Integrated Sentinel Monitoring Network

On November 12, 2014, I attended a workshop in Chelmsford, MA for the Integrated Sentinel Monitoring Network (ISMN), which was initiated in recognition that ecosystem level changes, such as ocean acidification, sea level rise, or changing storm patterns, are expected to intensify and put important marine species and commercial fisheries at risk. This effort is a collaboration between NERACOOS (Northeast Regional Association for Coastal Ocean Observing Systems) and NROC (Northeast Regional Ocean Council) and involves a number of organizations focusing on the Northeast region from the border with Canada to as far south as Long Island Sound. The steering committee is developing a science implementation plan to "inform researchers, managers, and the public about ecosystem vulnerabilities and impacts," and encourage regional approaches to improving community and ecosystem resiliency.

If you're wondering why NERACOOS sounds familiar, You may have accessed information from one of a series of weather buoys in the Gulf of Maine that collect information about water temp, wind speed, salinity, and water density. You can click through to check out their data visualization tool--a pretty cool resource to compare a parameter such as water temperature this year to the mean of 2001-2013. These buoys provide valuable data for Gulf of Maine-scale questions about changes in the water column.

To tackle this enormous task, the steering committee and participating organizations have been divided into three work groups to focus on three different regions of the ocean-- pelagic (in the water column), benthic (ocean floor), and estuarine (where the river meets the ocean) and nearshore habitat. Each work group has been charged with identifying sentinel ecosystem indicators, gathering information on existing monitoring efforts that relates to their assigned habitat and identified sentinels currently underway in the Northeast, highlighting gaps in current monitoring, and providing a synthesis of their work for the final report. Ideally the report and this work will leverage funding to monitor the gaps identified by this group and to provide continued support to current monitoring efforts underway that are deemed critical to providing information about ecosystem level change. 

At the workshop, I participated in the estuarine and nearshore habitat work group and believe this discussion will be particularly helpful in guiding which indicators we choose to monitor on Hurricane Island in the future. We want the parameters we monitor on Hurricane to be comparable with other field sites so we can understand how that variable changes over time and along a latitudinal or regional gradient as well as consider monitoring the gaps in current efforts. Collecting this data will also ideally support the work of visiting researchers as well as our education programs. 

ROV footage off of Hurricane Island

Back in August the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean came out to Hurricane Island to explain their mission for a clean ocean to students in our Marine Ecology ISLE program. The Rozalia Project uses lots of different tools to help them do beach cleanups and extricate marine debris from the ocean. One of the most helpful tools they have is a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which is outfitted with a robotic arm to be able to grab trash underwater. By using an ROV instead of a diver, they are able to minimize their impact, travel to deeper depths, and also use the camera perspective of the ROV as a great teaching tool. Here is a fun video clip taken off of the main pier at Hurricane Island where "Hector the Collector" surveyed for marine debris. We love collaborating with the Rozalia Project, and seeing new perspectives of our island!

Footage taken by The Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean off of the main pier at Hurricane Island, Maine. Learn more about the Hurricane Island Foundation at www.hurricaneisland.net and the Rozalia Project at http://rozaliaproject.org/

Ocean Acidification Workshop

Participants listen to opening remarks.

On October 7, 2014, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop co-hosted by the Island Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council focused on "Increasing Community Resilience to Ocean Acidification in Maine: Analyzing and Responding to the Economic, Cultural, and Social Impacts." This event is part of broader efforts underway to understand and address ocean acidification effects in Maine. The Maine Ocean Acidification Commission, a 16-member panel, was established by the Legislature in early summer 2014 to synthesize our current understanding of the issue, its implications for Maine, and identify actions that can be taken to increase our knowledge base about ocean acidification, its effects, and options for remediation, adaptation, and mitigation. The Commission held it's first meeting on the state of ocean acidification science at the Darling Marine Center in August 2014. The October workshop focused on the human and community dimension of the ocean acidification issue.

The speaker lineup started with the mechanics of the acidification process and implications for marine species in response to changes in ocean chemistry. The next set of speakers focused on how communities can define vulnerability, resilience, and identify threats to coastal economic sectors such as fisheries or tourism and biodiversity. Once the morning session wrapped up, we broke into small groups to brainstorm the aspects of our coastal communities that we value and would like to maintain as well as indicators and data sources to measure those values. 

