William & Mary ScholarWorks

Welcome! William & Mary ScholarWorks preserves and provides access to the research and creative output of William & Mary's faculty, staff, and students.

UPDATE 18th JUNE 2025: Our repository has migrated from Digital Commons to Open Repository DSpace as of this summer. Additional updates and improvements will continue through the Fall semester. Thank you for your patience during this transition.

Recent Submissions

Open Access
Surfacing the microscopic: outreach strategies for communicating harmful algal blooms to the public
(2025-12-05) Albert, Bayleigh; Millette, Nicole; Crawford, Brookie; VIMS
Scientific research is shared primarily through peer-reviewed journals, yet these publications are largely inaccessible to the public due to paywalls, technical language, and limited outreach beyond academic communities. As environmental changes accelerate, the gap between scientific knowledge and public understanding underscores the need for researchers to effectively communicate their work with broader audiences. This paper presents a six-part science communication framework designed to guide scientists in building communication products that translate research into accessible, audience-appropriate formats. This guide will take readers through the framework step-by-step: establishing goals, identifying a target audience, selecting a communication method, applying tactical approaches, crafting key messages, and implementing evaluation strategies. The framework is then demonstrated through example products, illustrating how each component supports effective design and implementation.
Open Access
Echoes of the Past: The Interwoven History and Culture of the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia and the American Eel
(2025-12-05) Hatch, Jack; Latour, Robert; Hatch, D. Brad; VIMS
The American eel (Anguilla rostrata) has played a vital ecological, economic, and cultural role along the East Coast of North America for millennia. Once comprising an estimated one quarter of the Chesapeake Bay’s fish biomass, the species has declined to approximately one percent of its historical abundance, largely due to habitat loss, shifting ocean currents, pollution, and overfishing. This capstone project examines the intertwined natural history of the American eel and the cultural history of the Patawomeck Indian Tribe of Virginia, whose members have relied on the eel both as a food source and as a centerpiece of cultural identity. Drawing from ecological literature, fisheries data, and tribal oral histories, this work documents the lifecycle and population trends of the American eel, the rise and fall of the Potomac River eel fishery, and the evolution of the Patawomeck split oak eel pot tradition. The transition from split oak pots to wire pots, the emergence of new markets, and the collapse of commercial demand are contextualized within broader population declines. Despite these challenges, recent habitat restoration, including dam removals and fish passage improvements, has fostered signs of recovery. Today, the split oak eel pot endures as a symbol of cultural resilience and continuity within the Patawomeck community.
Open Access
Evaluating Recruitment of American Eel, Anguilla rostrata, in the Potomac River (Spring 2025)
(Virgina Institute of Marine Science, 2025) Tuckey, Troy; Fabrizio, Mary
American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) is a valuable commercial species along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick to Florida. Landings from Chesapeake Bay typically represent about 65% of the annual United States commercial harvest (ASMFC 2023). American Eel is also important to the recreational fishery as this species is often used as live bait for Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum). In 2021, Chesapeake Bay commercial landings of American Eel (284,297 lbs) represented 87% of the U.S. landings of yellow eel (personal communication from the National Marine Fisheries Service, Fisheries Statistics Division). Since the 1980s, harvest along the U.S. Atlantic Coast has declined, with similar patterns occurring in the Canadian Maritime Provinces (Meister and Flagg 1997). The American Eel Benchmark Stock Assessment report (ASMFC 2012) established that the American Eel is depleted in U.S. waters. The most recent American Eel Benchmark Stock Assessment confirmed the stock remains depleted and abundance is lower than what was reported in the 2017 stock assessment update (ASMFC 2017; ASMFC 2023).
Open Access
2024 Chesapeake Bay Dead Zone Report
(Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 2024) Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Anchor QEA
William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS and Anchor QEA have released their 2024 Dead Zone Report Card detailing the volume and duration of hypoxic, or low-oxygen, conditions in the Chesapeake Bay. The annual Dead Zone report is created using a computer model based on the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Forecast System (CBEFS). The computer modeling complements the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) annual Hypoxia Report, which is based on semi-monthly monitoring cruises measuring dissolved oxygen. Both reports are used by the Chesapeake Bay Program to monitor the health of the Bay in relation to established nutrient management and water quality goals.
Open Access
2023 Chesapeake Bay Dead Zone Report
(Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 2023) Virginia Institute of Marine Science; Anchor QEA
William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS and Anchor QEA have released their 2023 Dead Zone Report Card detailing the volume and duration of hypoxic, or low-oxygen, conditions in the Chesapeake Bay. The annual Dead Zone report is created using a computer model based on the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Forecast System (CBEFS). The computer modeling complements the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) annual Hypoxia Report, which is based on semi-monthly monitoring cruises measuring dissolved oxygen. Both reports are used by the Chesapeake Bay Program to monitor the health of the Bay in relation to established nutrient management and water quality goals.