More about Gina Ralph

Current Projects

Data collection and analysis in support of single and multispecies stock assessments in the mid-Atlantic & Southern New England: Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program Near Shore Trawl Survey, NEAMAP. Funded through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Design and implementation of ChesMMAP - Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring and Assessment Program. Funded through the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program (commonly known as Wallop-Breaux) via the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, as well as matching funds from Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
VIMS Shark Research Program. Funded through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Striped Bass Assessment Program. Funded through the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program (commonly known as Wallop-Breaux) via the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, as well as matching funds from Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Developing a regional industry-based bottom trawl survey (RIBTS) for the Northeast US shelf ecosystem. Funded through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Coastal Marine Science Research Opportunities for Undergraduates at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). Funded by the National Science Foundation.
VIMS Composting and Food Waste Reduction Program. Funded by VA DEQ Food Rescue & Composting Program.

Selected Publications

Wilberg, M.J., Drzewicki, M., Ralph, G.M., Liang, D., Sholes, M., Aguilar, R., Bevans, A., Braun-Ricks, I., Bromilow, M., Davis, G.R., Galvan, A., Ihde, T., Latour, R. Lipcius, R.N., Lowman, B., Mace, M.M. III., Miller, T.J., Ogburn, M.B., Saluta, G., Schneider, A.K., Sharov, A., and Tuckey, T.D. 2026. Stock Assessment of the Blue Crab in Chesapeake Bay. Solomons, MD: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Chesapeake Bay Laboratory.

Ralph, G.M., Gartland, J. and Latour, R.J. 2024. Evaluation of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab sanctuary through habitat suitability. Marine Ecology Progress Series 739: 111-128.

Schonfeld, A.J., Ralph, G.M., Gartland, J., St-Laurent, P., Friedrichs, M.A. and Latour, R.J. 2024. Hypoxia influences the extent and dynamics of suitable fish habitat in Chesapeake Bay, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series 748: 117-135.

Latour, R.J., Gartland, J. and Ralph, G.M. 2024. Commentary: Demographic response of osprey within the lower Chesapeake Bay to fluctuations in menhaden stock. Frontiers in Marine Science 11, p.1416687.

Saluta, G.G., Ralph, G.M., Knick, K.E., Seebo, M.S. and Lipcius, R.N. 2023. Lethal and sublethal effects of simulated dredged sediment deposition on overwintering blue crabs Callinectes sapidus. Marine Ecology Progress Series 719: 65-75

Harvey, M.S., Ralph, G.M., Polidoro, B., Maxwell, S. and Carpenter, K.E. 2021. Identifying key biodiversity areas as marine conservation priorities in the Greater Caribbean. Biodiversity and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-021-02291-8

Dulvy, N.K., Pacoureau, N., Rigby, C.L., Pollom, R.A., Jabado, R.W., Ebert, D.A., Finucci, B., Pollock, C.M., Choek, J., Derrick, D.H., Herman, K.B., Sherman, C.S., …, Ralph, G.M., et al. 2021. Overfishing drives over one third of all sharks and rays toward a global extinction crisis. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.062

Birge, T.L., Ralph, G.M., Di Dario, F., Munroe, T.A., Bullock, R.W., Maxwell, S.M., Santos, M.D., Hata, H. and Carpenter, K.E. 2021. Global conservation status of the world's most prominent forage fishes (Teleostei: Clupeiformes). Biological Conservation 253: 108903.

O'Hara, C., Villaseñor-Derbez, J.C., Ralph, G.M., Halpern, B.S. 2019. Mapping status and conservation of global at-risk marine-biodiversity. Conservation Letters 12(4): e12651

Fernandes, P.G., Ralph, G.M., Nieto, A., García Criado, M., Vasilakopoulos, P., Maravelias, C.D., Cook, R.M., Pollom, R.A., Kovačić, M., Pollard, D., Farrell, E.D., Florin, A.-B., et al. 2017. Coherent assessments of Europe’s marine fishes show regional divergence and megafauna loss. Nature Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0170

Ralph, G.M. and Lipcius, R.N. 2014. Critical habitats and stock assessment: age-specific bias in the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population survey. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 143(4):889-898.

Ralph, G.M., Seitz, R.D., Orth, R.J., Knick, K.E. and Lipcius, R.N. 2013. Broad-scale association between seagrass cover and juvenile blue crab density in Chesapeake Bay. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 488:51-63.