Research Presentation Information

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UMass Boston’s School for the Environment
Nantucket Semester: LivingLabs
Learn about the on-island science research conducted by the undergraduates during their semester here!

Student Research Poster Session: One-on-one discussions of 16 independent research projects through visual displays
Wednesday, 17 April from 3:00 – 5:00 PM

Student Research Presentation: Five Capstone research presentations ranging across human and natural systems
Thursday, 18 April from  5:00 – 8:00 PM

All free and open to the public at the Great Hall, Atheneum  – – JOIN US !

Contact Sarah Oktay for further information – sarah.oktay@umb.edu

Discovering whelks near Polpis Harbor

On Saturday, Jesse, Rubio, and I explored a few sites for future sampling.  While surveying one site near Medouie Creek, I discovered an interesting object on the shore of Polpis Harbor.  Jesse informed me that this was a displaced egg case of a whelk.  Inside one of the broken capsules were a few of the juveniles that had failed to emerge.  Unsure if these tiny babies still had a chance at survival, I returned the case to the water.  Later at the house, still fascinated by the discovery, I was determined to identify the species of the whelk.  Based on the spiral structure of the egg case string and the thick coin shaped capsules it contained, I determined it to be Busycon carica, or a knobbed whelk.  I look forward to learning more about the species on Nantucket, and helping to preserve them as we work to understand their ecosystems.