Carl Hershner

Education

• B.S., Bucknell University
• Ph.D., University of Virginia

Research Interests

My primary research interests are in tidal and nontidal wetlands ecology, landscape ecology, and resource management/policy issues. I have active interests in resource inventory procedures, habitat restoration protocols, resource management "expert system" development, and science-policy interactions. Much of my current activity involves integrated resource management and the development of supporting scientific rationale. This work involves collaboration with colleagues in other disciplines and is presently focused on coastal watershed management.

Current Projects

• Structure and function of nontidal wetlands in the coastal plain
• Watershed management in the York River Basin
• Resource use conflict analysis and policy development
• Landscape level habitat suitability model development
• Shoreline management policy development

Selected Publications

• Najjar, R.G., Pyke, C.R., Adams, M.B., Breitburg, D., Hershner, C., Kemp, M., Howarth, R., Mulholland, M., Paolisso, M., Secor, D., Sellner, K., Wardrop, D., Wood, R., 2010. Potential climate-change impacts on the Chesapeake Bay.  Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science, 86, 1-20.
• Perry, J.,  D.M. Bilkovic, K. Havens, and C. Hershner. 2009.  Book Chapter: Tidal Freshwater marshes of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States.  In: Tidal Freshwater Wetlands, pp. 157-166.  Edited by A. Barendregt, D.G. Whigham, A.H. Baldwin.  Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands.
• Hershner, C., K.J. Havens.  2009 Ecosystem services and management of invasive species in a changing system: Response to Martin and Blossey.  Conservation Biology 23(2):497-498.
• Hershner, C., K.J. Havens.  2008.  Managing invasive aquatic plants in a changing system: strategic consideration of ecosystem services.  Conservation Biology 22(3):544-550.
• K. J. Havens, D.M. Bilkovic, D. Stanhope, K. Angstadt, and C. Hershner. 2008. The effects of derelict blue crab traps on marine organisms in the lower York River, Virginia. N. Am J. of Fish. Manag. 28(4):1194-1200.
• Varnell, L., D.M. Bilkovic, J.Olney, D.Evans, H.Wang, C.Hershner, R. Mann. 2008.  Estuarine surface water allocation: A case study on the interactive role of science in support of management.  Environmental Science and Policy 11(7):602-612.
• Havens, K., C. Hershner, D.M. Bilkovic and D.H. Wardrop.  2007. Assessment of Chesapeake Bay Program Selection and Use of Indicators.  EcoHealth. 4(2): 187-193
• Wardrop, D.H., C. Hershner, K. Havens, K. Thornton and D.M. Bilkovic.  2007. Developing and Communicating a Taxonomy of Ecological Indicators: A Case Study from the Mid-Atlantic. EcoHealth. 4(2): 179-186.
• Bilkovic, D. M., M. Roggero, C.H. Hershner and K. J. Havens. 2006. Evaluating benthic indices for use in nearshore estuarine habitats. Estuaries and Coasts 29(6B): 1185-1195.
• Olney, J.E., D.M. Bilkovic, C.H. Hershner, L.M. Varnell, H. Wang, and R.L. Mann. 2006. Six fish and 600,000 thirsty folks – A fishing moratorium on American shad thwarts a controversial municipal reservoir project in Virginia. American Fisheries Society Symposium, 2006. 587-597.
• Woods, H., W.J. Hargis Jr., C.H. Hershner, and P. Mason. 2005. Disappearance of the natural emergent 3-dimensional oyster reef system of the James River, Virginia, 1871-1948. Journal of Shellfish Research 24(1):139-142.
• Bilkovic, D.M., C. Hershner. 2005. Ecosystem approaches to aquatic health assessment: linking subtidal habitat quality, shoreline condition and estuarine fish communities. Semi-annual report to NOAA/NCBO. Project Award Number: NA04NMF4570360.
• Bilkovic, D.M., C. Hershner, M.R. Berman, K.J. Havens, and D.M. Stanhope. 2004. Evaluating Estuarine Indicators of Ecosystem Health in the Nearshore of Chesapeake Bay. In: S. Bortone (ed.) Estuarine Indicators Workshop Proceedings, CRC Press, Inc.
• Perry, J. E. and C. Hershner.1999. Temporal changes in the vegetation pattern in a tidal freshwater marsh. Wetlands 19(1):90-99.
• Berman, M. and C. Hershner. 1999. Development of guidelines for generating shoreline situation reports: Establishing protocols for data collection and dissemination. Final report to USEPA.
• Greiner, M. and C. Hershner. 1998. Analysis of wetland total phosphorus retention and watershed structure. Wetlands 18(1),142-150.
• Varnell, L. M., K. J. Havens and C. Hershner. 1995. Daily variability in the population levels and characteristics of aquatic wildlife using tidal salt marshes. Estuaries 18(2):326-334.

