- Dr. Emily Rivest, Lead Scientist
- Dr. Jeffrey Shields, Scientist
- Dr. Brittany Jellison, Post-doc
- Abigail Sisti, Graduate Student
- Sara Beam, Teacher Research Intern
- Megan Begley Irish, Teacher Research Intern
Dr. Emily Rivest's research team recevied a grant from Sea Grant to study the impact of climate change on American lobster reproduction.
TRIs Sara & Megan spent one week in April 2021 and a second week in June 2021 at VIMS to work alongside the research team to find out how warmer and more acidic ocean water may be impacting pregnant female behavior and survival of lobster eggs and larvae. The TRIs worked with Virginia Sea Grant communicators to develop an ArcGIS StoryMap about the project with embedded classroom activites.
From the time lobsters hatch, it’s a struggle to survive — they must find enough food, avoid being eaten, grow, and stay alive long enough to hatch eggs of their own. But even before they hatch, lobsters face another challenge: ocean acidification and warming waters
Researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science are conducting one of the first studies to examine how lobster embryos, one of the most vulnerable stages of a lobster's life, will be affected by ocean acidification.
The project is part of the Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative , an effort to understand how the American Lobster will fare in a changing climate.