Lead Researcher Phoebe Jekielek brings us a great review of the Benthic Ecology Meeting - Not sure what that is? Read on!
The past few years have been years full of seclusion for everyone, including the scientific community. Meetings, conferences, and workshops were all moved to Zoom in order to keep us all safe as the pandemic unfolded. But now, the scientific community is also starting to “open up” with in-person events and the re-introduction to networking, sharing ideas, and debating research…it’s kind of anxiety-inducing and awkward and exhilarating all at once. The Hurricane Research Team got to participate in this re-introduction last week at the Benthic Ecology Meeting (BEM) in Portsmouth, NH.
All in a day’s work - Lead Scientist Phoebe Jekielek reaching for the data on a research trip to Pen Bay Farmed Scallops’ aquaculture site near Stonington, ME. It all starts out in the field!
The BEM is put on by the Benthic Meeting Ecology Society (BEMS), a non-profit organization established to run a yearly meeting to exchange scientific information focusing on marine benthic ecosystems (e.g., rocky intertidal, coral reef) and to foster the next generation of benthic biologists. Their mission is to promote research in benthic ecosystems, support the exchange of information about benthic ecology, and encourage student participation to develop the next generation of benthic ecologists. This year there was a lot of representation from Hurricane Island staff, both past and present!!
Hurricane Research Assistant Lucy Williams presenting at the Benthic Ecology Meeting
Our current Lead Scientist (Phoebe, me), our Aquaculture Manager (Madison), and our Research Assistant (Lucy) all got to attend. I was totally overwhelmed by the number of talks that I wanted to attend and had to make some hard decisions! Sessions spanned climate change, aquaculture and fisheries, invasive species, new technology and many more. Lucy also led the charge to create an amazing poster with Madison highlighting our scallop reproduction work and presented it during the poster session on Thursday night. Presenting posters is a great way to network, exchange ideas, and practice communicating about the research we and our partners are undertaking.
2021 Summer Intern and Bowdoin College junior Sophie Lisle presenting at the BEM
There were also presentations given at the conference by Carl Huntsberger and Sophie Lisle, two past Hurricane staff!! Carl was our Research Assistant during 2020 and is now a Research Biologist at the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF) in Rhode Island and leads the Sea Scallop Research Fleet effort and a project to assess fisheries species at the South Fork Wind Farm. He presented on lobster stock structure research with commercial harvesters. Sophie was an Education Intern on Hurricane last summer and is now a junior at Bowdoin College where she’s been working on evaluating microplastic consumption across trophic levels. Can’t wait to see what she does in her senior year and beyond.
Aquaculture Manager Madison Maier gives students a tour of the 3.2 acre experimental aquaculture site on Hurricane Island
All in all it was really great to get back to a bit of in-person connection and information sharing. The conversations that arise when you’re getting your coffee or walking from your hotel to the conference might create new collaborations and generate new ideas in just a few minutes. This conference only stoked my fires about the work we’re doing on Hurricane, the role we’re playing to create sustainable solutions to the ecological, social, and economic challenges of a changing world, and how we can best mentor and prepare the next generation of scientists and change makers to face those challenges. Onward ever onward ☺
For more information on Lucy’s Research be sure to check out the recent blog posts and research pages on our website.