Selected Grants

• 2010-11 APNEP technical support for EBM implementation - APNEP/EPA
• 2010-11 Tidal wetlands management technical support - VACRMP/NOAA
• 2009-11 Strengthening VA’s wetlands management programs - EPA
• 2009-10 Climate change impacts in VA, assembling data records - NOAA
• 2009-10 Tidal wetlands management technical support - VACRMP/NOAA
• 2009-10 Initial development of web-based reporting for CB cleanup - NOAA
• 2008-10 On-going development of non-tidal wetland inventory and monitoring - EPA
• 2008-09 Tidal wetlands management technical support - VACRMP/NOAA
• 2008-09 Climate impacts in VA: natural resource data records as tools - VA Env. Endowment
• 2008-08 Nontidal wetlands inventory and monitoring strategy - EPA/DEQ
• 2007-12 Regional wetlands monitoring and assessment (Region III) - EPA/PSU
• 2007-08 Building capacity to perform wetlands assessments in Maryland - MD-DNR
• 2007-08 Tidal wetlands guidelines - VACRMP/NOAA
• 2007-09 Development of integrated ecological assessments - NOAA-CBO
• 2007-09 Climate change impacts on Virginia shallow water habitats - NCBO
• 2007-09 York River watershed water budget - Philip Morris Foundation
• 2007-08 Tidal wetlands management technical support - VACRMP/NOAA

Selected Recent Invited Scholarly Papers and Talks

• Mar 2011 - Implications of the certainty of confronting uncertainty in TMDLs, Innovating Policy for Chesapeake Bay Restoration conference
• Dec 2010 - Integrated management of tidal shorelines, Norfolk COE regional staff meeting
• Nov 2010 - Sea level rise in Virginia, Virginia Association of Professional Land Surveyors
• Mar 2010 - Restoring the Chesapeake Bay, Old Dominion University
• Mar 2010 - Climate change impacts in coastal systems, American Zoo and Aquarium Association annual meeting
• Feb 2010 - Climate change in Virginia, Old Dominion University
• Dec 2009 - Nontidal wetlands assessment in Virginia, US Army Corps of Engineers
• Jul 2009 - Getting closer to EBM, Packard Foundation Board, San Francisco, CA
• May 2009 - Developing EBM in the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program, APNEP, Raleigh, NC
• Apr 2009 - Climate change: Projected impacts and challenges of adaptation, Envir. Virginia
• Mar 2009 - The quest for ecosystem based management, CRC EBM conference
• Oct 2008 - The quest for EBM, Association of National Estuary Programs, New York, NY
• Nov 2008 - Ecosystem Based Management, the national quest, SEAWEB, Washington, DC
• Aug 2008 - Integrated management of tidal shorelines, Association of Water Resource Administrators
• Aug 2008 - Ecosystem services research in Virginia, EPA Coastal Carolinas workshop, Research Triangle, NC
• Sep 2007 - Wetlands monitoring and assessment: ecological services paradigm. EPA National Wetlands Assessment Workshop. Kansas City, MO.
• Apr 2007 - Environmental management and policy making in Chesapeake Bay. University of Maryland, College Park, MD

Contributed Scholarly Papers and Talks

• Hershner, C., M. Berman, and K. Havens.  2009.  Climate change in Virginia.  Virginia Planners Association, Williamsburg, VA
• Sellner, K.G., J.Kramer, and C.Hershner. 2009.  Ecosystem based management in the Chesapeake Bay watersed.  CERF conference, Seattle, WA
• Dingerson, L., and C. Hershner. 2005. Predicting future shoreline condition based on land use change and increased risk associated with climate change.  NOAA Coastal Services Center Geotools Conference, Charleston, SC.
• Hershner, C. 2005. Status and trends of wetland resources in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.  Society of Wetlands Scientists meeting.  Charleston, SC.
• Bilkovic, D.M., C. Hershner, D.M. Stanhope, K.T. Angstadt.  2005.  Ecosystem approaches to aquatic condition assessment: linking subtidal habitat, shoreline condition and estuarine fish communities.  18th Biennial Conference of the Estuarine Research Federation.  Norfolk, VA.

