STUDENT RESEARCH

Students are the driving force for everything that we do at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station, and this extends to student led research. Open to undergraduate and graduate students from all universities, the purpose of this program is to promote and facilitate original research led and conducted by students. Participating students receive support from Field Station staff and faculty including project oversight, deeply discounted station fees, use of field equipment and RESOURCES,  advice, and field support. For a full description of the CBFS Student Researher Program click HERE. If you have any questions contact matt@cbfieldstation.org

CURRENT STUDENT RESEARCH

Patrick Peck

SCHOOL: Shippensburg University
YEAR:​ Senior
MAJOR: Geo-environmental studies
MINORS: Biology and GIS Certificate
​
BIO:
Since I was young, my greatest passion and love has been the sea. This was fed by my time spent living in Chile, by the beach, listening to my dad's old dive stories, and reading about the work done by Jacques Cousteau, Robert Ballard, and William Beebe. 

Over the summer of 2015, I was an intern at the field station, as well as taking the coastal environmental oceanography class, examining the nutrient rich system of Chincoteague Bay and the nutrient poor system of the Florida keys. I look forward to continuing my studies at the graduate level, and someday turning my love of the sea and my love of diving into a career exploring and studying the earth's oceans.
RESEARCH PROJECT:
The purpose of this research is to evaluate the success of two years of oyster settlement on deployed oyster castles in a living shoreline project at Greenbackville, VA, which is located on the Chincoteague Bay and is owned by CBFS. 

The project is a continuation on previous work done implementing and monitoring the living shoreline oyster castles. The hope is that data obtained during the research project will shed light on the effectiveness of the castles. This is important since the approval of new permits has granted the CBFS the ability to install new castles at the Greenbackville site. Future work and oyster castle placement would benefit from the results of this project.

Zoe Zentner

SCHOOL: Millersville University
YEAR:​ Senior
MAJOR: Biology with concentrations in Marine Biology and Environmental Biology
MINOR: Chemistry

​OTHER TEAM MEMBERS:
Ryan McGonagle
Matt Hamilton
Luke McConville
Ben Cox
BIO:
I have known that I wanted to be a scientist from a very young age. My parents have been scuba divers for many years, and many of my childhood memories are from spending time on dive boats. At age 10, a trip to the Mote Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida solidified that I wanted to be a marine biologist when I grew up. 

Sharks have always been fascinating to me. All of their specialized structures that have made them a top predator are amazing! Sharks play such an important role in many marine ecosystems and that is why it is important that we conserve them. 

My other interests are related to ichthyology and fisheries biology and I hope to get a career in one of these fields. In my spare time, I love kayaking, hiking, and I am a fitness enthusiast. Eventually, I would like to start competing in bodybuilding and fitness competitions in my spare time.
​RESEARCH PROJECT:
The objective of this project is to determine a seasonal pattern in abundance and species composition of sharks off of Assateague Beach, VA. Along with seasonality, correlations to water parameters will be examined. This will be accomplished by monthly longlining trips. On these trips, data, such as species, sex, total length, fin length, weight, and the presence of ectoparasites, will be recorded about the sharks. Any appropriate shark over 3 feet in length will be tagged using NOAA protocol. The tags are part of the NOAA/NMFS Cooperative Shark Tagging Program. The CTD will be deployed at COBY stations 1, 2, and 3 to measure profiles of temperature, salinity, density, oxygen, chlorophyll, backscatter, and light. he oceanographic data will be statistically analyzed with the shark data. 
​
Additional information on shark captures will be obtained from local charter boat captains and fishermen.  They will also be informed about the NOAA/NMFS tagging program and encouraged to tag and release the sharks that they capture.

Kelly Haggerty

SCHOOL: Bloomsburg University
YEAR:​ Senior
MAJORS: Anthropology and Geography
BIO:
My passion lies heavily in promoting environmental sustainability to individuals and cooperation in their communities. This passion was sparked after a field course I took in 2015 at Piro Research Station in Costa Rica, where my eyes were opened to the harmful environment effects we have in our daily lives in North America. 
​
A year later, in January of 2016 I returned to the Piro Research Station to work on a project studying the feeding ecology and spatial patterns of the black-handed spider monkeys. The data I collected went towards a long-term study for a better understanding on how to conserve the population of the spider monkeys around the Piro Research Station. 

​I hope educate local populations on sustainability in their surroundings. As an anthropology major, I believe that a step towards a healthier environment for future generations can only be solved a collect effort within and between human communities
RESEARCH PROJECT:
In the past century the people that resided along the shoreline of the State of Virginia have lived through fires, hurricanes, floods, population decline, and economic downturns that have caused the human population of these small towns to change their ways quickly. Throughout the 20th century there would be time periods for the residents that their homes were completely destroyed from such causes. Through a series of interview questions I will videotape and record the individuals that lived these experiences to share with the public and highlight, in academic reports and presentations, the ways that individuals and the community have responded to change.

With these methods, the town will have public access to an in-depth look into a history of their own environment. A form of the past lives that cannot be captured in any other way. The research process and its products are an amazing way to immerse one’s self into history, culture, and human adaptation.

