Browsing Category "RINHS"
Never Underestimate a Seaweed

Never Underestimate a Seaweed

Breathe in deeply. Hold it. Aaannd release. Feel better? Thank a seaweed. Yes, a seaweed, because about half of all our oxygen comes from that green or red stuff that so often annoys beach goers in the summertime. Dr. Lindsay Green-Gavrielidis of URI’s Department of Natural Resources sung the praises of the ignominious seaweed in a recent lecture at the Rhode Island Natural History Survey (RINHS). It turns out that […]

Read more
41°North Winter 2018

41°North Winter 2018

How does geology affect Rhode Island’s past, present and future? In the latest issue, explore how geology shaped the Narragansett Indian tribe, and read a review of a book that recounts the sometimes surprising affect it had on the settlement of the state. Plus many other fascinating stories! Find it here. 

Read more
The Secret Life of Bee (Keepers)

The Secret Life of Bee (Keepers)

Childhood obsessions are pretty common. Some children love a particular line of dolls, trading cards, or teddy bears. As they grow, the obsessions are set aside, sometimes to literally gather dust. In other cases, though, the obsessions simply morph into something new. “When I was little, it was a unicorn obsession, and as I grew older it went from unicorns to something legitimate like bees.” At 26, Azure Giroux’s childhood […]

Read more
BioBlitz:  Counting All Creatures Great and Small

BioBlitz: Counting All Creatures Great and Small

Picture this: you’ve been dropped into the middle of 1000 acres of woodlands, fields, and water. Your job is to count everything. Not just the birds flying by. Not just the types of trees in the forest. Nope. Your task is to count every plant, insect, fungus, bat, snake, fish, clam, flower, in fact to count every species of every living thing that calls that region home. And you have […]

Read more
Stone, Sturgeon, and Golden Eyes:  Celebrating RI Natural History Week

Stone, Sturgeon, and Golden Eyes: Celebrating RI Natural History Week

It lay on the Block Island beach in October, looking for all the world like a medieval missile. Four feet long, body fortified with bony plates. A shortnose sturgeon, a fish that normally resides in rivers and a species that has been cruising around North American waters for 70 million years, had somehow washed up on the beach, at least twelve miles from the nearest river.  How did it get […]

Read more
Moving Microscopes and Monkey Skulls: RI Natural History Survey Relocates
By     |    Jan 24, 2016
Posted in: Natural Science, RIDEM, RINHS, Roger Williams Park Zoo, Uncategorized     |    No Comments

Moving Microscopes and Monkey Skulls: RI Natural History Survey Relocates

Note: There is a photo gallery at the bottom of this story. Click once to see a thumbnail, then again to see a larger file. Moving out of somewhere you’ve lived for a long time is no one’s idea of fun. There are books, papers, and computers. Sorting through what to keep and what to throw out. Movers can help, but you need friends to pack things up, especially the […]

Read more
Where are all these coyotes coming from?
By     |    May 18, 2015
Posted in: Narragansett Bay Coyote Study, Natural Science, RINHS, Uncategorized     |    No Comments

Where are all these coyotes coming from?

    Note: This is part one of a two-part story. In 1996, the bay froze and the coyotes came. No one knows exactly why. The winter was harsh, like the one just past. Food was tough to come by, and perhaps the signs were promising that on Aquidneck Island, or maybe Conanicut Island, life would be easier. Anyway, they came. And that was when the trouble began. Sometime later, […]

Read more
Fly like an Eagle: The Surge of an American Icon

Fly like an Eagle: The Surge of an American Icon

Note one: Unlike my other stories, none of the photos here were taken by me. I have noted sources of each. Note two: This story originally appeared in the Winter 2015 edition of the Audubon Society of Rhode Island’s Report. Along the Seekonk River, the wind sweeps bitterly cold air into the cloudy day. If it was chilly and breezy inland, it’s downright windy and freezing here. This is an […]

Read more
FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES Part Two of Two

FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES Part Two of Two

Last week, we covered bird feeder topics including choosing a feeder, what seeds work, and where feeders should be placed. If you missed it, check the archives. And don’t forget to follow SaNfaP on Facebook! 4. BREAD IS NOT GOOD FOOD FOR BIRDS. Sorry, but it’s true. Bread comes with several problems: it gets moldy, which is not good for birds at all. Second, like bread for humans, it’s really […]

Read more
FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES: Part one of two

FEEDER FACTS AND FALLACIES: Part one of two

Science and Nature for a Pie is on Facebook! Click the “Follow” button  for photos, facts, and other goodies. http://facebook.com/scienceandnatureforapie . Local winters can seem like a photo of a parade from a century past: long lines of gray, slightly out of focus, and vaguely depressing. Leaves are long gone, flowers are a memory. Is there any life outdoors in winter? The answer is yes. One of the best ways […]

Read more