Current Students

• Mitchell, Molly. current Phd.
• Nunez, Karinna. current Phd.

Graduated Students

• Bentley, Ellen L. 1994 M.A. Use of a landscape-level approach to determine the habitat requirements of the yellow-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus, in the lower Chesapeake Bay.
• Bilkovic, Donna M. 2000 Ph.D. Assessment of Spawning and Nursery Habitat Suitability for American Shad (Alosa sapidissima) in the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Rivers.
• Bissonnette, Jennifer N.2003 Ph.D. An analysis of wetland patterns and functions at the watershed and sub-watershed scales, with policy applications.
• Boger, Rebecca A. 2002 Ph.D. Development of a watershed and stream-reach spawning habitat model for river herring (Alosa pseudoharengus and A. aestivalis).
• Booth, Paul M. 1989 Ph.D. Nitrogen and phosphorus cycling strategies in two tidal freshwater macrophytes, Peltandra virginica and Spartina cynosuroides.
• Buie, John C. 1996 M.A. Relative risk assessment for Cape Hatteras National Seashore. [manuscript]
• Chaun, Melissa C. 1995 M.A. A comparison of three wetland evaluation methods in their assessment of nontidal wetlands in the coastal plain of Virginia.
• Craig, Martha 1992 M.A. Land use and wetland function: a sensitivity analysis of the VIMS nontidal wetland functional assessment method.
• Dancy, Lynn M. 1997 M.S. Targeting wetland preservation areas for compensatory mitigation utilizing a GIS protocol. [manuscript]
• Delistraty, Damon A. 1982 Ph.D. Adenine nucleotide levels and adenylate energy charge in Zostera marina (eelgrass) : determination and application.
• Dingerson, Lynne M. 2005 M.S. Predicting future shoreline condition based on land use trends, logistic regression, and fuzzy logic.
• Frankic, Anamarija 1999 Ph.D. A framework for planning sustainable development in coastal regions: an island pilot project in Croatia.
• Greiner, Megan K. 1995 M.A. An analysis of wetland total phosphorus retention and watershed structure.
• Herman, Julie D. 2001 Ph.D. Sediment Budgets, Estuarine Sediment Loads, & Wetland Sediment Storage at Watershed Scales, York River Watershed, VA.
• Jasinski (Hill), Paula L. 1992 M.A. The effect of a one-meter sea-level rise on tidal wetlands in Gloucester County, Virginia.
• Huang, Jie "Mary" 2005  M.S.  Tidal wetland contributions to fecal coliform loads in shellfish growing waters by analysis of model prediction discrepancy
• Huang, Jie "Mary" 2010 Ph.D. Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Fecal Coliform Distribution in Virginia Coastal Waters.
• Ledwin, Jane Marie. 1988 M.A. Sedimentation and Its Role in the Nutrient Dynamics of a Tidal Freshwater Wetland.
• Mason, Pamela A. 1989 M.A. The standing stock of organic matter in a man-made brackish marsh and its resource management implications.
• McGuire, Heather L. 1990 M.A. The effects of shading by open-pile structures on the density of Spartina alterniflora.
• Merchant, Orelia E. 1995 M.A. Shellfish culture area designation protocol development.
• Meyer, Jill E. 2000 M.S. Use of a Digital Multispectral Video System and Spectroradiometer for Bottomland Hardwood Forest Remote Sensing: A Jurisdictional Boundary Accuracy Assessment and Radiance Examination.
• Mitchell, Laura R. 1991 M.A. Temporal and spatial response of two tidal marsh species to salinity changes in the Pamunkey River.
• Nelson, Stacy A. C. 1995 M.A. Error analysis in tidal wetland inventory change detection : comparison of historical mapped wetlands of the Achilles Quadrangle between 1976 to 1989.
• Nunez, M. Karinna 2010 M.S. Modeling Shoreline Change and Resulting Wetland Response Due to Erosion and Sea-level Rise: a Case Study in Dorchester County, Maryland.
• Perle, Christopher R. 1996 M.A. An analysis of the effects of sea level rise on the salt marshes of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina.
• Perry, James E. 1991 Ph.D. Analysis of vegetation patterns in a tidal freshwater marsh.
• Reay, William G. 1989 M.S. Subsurface hydrodynamics and nutrient exchange within an extensive tidal freshwater wetland.
• Redgate, Daniel O. 1997 M.S. Winter/spring steady-state water balances for a palustrine forested wetland located in southeastern Virginia.
• Renaud, Alexander. 2015 M.S.
• Rheinhardt, Richard D. 1991 Ph.D. Vegetation ecology of tidal freshwater swamps of the lower Chesapeake Bay, USA.
• Rodriguez-Calderon, Cielomar. 2014 PhD.  Predicting climate change and development impacts on future shoreline ecosystem service capacity
• Skeehan, Emily. 2014 M.S.
• Skunda, Kevin G. 2000 M.S. Application of the Shoreline Instablity Model Along the Western Side of the Chesapeake Bay, VA.
• Strickler, Mathew 2007 M.S. Assessing the impacts of land use change on hard clam aquaculture in Old Plantation Creek, Northampton County, Virginia.
• Wohlgemuth, Maryann 1989 M.A. Estimation of net aerial primary production of Peltandra virginica (L.) Kunth using harvest and tugging techniques.
• Woods, Helen E. 2001 M.S. An Examination of Potential Conflict Between SAV and Hard Clam Aquaculture in the Lower Chesapeake Bay.
• Zacherle, Andrew W. 1984 M.A. A method for evaluating the long-term, cumulative impacts of tidal marsh alterations: the York River system, a case study.

