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.

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 11

Recent Submissions

Open Access
Living Shoreline Design for Monroe Bay Ave: Prepared for the Town of Colonial Beach, VA
(2023-02) Milligan, Donna; Hardaway, C. Scott; Wilcox, Christine A.; Green, Cameron W.
A living shoreline design, by the William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science, for a critical area of erosion along 1,500 feet of shoreline in Monroe Bay in the Town of Colonial Beach, Virginia. The Town of Colonial Beach's comprehensive plan recognizes that shorelines along Monroe Bay are eroding and need to be stablized. The project area has suffered from a serious erosion issue affecting transportation and utilities. The installation of a living shoreline will address the erosion and create co-benefits such as storing carbon, attracting wildlife, and improving water quality by reducing Total Maximum Dialy Load nutrient and sediment impacts currently affecting Monroe Bay. The design protects infrastructure for the Town including a main road and utlities, provides habitat through marsh restoration, reduce sedimentation by stopping erosion of the upland bank, and reduce nutrient runoff to the Bay by creating a buffer along the shore.
Open Access
Training Manual for the Oyster Field Data Entry Terminal (OFDET)
(2020-06) Southworth, Melissa
This manual is for teaching users how to use the Oyster Field Data Entry Terminal (OFDET). The OFDET was designed as a substitute for paper and pencil recording in the field for the VIMS/Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) joint annual oyster patent tong survey. It allows for the direct input of large amounts of data directly into a database while in the field. This system was designed and programmed by John Thomas (VIMS IT Department) and field-tested during surveys conducted in 2015 through 2018, with data collected with the OFDET being compared with paper and pencil data from 2016 through 2018 (90% of OFDET data were within – 6% to 7% of the paper totals when oysters were present). The system went “live” for data collection during the 2019 survey.
Open Access
Virginia Oyster Reef Restoration Map Atlas
(2009-04) Mann, Roger; Harding, Juliana M.; Southworth, Melissa; Berman, Marcia; Kileen, Sharon; Wesson, James A.
The Oyster Restoration Atlas was prepared in response to a request for assistance from the Norfolk District office of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE), staff of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) in 2002. The COE wished to devote efforts to oyster habitat restoration in the Chesapeake Bay for environmental and water quality improvement. In tandem, the Chesapeake Bay Program was coordinating the production of The Baywide Comprehensive Oyster Plan for Maryland and Virginia. VIMS and VMRC were preparing the Virginia component of this plan cooperatively. The original map atlas illustrated the potential location of future oyster reef restoration projects in Virginia waters relative to those plans. The current edition (2009) of the Oyster Restoration Atlas (2009) has added depth and salinity as factors on the original maps. The original maps were based on maps of oyster habitat in Virginia made by Lt. Baylor of the U.S. Navy between 1892 and 1896. This atlas incorporates details describing the most recent substrate maps, limits of public and leased oyster grounds, bathymetry and salinity in relation to current and potential restoration sites. These maps are generated to illustrate the results of the targeting effort following the protocol described in the Restoration Siting Protocol section. The authors recognize this level of targeting does not preclude the need for field inspection at potential sites prior to reef construction. The atlas is comprised of a series of boxes preceded by an index locator (below). The scale of each box may vary. The potential restoration areas are illustrated in red. The legend reports the total acres available for restoration within the boundary of each box.
Open Access
Final Report Submitted to the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, Anapolis, MD
(2014-05-07) Mann, Roger; Fisher, Robert; Southworth, Melissa; Wesson, James; Erskine, A.J.; Leggett, Tommy
This project was an academic – government – industry – non-‐profit collaboration wherein all parties began and ended the project with a singular commitment to stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay oyster resource for both ecological and economic purposes. The project addressed a critical issue, the potential loss of oysters to predation by cownose rays, in a controlled experimental design but at a scale commensurate with industry practices and large‐scale restoration efforts. This rare and extensive collaboration was a resounding success in terms of participation and information exchange. All participating individuals and the entities they represent should be applauded for a productive project outcome. The project focused on the value of shell overlays to oyster plantings as a ray predator deterrence mechanism. Typical industry practice of oyster seed planting was followed in an experimental design employing treatment Areas in the 0.5-‐1.0 acre range. Areas were prepared in the Lower Machodoc River, VA by the initial application of shell to insure a stable substrate under planted seed oysters. Seed oysters were then obtained from the James River, VA and planted using industry methods on each of four Areas. The Areas were located two upstream and two downstream of a constriction in the Lower Machodoc that dictated differing physical environments in the respective locations with downstream locations being more exposed to northeast wind driven stresses and, historically, a greater incidence of ray predation. Once oysters were planted, two of the Areas, one upstream and one downstream of the aforementioned constriction, were additionally treated with a shell overlay as a predation deterrent. The oyster seed were planted in February 2012. Market oysters were harvested in December 2013 and January 2014. In between limited monitoring of the population was accomplished using both diver and patent tong survey methods. Final harvest data demonstrated that shell overlays do not offer additional protection to planted oyster seed with respect to possible cownose ray predation. Evidence of predation in the form of ray signatures – characteristically broken oyster valves – were recorded on all treatment Areas. Concurrent stomach content analysis of rays captured at the study location and observations of fouling community associated with the cultured oysters taken during the harvest operation indicate broad dietary preferences for rays when such a variety exists in the foraging region. Oysters are not the singular preferred diet item, although localized and intensive feeding on oysters remains an option for rays with a wide foraging range. Additionally, the overlay procedure does not appear to increase local productivity in that the exposed Areas demonstrated higher production than the “protected” Areas with shell overlay. Accordingly we recommend against the use of shell overlays as predator deterrents for cownose rays in large deployments of unprotected oyster seed.
Open Access
Self-leadership and teacher well-being: An internal family systems approach
(2025) Johnson, Lindy L.; Adams, Jonathan; Choi, Chelsea; Education
Teacher well-being is essential for student success, yet burnout remains a persistent challenge, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the use of the Internal Family Systems model as an innovative approach in supporting teacher well-being through the development of Self-Leadership. Conducted across seven schools in two school districts in the United States, this phenomenological study examines K-12 teachers’ experiences after participating in P.A.U.S.E., a well-being program designed to nurture their Self-Leadership. Through qualitative analysis of focus group data, we identified three key themes: 1) the transformative impact of Self-Leadership practices on teachers and students; 2) the importance of Self-Led facilitation and collaborative practice; and 3) a longing for more collective, systemic approaches to well-being across school communities. Findings suggest that integrating IFS concepts into well-being programs can enhance teachers’ ability to regulate their emotions, reduce stress, and improve teacher and student relationships. This study contributes to current understandings of teacher well-being by investigating how concepts from IFS, particularly Self-Leadership, can be effectively adapted to support both teachers and students in K-12 educational settings.