Zostera marina is a seagrass species, commonly known as eelgrass, that is found on both coasts of the United States, as well as in Europe. Unfortunately, Zostera is disappearing all over the place, including right here in New York. This could have devastating impacts on animals that rely on eelgrass as foraging grounds, or, as is the case with scallops, use it as a refuge from predation. This is its story, as seen through the eyes of an aspiring graduate student...

Thursday, April 30, 2009

We've only just begun... soon enough


That's right. It is getting to be that time of year where we will be getting back into the water. As a matter of fact, I will be diving for the first time this season on Monday. I can't wait. We are going to do quadrat counts at some scallop planting areas, start our spring surveys, and start our gonad index monitoring. I am really looking forward to it. I am also going to check on my grass mats for the first time since November, which I am looking forward to. Keep your fingers crossed that they are all still there. In other news, I am still working on my proposal but hope to defend it within the next 3 weeks. With the help of an undergraduate, I have finished processing all of my scallops from last fall. I am also working with our lab tech on some methods to run the tissues through an elemental analyzer to approximate the carbohydrate, lipid and protein content. Finally, I am getting organized for the upcoming field season.

On a side note, tomorrow night I will be giving a talk as part of the public lecture series hosted by SoMAS at Stony Brook Southampton. It will be part of a student symposium of sorts for the Stony Brook-Southampton Coastal and Estuarine Research Program, SCERP. Things get started at 7 and talks start at 7:30.