Research Opportunity for Teachers – Connecticut

George McManus at UConn has a National Science Foundation Grant that enables him to offer research experiences for K-12 teachers during the summer.  In the past, teachers working in his lab have done independent study projects for graduate credit, but someone who does not need or want the credits could opt for a small stipend instead.

He is a marine biologist working on protozoa in the sea, using a combination of field, culture, and DNA methods.  His goal for this grant is to enable teachers to experience research directly and possibly to learn some techniques that they can take back to the classroom with them.  Diana Payne is also involved in the project to perform assessments and help teachers make the lab-to-classroom connection.  You can find out more about what he does at http://www.microzooplankton.uconn.edu and you will also find there a short application for this summer, under the “GREAT program for teachers” link on the first page.

Opportunity: Summer Fellowship

COSEE-Coastal Trends is looking to fill a summer teacher research fellowship position for this summer, 2010. The selected teacher will join a research team at the University of Maryland’s Horn Point Lab (Cambridge, MD) to study sources of nitrogen in Chesapeake Bay tributaries and create classroom resources based on this research.

Candidates should:
-Currently teach middle or high school science
-Have some background in pedagogy
-Be willing to learn about scientific research, work closely with a small team, and help conduct outdoor summer fieldwork (potentially long, hot, somewhat muddy days)

The fellowship includes:
-$4,500 stipend for 6-week research experience (June 24-August 6) and completion of lesson plans
-Housing at Horn Point Lab during the 6-week experience
-Travel expenses

For more info or to apply,  or contact  cgurbisz@umces.edu.

Lecture – “A Sea of Simmering Synthetic Soup”

Charles Moore, who recently completed a 7,000 mile, 7-week journey in the Pacific aboard the research vessel “Alguita” to document the extent of marine plastic pollution, will speak at Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center in Nahant MA.  Tuesday 1/12/10, 7pm.  Free; for more information call Carole McCauley at 781-581-7370 ext 321 or email mscinfo@neu.edu.

NE Scientists Record Deepest Undersea Volcano

With funding from NSF and NOAA, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Marine Biological Laboratory, and Harvard University, and others around the U.S. have recorded the deepest erupting volcano yet discovered, describing high-definition video of the undersea eruption collected using ROV Jason as “spectacular.”  NSF’s online press release includes videos of the sub-Pacific eruption of the West Mata volcano.

Gulf of Maine Area-Census of Marine Life Newsletter

July 29, 2009

CALENDAR: Gulf of Maine Symposium – Early registration ends July 31st

Early registration ends Friday, July 31st for the Gulf of Maine Symposium, to be held in scenic St Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, October 4-9, 2009.

GoMA will host a one-day workshop on Biodiversity in the Gulf of Maine on Monday, October 5th.  We invite members of the science, management and conservation communities to join us.

The symposium is sponsored by the Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine, in collaboration with COMPASS, Department of Fisheries and Oceans – St. Andrews Biological Station, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and the Gulf of Maine Area – Census of Marine Life.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Isles of Shoals (NH), Platts Bank (ME), Cobscook Bay (ME) and Discovery Corridor (Canada)

Here are a few highlights of summer research activities from our partners:

Leading a team of students at Shoals Marine Lab, marine archaeologists Nate Hamilton and Ingrid Brack (photo) found evidence of prehistoric Native Americans on Smuttynose Island, Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire.

Studies of biological hotspots – areas teeming with marine life – continue at Platts Bank, an off-shore bank 30 miles east of Portland, Maine.

Sampling of intertidal and nearshore species continues in Cobscook Bay, near the Maine/Canadian border.

A two-week cruise is underway in the Discovery Corridor, from the shores of the Bay of Fundy to the deep sea.  A 2008 National Geographic video shows you what this Canadian project is all about.

PUBLICATIONS: Recent papers on ecosystem dynamics

Gulf of Maine researchers have published two recent papers on changing ecosystem dynamics and fish communities using decades and centuries worth of data:

Using fish survey data from 1963 to the present, Peter Auster and Jason Link co-authored Compensation and recovery of feeding guilds in a northwest Atlantic shelf fish community (April 30, 2009, Marine Ecology Progress Series ).  The abstract begins “Disturbance by fishing activities in marine ecosystems has resulted in significant shifts in the distribution, abundance and diversity of fish communities.” Dr. Auster (photo) is a key contributor to the GoMA Census of Marine Life.

Based on historic records dating back to 1630, a team of researchers led by Stefan Claesson and Andy Rosenberg published their final report on Stellwagen Bank Marine Historical Ecology (2009, Gulf of Maine Cod Project, UNH). Dr. Rosenberg is a project leader for the Historical Marine Animal Populations of the Census of Marine Life. Recent guest lecturers and historians, Karen Alexander and Bill Leavenworth, contributed to the report.

Congratulations to all on their significant contributions to our understanding of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem.

EDUCATION NEWS: Student video wins national recognition

A poignant and well-produced video, Our Oceans, Our World , by high school students Eric Kao and Jorie Heilman of Lexington, Mass. captured the admiration of regional and national judges.  The winning video will be on display at the Smithsonian’s Ocean Hall throughout the year.  The winner and runners-up can be viewed on our website – kudos to all who participated in the contest.

Living on the Ocean Planet video contest is a project of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, initiated by GoMA and co-sponsored by the Census of Marine Life.

Editor’s Note

A special thanks to Census of Marine Life scientist, Dr. Michael Sinclair of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, NS for his recent interview for our blog, Celebrating Darwin.  In Part 1, Reflections on Darwin , Dr. Sinclair discussed how scientific theories come to be, and in Part 2, Music and Darwin,  how music inspired – and was inspired by – Darwin.

As part of our ongoing celebration of Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of Origin of Species, we invite colleagues to contribute to our blog in the coming months.  If interested, please contact Susan Ryan.

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News Release : Hybrid Remotely Operated Vehicle “Nereus” Reaches Deepest Part of the Ocean

A new type of deep-sea robotic vehicle called Nereus has successfully reached the deepest part of the world’s ocean, reports a team of U.S. engineers and scientists aboard the research vessel Kilo Moana. The dive to 10,902 meters (6.8 miles) occurred on May 31, 2009, at the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean.  More

Marine Scientists Return from Expedition to Erupting Undersea Volcano

Scientists who have just returned from an expedition to an erupting undersea volcano near the Island of Guam report that the volcano appears to be continuously active, has grown considerably in size during the past three years, and its activity supports a unique biological community thriving despite the eruptions. Read the summary.