Scallop Nerds Unite!

From April 23rd through April 28th, 2015, I attended and presented at the 20th International Pectinid Workshop in Galway, Ireland. Scientists from all over the world participated and session topics included ecology and general biology, aquaculture, fisheries, marine protected areas, biotoxins, resource management, and two sessions were dedicated to physiology, biochemistry, and genetics. A special session focused on Pectinids as witnesses of their environment in a changing ocean. This session featured work by French scientists to develop analysis tools which will use the shells of scallops to determine environmental characteristics at the time when the shell is formed. They have yet to determine the method for Placopecten magellanicus, the species found in Maine, but when they do, we hope to send them samples from the Muscle Ridge and Ocean Point closed areas.

Maine representatives L-R Skylar Bayer, Caitlin Cleaver, Trish Cheney, Carla Guenther, and Dana Morse

Maine was well represented at the conference, with four of us presenting our current research including Skylar Bayer, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maine School of Marine Sciences, who presented on her dissertation work studying fertilization success in the Atlantic Sea Scallop (Placopecten magellanicus). Trisha Cheney, Resource coordinator for scallops, urchins, groundfish permit bank at Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) presented on state scallop management efforts, and Dr. Carla Guenther, Senior Scientist at Penobscot East Resource Center (PERC) and a member of the Scallop Advisory Council, followed up Trish's presentation by sharing the work that PERC and DMR have done to build trust within the scallop fishing community and to implement the rotational closed area management system currently in place in Zone 2. I provided preliminary results from quantifying the effect of the Muscle Ridge Closed Area on scallop populations. 

Dr. Kevin Stokesbury, Dr. Dave Bethoney, and Dr. Susan Inglis from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (You can find info about their work here) and Dr. Dvora Hart who works in the Population Dynamics Branch at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA, presented on their work on the federal scallop fishery which ranged from a parasite in scallops that causes the white meat of the adductor to turn gray to larval dispersal.  

Conversations with workshop participants have inspired me to consider additional methods for the Collaborative Scallop Project that would improve the power of the study. In the near term, I am hoping to organize a visit to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center to learn their shell aging and growth rate methods so we can apply it to the shells we've collected over the past two years. 

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A full group photo from the conference (I am hiding in the back row at the left edge of the blue background)

Improving STEM teaching through course evaluation

Teachers with the Spring 2015 University Course Observation Program in front of Estabrooke Hall at the University of Maine, Orono.

For a three day span in February and another in April, 2015 I have been part of the fifth year of the University Classroom Observation Program (UCOP) at UMaine.  The program is an incredible way to bring middle/high school teachers together with STEM faculty on campus to promote change in individual educators and work towards overall institutional change.

Our group of teachers was trained to use the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduates in STEM (COPUS) to objectively document the nature of STEM instruction at UMaine.  The data obtained from this instrument since its development has significantly impacted student retention in STEM related majors on campus as a result of targeted professional development created to meet areas of faculty need. The nature of the protocol we use to document the classes is inherently non-threatening to the instructors that we 'evaluate' as we simply code their behavior and their students' behavior at 2 minute intervals. Were the students listening? Were they answering questions? Did the instructors write on the board or do a demonstration?  Did they answer questions or circulate through the room and help students? This kind of coding gives a reasonably detailed roadmap of what occurs in each class on a given day and can help instructors understand their current teaching style and allow them to evaluate whether there is anything they want to change.

What has been really interesting about the entire process is seeing the wide variety of teaching styles across STEM classes on campus and walking away with an inherent sense of what we as K-12 teachers would like to change about our own teaching practices.  We also get the benefit of being thrust into the role of 'student' again and recognizing the gaps that often exist between what students are being asked to do in college and what we are preparing them for in high school. Going into the program I expected to find a content gap between the two realms but I was surprised to find a far more substantial psychological gap that makes it hard for students to navigate the logistics of being a college level freshman.  Adolescents are gradually maturing throughout their tenure in our school systems but instead of gradually shifting responsibilities on the same scale, we largely maintain a safety net for students during their high school years and then college expects an incredible jump in their responsibility and accountability, effectively ripping the net out from under them.

This gap is in danger of widening in coming years because of the K-12 shift towards standards based education, particularly the practice of giving students multiple opportunities to meet a standard using different methods (a.k.a., "multiple pathways").  This is largely in contrast to the college environment where students have one shot to demonstrate they are meeting the requirements of the course and must retake the class if they do not deliver the first time around. This is not a judgement call saying one method is better than another, just an acknowledgement that there will likely be a harsher transition for students as they move into a post-secondary environment.  This was one of the major topics discussed by a panel of four UCOP teachers at a professional development opportunity for University faculty to hear about our experiences in their classrooms.  This culminating event was a great discussion which sparked valuable conversations and illustrated the need and desire for more of these opportunities in the near future.  Plans are being made for more such targeted discussions with faculty as well as opportunities for UCOP teachers to work with Maine Learning Assistants (MLA's) and students in the Masters of Science in Teaching (MST) program and I can't wait to see what comes from this program in years to come!

