Bones

Shoals Marine Lab 2016

| nlysiak

Marine Mammal Biology at the Shoals Marine Lab was a fantastic experience this year!!  We had a wonderful group of students from Cornell, Brandeis, Skidmore, UNH, & URI.  Here are some highlights:

Bone puzzles
Sketching skulls
Sketching skulls
{SML Artist in Residence} Janis Goodman’s watercolor studies of Appledore Island
Barnacles
Halftide Ledges
Nature’s bubble wrap!
Seaglass
NH-ME peaks
Hornbill the humpback
Hornbill the humpback
Making the ID of Hornbill
Siren’s Cove
Copepods!
Bioacoustic analysis
Herring gull nest
Gull sticks – a necessary accessory
Swallows at Crystal Lake
Foxgloves at Celia Thaxter’s garden
Swim call, water = 56 degrees
Dogfish dissection
Pollen trails at sea
Basking shark sighting!!
Scrimshaw art project
[SML Artist in Residence} Chris Volpe’s charcoal studies
Star Island sunset

Week 1 @ Shoals

| nlysiak

The first week of Introduction to Marine Mammal Biology 2015 is off to a great start.  We have seven students who are giving it their all – it’s a lot of material to cram into two weeks!  Highlights include: hikes around Appledore Island, a skulls and skeletons lab where students solved bone puzzles, a whale watch, a Duck Island seal survey, bioacoustics lab, porpoise dissection, and of course – lots of gorgeous sunsets.

Minke Whale

| nlysiak

This morning at brunch, I found myself sitting directly under the minke whale skeleton mounted on the ceiling in the dining hall.  I couldn’t resist capturing the interesting view.

Day 6 @ Shoals

| nlysiak

Independence Day arrived along with a prequel to Hurricane Arthur.  The storm is forecast to deflect far to the east, and so far we have only seen rainstorms out on the island.  Today the students helped hand shuck 80 ears of corn for the 4th of July BBQ – some shucking corn for the first time.  We completed a Skulls and Skeletons lab, where students sketched seal, otter, manatee, walrus, and dolphin skulls, noting the differences between groups.  We also organized a dolphin skeleton, previously contained jumbled in a box.  This task was completed very quickly and with much enthusiasm.  After the BBQ, we played a trivia game, where the prize was an additional shower (we’re restricted to 1 per week due to water shortages).  In a heartbreaking lightning round tie breaker, our team came in second place.