1976 EDITION RESEARCH on CHESAPEAKE BAY and CONTIGUOUS WATERS of the CHESAPEAKE Bight' of the VIRGINIAN SEA
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71° 75° 74" 1 ,,·, ·' '·' '... ; .... --..: ·· .. "•. ':;.: APR AGUE, VIRGINI ~'-.1 :~~·.:-; ) ,' ,r,' '·~;·!\\,' ./~.!i. ~~.\ c~--~-'-<>:~ ! ~ :;;_!;/ ,J-. ~ .I .-~, .. ./f'~ f 1 ",: ,' : ·' ·-. ~ ?:\( \, \._ Willia J. Hargis, Jr. ·' ; \ \ Director ,1 I I : 11 f I ~ I o ' /eclat Sctntific Report No 81 & 1 .... I ;'_:,::(/~\' I 1 t! / ' f the ~,./ / ,... I AVIRGINIA INSTI UTE OF MARINE CIENCE ·'./~~·1// ,' ./ :.tf , I I , Gloucester oint. Virginia 71" 75° 1s• 1976 EDITION RESEARCH ON CHESAPEAKE BAY AND CONTIGUOUS WATERS OF THE CHESAPEAKE BIGHt' OF THE VIRGINIAN SEA at the VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE SCIENCE GLOUCESTER POINT, VIRGINIA and WACHAPREAGUE, VIRGINIA William J. Hargis, Jr. Director Special Scientific Report No. 81 of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062 March 1977 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work required to bring these research program and project status reports together was supported by internal funds of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Beverly L. Laird, with the assistance of Dr. M. P. Lynch, accomplished the coordination and expediting necessary to bring this compilation about. Acknowledgements go to Barbara J. Crewe for typing and proofreading the final copy. iii PREFACE These brief status reports are provided to assist those who wish to know the scope and nature of VIMS' programs pertinent to the Chesapeake Bay and the contiguous waters of the Virginian Sea. More detailed informa tion may be obtained from the personnel listed with each status report. Information is also provided on research by staff personnel in localities other than Chesapeake Bay. Status statements are intentionally short and sometimes contain information which has not been published or, in some cases, not even reported upon. Accordingly, care should be taken in quoting the material. For the first time, we are providing an appendix volume which abstracts or summarizes the completed projects previously listed. The appendix volume will be published shortly following this volume. This report is updated periodically in order to inform planners and managers of research in progress and to facilitate research coordination and planning in Chesapeake Bay. The last edition was completed in 1975. A lot has taken place since then. Many new projects have been undertaken. A number of those shown in the 1975 edition have been completed. The projet:t descriptions are arranged by "Programs within Organized Research" (seep. 11). Many projects actually belong in more than one program, but we have tried, somewhat arbitrarily, to assign them to programs according to "best fit". iv CONTENTS VIMS ORGANIZATIONAL ARRANGEMENT ..• RESEARCH IN PROGRESS BY DEPAR'IMENTS. • 1 RESEARCH IN PROGRESS BY PROGRAMS WITHIN ORGANIZED RESEARCH . 11 Major Interdisciplinary Programs Department of Sea Grant The Virginia Institute of Marine Science Institutional Sea Grant Program. • . • • • • 15 Department of Special Programs Environmental Data Acquisition and Analyses--Mid Atlantic OCS (Outer Continental Shelf Benchmark Studies. 16 Chesapeake Research Consortium, Incorporated (CRC). 17 Chesapeake Bay Research Planning and Management (SGP) (CRC) (CRM) . • 18 Windmill Point Marsh Habitat Development Studies .• 19 Program 1: Preservation of Coastal Environments Department of Coastal Zone Management Coastal Resources Management Program. 23 Department of Ecology-Pollution Environmental Chemistry Section Pesticide Monitoring Program . • . • • . • • 24 The Role of Sediments in the Storage, Movement and Biological Uptake of Kepone in Estuarine Environments •.•..••.•...• 25 Kepone Monitoring •.......•.... 26 Heavy Metals in Sediments and Oysters .•••.•. 27 Determination of Distribution Coefficients for Dissolved Organics and Organo-Metals Between Seawater and Fish "Mucus" . • . • • • • . • • 28 An Investigation to Determine the Acute Ecological Effects of Oil Spills in Eastern Coastal . Plain Estuaries . • . 29 Baseline Study of Organic Compounds in the Bay Environment ·• . • . • • . • • • • . 30 Outer Continental Shelf Benchmark Studies - Trace Metal Analysis (BLM) ..•••...•..•• 31 A Detailed Chemical Investigation of the Fate of Crude Oil in a Seminatural Spill ••.•.••••. 32 v Environmental Biology Section Outer Continental Shelf Benchmark Studies--Total Nitrogen Analyses (BUM) ..•••••... 33 Post Construction Studies at the Windmill Point Marsh bevelopment Site: Botany/Soils Studies (WES) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 34 Dredge Material Disposal in Coastal Wetland Ecosystems. • . • . • . • 35 Ecological Study of the Tidal Segment of the James River Encompassing Hog Point .. 36 The Marine Nitrogen Cycle •....•••.•• 37 The Marine Nitrogen Cycle: Effects of Oil Pollution on Nitrogen Fixation in Salt Marshes . 