PROGRAM - University of Massachusetts Boston · Charles Muirhead UMB, Graduate Conservation Scott...

U M A S S B O S T O N S C H O O L F O R T H E E N V I R O N M E N T

100!Morrissey!Blvd.!

Boston,!MA!02125!

Phone:!617.287.7440!!!Fax:!617.287.7474!

EAMail:!sfe@umb.edu!!!Web:!www.umb.edu!

PROGRAM

Welcome to the 4th Annual Environmental Research Colloquium at the University of Massachusetts Boston!

The!School!for!the!Environment!at!the!University!of!Massachusetts!Boston!(UMB)!has!the!pleasure!of!welcoming!you!to!the!4th!Annual!Environmental!Research!Colloquium.!For!the!first!time!this!year,!we!have!extended!participation!in!the!Colloquium!to!colleges!and!universities!across!Massachusetts.!SixtyAseven!student!researchers—14!undergraduates!and!53!graduates—representing!six!public!and!private!higher!education!institutions!in!Massachusetts!and!beyond,!are!convening!for!this!day!of!sharing!and!learning.!Students!from!UMB,!Mount!Holyoke!College,!Stonehill!College,!Boston!University,!Worcester!State!University,!and!Norfolk!State!University!will!be!delivering!presentations!among!peers,!professors,!employers,!and!the!public!today,!making!the!2016!Environmental!Research!Colloquium!bigger!than!ever.!

Throughout!the!day,!students!will!be!presenting!their!environmentArelated!research,!both!completed!and!in!progress.!The!top!three!poster!and!oral!presentations!will!receive!certificates!and!awards.!Students!will!be!exhibiting!their!passion!to!better!understand!aspects!of!our!world!and!contribute!to!solutions!by!examining!environmental!issues!from!multiple!perspectives,!in!fields!that!include!freshwater!and!marine!ecology,!marine!science,!molecular!ecotoxicology,!ocean!acidification!geochemistry,!hydrology,!environmental!chemistry,!biogeochemistry,!remote!sensing,!archaeology,!paleoclimatology,!precipitation,!conservation,!climate!change,!governance,!environmental!policy,!oceanography,!and!renewable!energy.!!

For!the!first!time,!the!Colloquium!has!invited!environmental!organizations!to!participate,!offering!students!a!chance!to!connect!with!potential!employers!while!sharing!ideas!and!research!interests.!Government,!company,!and!nonprofit!organizations!will!be!providing!information!about!employment!and!internship!opportunities!to!participating!students.!Visit!the!representatives’!tables!following!the!keynote!address!and!throughout!the!rest!of!the!day.!

The!Colloquium!is!coAsponsored!by!the!School!for!the!Environment,!the!Office!of!Career!Services!and!Internships,!and!MassCEC.!

Table of Contents

Welcome 2

Campus Map 4

Event Floor Layouts 5

Colloquium Schedule 6

Keynote Speakers 7

Scouting Employers 9

Colleges and Universities Represented 10

Acknowledgments 11

Oral Sessions (Times and Locations) 12

Poster Sessions (Times and Locations) 14

Oral Abstracts 17

Poster Abstracts 29!

Campus Map

Event Floor Layouts

Floor box Floor box

2 ft. 8.0 in. x2 ft. 8.0 in.

Podium

4th Annual SFE ColloquiumApril 20, 2016

ISC first floor atrium

To Quinn Administration

Building

Elevators

ISC!1st!Floor!Atrium!

(Employers!and!!

Keynote!Speakers)!

ISC!2nd!Floor!

Poster!Arrangement!(a.m.)!

ISC!2nd!Floor!

Poster!Arrangement!(p.m.)!

Colloquium Schedule !

Registration!! ! ISC!Atrium,!1st!Floor!(employers)!!!!8:30!a.m.!–!9:00!a.m.!

! ! ! ! ISC!2nd!Floor!(all!other!participants)!!!

Keynote!Address! ! ISC!Atrium,!1st!Floor! ! 9:00!a.m.!–!9:30!a.m.!

Poster!Session!(I)! ! ISC!2nd!Floor!! ! ! 9:30!a.m.!–!11:00!a.m.!

Oral!Session!(A)!!! ! ISC!Room!1400,!1st!Floor! ! 10:30!a.m.!–!12:00!p.m.!

Oral!Session!(B)!!! ! ISC!Room!5300,!5th!Floor!!! 10:30!a.m.!–!12:00!p.m.!

Lunch!Address! ! ISC!Atrium,!1st!Floor! ! 12:00!p.m.!–!1:00!p.m.!

Oral!Session!(C)!! ! ISC!Room!1400,!1st!Floor!!! 1:30!p.m.!–!3:00!p.m.!

Oral!Session!(D)!! ! ISC!Room!5300,!5th!Floor! ! 1:30!p.m.!–!3:00!p.m.!

Poster!Session!(II)!!! ISC!2nd!Floor!! ! ! 2:30!p.m.!–!4:00!p.m.!

Closing!Remarks!! ! ISC!Atrium,!1st!Floor! ! 4:00!p.m.!–!4:30!p.m.!

Keynote Speakers

Bud Ris, M.S., M.L.A.

Bud!is!currently!Senior!Advisor,!Climate,!at!the!Barr!Foundation!in!Boston.!Bud!advises!the!foundation!on!the!strategic!direction!of!its!climate!change!program!and!is!working!with!the!City!of!Boston!and!the!Green!Ribbon!Commission!on!a!multiAyear!initiative!to!prepare!Boston!for!the!impacts!of!climate!change.!!

From!2005!to!2014,!Bud!served!as!President!and!CEO!of!the!New!England!Aquarium!in!Boston.!Under!his!leadership,!the!Aquarium!renovated!all!of!its!major!exhibits!and!greatly!expanded!its!marine!education!and!conservation!programs.!Also!under!his!leadership,!the!Aquarium!launched!a!nationwide!consortium!of!aquaria!and!zoos!aimed!at!educating!millions!of!Americans!about!the!impacts!of,!and!solutions!to,!climate!change.!!

Bud!serves!on!Boston’s!Green!Ribbon!Commission,!which!brings!together!leaders!from!the!business,!governmental,!and!nonAprofit!sectors!to!collaborate!on!climate!change!mitigation!and!preparedness.!He!is!a!member!of!Boston’s!Climate!Action!Plan!Steering!Committee!and!served!on!the!Climate!Change!Adaptation!Advisory!Committee!convened!by!Massachusetts!Governor!Duval!Patrick.!

From!2004!to!2005,!Bud!was!a!Senior!Fellow!at!the!World!Economic!Forum!in!Switzerland,!where!he!led!the!Davos!group’s!program!on!climate!change!for!UK!Prime!Minister!Tony!Blair.!From!1996!to!2003,!Bud!chaired!a!coalition!of!the!nation’s!largest!environmental!organizations!in!support!of!domestic!and!international!action!on!climate!change.!In!1997,!he!led!the!delegation!of!US!NGO’s!to!the!international!negotiations!in!Japan!that!culminated!in!the!Kyoto!Protocol.!!

From!1984!through!2003,!Bud!served!as!the!chief!executive!officer!of!the!Union!of!Concerned!Scientists,!which!has!long!been!in!the!forefront!of!research,!education,!and!policy!advocacy!on!climate!change,!energy,!and!transportation!issues.!!In!2014,!Bud!received!a!Life!Time!Achievement!Award!from!the!US!Environmental!Protection!Agency!for!his!contributions!to!environmental!education!and!policyAmaking.!!

Bud!serves!as!a!Trustee!on!boards!of!the!Rose!Kennedy!Greenway!Conservancy!and!Boston!Harbor!Now!and!is!a!member!of!the!Magellan!Society!at!the!New!England!Aquarium.!He!received!his!BA!in!Mathematics!from!Duke!University!and!an!MS/MLA!from!the!College!of!Environmental!Science!and!Forestry!at!the!State!University!of!NY.!!

