News

Mary Bryan Barksdale is the winner of the inaugural Iris C. Anderson Research Award in recognition of an outstanding first-authored paper that contributes to VCR LTER science and to the broader field of coastal science. Her paper, co-authored with Kendall Valentine, Chris Hein, and Matt Kirwan is entitled: Tradeoffs Between Vertical and Lateral Resilience in a Salt Marsh Restoration Model and was published in JGR Biosciences in December 2025.

Barksdale, M. B., Valentine, K., Hein, C. J., & Kirwan, M. L. (2025). Tradeoffs between vertical and lateral resilience in a salt marsh restoration model. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 130, e2025JG009145. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JG009145

Undergraduate students are invited to apply for the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program with the Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project. Our REU program begins in late May and concludes in early August. It includes work on a focal research project, help with our long-term sampling initiatives, and occasional professional development sessions. It will also provide you with the opportunity to be part of the vibrant research community at UVA’s Coastal Research Center in Oyster, VA.

More information is available at: https://abcrc.virginia.edu/opportunities

Dr. Serina Wittyngham, now faculty at U. of North Florida, along with her advisor David S. Johnson and other VIMS researchers have been in the media recently talking and writing about crabs (specifically Sesarma reticulatum, purple marsh crab) and their impact on salt-marsh carbon storage . This work is from Serina’s excellent research on the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) and serves as a platform for some of our research going forward on the VCR. 

 David Johnson had a nice segment entitled “Marsh Madness” regarding the research on the  With Good Reason radio program April 6. You can hear it at: https://www.withgoodreasonradio.org/episode/shellfish-unfiltered/?t=0&autoplay=1#s0

Serina’s work was also highlighted in the Bay Journal.

There is also an awesome paper in Ecology (Matt Kirwan and Yaping Chen, also at VIMS are co-authors).

In other news from the VCR, Serina just published her final chapter from her dissertation about how grazing by these crabs can shape Spartina traits.

The Elizabeth Zintl Leadership Award is presented in memory of Elizabeth Zintl, an accomplished writer and journalist who served as Chief of Staff in the Office of the President at the University of Virginia. The Zintl Award celebrates the leadership that is found in many areas and positions at UVA. This year’s recipient is Karen McGlathery in recognition of her high degree of professionalism, creativity, and commitment that best reflect Elizabeth Zintl’s significant contributions to the University. You can learn more about Karen in the article linked below.

https://news.virginia.edu/content/uvas-storm-watching-optimist?utm_source=DailyReport&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

Julie Zinnert and her team are featured in an article and WHRO/NPR radio piece on the Virginia Barrier Islands. The link is: https://www.whro.org/environment/2024-09-11/researchers-are-looking-to-virginias-barrier-islands-on-the-front-lines-of-climate-change-for-answers

PBS has a feature on the activities of Rachel Smith, a former VCR/LTER Post-Doc and member of the Castorani lab. She’s working on restoring a kelp forest by creating a reef off southern California to mitigate impacts of a nuclear power plant.

Spend your summer doing real science as part of a collaboration among world-class researchers studying the last coastal wilderness on the East Coast.

Applications are due February 11, 2024

See: https://www.abcrc.virginia.edu/siteman2/index.php/2024/01/09/2024-summer-research-experiences-for-undergraduates-applications-are-open/ for details .

VCR/LTER Investigator Matt Kirwan was featured in a segment of CBS Mornings on April 21, 2023. You can view it at:

Acres of forest land in the U.S. is drowning from rising sea levels, creating one of the most striking indicators of climate change: ghost forests.

One scientist, who says the phenomenon is inevitable, is now working to ensure the marshes left behind offer some benefits. pic.twitter.com/b5FFckvMe1

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) April 21, 2023

A new “Storymap” has been developed to display differences for Cobb, Hog, Wreck, Ship Shoal and Myrtle Islands. It uses high resolution data from the Virginia Base Mapping Project. You can access it at: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/71d432c7f1334f9d8a8ab250ebf90717

Information on the 2023 Research Experience for Undergraduates opportunities at the VCR LTER can be found at: https://www.abcrc.virginia.edu/siteman2/index.php/2023/01/12/2023vcrreus/