- About
- With 500+ faculty, staff and students and three campus locations, the Batten School & VIMS are equipped to tackle pressing challenges through research, education and advisory service.
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- Research & Advisory
- Purple marsh crabs are significantly disrupting carbon cycling in salt marshes along the East Coast of the U.S., according to a study led by Batten School & VIMS scientists.
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- Batten School
- The R. Todd Stravitz Scholars Program will provide full tuition support for students pursuing the new bachelor’s degree in coastal & marine sciences at the Batten School & VIMS.
  
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- Engage
- Popular, free camps enable rising third through eighth graders to learn about the Chesapeake Bay, coastal ecosystems and environmental stewardship.
  
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- News & Events
- National TRAP Program funds large-scale cleanup of discarded fishing gear, first round of subawards totaling more than $1.4M supports 11 projects focused on removing derelict fishing gear from coastal waters in nine U.S. states and Palau.
  
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- Giving
- As an expression of parental pride in their daughter, Taylor Spencer ‘83 and Martha Spencer recently established an undergraduate field research endowment at the Batten School & VIMS.
  
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Spiny Butterfly Ray

Spiny Butterfly Ray - Gymnura altavela

_{*Information from FAO Species Identification Guide Western Central Atlantic*}

Species Information
Size Maximum size 208 cm disc width; males mature at about 101 cm disc width; neonates 38 cm to 44 cm disc width at birth.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries Benthic in shallow water to 55 m.
Distribution Sporadically recorded from Massachusetts to northern Argentina, but not throughout entire area; its presence in Gulf of Mexico is rarely recorded. Also recorded in eastern Atlantic.