Ken!is!currently!Professor!and!Director!of!the!UMass!Boston!Graduate!Program!in!Urban!Planning!and!Community!Development.!Prior!to!joining!UMass!Boston,!Ken!taught!urban!planning!at!the!University!of!Illinois!at!UrbanaAChampaign,!Cornell!University,!and!The!University!of!Memphis.!Ken!has!a!long!history!of!mobilizing!university!resources!to!support!residentAled!revitalization!efforts!in!economically!distressed!neighborhoods.!His!most!recent!publication,!Rebuilding*Community*after*Katrina:*Transformative*Education*in*the*New*Orleans*Planning*Initiative,*coAedited!with!John!Forester!of!Cornell,!describes!the!efforts!of!Cornell,!Columbia,!and!Illinois!planning!students!in!supporting!ACORN’s!efforts!to!secure!Lower!9th!Ward!residents!a!voice!in!New!Orleans’!postAdisaster!recovery!process.!

Robyn!is!the!founding!Dean!of!the!School!for!the!Environment!at!UMass!Boston.!Her!research!ties!together!three!strands!centered!on!understanding!climate!change!through!evaluation!of!changes!in!ocean!pH!and!temperature!in!Earth’s!deep!past,!experimental!manipulations!of!ocean!climate!conditions,!and!the!development!of!new!proxies!for!climate!conditions!to!understand!the!impact!of!climate!change!on!marine!systems.!Dr.!Hannigan!has!a!BS!in!Biology!from!the!College!of!New!Jersey,!MA!in!Paleontology!from!SUNYABuffalo,!and!an!MS!and!a!PhD!in!Geochemistry!from!the!University!of!Rochester.!

Ken Reardon, Ph.D.

Robyn Hannigan, Ph.D.

Scouting Employers

Graduate!and!undergraduate!students—whether!seeking!summer!internships!or!permanent!employment—are!invited!to!visit!with!representatives!from!these!Massachusetts!organizations!to!collect!information!about!employment!opportunities.!The!following!representatives!will!be!at!their!tables!throughout!the!day,!beginning!after!the!keynote!address.!The!tables!are!located!in!the!Integrated!Science!Center!Atrium!level.!

Featuring!one!of!the!employers!and!main!sponsors!of!the!Colloquium!

The!Massachusetts!Clean!Energy!Center!(MassCEC)!

MassCEC!is!a!publiclyAfunded!agency!dedicated!to!accelerating!the!success!of!clean!energy!technologies,!companies!and!projects!in!the!Commonwealth—while!creating!highAquality!jobs!and!longAterm!economic!growth!for!the!people!of!Massachusetts.!Since!it!began!operating!in!2009,!MassCEC!has!helped!clean!energy!companies!grow,!supported!municipal!clean!energy!projects!and!invested!in!residential!and!commercial!renewable!energy!installations!creating!a!robust!marketplace!for!innovative!clean!technology!companies!and!service!providers.!

With!economic!growth!in!mind,!MassCEC!invests!in!earlyAstage!clean!energy!companies!helping!them!to!bring!ideas!to!the!marketplace.!MassCEC!supports!responsibly!sited!renewable!energy!projects!and!provides!municipalities,!homeowners!and!businesses!with!the!tools!needed!to!finance!and!locate!renewable!energy!projects!like!wind!and!solar.!MassCEC!also!develops!programs!to!support!the!academic!clean!energy!ecosystem!and!build!a!strong!clean!energy!workforce!–!including!a!successful!statewide!internship!program!–!to!give!the!clean!energy!generation!the!skills!to!compete!for!jobs!in!this!emerging!space.!!!

Scouting Employers (Continued)

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES REPRESENTED

Acknowledgments

We!would!like!to!acknowledge!all!of!the!faculty!members!who!volunteered!their!time!and!expertise!to!evaluate!poster!and!oral!presentations,!and!give!invaluable!guidance!to!student!presenters.!

Faculty Evaluators:

Elizabeth!!Boyle!

Jarrett!!Byrnes!

Alan!!Christian!

Heidi!!Gengenbach!

Robyn!!Hannigan!

Simone!!Hasenbein!

John!!Mandelman!

Helen!!Poynton!

William!!Robinson!

Vesela!!Veleva!

Shirley!!Vincent!

Jessica!!Carilli!

Bob!Chen!!

Allen!!Gontz!

José!E.!!MartínezAReyes!

Maria!!Petrova!

Ken!!Reardon!

Douglas!!Woodhams!

We!would!also!like!to!give!special!recognition!to!the!students!from!the!SFE!Seminar!class:!Amy!E!Johnston,!Avery!P!Palardy,!Charles!A!Muirhead,!Christine!San!Antonio,!Connor!W!Capizzano!Daniel!Genest,!Gregory!M!Davies,!Isaac!Rosenthal,!Kerry!L!McNally,!Lucy!A!Lockwood,!Lynette!L!Laffea,!Michael!E!O'Neill!3,!Monica!VelezAOrtiz,!Patrick!D!Sheldon,!Peter!B!Boucher,!Raphael!D!Fennimore,!Ryan!J!Knotek,!Sean!P!McNally,!Tyler!O'Brien,!Zachary!G!Mertz,!Zhehai!Shang,!Gawne!F!Peter,!and!Charles!R!Major.!Special!recognition!goes!also!to!Robyn!Hannigan,!Dean!SFE,!Michael!Alderman,!Assistant!Dean;!Maria!Petrova,!SFE!Program!Manager,!and!the!faculty,!staff,!and!students!from!the!School!for!the!Environment!for!their!time!and!support!of!the!Colloquium.!

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Abstract #

First Name Last Name College/University

Graduate/Undergr Research Area Research Advisor Title

O-1 Charles Muirhead UMB, Graduate Conservation Scott Kraus Presence of river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) and (Sotalia fluviatilis) near an urbanized area of the Amazon River

O-2 Connor Capizzano UMB, Graduate Fisheries Science John W. Mandelman

Estimating and mitigating discard mortality to address the challenges of managing the Gulf of Maine recreational groundfish fishery

O-3 Helenmary Hotz UMB, Graduate GIS Alan D. Christian

Influence of Global Change Drivers on a Tropical Lake and Watershed, Étang Saumâtre, Haiti

O-4 Lynette Laffea UMB, Graduate Biogeochemistry Dr. Bob Chen Measuring Carbon Sequestration Processes in a Subapline Forest Using Multi-Scale Wireless Sensor Arrays

O-5 Steven Nye UMB, Graduate Geochemistry Robyn Hannigan Using Geochemical Techniques to Decipher Paleo-Environmental Changes Across the Permian-Triassic Extinction in Eastern Greenland

O-6 Jeremiah Asaka UMB, Graduate Conservation Governance

Prof. Timothy M. Shaw

Transformations in Conservation Governance and Implications for Human Security: The Case of Kenya’s Northern Rangelands

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Abstract #

O-7 Peter Boucher UMB, Graduate Env History and Toxicology

Conevery Bolton Valencius

Resistance is not futile: Pesticide Use and Criticisms of Rachel Carson Over the Last Century

O-8 Kaley Major UMB, Graduate Aquatic Ecotoxicology

Helen Poynton Identifying and differentiating among target-site alleles conferring pesticide resistance in the amphipod, Hyalella azteca

O-9 Kristin Osborne UMB, Graduate Ecotoxicology Helen Poynton Invading the “dirty waters” of urban harbors: quantifying invasive tunicate tolerance to marine pollution

O-10 Megan Byers Mount Holyoke College, Undergrad

Ecotoxicology Renae Brodie Crayfish on Prozac: Fluoxetine Reduces Aggression Behavior of Rusty Crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) at a Low, Ecologically-relevant Dose