Selected Research Reports from Grants or Contracts

• Rowe, A., C. Hershner, 2009.  Getting Closer to EBM: Evaluation of the Packard Foundation Ecosystem Based Management Initiative.  Technical Report submitted to the Packard Foundation.  119 pp.
• Bilkovic, D.M., C.H. Hershner and K. Angstadt.  May 2006.  Ecosystem approaches to aquatic health assessment:  linking subtidal habitat quality, shoreline condition and estuarine fish communities. Final Report to NOAA/NCBO. Project Award Number: NA04NMF4570360.
• Brooks, R.P., D.H. Wardrop, K.W. Thornton, D. Whigham, C. Hershner, M.M. Brinson and J.S. Shortle, eds.   2006.  Integration of ecological and socioeconomic indicators for estuaries and watersheds of the Atlantic Slope.  Final Report to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency STAR Program, Agreement R-82868401, Washington, DC.  Prepared by the Atlantic Slope Consortium, University Park, PA.  96pp.+ attachments (CD).

Professional Service

College Committee Service

• 2007-pres Faculty Assembly, Executive Committee/Liaison Committee, Faculty Affairs Committee
• 2009-2010 Strategic Planning Committee
• 2009-pres Committee on Sustainability
• 2007-2009 Human Resources Redesign – Classification/Compensation Committee

SMS/VIMS Governance

• 2010-pres VIMS Productivity Committee
• 2010-pres VIMS Master Planning Committee
• 2008 VIMS Committee on Sustainability
• 2007-pres Faculty Council chair
• 1999-pres Director, Center for Coastal Resources Management
• 1993-pres VIMS Administrative Council

Staff supervised and administrative responsibilities

• Director - Center for Coastal Resources Management (8 scientists, 11 staff, 1 part-time staff)

Advisory Service

Service to State

• 2011-pres Virginia Water Resources Research Center Advisory Board
• 2010& Study report and legislative recommendations for shoreline management
• 2009-2011 Chesapeake Bay TMDL advisory panel
• 2001-2006 Development of shallow water use management plan recommendations
• 1997-pres Virginia Water Quality Academic Advisory Committee
• 1978-pres Technical support for Virginia wetlands and shoreline management programs

Regional, National Programs

• 1995-pres Chesapeake Bay Program
• 2011 Independent Evaluator action team
• 2011 NAS report reviewer
• 2011 Goal Implementation Team 6
• 2010-pres Chesapeake Stat action team
• 2003-pres Wetlands workgroup/action team
• 2003-2007 Implementation Committee
• 2003-2007 Budget Steering Committee
• 2001-2009 Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee
• 2001-2004 Landuse/Land cover monitoring workgroup
• 2000-2004 Resource Lands Task Force
• 2000-2004 Watershed Management Task Force
• 2000-2003 Chair, Tidal Habitat Workgroup
• 1997-2005 Living Resources Subcommittee
• 2008-pres Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program advisor
• 2009 Narragansett Bay National Estuary Program planning advisor
• 2008 VA Middle Peninsula PDC York River use conflict workgroup
• 2005-2007 Maryland Chesapeake Bay Recovery Program Advisory Board
• 2002-pres Mid-Atlantic Wetlands Workgroup