By Emma Fass, Summer Science Writing Intern
With a declining oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay, there has been a big effort to rebuild reefs. However, says Melissa Karp, a 2015 Virginia Sea Grant graduate research fellow, “building reefs that successfully provide ecosystem services, such as high quality habitat and foraging grounds, may require different techniques than previously used.”
Karp’s research includes investigating the effects of species diversity within a reef as well as the structural complexity of the reef and the salinity of the water. Her research could contribute information that managers could use in future oyster restoration.
To help get that research to resource managers, Karp will add her results to the Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem (Ecopath) model to predict the impact on fish in the Bay under different scenarios. She will also attend meetings of the Virginia Interagency Oyster Workgroup, a group in charge of developing and implementing oyster restoration plans. The research is also part of a larger project supported by the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) among researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), the University of Maryland, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the NCBO.
Karp’s curiosity and love of marine ecosystems led her to become a Virginia Sea Grant graduate research fellow. But the fellowship’s requirement to conduct outreach was also appealing, she says. “I recognize the importance of communicating research results to others, and I aspire to not only conduct research, but also to be involved in outreach, mentoring, and the science-to-management process.”
Karp, who has a 2013 BA from Tufts University in biology and environmental studies, expects to graduate with a master’s in marine science from VIMS in 2016, after which she hopes to pursue a PhD. At a much younger age, Karp attended the John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth summer oyster ecology program. Now, as a Virginia Sea Grant graduate research fellow, she will be conducting research on oyster reefs and sharing her findings with decision makers.