O-11 Bonnie Blalock UMB, Graduate Molecular ecotoxicology

Dr. Helen Poynton

Endocrine Disruption in Marine Mussels: Development of a Robust Field Assay by Linking Transcriptomic Responses to Biological Effects

O-12 Charles Major UMB, Graduate Environmental Toxicology

Juanita Urban-Rich

Effects of microplastic polystrene beads exposed to zinc oxide nanoparticles or gemfibrozil on the larval bay scallop (Argopecten irradians)

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Abstract #

O-13 Kerry McNally UMB, Graduate Microbiology Jennifer Bowen Characterizing the bacterial and fungal respiratory microbiome of Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii)

O-14 Michael Roy UMB, Graduate Marine Ecology Dr. Jarrett Byrnes

Assessing rates of infection by a trematode parasite on palaemonid shrimp, Palaemon pugio and P. vulgaris, in Long Island and Bronx, NY

O-15 Robert Holmberg UMB, Graduate Marine Science Robyn Hannigan Ocean Acidification Impacts Otolith Morphology and Mineralogy in Larval Haemulon chrysargyreum

O-16 Peter Gawne UMB, Graduate Marine Science Dr. Jessica Carilli

The effect of temperature on iron-enriched reefs in the Central Pacific

O-17 Sean McNally UMB, Graduate Marine Science Dr. Jessica Carilli

Bleach and Survive: Lipid and Isotopic Analysis of Central Pacific Coral Communities through a Natural Bleaching Event

O-18 Thomas Dimino UMB, Graduate Ecology Alan Christian Quantifying Habitat Heterogeneity in Low Gradient Headwater Streams using a Distance Based Model

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Abstract # First Name Last Name College/University

O-19 Alexander Metzger UMB, Graduate Human Ecology Ellen Douglas Models that Matter: Agent-Based Models for Social Learning and Climate Change Adaptation

O-20 Ram Barankin UMB, Graduate Environmental policy

Bowen and Kirshen

Measuring the Vulnerability of Coastal Transportation Assets Using Indicators

O-21 Debra Butler UMB, Graduate Climate Change David Levy The Lesson of Cuba under Scarcity: A Model of Environmental and Social Resilience

O-22 Jamila Gilliam UMB, Graduate Organizations & Social Change

Banu Ozkazanc-Pan

Social Enterprise Entrepreneurs and National Biogas Programs/Partnerships as Dissemination agents in Ethiopia

O-23 V. Miranda Chase UMB, Graduate Environmental Policy

n.a. Fishery Management Projects in the Lower Amazon Basin: Promoting Sustainable Development or simply Environmental Conservation?

O-24 Natalia Escobar-Pemberthy

UMB, Graduate Environmental Policy

Maria Ivanova Species, States and Secretariats: The role of CITES in protecting wildlife

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Abstract/ Board # First Name Last Name College/University

P-1 Xiaofeng Zhang UMB, Graduate Multi-component reaction

Wei Zhang One-pot double [3+2] cycloadditions for diastereoselective synthesis of a novel triazolobenzodiazepine-fused polycyclic skeleton

P-2 Raphael Fennimore UMB, Graduate Marine Observation Technologies

Scott Kraus Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) Sensing in Marine Environments: a Comparison of a High-End, High-Resolution Sensor and a Self-Assembled, Low-Resolution Unit

P-3 Michael O'Neill UMB, Graduate Ecotoxicology Helen Poynton Gulf Stream Orphan Sighting Distribution and Abundance

P-4 Melina Gjoni Worcester State U, Undergrad

Alternative fuel source

Maura Collins Pavao

Cellulomonas flavigina produces electricity (an alternative fuel source)

P-5 Amy Johnston UMB, Graduate Paleoclimate, Geochemistry,

Robyn Hannigan Paleoclimate reconstruction of the Gulf of Maine during the recent Holocene (past 5000 years) using Archaeological Mollusk Shells

P-6 Rachel Vincent UMB, Undergrad Microbial ecology Jennifer Bowen Determining the bacterial communities on the shell of American lobsters, Homarus americanus, over time and space

P-7 Edward Saenz UMB, Graduate Earth Sciences Crystal Schaaf Utilizing a Hyper-portable Terrestrial Lidar to classify a Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestation

P-8 Kristin Bulpett UMB, Graduate Blue Carbon, Env Chemistry

Robert Chen Carbon dioxide emissions associated with the restoration of a tidal salt marsh in Boston, Massachusetts

P-9 Jack Payette UMB, Graduate Ocean Edu / Biol Oceanography

Juanita Urban-Rich

Utilizing social media for informal ocean conservation and education: The BioOceanography Project

P-10 Isaac Rosenthal UMB, Graduate Marine Ecology Jarrett Byrnes Floating Forests: Utilizing Citizen Science to Answer Global Ecological Questions

P-11 Greg, Christine, Nichole

Davies, SanAntonio, Weber

UMB, Graduate IGERT Maria Petrova Development and Climate Adaptation: Mangroves and Coral Reefs

P-12 Arnold Fernandes Boston University, Graduate

Earth Science Sergio Fagherazzi

Dynamics of coastal regimes and its relation to forest regeneration in the Virginia Coastal Reserve

P-13 Daniel Genest UMB, Graduate Ecology Crystal Schaaf Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens distributions in Plum Island Ecosystem, Rowley, Massachusetts

P-14 Farah Ahmad UMB, Undergrad Salt Marsh Ecology Jarret Byrnes Importance of Bird Predation in Reshaping the Ecology of New England Salt Marshes

P-15 Andrew Pineda Boston University, Undergraduate,

Urban Climate Model

Dan Li The impact of snow on the microclimate and hydrology in the city of Boston: a modeling study

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P-16 Alan Stebbins UMB, Graduate Geochemistry, Paleoclimatology

Robyn Hannigan Reconstruction of bottom-water oxygenation conditions in the Late Permian Neo-Tethys

P-17 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD

P-18 Jeremy Hyatt UMB, Undergrad Green Synthetic Chemistry

Wei Zhang Recyclable Organocatalytic Quadruple Cascade Reactions for Asymmetric Synthesis of Fluorinated Cyclohexanes Bearing Six Contiguous Stereocenters

P-19 Delilah Bethel Norfolk State University, Undergrad

Freshwater Ecology Alan Christian Examination of Macroinvertebrate Community Changes in Response to Passive Restoration of a Cranberry Farm in Plymouth, MA

P-20 Guoqing Wang UMB, Graduate Ocean optics Zhongping Lee Phytoplantkon distribution in Boston Harbor based on imaging flow cytobot

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P-22 Zach Mertz UMB, Graduate Hydrology Ellen Douglas Tracking the Flood – Using Socio-hydrology to Gain a New Perspective on Flood Management in Boston

P-23 Tyler O'Brien UMB, Graduate Marine Science and Technology MS

Juanita Urban-Rich

Microplastics in Savin Hill Cove

P-24 Linda Holcombe UMB, Graduate International Relations

Maria Ivanova The Crime-Conservation Nexus: Interdisciplinarity in Practice

P-25 Laurissa Gulich UMB, Graduate Freshwater Ecology Alan Christian Path flow analysis of hierarchical drivers on water quality in the Charles River watershed tributaries, Massachusetts

P-26 Lauren Laskey UMB, Graduate Social Sciences John Duff Buy-out or Build back? What does Sandy teach us about how we respond post-disaster?

