Coastal and Estuarine Fish Ecology

The Louisiana coastal zone is the fastest-eroding wetland in the US. This region is home to a variety of vitally important fish species for local fishing industry and ecosystems, which are currently under threat. Conservation schemes have been proposed under the 2017 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan in an attempt to preserve coastal habitats and their … More Identifying Effective Strategies to Protect Louisiana’s Precious Wetlands

by Sara Marriott Seaspiracy, the viral Netflix documentary, concludes the only way to save the ocean is to stop eating fish (and I assume all meat). I am not going to spend my time going into the inaccuracies and misleading statements in the film, since many marine scientists have already done so (Science of Seaspiracy, … More 8 Ocean Documentaries Better than Seaspiracy

The following was originally posted on NCCOS News on 1/22/2021. Third Advisory Panel Workshop on Hypoxia Effects on Fisheries Showcases Visualization Tool and Models “The third Advisory Panel Workshop on Hypoxia Effects of Fish and Fisheries was held virtually on December 14, 2020 as part of an NCCOS NGOMEX project led by Dr. Kim de … More NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science covers third NGOMEX Advisory Panel Workshop on Hypoxia Effects on Fisheries

By Katie Russell I graduated this past May of 2020 and was able to work in and do undergraduate research in Dr. de Mutsert’s lab through GMU’s OSCAR program on river herring, two species of anadromous fish present in the Potomac. Anadromous fish spend their adult life in the ocean but return to freshwater tributaries … More Anadromous Fish: From East to West

by Sammie Alexander In spring 2016, I completed an OSCAR Undergraduate Research Scholars Program project under the guidance of Dr. CJ Schlick (then, PhD candidate) investigating the influence of temperature on the growth of young-of-year (YOY) Alewife and Blueback Herring in Potomac River tributaries. At the time, I was a second-year undergraduate and had not … More Influence of Temperature on the Growth of Young-of-Year (YOY) River Herring – New Publication!

I recently completed my Masters thesis work in the de Mutsert Fish lab. My research is based in Gunston Cove, a freshwater tidal tributary to the Potomac River in Virginia, USA. Estuaries are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts, due to their proximity to high human population density. Impacts at the ecosystem level are particularly strong … More A tale of joy and sorrow: Successful recovery and setbacks of blue catfish invasion

Katie Russell presents her research on river herring spawning populations in the Potomac River tributaries at the GMU Spring 2020 Research Symposium.

I want to know who gave Belize the right to be as beautiful as it is. I’m from a city in the Northeast, where the closest “beach” is a freshwater lake with some sand around it. My experience with boats was mostly kayaking on my camp’s lake or the Delaware River. I also had never … More From Great Lakes to Caribbean Sea by Morgan Cahill

This January, I embarked on a study abroad class to Belize with five other students, led by Dr. Kim de Mutsert and Dr. Joris van der Ham. This trip was full of adventures of snorkeling, spotting sharks, horseback riding, visiting Mayan ruins and searching for manatees, but it was also full of science! We spent … More Belize Coastal Ecology Class by Sara Marriott

I attended the 2020 Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Symposium on February 27 – 28 and presented a poster of my OSCAR funded research conducted under Dr. Kim de Mutsert and the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center.  I have been researching the differences in spawning population size of river herring, the collective name of alewife … More 2020 Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Symposium – OSCAR student Katie Russell