predation pressure can result in loss of study samples if the crabs are not routinely removed from the bags. 

Curious what else we do in a day at VIMS? Check out our video to see more clips and highlights from a day in the life as a marine biologist in the Chesapeake Bay! 

Undergraduate researchers Zea Segnitz 
(zeasegnitz.bsky.social) and Zoe Chapman 
​(zoechapman.bsky.social) are continuing on in the Lotterhos lab with independent projects slated for 2025/2026, stay tuned for the results of their work!

While we experienced substantial rainfall in Savannah for several days, there was less flooding than initially forecasted. Given the circumstances, I was curious about the factors of coastal resiliency in Georgia that may have contributed to reducing the impact of flooding during Debby.

​Having collected wild oysters from Georgia for my dissertation, I knew that there are expansive natural oyster reef structures along the coastlines in the greater Savannah area. Specifically, I know that native oyster reefs play a role in shielding the coast from storm surge and erosion. ​

With a growing number of people living in coastal areas along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the US, it's imperative to better understand coastal mitigation strategies in the face of rapidly intensifying storms and climate change events. Natural oyster reefs are ecosystem engineers that provide a physical barrier which mitigates storm surges and prevents successive erosion (Chowdhury et al 2021). Beyond physical factors, filter-feeding oysters clear bacteria that enters the water through storm drainage and runoff. Oyster reefs also provide valuable structural habitat for many marine species. This habitat is the foundation for biodiverse ecosystems and healthy fisheries that remain resilient to extreme climatic events (Chowdhury et al 2021). ​

​To investigate additional factors of coastal resilience in Georgia, I visited Tybee Island, just east of Savannah, with other workshop attendees. While there, we were inundated with heavy rain and wind, but we were able to identify several features of the landscape that, in part, play a role in buffering the coastline from storms. 

​I teamed up with scientists Damián Santiago-Sosa, Paul Okrah, Darrian Talamantes, and Mai Fahmy, who shared their expertise on resilient coastal ecosystems and how marine scientists study these coastlines in the video that we created!

Check out our video on features of resilient coastlines such as sand dunes, bacteria, and biodiversity! These resilient features are similar among many coastlines in different marine environments, so next time you're on the coast, see how many of these features you can identify.

Lisa collected >2000 data points on the polydora worm blisters over the past two months of their internship. It was great to mentor them on this project, and I'm excited to get to the next steps of data analysis!