P-27 Patrick Sheldon UMB, Graduate coastal remote sensing

Chen Satellite Monitoring of Boston Harbor Water Quality: Initial Investigations

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P-28 J. Michael Denney UMB, Graduate International Agricultural Develop

Maria Ivanova Building a Resilient Landscape in Djibouti

P-29 Ryan Knotek UMB, Graduate Fisheries Biology Dr. John Mandelman

Identifying bottom trawl bycatch hotspots and “best practice” guidelines to reduce the discard mortality of an overfished Species of Concern – the thorny skate – in the Gulf of Maine

P-30 Anastasia Mozharova UMB, Graduate Invasive Species Rick Kesseli Sexual vs. asexual reproduction in populations of Myriophyllum spicatum in Massachusetts

P-31 Gregory Davies UMB, Graduate Ecology and Theology

John Duff Holy Green Dots: Ethiopia's Church Forests

P-32 Christine San Antonio UMB, Graduate Climate change, ocean acidification

Dr. Robyn Hannigan

Interactive effects of ocean acidification and temperature increase on shell development and response to disease in the American Lobster, Homarus americanus

P-33 Alexis Johnson Stonehill College, Undergrad

Oceanography Kristin Burkholder

Changes to Lagrangian pathways of the Gulf of Maine Coastal Current from 1988-2015

P-34 Avery Palardy UMB, Graduate Climate Change Ellen Douglas The Impact of Sea Level Rise on Hazardous Waste and Oil Contaminated Areas in Boston

P-35 Victoria LaBate UMB, Graduate Policy John Duff Taking our management cues from nature - littorally

P-36 AnnaMae Maillet UMB, Undergrad Sustainable energy massPIRG 100% clean energy

P-37 Patrick Farrington Stonehill College, Undergrad

Precipitation Kristin Burkholder

An analysis of Massachusetts precipitation: changes in the frequency and intensity of rainfall events

P-38 Zhehai Shang UMB, Graduate Ocean Science Zhongping Lee Monte-Carlo simulation for self-shading correction of in-situ optical measurement

P-39 Christine Nguyen UMB, Undergrad Civic engagement Debra Metzel Civic engagement reflection

P-40 Yvetane Moreau UMB, Undergrad microbial ecology Shiaris Michael Minimizing shellfish closures: Testing archiving methods for Vibrio parahaemolyticus recovery from oyster tissue

P-41 Monica Velez-Ortiz UMB, Graduate Earth Science Allen Gontz Stratigraphic architecture of a former lowland kauri swamp in Ruakaka, North Island, New Zealand

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O-1!!Charles!Muirhead!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Presence!of!river!dolphins!(Inia%geoffrensis)!and!(Sotalia%fluviatilis)!near!an!urbanized!area!of!the!Amazon!River!

Populations!of!river!dolphins!throughout!the!world!are!in!decline!as!a!direct!result!of!intensified!anthropogenic!activity!along!river!systems.!Construction!of!dams,!release!of!pollutants,!inundation!of!noise,!and!intensified!fishing!practices!are!known!factors!contributing!to!the!extinction!of!the!Yangtze!river!dolphin!(Lipotes%vexillifer)!and!declining!populations!of!the!Indus!and!Ganges!river!dolphins!(Platanista%gangetica),!Irrawady!dolphin!(Orcaella%brevirostris),!finless!porpoise!(Neophocaena%phocaenoides)!and!La!Plata!river!dolphin!(Pontoporia%blanvillei).!!Currently,!the!Amazon!river!dolphin!(Inia%geoffrensis)!and!coexisting!tucuxi!(Sotalia%fluviatilis)!remain!listed!as!data!deficient.!There!is!limited!information!regarding!potential!changes!in!their!population!sizes,!distributions,!and!habitat!suitability.!!

This!project!examines!the!presence!of!Inia%geoffrensis!and!Sotalia%fluviatilis!within!habitats!subject!to!different!degrees!of!human!use.!Surveys!were!conducted!through!acoustic!monitoring!of!echolocation!and!whistling!activity,!which!allows!for!continuous!monitoring!of!large!remote!areas,!for!long!periods!of!time,!regardless!of!weather,!daylight,!or!visibility!of!dolphin!surfacing!behavior.!Audio!recorders!were!deployed!for!two!weeks!at!locations!distant!from,!and!proximate!to,!Iquitos!Peru.!!

Preliminary!results!indicate!a!41%!reduction!of!presence!in!areas!near!the!city!of!Iquitos.!This!analysis!will!supplement!currently!limited!knowledge!of!distribution!patterns!among!impacted!habitats!in!an!effort!to!identify!and!mitigate!anthropogenic!threats.!Moreover,!this!study!will!generate!baseline!data!needed!for!future!examinations!of!largeQscale!changes!likely!to!occur!over!time.!The!methods!demonstrated!here!are!applicable!to!survey!efforts!of!all!river!dolphin!species.!!!O-2!!Connor!Capizzano!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Estimating!and!mitigating!discard!mortality!to!address!the!challenges!of!managing!the!Gulf!of!Maine!recreational!groundfish!fishery!

The!Gulf!of!Maine!recreational!groundfish!fishery,!which!primarily!targets!Atlantic!cod!(Gadus%morhua)!and!haddock!(Melanogrammus%aeglefinus),!is!managed!using!a!bioQeconomic!model!that!is!sensitive!to!estimates!of!discard!mortality.!When!determining!fishery!management!measures,!the!stock!size!and!discard!mortality!estimates!for!one!species!influences!the!management!of!the!other.!However,!the!lack!of!directed!discard!mortality!studies!in!this!Gulf!of!Maine!recreational!fishery!leaves!uncertainty!in!total!fishing!mortality!estimates!(landings!and!discards),!which!complicates!effective!management.!Reliable!discard!mortality!estimates!are!therefore!required!for!management!and!quantification!of!fishery!removals,!which!can!represent!a!considerable!portion!of!the!total!annual!catch!for!this!fishery.!As!a!result,!we!partnered!with!industry!to!conduct!field!studies!using!acoustic!telemetry!to!empiricallyQderive!cod!and!haddock!discard!mortality!rates!for!consideration!in!stock!assessments!and!fishery!management!plans.!These!projects!have!also!identified!“best!practice”!guidelines!to!reduce!the!

mortality!of!discarded!fish.!Such!guidelines!are!especially!timely!given!the!increase!in!recreational!discards!in!this!fishery!due!to!increased!recreational!fishing!effort,!strict!regulations,!and!haddock!abundances!in!recent!years.!Opportunistic!movement!data!collected!from!cod!and!haddock!will!provide!further!insights!into!habitat!utilization!on!these!fishing!grounds.!Results!from!both!studies!can!assist!with!future!management!decisions!and!reduce!incidental!mortality!of!these!discarded!groundfish.!!!O-3!!Helenmary!Hotz!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Influence!of!Global!Change!Drivers!on!a!Tropical!Lake!and!Watershed,!Étang!Saumâtre,!Haiti!

Haiti,!located!on!the!Caribbean!island!of!Hispaniola,!is!the!poorest!country!in!the!western!hemisphere.!It!is!suffering!by!a!myriad!of!anthropogenic!and!natural!global!change!drivers,!which!impact!ecosystems!and!result!in!environmental!degradation!(Hylkema,!2011;!Churches,!2014).!Additionally,!socioQeconomic!drivers!have!impeded!Haiti’s!ability!to!manage!its!resources!in!a!sustainable!and!progressive!way.!Rapid!expansion!of!Étang!Saumâtre,!the!largest!lake!in!Haiti,!and!increased!rates!of!deforestation!continue!to!flood!homes!and!infrastructure!(Hotz,!2015).!Additionally,!lack!of!easily!accessible!and!reliable!data!has!demonstrated!the!need!for!high!resolution!mapping!and!remote!sensing!of!the!region!(Churches!et!al.,!2014).!Due!to!the!paucity!of!data!on!Haiti,!data!collection!and!creation!are!of!primary!importance!to!characterize!the!Cul!de!Sac!watershed!and!Étang!Saumâtre!to!study!the!effects!of!global!change!drivers!on!this!region.!!!O-4!!Lynette!Laffea!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Measuring!Carbon!Sequestration!Processes!in!a!Subapline!Forest!Using!MultiQScale!Wireless!Sensor!Arrays!

