Browsing Category "URI"
20 Years of Sorting Life with Rhode Island Natural History Survey

20 Years of Sorting Life with Rhode Island Natural History Survey

NOTE: This story originally appeared in RI Central Newspapers 6/6/19. David Gregg, executive director of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey (RINHS) sits under a canopy at a long table sorting ants. There are perhaps a dozen or so that he has recently collected contained in a tiny bottle. He separates them before handing them off to an ant expert who will do the job of telling the difference between […]

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Restoring and Recycling at the John H. Chafee Wildlife Refuge

Restoring and Recycling at the John H. Chafee Wildlife Refuge

The temperature along the bank of Narrow River is in the 30’s, and gusts of wind have a way of sneaking under coats, like someone is pouring ice water down the neck. The area seems devoid of life, save for a congregation of gulls gathered around a long black tube that resembles nothing so much as a fire hose. The hose wends its way to a floating craft on the […]

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By Land, Sea, or Air, Napatree is Doing Well
By     |    Dec 14, 2018
Posted in: Natural Science, Outdoor writing, RINHS, Uncategorized, URI, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    No Comments

By Land, Sea, or Air, Napatree is Doing Well

  After the summer crowds have gone and the icy winds begin to lash the sands of Napatree Point Conservation Area in Westerly, the work to care for the beach continues. Two dozen naturalists and scientists make a pilgrimage to the area in order to share the State of Napatree, an extensive document covering one of the most important natural areas in the state. The Watch Hill Conservancy is the […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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New Hope for Urban Waterways

New Hope for Urban Waterways

Note: This is a .pdf file from 41N Magazine, a publication from Sea Grant and the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. 41N_Summer16_Urbanwaterways

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Coffee Shop Conversation: URI Grad Students Present Findings at Science Café
By     |    Nov 12, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized, URI, URI Coastal Institute, URI Graduate School of Oceanography     |    No Comments

Coffee Shop Conversation: URI Grad Students Present Findings at Science Café

Here’s the thing: you have five minutes to explain all you can about a project you’ve been working on for years. And you’re going to do it in front of a live audience. Ready? Go. If this sounds like a panic attack-inducing dream, you may not have done so well at URI’s recent Science Café. Fortunately the baker’s dozen presenters, all post-graduate students, did not panic as they spent 90 […]

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“Who’s been sleeping in my bed?” Searching for bears in Rhode Island Woods
By     |    Aug 4, 2015
Posted in: Natural Science, RIDEM, Uncategorized, URI     |    No Comments

“Who’s been sleeping in my bed?” Searching for bears in Rhode Island Woods

Once upon a time there were three bears who lived in a house in the forest. There was a great big father bear, a middle-sized mother bear and a tiny baby bear. One morning, their breakfast porridge was too hot to eat, so they decided to go for a walk in the forest. While they were out, a little girl called Goldilocks came through the trees and found their house. […]

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What Lies Beneath: URI Surveys Rhode Island Waters

What Lies Beneath: URI Surveys Rhode Island Waters

  Note: SaNfaP is on Facebook! Go to facebook.com/scienceandnatureforapie and click on “Follow” to receive pictures, facts, and more about the natural world. Then suggest that your friends do the same. They’ll thank you.  -HM It takes Captain Tom Puckett a moment to decide on the most unusual fish he’s brought aboard the URI research vessel Cap’n Bert. Tall, lanky, and sporting curly gray hair, Puckett has been responsible for […]

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