****UPDATE***** (March 7, 2016)

Click here to read the publication that came from this study! Congrats to Justin Lewin, Erin Vinson, MacKenzie Stetzer and Michelle Smith for publishing in CBE - Life Science Education.

Teachers with the Spring 2015 UCOP program after an April week of COPUS-ing!

Rockweed Working Group update

I attended the Rockweed Working Group's meeting on Wednesday, April 1, 2015 in Bangor, ME. The Rockweed Working Group is made up of 5 scientists who are volunteering their time help determine how this brown algae should be managed within the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) fisheries management plans before rockweed harvesting takes off as a larger commercial industry. The group has been charged with providing recommendations to DMR about areas that should be designated as closures and prohibit rockweed harvesting. Portions of the coast or islands can only be designated as closures if doing so protects "sensitive" wildlife areas, as determined and justified by scientific evidence. The group has already reviewed the justification for restricting harvesting in specific areas along the coast of Maine during certain times of year to protect declining populations of shore birds. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife tracks changes in bird populations along the coast, and provided data to help the working group determine timing and location of these closures.

Smooth periwinkle snails often hang out on clumps of rockweed where they can be easily mistaken for the air bladders that help the brown algae float in the ocean for maximum photosynthesis.

At Wednesday's meeting, the discussion focused on whether Harbor and Gray seals should be classified as sensitive species, and if yes, whether their habitat should be considered for closure. Populations of seals seem to be doing well and so it was challenging to determine whether or not pupping ledges should be closed to rockweed harvesting during pupping season. The Marine Mammal Protection Act  does prohibit individuals from changing the behavior of a marine mammal and so, in a sense, the Federal MMPA would already prohibit rockweed harvesting in any areas that are close enough to disrupts seals. Dr. Brian Beal also presented a literature review of the impact of rockweed harvesting on invertebrates. He concluded that the current evidence from research does not show a major impact of harvesting on intertidal invertebrates; however, more studies need to be done. 

A segment of the meeting was dedicated to figuring out how the Working Group will address intertidal habitat that is owned by or adjacent to conserved lands. A resolution on this issue was not reached. I used this agenda item as an opportunity to follow up on a letter I had submitted last week on behalf of Hurricane Island (see the letter here) and asked that the Working Group consider the intertidal habitat owned or used by field stations and marine labs for educational and scientific purposes to be closed to commercial harvest. The members of the group were extremely receptive to this idea and so I am working to gather the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates for the areas that should be closed. Once this information has been gathered, I will submit it to DMR for consideration along with the Working Group's recommendations. 

Mushroom Cultivation Workshop

On Saturday March 28, 2015, Phoebe and I attended a workshop where we learned how to prepare and inoculate hardwood logs in order to cultivate Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms. The workshop was led by Aaron Englander, Farm Manager of Erickson Fields Preserve, and hosted at Aldermere Farm in Rockport, ME.

the lighter colored wood is the sapwood. 4-6" diameter logs have the most sapwood which is softer and better for the mycelium of the mushrooms to digest

Shiitake and Oyster mushrooms are saprophytes, which means they feed on dead tissue as opposed to mycorrhizal fungi, which have symbiotic associations with living trees. This means that in the wild these mushrooms like to colonize old dead logs and gain energy by digesting the cellulose of the cambium or sapwood (the lighter colored wood surrounding the darker core, or heartwood), forming a dense mycelium (the vegetative structure of the fungus) network in the log before fruiting out.

The basic idea behind outdoor log mushroom cultivation is to create an environment where mushrooms have food, plenty of moisture to keep them alive and help them process food, and shade to keep them moist/from drying out. Also, we want to decrease the amount of competition from other decomposers by minimizing opportunities for those competitors to enter the log.

A look at the spawn plugs which are set into the hardwood logs

The process of preparing and inoculating logs is the most labor intensive part of growing mushrooms. The first step is selecting the right logs to use. The logs we worked with during the workshop were red oak for the shiitake mushrooms, and sugar maple for the oyster mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms have traditionally been cultivated on oak trees, whereas oyster mushrooms are a little easier to grow on a variety of hardwood logs. Logs should be 4-6" in diameter, and be freshly cut right around this time of year, when the sap in trees is flowing and the moisture content of the logs is high. From mid-spring to early fall, trees are in growing mode, and all of the moisture is in the leaves, which isn't good for growing mushrooms. We worked with 4-foot log sections. Every place where you have to limb off a branch from the log (or generally create a break in the bark) is a vulnerable place where competing fungi might try to take over that log, so ideally avoid log sections with lots of limbs. After carefully cutting logs from healthy trees they should be stored for 2-4 weeks to get rid of the natural tannins and other secondary compounds that are the tree's natural defense against fungi.

The drilling station

After selecting the logs, there are 4 major steps to prepare and inoculate the logs to grow mushrooms:

Adding the spawn plugs to the logs.

