Maryland Marine Notes: September-October 1998 Article

Volume 16, Number 5 • September-October 1998

Noteworthy

Sea Grant Program Directory Available • Maryland Sea Grant Request for Proposals • Exotic Mollusc Found in Virginia Waters

Sea Grant Program Directory Available

Maryland Sea Grant has just published a program directory that gives a plain language overview to its research, outreach and education programs for 1998-99. Included are summaries of major program areas, including coastal ecosystem health, economic leadership, outreach and education, as well as short summaries of each project funded. In addition, there is a description of program facilities, budget information and a directory of researchers, extension and administrative personnel.

Sea Grant supports research by scientists at institutions throughout the state, including the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Science; University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute's Center of Marine Biotechnology; the University of Maryland, College Park; the Maryland Department of Natural Resources; The Johns Hopkins University; the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; and the Academy of Natural Sciences Estuarine Research Center.

For a copy, call (301) 405-6376 or send an e-mail request to connors@mdsg.umd.edu. Summaries of the research projects listed in the directory are also available on the web at www.mdsg.umd.edu/Research.

This photograph, featured on the cover of the new Maryland Sea Grant program directory, shows Don Meritt, Merrill Leffler and students from the Living Classrooms Foundation loading spat-covered shell in the Choptank River in an effort to restore Bay oyster reefs. This project represents broad cooperation among a number of groups, including the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the Maryland Sea Grant College, the Oyster Recovery Partnership, the Living Classrooms Foundation and the Maryland Watermen's Association.

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Maryland Sea Grant Request for Proposals

Maryland Sea Grant will begin shortly to seek innovative proposals in marine research for the two-year funding period beginning February 1, 2000. The Request for Proposals (RFP) will be issued in December, both as a printed booklet and on the worldwide web. Projects are sought in a range of areas, from environmental studies to aquaculture and biotechnology. For details on research priorities and submitting a proposal, consult the online RFP at http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/Research/RFP or request a copy of the printed RFP booklet by calling (301) 405-6371 or e-mailing Rosalie Lynn, lynn@mdsg.umd.edu.

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Exotic Mollusc Found in Virginia Waters

A non-native gastropod mollusc, the rapa whelk (Rapana venosa), was found during a routine Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) trawl survey on the lower James River this past summer. The gastropod, a large snail, is a native of Japanese waters, but was introduced into the Black Sea in the 1940s, probably via ballast water. Within a decade it had spread along the Caucasian and Crimean coasts and to the Sea of Azov. Between 1959 and 1972, its range extended into the northwest Black Sea to the coastlines of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. R. venosa is thought to be very fertile and tolerant of low salinities, water pollution and oxygen deficiency. In the Black Sea, it is responsible for significant changes in the ecology of bottom-dwelling organisms.

VIMS researchers are interested in any sightings of this large snail in Virginia and Maryland waters; these reports will aid scientists in developing a model that will define potential impacts of the mollusc. The rapa whelk is visually similar to native whelks (Busycon carica, B. sinistrum, Busycotypus canaliculatus), so VIMS has produced a fact sheet with photographs of the different types of whelks and a list of characteristics to help in identifying the rapa whelk. To request a copy of the fact sheet, contact Vicki Clark, Marine Education Specialist, Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, P.O. Box 1346, 1208 Great Road, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, phone (804) 684-7169, fax (804) 684-7161, e-mail vclark@vims.edu.

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