During!the!past!century!global!atmospheric!concentrations!of!carbon!dioxide!have!increased!markedly!as!a!result!of!human!activity!(IPCC!2013).!!This!increase!has!contributed!to!observed!changes!in!radiative!forcing!and!hence!to!global!climate.!The!most!recent!budget!for!atmospheric!CO2!prepared!by!the!Intergovernmental!Panel!on!Climate!Change!(IPCC,!2013)!estimates!that!over!half!the!anthropogenic!CO2!emissions!in!the!atmosphere!are!removed!by!carbon!sinks!on!the!land!(28%)!and!in!the!ocean!(29%).!However,!scientists!are!unable!to!completely!reconcile!the!processes!contributing!to!the!ocean!and!terrestrial!biosphere!sinks!leading!to!contrasting!predictions!of!how!they!will!respond!to!increasing!levels!in!the!future!(IPCC,!2013,!Sun!et!al!2010,!Schimel!et!al!1996,!2002).!In!addition,!gaps!in!understanding!the!global!carbon!cycle!cause!significant!uncertainty!in!models!that!attempt!to!predict!environmental!impacts!of!increasing!emissions.!As!such,!these!uncertainties!represent!a!major!impediment!to!the!formulation!of!policies!for!mitigating!the!growth!of!atmospheric!levels!of!CO2!(IPCC!2013).!!

One!cause!for!this!uncertainty!lies!in!the!complexity!of!quantifying!biogeochemical!processes!with!limited!observations!(IPCC,!2013,!Sun!et!al!2010,!Rundel!et!al!2009,!Estrin!et!al!2003,!Akyildez!2001).!As!such,!I!proposed!to!explore!how!multiQscale!sensor!array!technologies!can!be!used!to!explore!complex!ecological!processes!to!improve!our!understanding!of!CO2!exchange!in!a!mountainous!terrain!

ecosystem.!!In!one!set!of!studies,!I!developed!a!wireless!network!of!photon!flux!sensors!to!explore!the!influence!of!conifers!trees!on!the!local!light!environment!and!therefore!its!influence!on!photosynthesis!within!the!canopy.!!!In!a!second!set!of!studies,!I!measured!soil!respiration!below!a!CO2!flux!tower!to!assist!efforts!quantifying!the!down!slope,!advective!fluxes!of!CO2,!which!traditional!instrumentation!fails!to!obtain.!These!sensors!were!coQlocated!with!other!wireless!instruments!Q!The!Transact!Measurement!System!or!TRAM,!which!is!a!meteorological!and!CO2!flux!sensor!system!designed!by!Dr.!Steven!P.!Oncley!from!the!National!Center!for!Atmospheric!Research!(Oncley!et!al.!2008)!and!a!series!of!soil!moisture,!soil!temperature,!air!temperature!and!PAR!(Photosynthetic!Active!Radiation)!sensors!that!were!designed!to!communicate!in!peerQtoQpeer!fashion!to!explore!controls!of!respiration.!My!intent!was!to!use!these!sensors!with!established!soil!respiration!measurements!at!the!site!to!predict!spatial!variability!in!soil!respiration!rate!and!determine!if!the!predictions!can!be!used!to!close!the!budget.!!!O-5!!Steven!Nye!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Using!Geochemical!Techniques!to!Decipher!PaleoQEnvironmental!Changes!Across!the!PermianQTriassic!Extinction!in!Eastern!Greenland!

The!PermianQTriassic!Boundary!represents!an!extinction!event!that!occurred!around!250!mya.!Volcanic!activity!originating!in!Siberia!may!have!been!the!driver!that!tipped!global!climate!towards!unrecoverable!conditions!leading!to!the!loss!of!close!to!96%!of!marine!species.!Studies!of!this!time!in!Earth’s!history!are!typically!focused!on!the!paleoQequitorial!Tethys!Ocean!basin.!Here!we!integrate!data!from!the!southern!Boreal!Sea!region!with!lower!latitude!data!to!present!a!richer!understanding!of!ocean!conditions!at!the!time!of!this!extinction.!!

Samples!(n=85)!were!collected!from!the!Oskedal!member!of!the!Woodie!Creek!Formation!along!the!northeast!coast!of!the!Østgrønland!region!of!Eastern!Greenland.!The!samples!are!mostly!shales!and!crossbedded!sandstones!that!cover!the!uppermost!Permian!across!the!boundary!into!the!Triassic.!Samples!were!powdered!and!homogenized!and!major!as!well!as!trace!element!composition!were!analyzed!by!XQRay!Fluorescence!and!Inductively!Coupled!Plasma!Mass!Spectrometry,!respectively.!!We!also!analyzed!stable!carbon!isotopic!composition!(inorganic!and!organic)!via!IsotopeQRatio!Mass!Spectrometry.!These!data!were!used!to!chemostratigraphically!integrate!this!section!into!the!global!δ13C!stratigraphy!as!well!as!to!reconstruct!the!paleoenvironmental!conditions.!!We!identified!changes!in!paleoproductivity!approaching!the!boundary!that!support!wideQspread!anoxia!at!this!time!with!these!data!also!revealing!localized!conditions!of!shelf!anoxia.!!!O-6%%Jeremiah!Asaka!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Transformations!in!Conservation!Governance!and!Implications!for!Human!Security:!The!Case!of!Kenya’s!Northern!Rangelands!

For!most!of!the!20th!century,!conservation!was!stateQcentric!and!science!oriented.!People,!particularly!conservation!area!communities,!were!excluded!from!protected!areas!designed!to!safely!contain!'nature'!from!the!threat!of!human!beings!(with!the!exception!of!tourists!and!park!rangers).!

However,!in!late!20th!century,!a!shift!towards!'destatisation'!and!'indigenisation'!particularly!in!the!African!continent,!but!also!elsewhere,!emerged.!This!shift!continues!today!(in!the!21st!century)!in!places!like!northern!rangelands!of!Kenya!with!implications!for!conservation!area!communities.!The!proposed!study!seeks!to!analyse!conservation!governance!at!the!global!and!local!level.!In!part,!to!understand!how!conservation!is!governed!at!those!two!levels!and!how!such!governance!has!changed!over!time!since!1980;!and!in!part,!to!understand!local!human!security!implications!of!such!transformations.!It!will!employ!key!informant!interviews,!household!survey,!observation!and!digital!photography!to!collect!qualitative!and!quantitative!data.!!!O-7%%Peter!Boucher!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Resistance!is!not!futile:!Pesticide!Use!and!Criticisms!of!Rachel!Carson!Over!the!Last!Century!

In!the!1960s,!Rachel!Carson’s!Silent!Spring!brought!about!a!public!outcry!that!led!to!federal!action!to!regulate!pesticides!in!the!US,!including!a!ban!on!the!use!of!DDT.!The!weight!of!scientific!knowledge!behind!Carson’s!call!for!pesticide!regulation!has!greatly!strengthened!over!the!years,!yet!antiQCarson!rhetoric!in!the!media!remains!at!large!in!the!US.!Recently,!this!hateful!rhetoric!labelled!Rachel!Carson!as!a!“massQmurderer”!for!bringing!about!the!ban!of!DDT.!!!Now,!the!reinstatement!of!DDT!for!use!as!a!mosquito!control!is!even!being!considered!by!the!Centers!for!Disease!Control!(CDC),!as!climate!change!and!international!exchange!make!the!advance!of!mosquito!borne!illnesses!(like!the!Zika!virus)!inevitable.!!

