Tag: nature science

tent catepillar
Island Science

Dang It, I am not a Gypsy Moth!

Today’s subject could easily be the star of a B horror movie from the 50’s. Several people have asked me about them lately so let’s jump in and discover which creature uses polarizing light special effects, employs biochemical weapons and advanced scent trails, lies quietly over winter, then pops out […]

Seals
Featured Articles

Gray Seal Population: Plague or Pleasure?

• by Sarah Teach • For many Americans, seals are little more than a childhood memory of a visit to the zoo. But for residents of Nantucket Island, the blubbery marine mammals are quickly becoming a topic of discussion saved only for trusted company. At the core of a growing […]

gray seals
Island Science

True Seals

Gray Seals and People, why can’t we just get along? • by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay, Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station • Happy summer 2013! Currently the island is celebrating Memorial Day weekend with parades, BBQ’s, tributes to our war veterans, and cases and cases of Bud Light […]

Pine Pollen
Island Science

Gesundheit!

This Spring’s Pollen Festival • by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay – Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station • An allergy is a heightened sensitivity to a foreign substance called an allergen that causes the body’s defense system (the immune system) to overreact when defending itself. This defense system was […]

Lichen
Island Science

Likin’ Lichens

• by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay – Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station • What can live in space and almost anywhere on the planet, is abundant on Nantucket, and was studied religiously by children’s author, Beatrix Potter? If you answered lichens, you are correct! I love lichens, they […]

Spring Peeper
Island Science

Overwintering: How do they do it?

• by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station • Each year in early spring, we start to see the islands’ plants and animals emerge. This past winter has been difficult, with three major storms (Sandy, Nemo, and Saturn) causing significant erosion and destruction around the […]

Island Science

I’ll be Your Huckleberry

by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station There is a wide range of fun and fulfilling things to do on Nantucket in the summertime, from surf-casting on the south shore, lounging with a good book at the beach, walking on the moors, or shopping downtown. […]

Island Science

Deer Fly, Don’t Bother Me

by Dr. Sarah D. Oktay Managing Director UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station If you happen to see me walking around the field station maniacally slapping my head, just keep walking. We have had a beautiful, sunny, extremely dry summer. The ponds and groundwater are lower and the freshwater mosquitoes have […]