38 Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Carbon Cycles on Coral Reefs . • . • . 39 Nutrient Cycles and Exchange Between the Marine Benthos and the Water Column. 40 Department of Environmental Physiology Instrumental Analysis of Environmental Samples: 1. Neutron Activation Analysis .....•.. 41 Instrumental Analysis of Environmental Samples: 2. Proton Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) 42 Department of Geological Oceanography Remote Sensing Applications in Marine Science . 43 Department of Ichthyology Pesticides and Heavy Metals in Tissues of Striped Bass Taken in Waters Near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina and in Virginia. • . • . • 44 Department of Invertebrate Ecology Benthic Section Effects of Sampling Design on Results in Environmental Impact Assessments. • . • . • • . • • 45 Toxicology Section Sublethal Effects of Chlorine on Selected Marine Decapod Crustaceans . • • . • . 46 Sublethal Effects of Chlorine on Blood Serum Constituents of the Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidu.s . 47 vi Toxicity of Chlorinated and Dechlorinated Sewage Effluents . 48 Bromine Chloride Toxicity to Estuarine Organisms (6GP) • . • . • • • . • . • • • . • . 49 Acute Toxicity of Effluents From the James River STP BrCl/Cl2 Pilot Plant Study ••••.•• so Effects of Chlorine on Natural Phytoplankton Populations . • • . • • • • • . • • • • . • 51 Effect of Kepone Contamination on Blue Crab Eggs 52 Section of Legal Studies A Study of Common Lands in Virginia • . • • • • • . • • • 53 The Preservation of Natural Areas in Coastal Virginia: An Assessment of Public and Private Activities (CRM) • • 54 Department of Microbiology-Pathology Bacteriology Section The Effect of the Chesapeake Corporation on the Water Quality of the Upper York River with Respect to Total and Fecal Coliforms and Fecal Streptococci ..•.•...•.••• 55 Outer Continental Shelf Benchmark Studies - Bacterial Distribution and Microdegradation ( BLM) • • • • • • • . · • • · • · • · · · · 56 Degradation of Petroleum by Marine Bacteria (BLM) .. 57 Parasitology Section Studies to Determine the Effects of Kepone on Selected Species of Chesapeake Bay Fishes 58 Program 2: Biological Resources of the Coastal Zone Department of Applied ~ne Biology An Investigation of the Seed Oyster Resources in Virginia and Technical Development of Gear to Harvest Oysters • • 61 The Present and the Potential Productivity of Baylor Grounds in Virginia. • • . • . • . • . • • • • • • 62 Plans for Management of the Fisheries of the Tidal Potomac River. 63 A Survey in the Lafayette River for Oysters, Clams and Shell in the Vicinity of the Proposed Granby Street Bridge. · . 64 Uptake of Kepone From Bottom Sediments by Five Species of Invertebrates . • • • . • • • • • • • • 65 Surveys on Public Rocks of Oyster Mortality and Densities, Seasonal Spatfall Studies, and Studies of Oyster Drill Abundance. • . • . •• 66 vii The Relation Between Condition Index of Oysters and Levels of Kepone in the Meats . • . • . • . 67 A Study of Seasonal Setting of the American Oyster in Virginia . 68 Distribution of'Oyster Drills in the James River •••• 69 A Study of the Virginia Oyster Industry . • • • • • 70 Seasonal Changes in Oyster Meat Quality ..•.•. 71 Study of the Ecology of the Soft Clam, MYa arenaria 72 Department of Crustaaeology Biology of Decapod Crustacea of Norfolk Canyon with Emphasis on Those of Commercial Importance . • • . • . 73 Growth, Abundance and Distribution of the Jonah Crab, Cancer borealis, in Norfolk Canyon and Adjacent Slope. • • . • . · · · · · · 75 Biology and Management of the American Lobster (Homarus aTneriaanus) . 76 Distribution, Abundance and Biology of the Rock Crab, Cancer irroratus in the Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Waters of Virginia . 77 The Decapod Crustaceans of the Virginia Portion of Chesapeake Bay and Its Tributaries and the East Coast Bays of the Eastern Shore .••. 78 The Blue Crab of Chesapeake Bay . • . 79 Study of the Virginia Winter Dredge Fishery for Blue Crabs • • . 80 Development of Estimates of Relative Abundance of Juvenile and Adult Crabs ...•...... 81 The Dependency of Blue Crabs (Callineates sapidus) on Wet lands. • . • . • . • . 82 Division of Fisheries Saienae and Services Alternative Management Schemes for the Surf Clam Fishery ..• 83 Department of Ichthyology Biology and Management of Mid-Atlantic Anadromous Fishes Under Extended Jurisdiction . 84 Life History Aspects of the Grey Tilefish, Caulolatilus miarops ........ ·. 85 Fecundity Relationships of River Herrings, Puffer, and White Perch in Virginia Rivers .....•.•.. 86 Management of Cownose Rays, Rhinoptera bonasua (SGP) ••••• 87 The Biology of the Cownose Ray, Rhinoptera bonasus (Mitchill 1815), in the Virginian Portion of the Chesapeake Bay (SGP) . • . • . • • • . • 88 Factors Associated with Accuracy in Sampling Fish Eggs and Larvae . • . • 89 viii Ecological Study