Given!the!weight!of!the!scientific!evidence!about!the!dangers!and!the!ineffectiveness!of!unregulated!pesticide!use,!why!is!the!regulation!of!pesticides!still!a!debatable!issue!today?!Drawing!from!historical!works!and!scientific!papers,!this!presentation!outlines!arguments!for!and!against!pesticide!use!in!the!20th!century!in!an!attempt!to!improve!future!communication!about!pesticides,!industry,!and!science.!!!O-8%%Kaley!Major!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Identifying!and!differentiating!among!targetQsite!alleles!conferring!pesticide!resistance!in!the!amphipod,!Hyalella%azteca!

Select!populations!of!the!nonQtarget!amphipod,!Hyalella%azteca,!in!California!have!demonstrated!resistance!to!pyrethroid!and/or!organophosphate!pesticides.!!While!pyrethroid!resistance!has!been!correlated!with!two!distinct!mutations!in!the!voltage!gated!sodium!channel,!the!source!of!the!organophosphate!resistance!remains!uninvestigated.!!In!an!effort!to!better!understand!the!impacts!of!pesticide!selective!pressures!on!population!structure,!we!endeavor!to!create!and!validate!a!Taqman!qPCR!assay!for!the!quick!identification!of!known!pyrethroid!resistance!alleles!in!Hyalella.!Further,!to!determine!whether!a!targetQsite!mutation!is!the!source!of!organophosphate!resistance!in!Hyalella,!we!will!be!cloning!and!sequencing!the!acetylcholinesterase!gene!to!discriminate!allele!frequencies!among!sensitive!and!resistant!populations.!Once!alleles!can!be!differentiated,!we!will!design!Taqman!qPCR!assays!specific!to!the!acetylcholinesterase!alleles!to!determine!allele!frequencies!among!populations!in!

the!state!of!California.!!Later,!these!assays!will!be!used!in!the!determination!of!resistance!allele!frequencies!in!Hyalella!from!other!uninvestigated!areas!of!North!America.!!Understanding!the!geographic!extent!and!prevalence!of!resistance!allele!frequencies!in!Hyalella!is!key!determining!the!ecological!implications!of!extensive!pesticide!use!in!the!environment.!!!O-9%%Kristin!Osborne!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Invading!the!“dirty!waters”!of!urban!harbors:!quantifying!invasive!tunicate!tolerance!to!marine!pollution!

Invasive!marine!tunicates!pose!a!significant!threat!to!recipient!communities!as!a!result!of!strong!competition!for!resources,!decreasing!native!biodiversity,!and!fouling!of!commercially!valuable!species.!Botrylloides%violaceus!was!introduced!to!the!Gulf!of!Maine!(GOM)!via!commercial!shipping!activities!in!the!1980’s.!Originating!from!Asian!waters,!this!species!has!spread!and!established!along!coastlines!around!the!world.!Since!its!introduction!into!the!GOM,!B.!violaceus!has!become!increasingly!dominant!in!a!number!of!systems!along!the!New!England!coast.!Alternatively,!Botryllus%schlosseri!is!an!invasive!tunicate!that!has!been!documented!in!the!GOM!for!well!over!100!years.!This!species!has!been!slowly!increasing!its!range!northward,!thus!continuing!in!its!invasive!nature!to!spread!and!proliferate!into!native!systems,!but!at!a!much!slower!rate!than!that!of!B.!violaceus.!Both!of!these!species!are!able!to!establish!and!proliferate!in!urban!harbors!despite!these!often!being!heavily!polluted!environments.!!Therefore,!the!goal!of!this!research!is!to!understand!their!tolerance!to!pollution!and!the!role!it!may!play!in!invasion!success.!!The!first!research!aim!is!to!identify!sensitive!life!stages!and!endpoints!of!these!invaders!and!a!native!counterpart,!Aplidium%glabrum,!to!pollution.!This!will!provide!guidance!to!establish!standard!methods!for!short!and!longQterm!toxicity!bioassays!using!copper!since!it!has!become!one!of!the!primary!active!ingredients!in!antifouling!agents.!Endpoints!which!are!reliable,!costQeffective!measures!of!toxicity!to!invasive!colonial!tunicates!will!be!identified!and!included!to!streamline!future!testing.!Threshold!values!(e.g.!LC/EC50)!will!then!be!compared!with!reported!sensitivities!of!native!fauna!using!a!species!sensitivity!distribution!(SSD)!approach!to!determine!the!relative!tolerance!of!invasive!colonial!tunicates!with!that!of!indigenous!biofouling!community!members.!!!O-10%%Megan!Byers!Mount!Holyoke!College,!Undergrad!Crayfish!on!Prozac:!Fluoxetine!Reduces!Aggression!Behavior!of!Rusty!Crayfish!(Orconectes%rusticus)!at!a!Low,!EcologicallyQrelevant!Dose!

Because!municipal!waste!facilities!do!not!filter!dissolved!particles!from!human!wastewater,!all!dissolved!elements!Q!including!medicinal!drugs!Q!enter!aquatic!ecosystems!upon!release.!Fluoxetine!is!the!active!compound!in!the!commonly!prescribed!antidepressant!drug!Prozac.!Crayfish!proved!an!ideal!study!species!to!examine!behavioral!effects!of!fluoxetine!contamination!because!they!are!a!model!organism!in!neurophysical!research!and!they!perform!characteristic!aggression!behaviors.!In!this!study,!crayfish!were!exposed!to!1,!10,!or!100µm/L!of!fluoxetine!and!scored!on!a!1Q5!ethogram!by!distinct!aggression!behaviors!in!response!to!a!glass!rod!stimulus!over!a!period!of!ten!days.!Aggressive!behaviors!were!expected!to!increase!monotonically!with!greater!fluoxetine!doses!QQ!however,!the!1µm/L!

treatment!group!(which!is!also!the!most!ecologically!relevant)!demonstrated!significantly!greater!frequency!of!tail!flips,!the!most!defensive!behavior,!and!consequently!showed!significantly!lower!aggression!scores!than!the!other!treatments.!This!finding!indicates!that!fluoxetine!alters!crayfish!behavior!nonQmonotonically.!Decreased!aggression!in!their!natural!habitat!could!mean!that!contaminated!crayfish!have!difficulty!obtaining!or!defending!their!right!to!shelter,!mates,!and/or!food.!Future!research!examining!crayfish!responses!to!fluoxetine!and!other!common!drugs!would!prove!valuable!to!ecotoxicologists’!understanding!of!how!contaminants!influence!the!behavior!and!fitness!of!aquatic!organisms.!!!O-11%%Bonnie!Blalock!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Endocrine!Disruption!in!Marine!Mussels:!!!!Development!of!a!Robust!Field!Assay!by!Linking!!!Transcriptomic!Responses!to!Biological!Effects!

Endocrine!disrupting!compounds!(EDCs)!interfere!with!natural!hormone!function!and!cause!developmental!and!reproductive!impairments!such!as!gender!reversal!at!low,!environmentally!relevant!concentrations.!!These!compounds!enter!coastal!environments!primarily!from!the!effluents!of!Waste!Water!Treatment!Facilities,!and!have!become!ubiquitous!in!marine!surface!waters,!sediments!and!biota.!!To!monitor!exposure!and!effects!of!EDCs!to!marine!biota,!we!are!developing!the!Coastal!Biosensors!for!Endocrine!Disruption!(CQBED)!Assay!that!is!specific!for!two!of!the!most!widely!detected!EDCs!in!coastal!environments,!17QalphaQethinylestradiol!(EE2)!and!4Qnonylphenol!(4NP),!using!the!sentinel!species,!Mytilus%edulis.!We!exposed!M.%edulis!to!EE2!(5!and!50ng/L)!and!4NP!(1!and!100μg/L),!sampled!mussels!at!4wk!and!5wk,!and!performed!gene!expression!analysis!on!digestive!gland!tissue!using!a!M.%edulis%microarray.!!Candidate!biomarkers!for!CQBED!Assay!development!are!being!identified!based!on!specificity!to!either!EE2!or!4NP,!correlation!with!tissue!concentration,!and!consistent!expression!patterns!at!both!time!points.!While!we!are!actively!identifying!and!testing!candidate!genes!for!the!CQBED!Assay,!we!have!also!uncovered!unsettling!impacts!of!the!chemical!exposures.!!M.%edulis!exposed!to!intermediate!and!high!levels!of!EE2!have!higher!expression!levels!of!femaleQspecific!transcripts,!suggesting!that!EE2!may!cause!sex!reversal!in!male!M.%edulis,!a!finding!that!has!not!been!previously!linked!to!EDC!exposures!in!this!species.!!Additional!preliminary!results!provide!evidence!for!the!“nonQgenomic”!response!to!estrogens!that!is!proposed!to!be!the!primary!mechanism!for!estrogen!signaling!in!bivalves.!!!O-12%%Charles!Major!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Effects!of!microplastic!polystrene!beads!exposed!to!zinc!oxide!nanoparticles!or!gemfibrozil!on!the!larval!bay!scallop!(Argopecten%irradians)!

