Tagged with " University of Rhode Island"
If you build it, will they come? R.I.’s first artificial reef
By     |    Nov 17, 2019
Posted in: Blue Crab, Rhode Island DEM, Rhode Island Sea Grant, RIDEM, RINHS, Save the Bay, The Nature Conservancy, Uncategorized, URI Graduate School of Oceanography, US Fish and Wildlife     |    No Comments

If you build it, will they come? R.I.’s first artificial reef

It’s been done using decommissioned ships, oil rigs, and even subway cars. Now it’s being done for the first time in Rhode Island. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and RI DEM have teamed up to create the state’s first artificial reef, situated off Sabin Point in Providence. TNC’s communications manager Tim Mooney says the hope is that adding complex structure to the floor of Narragansett Bay will improve recreational fishing and […]

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Shark Bites
By     |    Jul 8, 2019
Posted in: Uncategorized     |    No Comments

Shark Bites

The following is a short article that I wrote for the August 2019 issue of RI Monthly Magazine. Rhode Island is home to a feeding frenzy of shark research. Just a few examples: How not to age a shark: NOAA’s Dr. Lisa Natanson recently published a paper that blew up the way sharks are aged. Until recently, scientists had been relying on pairs of growth rings in shark spines (like […]

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DEM’s Canada Goose Roundup
By     |    Jul 2, 2019
Posted in: ASRI, Natural Science, Ningret Wildlife Refuge, Rhode Island DEM, RIDEM, RINHS, Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge, Uncategorized, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    No Comments

DEM’s Canada Goose Roundup

  It’s a warm June morning as a flotilla of five kayakers makes its way to a pond in Tiverton. They fan out across the diameter and quietly approach a small island. As they approach, a flock of Canada geese break off from their breakfast of sea grass and nervously begin to stir. The guardians stretch their long necks up, trying to assess the situation, making low sounds to each […]

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20 Years of Sorting Life with Rhode Island Natural History Survey
By     |    Jun 6, 2019
Posted in: bees, BioBlitz, Moth Mingle, Narragansett Bay Coyote Study, Natural Science, Ocean State Bird Club, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, Uncategorized, URI     |    3 Comments

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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Art, Science, and Open House at RINHS
By     |    Feb 3, 2019
Posted in: Uncategorized     |    2 Comments

Art, Science, and Open House at RINHS

When the Rhode Island Natural History Survey (RINHS) held its annual open house at URI’s East Farm last week, there was the usual chatter: how the latest scientific paper was coming along, what new discoveries had been made in the natural world. But what drew the most attention from the crowd wasn’t the skulls or the turtle shells on display in a glass case. It was the art. At first, […]

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Restoring and Recycling at the John H. Chafee Wildlife Refuge
By     |    Dec 19, 2018
Posted in: National Audubon Society, Natural Science, Outdoor writing, Rhode Island DEM, RINHS, URI, US Fish and Wildlife, USFW     |    No Comments

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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Evil Spirits? Try Fungi
By     |    Mar 21, 2018
Posted in: Audubon Field Guide to Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Natural Science, Outdoor writing, RINHS, The Nature Conservancy     |    4 Comments

Evil Spirits? Try Fungi

What do you do when you’re being haunted by a recently deceased relative who doesn’t realize they’re dead? Or your camp is being invaded by a six-legged polar bear with a taste for human flesh? Or there’s a human-ish creature pulling a wagon load of disease headed your way? The answer to all is simple: fungi. And ethnomycologist Larry Millman, who spent years in the northern parts of the world […]

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The Secret Life of Bee (Keepers)
By     |    Aug 28, 2017
Posted in: apiculture, bee keeping, bees, Eastern Apicultural Society, Natural Science, Rhode Island DEM, RIDEM, RINHS, Uncategorized, URI, USFW, Writing     |    No Comments

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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