by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station For the second time this past week I was fortunate to be in the Nantucket Whaling Museum accompanying a group of students. Each year I take 10-15 groups there and I never tire of seeing the exhibits. I […]
Island Science
Squirrels – Fluffy Invaders
by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station Every time I drive down the Field Station road, I see the same gray squirrel run across the road in almost the exact same location. Today he was followed by a second squirrel and I immediately thought, “there […]
Turtle Crossing
by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station While walking my dog Swegen at Windswept Bog this past week, I noticed signs installed by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation reminding visitors that June is turtle nesting month. Within ten minutes I found a nesting painted turtle and […]
Creatures of the Night
by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station As part of the recent Nantucket Biodiversity Assessment Week program, we set up a couple of moth sheets at the field station and used two different types of lights (UV or “black lights” and mercury vapor lights) to […]
Is Nantucket Sinking?
by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station This spring on a Q&A feature of www.Nantucket.net a question was submitted by a teacher named Vienna. She wrote: “Is Nantucket sinking? My class is doing a state report and my student needs to know if Nantucket is […]
pH Part Deux and Acidic Rain
by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station In the last issue of Yesterday’s island/Today’s Nantucket we learned about pH and the importance of various acid concentrations to the development of wine profiles and soil. This week, we will talk about some normal pH ranges for […]
Between the Ocean & the Deep Red Wine
by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station Today’s pop quiz: What is important for proper vineyard cultivation, relatively high in ocean water compared to rain water, and causes us to add lime to our soil to grow some of the plants we like the best? […]
Waking Snakes: Discovery of a Nantucket Snake Hibernaculum
by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station As I write this, the world is celebrating the 42nd Earth Day. Today’s story is a fitting tale of the entanglement of man-made and animal realms. Fortunately for all concerned, it has a happy ending. Wintertime is a […]