The afternoon speakers provided an overview on solutions, both regulatory and non-regulatory that have been implemented elsewhere to address ocean acidification. For example, local mitigation of ocean acidification is possible through certain measures. Since nutrients are known to increase the rate of ocean acidification, enforcement of regulations meant to control point and non-point pollution sources can reduce nutrient runoff thus eliminating a contributing factor to the acidification process. The break-out groups were tasked with developing strategies to implement in Maine. It was reassuring to see people from different sectors - nonprofit, government, industry - coming together to tackle a very serious issue for Maine. The work done throughout the day will be summarized in a report. We will plan to share the final products once they have been made available... stay tuned!

Schoodic Institute Science Symposium

On October 1 , 2014, Schoodic Institute hosted the Acadia National Park Science Symposium that highlighted research being done in and around the National Park with a focus on "our understanding of rapid environmental change." Speakers included Esperanza Stancioff, an Extension Educator with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Abe Miller-Rushing, Science Coordinator at Acadia National Park and a member of the National Park Service, Bob Page with the National Park Service's Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, Jasmine Saros, a University of Maine Climate Change Institute researcher who has been monitoring Jordan Pond in Acadia, and Elizabeth Wolkovich, a researcher with Harvard University who focuses on phenology. Additional projects were highlighted during two poster sessions. 

Esperanza summarized the work of an interdisciplinary team and the town of Ellsworth to address storm water overflow and infrastructure vulnerability; an issue with ecological and economic ramifications if climate change predictions that Maine will experience more extreme rainfall events are realized. MPBN highlighted the project through a short documentary, "Culvert Operations."

Symposium attendees collecting phenology data.

During lunch, people were invited to collect phenology data for Acadia's monitoring program. The data are used to track changes in individual plants, but also to better understand how data collected by citizen scientists can be utilized. Park staff have also setup wildlife cameras at their phenology monitoring sites to capture footage of species interactions and couple bird behavior with plant phenology data. Shifts in the timing of different events like flowering or the production of fruit can have major implications for other species that might rely on that plant for a food source. For example, flowering and fruiting may be shifting earlier in the season due to warming temperatures, yet the timing of bird migration is not shifting at the same rate so migrating birds may miss a critical food source as they migrate to their seasonal nesting or wintering grounds. Elizabeth Wolkovich is researching how changes in temperature and phenology may give exotic species the competitive advantage of native plant species.

The science symposium was an inspiring event, and I am looking forward to collaborating with these speakers and researchers as we continue to grow and develop the field station's research agenda on Hurricane!

OBFS & NAML Annual Meeting in Woods Hole

View of Lillie Laboratory on MBL's campus in Woods Hole.

On September 22-23, 2014, I attended the joint annual meeting of the Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) and the National Association of Marine Laboratories (NAML) at Marine Biological Laboratories in Woods Hole. Field station and lab directors from across the country gathered together to discuss potential funding opportunities, infrastructure and equipment, research initiatives, the national policy landscape, the importance of these facilities in providing people with a connection to nature, and best practices for effectively communicating science. Much of the conversation focused on environmental monitoring networks and collaborative research: if field stations are able to link or install compatible environmental sensors and implement similar data collection protocols at each site, the data can be used both to answer questions at both a local and regional spatial scale. Additionally, collaboration between field stations will allow us all to capitalize on the strengths each facility has to tackle complex environmental problems and develop creative solutions. The group acknowledged that the funding landscape is changing and becoming more challenging as the Federal Government continues to reduce funds allocated to research; however, opportunities do exist for creative partnerships and funding models to continue the important scientific and educational work being done at field stations. 

Jerry Schubel from the Aquarium of the Pacific and Chair of the Committee on Value and Sustainability of Biological Field Stations, Marine Laboratories, and Nature Reserves in 21st Century Science, Education, and Public Outreach gave a public briefing about a report recently released by the National Research Council of the National Academies entitled "Enhancing the Value and Sustainability of Field Stations and Marine Laboratories in the 21st Century," in which the committee provided recommendations to field stations and marine labs for innovative solutions to overcome current challenges. They also created a short video to promote the value of field stations, which you can view here.

It is always helpful to hear the perspectives of directors and researchers at other field stations, and I look forward to continuing to network and collaborate with the Gulf of Maine field stations as we form the Hurricane Island field research station.