1. The first step is to clean off the logs: we used wire brushes to clean off the moss, lichens, and other exterior fungi that might be growing on the outside of the log. The bark is the best natural defense against competing fungi, so gently clean off the logs, but avoid breaking the bark. 
2. The next step is to measure and drill holes in the logs to hold the mushroom spawn plugs. Using a 5/16" drill bit, drill a row of holes 6" apart and 1¼" deep. Space rows about 2" apart, and offset/stagger the rows to form a diamond pattern around the log. 
3. The third step requires a hammer, mushroom spawn plugs (we used plugs from the Oyster Creek Mushroom Company in Damariscotta, ME), and a bolt to help sink the plugs into the log. The plugs are approximately 1" long, so after hammering them into the drill holes, take a bolt to help drive the plugs into the log so there is a 1/4" space between the top of the plug and the outside edge of the log. 
4. Finally, all of the drill holes and any limbed off branch sections of the logs need to be sealed with paraffin wax to protect them from invading fungi. After melting the paraffin wax in a double boiler, you can simply paint a wax seal over the drill holes to protect the mushroom spawn.

Crib-stacked finished logs (the light patches are where the drill holes have been sealed with paraffin wax) The ends have been labeled with the type of mushroom, type of log, and date

After the logs have been prepared, they can be crib-stacked and stored in a moist, shady, and well ventilated area for 6 months. During this time, the spawn will slowly start to digest the cellulose in the log and form a mycelium network in the log before fruiting out! Prepared logs should last between 3-6 years depending on the type of hardwood, and mushrooms will naturally fruit out every spring and fall, yielding about a pound of mushrooms per log. We are excited to set up some shiitake and oyster mushroom logs on Hurricane Island to add to the locally grown food we eat on the island, so stay tuned for more mushroom updates. Thanks to Aaron for such an engaging and informative workshop!

Finally, if you are super excited about growing your own mushrooms, here are some great resources with more detailed information. Happy reading and experimenting!

Other online resources and fact sheets:

• Northeast SARE (Sustainable Agriculture, Research and Education) Best Management Practices for log-based Shiitake Cultivation
• D-Acres: Guide to outdoor mushroom cultivation
• University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension
• University of Alabama Cooperative Extension
• Paul Stamets is the mushroom guru of the country, and his company Fungi Perfect has a lot of great resources including books, growing info.

Books:

• Paul Stamets: Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms
• Mary Ellen Kozak & Joe Krawczyk: Growing Shiitake Mushrooms in a Continental Climate
• J.S. Chilton and Paul Stamets: The Mushroom Cultivator
• Perter Oei: Mushroom Cultivation
• Bob Harris: Growing Wild Mushrooms
• Greg A. Marley: Mushrooms for Health: Medicinal Secrets of Northeastern Fungi
• Tradd Cotter: Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation--Simple to Advanced and Experimental Techniques for Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation

Maine Science Festival: Climate Change Panel

On Saturday, March 21st, 2015, I participated on a panel about climate change in Maine at the first Maine Science Festival, which was a fantastic event that drew 10,000 people of all ages to interact with science through presentations, workshops, and other events. The panel was moderated by Linda Silka, the former Director of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and a Professor in the School of Economics. Our panel group opened with an overview of climate change in Maine by Dr. Ivan Fernandez. He is a professor at the University of Maine in the forestry department and the Climate Change Institute and he played a significant role in writing the 2009 Maine's Climate Future report and the 2015 update, the culmination of a voluntary effort undertaken by a number of researchers in Maine at the request of Governor Baldacci. 

 Dr. Mathew Chatfield, an assistant professor of conservation biology at Unity College, followed Dr. Fernandez's talk. Dr. Chatfield studies amphibians and reptiles and he focused his presentation on talking about the challenges certain species with narrow ecological niches face as temperatures increase and precipitation patterns change; those species face real barriers to survival.  

One of my presentation slides

My presentation focused on evidence of warming water temperatures and ocean acidification, and the ecological and socioeconomic implications these changes have for important species in the Gulf of Maine. Scientists at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute believe the Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of the world's ocean. Others in the state have attributed the lack of the Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) fishery, which is closed for the second season in a row, to warmer water temperatures altering the timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom and the release of shrimp eggs into the water column. The two events used to be synchronized so that larval shrimp could maximize feeding on the ready supply of phytoplankton; however, the timing of each event has shifted due to changes in water temperature. The result is that shrimp larvae are not getting the nutrition they need to survive. I also pointed to other examples of changes in the marine system, including the range expansion of black sea bass and the devastating effects green crabs have had on valuable nursery habitats and on our clam fishery, the third most valuable commercial fishery in the state. These examples are occurring partially because of warming waters and ocean acidification.

Finally, Dr. Caroline Noblet, a professor in the School of Economics at the University of Maine, concluded the discussion by speaking about the public perception of climate change and how to tailor messaging about evidence to initiate action. Once we wrapped up our presentations, the audience asked excellent questions about how to move policy and other initiatives forward to mitigate climate change effects and how communities can adapt to changing conditions. The discussion was engaging and I left the presentation feeling encouraged that people are paying attention and thinking about solutions to this critical issue.