Plastics!are!a!major!contaminant!in!our!ocean,!and!the!extent!to!which!plastics!of!the!microQsize!are!abundant!has!recently!alarmed!scientists!and!policy!makers!alike.!A!component!of!the!threat!that!microplastics!serve!as!to!estuarine!and!marine!ecosystems!is!the!ability!of!compounds!to!adsorb!to!the!surface!of!these!small!particles,!aggregating!other!pollutants!into!a!single!object!of!higher!potency.!This!

talk!will!outline!work!that!will!be!done!to!determine!the!ability!of!polystyrene!bead!adsorption!of!two!

compounds!from!the!EPA’s!list!of!contaminants!of!emerging!concern,!both!the!nanoparticle!Zinc!Oxide!

and!the!pharmaceutical!Gemfibrozil!through!toxicity!testing!on!the!larval!Bay!Scallop!(Argopecten%irradians).!10!μm!polystyrene!beads!exposed!to!these!contaminants!will!be!introduced!in!24!hour!acute!

exposure!experiments!that!will!analyze!latent!effects!on!the!bay!scallop!larval!development.!

Experiments!will!be!performed!testing!for!toxicity!through!polystyrene!bead!adsorption!across!both!

contaminants!and!for!different!concentrations!during!polystyrene!bead!exposure!in!Zinc!Oxide!

nanoparticles.!Mortality,!size,!and!lipid!concentration!during!larval!development!will!serve!as!

measurement!endpoints.!!This!talk!will!introduce!the!experiments,!discuss!why!they!are!important,!

explain!the!objectives!and!methods!to!be!used,!and!discuss!potential!impacts!of!results.!

O-13%%Kerry!McNally!

UMass!Boston,!Graduate!

Characterizing!the!bacterial!and!fungal!respiratory!microbiome!of!Kemp’s!ridley!turtles!(Lepidochelys%kempii)!

Kemp’s!ridley!turtles!(Lepidochelys%kempii)!are!a!critically!endangered!species!of!sea!turtle!that!strand!every!fall!from!coldQstunning,!or!hypothermia,!on!Cape!Cod,!Massachusetts.!!An!average!of!half!

of!these!turtles!per!coldQstun!event!present!with!respiratory!abnormalities!during!rehabilitation!at!the!

New!England!Aquarium!(NEAQ).!!The!respiratory!bacterial!and!fungal!communities!(microbiome)!play!a!

role!in!the!health!of!these!animals!as!well!as!in!disease!states,!such!as!pneumonia,!and!

immunocompromised!conditions,!such!as!coldQstunning.!!To!understand!the!role!that!the!microbial!

community!of!bacteria!and!fungi!play,!an!evaluation!of!the!cloacal,!oral!and!respiratory!microbiome!will!

be!conducted!for!coldQstunned!turtles!throughout!rehabilitation,!with!a!comparison!of!animals!with!or!

without!pneumonia.!!High!throughput!DNA!sequencing!will!be!performed!on!cloacal,!oral!and!

respiratory!samples!to!achieve!a!full!understanding!of!the!microbiome!across!disease!states!as!well!as!

relationships!between!gastrointestinal!and!oral!microbiome.!The!effects!of!hospitalization!and!antibiotic!

therapy!on!the!respiratory!microbiome!will!also!be!examined!based!on!serial!samples!of!the!same!

individual!while!in!the!hospital.!!The!results!of!this!study!will!allow!for!improved!medical!management!of!

sea!turtles!in!rehabilitation!and!ultimately!may!increase!survival!rates.!!!

O-14%%Michael!Roy!

Assessing!rates!of!infection!by!a!trematode!parasite!on!palaemonid!shrimp,!Palaemon%pugio!and!P.%vulgaris,!in!Long!Island!and!Bronx,!NY!

Trematode!parasites!are!important,!yet!oftenQoverlooked!components!of!both!food!web!

dynamics!and!native/invasive!interactions.!!Here!we!present!Here!I!present!a!study!that!analyzeding!

rates!of!trematode!infection!on!northwest!Atlantic!palaemonid!shrimp!Palaemon%pugio!and!P.%vulgaris.!We!determined!whether!these!two!coQoccurring!shrimp!hosts!exhibited!differential!intensities!(number!

of!parasites!per!infected!individual)!and!prevalences!of!infection!(proportion!infected!of!all!sampled!

individuals).!!Shrimp!were!collected!between!July!and!August!2014!in!Bronx,!New!York!and!along!the!

north!and!south!shores!of!Long!Island,!New!York!(n=12!sites).!!Among!more!than!roughly!1000!individuals!of!shrimp!processed!for!species,!abundance,!and!total!metacercaria!per!individual,!P.alaemon%vulgaris!exhibited!a!significantly!higher!intensity!(F=9.9290,!df=1,!p=0.0019)!and!prevalence!(F=8.9711,!df=1,!p=0.0053)!of!infection!than!P.%pugio.!!In!addition,!P.alaemon%pugio!(5.06+1.98!mean!individuals)!exhibited!a!significantly!higher!mean!abundance!over!P.%vulgaris%(1.98+0.29!mean!individuals),!indicating!a!negative!correlation!between!abundance!and!rates!of!parasitic!infection!(F=6.3622,!df=1,!p=0.0120).!!Given!the!presence!of!the!novel!Asian!shrimp!Palaemon%macrodactylus!in!the!NYC!area,!these!results!may!prove!critical!to!understand!interactions!between!native!and!invasive!species,!such!as!the!effect!of!enemy!release!and!altered!community!structure.!!!O-15%%Robert!Holmberg!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Ocean!Acidification!Impacts!Otolith!Morphology!and!Mineralogy!in!Larval!Haemulon%chrysargyreum!

