by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station The summer of 2012 so far has been hot and dry and that has been a real boon for many of our sun loving plants like the magnificent milkweeds dotting the landscape. Perhaps no other plant provides such […]
Island Science
Itchy & Scratchy: Poison Ivy
by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station There are so many things to love about Nantucket that I kind of hate to even bring up anything that isn’t awesome about the island. But there is one thing I do hate about the island, and that […]
Tooth and Nail – Ivory throughout the Ages
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 […]
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 […]