January 20, 2024 – Discover the Living Fossils on Long Island Beaches

Matt Sclafani, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Marine Program. Learn all about the amazing horseshoe crabs, creatures that survived five mass extinctions, lived alongside dinosaurs, and play a crucial role in human health today. These “living fossils” travel from the oceans to our local bays every spring, and our volunteers venture out at night to monitor them under the light of the moon. Visit us to learn more about these fascinating animals and find out how you can get involved.

On December 9th 2023, meet with graduate student Jonah and learn about the fantastic world associated with seagrass meadow.

The seagrass meadows growing in portions of our bays are not just beautiful – they provide many valuable services that we rely on to keep our coasts healthy! From horseshoe crabs to sea bass, all sorts of marine species rely on these meadows for nursery habitat, and the meadows themselves help to sequester carbon from our atmosphere. Come learn more about the seagrass communities thriving around Long Island.

Photo credit: By Milorad Mikota – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=102000349

Mysteries of the Turkana Fisheries – How aging fishes tells us a lot about the past and the
future.

James, active member in the Michael Frisk’s laboratory, will be presenting a research project (led by M. Muelh) on the age and growth of a variety of fishes in Lake Turkana, Kenya. Using otolith (small oval calcareous bodies in the inner ear), scale, vertebrae and tissue samples, it’s possible to accurately determine the age and growth of valuable fishery stocks which play an important role in the surrounding population’s diet.

Meet with James and learn techniques to study fish biology.

Scientists determine the age of snapper by counting annual growth rings on their otoliths, similar to counting growth rings in trees. Sources: NOAA FishWatch and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otolith#/media/File:Removing_a_red_snapper_otolith.jpg 

Want to learn more about James

October 28, 2023 – Choosing Fish Wisely

Maureen Murphy, Stony Brook University. The story of mercury in the environment is complex. But the story is also fascinating in that mercury is a naturally occurring element. The story includes intriguing science on how mercury enters into the ecosystem and how it is transformed to more toxic forms by microorganisms, how it biomagnifies in the food chain, how that translates to levels of methylmercury in different fish species, and ultimately how it ends up inside of us. Meet with the project coordinator of The Gelfond Fund for Mercury Research & Outreach and learn about mercury cycles.

Photo credit: https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/10/sick-from-sushi/index.htm

September 30, 2023 – Are there only fish in the sea?

Living organisms display a large variety of shapes and sizes. You might know marine mammals, sharks, fish, or crabs but do you know the most important component of the oceans? Come and explore the diversity of organisms supporting life in the ocean with Dr. Elliot Sivel.

Image credit: https://www.elephango.com/index.cfm/pg/k12learning/lcid/11531/Ocean_Food_Webs

Stay tuned as we are preparing a new fantastic season with amazing researchers!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemia, our events will be cancelled until undetermined date. Stay safe.