We invite applications for our summer field course "Marine Polychaete Identification and Natural History" at the Eagle Hill Institute in Steuben, Maine, July 26-August 1, 2015. Steuben sits between the Schoodic Peninsula of Acadia National Park and the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge. The various marine habitats of downeast Maine hold a rich array of polychaete worms, an essential link in the food web that contributes to the high productivity of the region.
This seminar provides an introduction to the taxonomy, natural history, and ecology of marine polychaetes. Field trips by rubber boots to intertidal mudflats and by small boat to subtidal soft-bottom habitats provide samples for identification and quantification. Labs improve skills in keying out polychaetes. Computer software used with a nearshore Gulf of Maine data set introduces students to statistical techniques for analyzing benthic community data.
Instructors: Stephen Hale, Atlantic Ecology Division of US Environmental Protection Agency, and Sheldon Pratt, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
Details: http://www.eaglehill.us/programs/nhs/nhs-calendar.shtml
If you have any questions please feel free to email
hale.stephen@epa.gov