Trever Tedesco

SCHOOL: Kutztown University
YEAR: Senior
MAJOR: Marine Science with concentration in Biology
BIO:
After spending most of my summers as a child fishing on the Long Island Sound with my grandfather I took great interest in the ocean’s processes and its creatures. Since those salty summers of my youth I could not escape the oceans enchantment and knew marine science was for me. Once enrolled in Kutztown’s Marine Science program I began to focus more on the biological and ecological aspects of the field in hopes to make changes to better our world’s oceans. Following my time at Kutztown I want to enter the conservation or fisheries management fields with my degree but my dream is to open my own sustainable aquaculture farm to reduce the pressure we place on commercial fisheries.
RESEARCH:
It is already known that terrapins prefer sandy soils above high water mark in areas with sparse vegetation digging nests to a max bottom depth of 16cm. The aim of this experiment is to determine if there are a more specific set of environmental factors that northern diamondback terrapins search for when selecting a nesting location that are instinctually known and sought after or if the terrapin select the first viable site where digging is easiest.
With this investigative research I hope to determine if northern diamondback terrapins have specific abiotic environmental factors that are sought out by females when selecting a nest location. The variables being investigated to quantify a nesting location will be the elevation, soil composition, percent coverage, type of vegetation, distance from water source(s) and from roadway, soil moisture, and temperature at mid-nest depth. From this data I hope to create a model of highly probable nesting locations for use to protect nesting areas in the future.

Tammy Weidman

SCHOOL: Kutztown University
YEAR: Non-traditional Senior
MAJOR: Organismal Biology/Ecology
BIO:
I am a nontraditional senior at Kutztown University. I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Organismal Biology/Ecology and aspire to eventually earn a PhD. I am interested in how the physiology of organisms is affected by changes in their environment. I am especially interested in the physiology of crabs and am currently working with blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) larvae.
As a nontraditional student, I face many pressures that the average college student does not encounter. These pressures resulted in a break in my undergraduate education. During this time I worked as a Quality Assurance Manager in food production. The time spent working in the food production industry has driven me to complete my bachelor’s degree and then take my education further. Thanks to the support of my husband and family I have been able to return to school and continue working towards accomplishing my goals.
RESEARCH:
Callinectes sapidus, the blue crab, is an ecologically and economically important species found in Chincoteague Bay on the eastern shore of VA. Throughout its life cycle it experiences varying salinities in the coastal waters and in the bay. The effects of these varying salinities on osmoregulation and oxygen metabolism have been well documented in adult crabs. However, the effects on the larval forms, the zoeal and megalopae stages, have not been well studied, possibly due to challenges faced in studying these tiny animals.

Crab larvae will be collected with a plankton net from a boat dock at Queen's Sound, VA, and will be exposed to different salinities. It is hypothesized that the megalopae will experience increased oxygen metabolism when exposed to changing salinities due to the increased energetic demand created by osmoregulation. The lower salinities that will be tested simulate the possible effects of climate change. Increases in oxygen usage or mortality at these lower salinities represents a potential disruption of the estuarine ecosystem.

Tabitha Burgis

SCHOOL: West Chester University
DEGREE:  Bachelor of Science in Biology with Concentration in Marine Science
CURRENT PROGRAM: Master of Science in Biology
BIO:
Hi, I am Tabitha Burgis and a recent graduate student in Biology at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. After my sophomore year in college, I decided to take Invertebrate Zoology at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station taught by my academic advisor, Dr. Anne Boettger. During the course and my first experience with the field station, I fell in love with the life of the sea all over again and in addition discovered my love for field work. I never thought that the spineless creatures we studied that summer could capture my interest, but my time taking that course at the field station proved that it had so much more to offer than I had imagined.

Over the course of my college career, my studies have been very focused on the marine sciences, but primarily on marine animals. I have taken courses in invertebrate zoology as well as ichthyology along with my undergraduate research on the soft-shell clam (or man-nose as they are called in the Chesapeake Bay) Mya arenaria. As a graduate student, I am continuing my studies on M. arenaria with a broader outlook on their growth, survival and susceptibility to diseases in rising seawater temperatures.
RESEARCH:
This study is concerned with a highly economically valuable species of shellfish, Mya arenaria, that were previously fished throughout the entire Mid and North Atlantic region. At this time commercial harvest in the Chesapeake Bay has been significantly reduced due to overfishing using environmentally disruptive equipment. In addition, rising water temperatures have prohibited natural reestablishment of these previously valuable populations.

Intertidal clam populations and their environmental characteristics will be monitored through monthly animal collections. Animal numbers, sizes, reproductive status and health will be evaluated. In addition sediments will be characterized regarding content and grain sizes, temperatures will be measured and compared to historic seawater temperatures available through the National Data Buoy Center. This additional understanding of environmental parameters, animal development and survival in this southernmost environment of the organisms  distribution (the northern Chesapeake Bay) will be imperative to the implementation of necessary regulatory and management strategies.

Carl Maiese

SCHOOL: Kutztown University
YEAR: Senior
BIO:
From an early age I have loved reptiles, constantly exploring the neighborhood in an attempt to catch snakes. Later I volunteered at Reptile Canyon for 3 years where I fully realized my passion. Venomous reptiles have always captured my attention; they carry with them differences in their displayed intelligence. With a hands-off opportunity at Reptile Canyon I had the chance to gain experience and learn more about them. If anyone can give you a definite answer about their purpose in life it would be me. My purpose is to pursue my goals of understanding everything there is to know about reptiles. I want to develop as a scientist; one who can conduct his own research, and can contribute to the scientific community. Throughout my 3.5 years at college I have progressed from not knowing how to conduct research to being on the final stages of finishing up two projects and presenting at ESA in Florida.
RESEARCH:
Diamondback Terrapin populations face numerous threats; such as nest predation, drowning in crab pots, habitat loss, road mortality, and collection for the pet trade. The goal of our study is to see how well terrapin populations are doing in the Chincoteague Bay area. Specifically, our research is investigating the population size of females nesting on Wallops Islands. Our research projects is going to determine the population size of active nesting females. To do this we will use a mark recapture study of all females nesting on Wallops island along the causeway. With this we will be able to estimate the total number of females that nest in the area. Additionally, we will measure various other demographic variables such as body size, mass, number of eggs produced. This research will allow us to better the status of terrapins in the region, and could provide resources and better understanding for Virginia Department of Gameland Fisheries.