Ocean!acidification!is!expected!to!influence!calcification!of!otoliths!in!teleost!fishes,!which!may!have!profound!consequences!for!hearing!and!gravisense.!We!selected!the!smallmouth!grunt!(Haemulon%chrysargyreum)!for!its!long!larval!cycle,!and!analysed!otolith!morphology!and!mineralogy!after!rearing!in!pCO2!treatments!that!simulate!future!ocean!scenarios.!Multiple!thousand!H.%chrysargyreum!larvae!were!reared!in!4!pCO2!treatments!(pH!8.1,!7.8,!7.6,!7.3)!until!settlement.!Treatment!setpoints!were!achieved!by!dosing!CO2!into!continuouslyQmonitored!experimental!aquaria!with!our!dynamic!pHQstat!CO2!dosing!system.!Aquaria!were!replicated!5x!for!20!independentlyQcontrolled!experimental!units.!Otolith!stereomicrographs!were!analysed!for!area,!perimeter,!and!circularity.!Otolith!scanning!electron!micrographs!were!scored!for!crystal!habit,!mineralogy!(proportion!of!vaterite!vs.!aragonite),!%!visible!minerals,!and!core!development.!Fish!standard!length!peaked!in!moderate!pCO2!before!levelling!and!finally!plummeting!in!highest!pCO2.!Right!lapilli!circularity!decreased!and!right!asterisci!circularity!increased!with!increasing!pCO2.!Changes!to!otolith!mineralogy,!including!enhanced!core!development!and!shifting!crystal!habit,!were!observed!between!treatments.!Sagittae!in!which!crystal!habit!shifted!from!orthorhombic!aragonite!to!100%!amorphous!CaCO3!were!observed!in!acidified!treatments.!Our!study!boasted!3x!longer!exposure!relative!to!earlier!studies!involving!clownfishes,!facilitating!observation!of!longerQterm!ocean!acidification!effects!on!teleost!reef!fishes.!It!is!the!first!of!its!kind!to!observe!any!effect!of!ocean!acidification!on!asterisci!in!fishes.!Furthermore,!it!represents!an!unprecedented!analysis!of!otolith!mineralogy!in!the!context!of!ocean!acidification.!!!O-16%%Peter!Gawne!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!The!effect!of!temperature!on!ironQenriched!reefs!in!the!Central!Pacific!

Island!groups!in!the!Central!Pacific!have!long!evolved!in!the!absence!of!iron.!!Dissolved!iron!is!usually!sourced!from!three!main!pathways:!dust,!marginal!sediments,!and!hydrothermal!venting.!!The!remote!nature!of!many!island!groups!in!the!Central!Pacific,!far!from!ironQrich!airborne!dust!and!runoff,!coupled!with!their!geological!lack!of!emergent!basaltic!crust!has!made!iron!a!limiting!resource!for!primary!production!in!algae!and!bacteria!in!these!systems.!!A!source!of!iron!has!emerged!in!the!form!of!

shipwreck!debris!and!abandoned!ground!gear.!!Waters!surrounding!these!iron!sources!are!increasingly!characterized!by!decreased!coral!cover,!increased!algal!and!bacterial!populations,!and!increased!turbidity,!thought!to!be!driven!by!introduction!of!iron!into!the!environment.!!This!study!explores!the!relationship!between!coral!health!and!temperature!in!the!presence!of!iron.!!As!temperature!increases,!the!negative!effect!of!iron!on!reefQbuilding!coral!is!amplified.!!With!ocean!temperatures!expected!to!rise!by!0.2°C!per!decade,!ironQenriched!waters!associated!with!ship!debris!pose!a!major!threat!to!coral!reef!health!in!the!Central!Pacific.!!!!!O-17%%Sean!McNally!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Bleach!and!Survive:!Lipid!and!Isotopic!Analysis!of!Central!Pacific!Coral!Communities!through!a!Natural!Bleaching!Event!

Corals!are!animals!that!host!symbiotic!algae!in!their!tissues!called!zooxanthellae.!In!a!perfect!system!corals!provide!shelter!and!nutrients!like!nitrogen!and!phosphorus!to!the!algae,!and!the!algae!provide!the!corals!with!sufficient!food!to!grow.!However,!chronic!or!episodic!stress!can!push!this!relationship!out!of!whack,!leading!to!the!coral!host!expelling!its!symbionts!and!becoming!“bleached.”!

Currently,!we!are!seeing!an!extreme!climatic!event!occurring!in!the!pacific!with!the!recent!El!Niño,!where!increasing!sea!surface!temperatures!are!significantly!higher!than!average!for!this!time!of!year!and!has!caused!mass!bleaching!events!across!a!large!portion!of!the!coral!reef!atolls!across!the!Central!Pacific.!In!a!collaborative!effort!with!researchers!from!both!Georgia!Tech!and!the!University!of!Victoria!we!were!able!to!track!lipid!stores!through!the!current!natural!bleaching!event!as!well!as!assessing!spatial!differences!associated!with!variable!heterotrophic!feeding.!

Previous!experimental!work!and!field!based!evidence!has!shown!that!corals!with!higher!fat!stores!are!more!resilient!to!heat!stress,!and!that!corals!fed!with!zooplankton!are!also!more!resilient.!However,!no!work!has!been!done!assessing!coral!resilience!associated!with!heterotrophy!or!lipid!stores!before,!during,!and!after!a!natural!bleaching!event.!We!expect!that!corals!with!higher!lipid!content!prior!to!bleaching,!and/or!better!access!to!food!(higher!upwelling)!will!better!survive!the!event.!!!O-18%%Thomas!Dimino!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Quantifying!Habitat!Heterogeneity!in!Low!Gradient!Headwater!Streams!using!a!Distance!Based!Model!

Habitat!heterogeneity,!or!spatial!variation,!is!critical!for!diverse!communities!to!persist.!!The!degree!to!which!this!concept!explains!biodiversity!patterns!is!a!matter!of!debate.!!There!is!a!need!for!a!standard!framework!to!measure!habitat!heterogeneity!across!systems!in!order!to!test!hypotheses!regarding!the!diversity!of!habitat!types.!!I!propose!that!by!using!a!distance!based!model!from!a!theoretical!“least!diverse”!system!that!a!measure!of!total!habitat!heterogeneity!can!be!estimated.!We!reduced!habitat!parameters!using!ecological!metrics!typically!applied!to!species!diversity!to!calculate!a!composite!heterogeneity!value.!!I!provide!support!to!the!hypothesis!that!an!agricultural!system!has!a!lower!degree!of!habitat!heterogeneity!than!a!forested!system!(ANOVA,!F(2,7)!=100.86,!p!<!0.001).!!This!framework!serves!as!an!exploratory!analysis!and!will!be!expanded!to!a!larger!research!project.!

O-19%!Alexander!Metzger!

Models!that!Matter:!AgentQBased!Models!for!Social!Learning!and!Climate!Change!Adaptation!

Extreme!precipitation!events!cause!damaging!and!costly!impacts!to!many!coastal!urban!areas!

through!inland!and!storm!swell!flooding.!These!impacts!are!determined!though!a!complex!combination!

of!storm!characteristics,!local!environmental!conditions,!and!human!flood!management!decisions.!

Climate!change!is!expected!to!cause!more!frequent!and!intense!precipitation!events!in!the!Northeastern!

United!States!and!alter!floodQrelated!environmental!conditions.!Localized,!predictive!hydrological!

models!for!Boston,!MA!show!an!increase!in!flood!intensity!as!a!result.!Flood!managers!face!a!great!deal!

of!uncertainty!in!how!to!adapt!to!changing!conditions!as!a!unified!community!in!order!to!mitigate!flood!

impacts!and!maximize!use!of!management!resources.!In!this!talk,!we!discuss!how!participatory!agentQ

based!models!(ABM’s)!can!be!used!to!create!a!more!informed!flood!management!community!by!

facilitating!multiQscale!learning!about!storm!and!flood!dynamics,!decisionQmaking!strategies,!and!

adaptation!alternatives.!Interviews!with!various!flood!managers!will!be!used!to!identify!management!

decisions!that!greatly!influence!flooding!outcomes,!but!whose!decisionQmaking!strategies!are!not!

common!knowledge!among!the!community.!A!realistic!decision!space!will!be!modeled!using!ABM!

software!with!guidance!of!the!appropriate!decisionQmakers.!Participants!will!then!interact!with!realistic!

scenarios!programmed!into!the!model!in!a!‘serious!gaming’!setting!in!order!to!observe!decision!

thresholds!and!strategies.!Participants!will!also!interact!with!simulated!climate!change!scenarios!

parameterized!with!predictive!hydrological!models!for!experimentation!with!different!strategies!and!to!

facilitate!learning!about!adaptation!of!management!decisions.!Findings!will!be!discussed!in!workshops!

with!the!flood!management!community.!

O-20%%Ram!Barankin!

Measuring!the!Vulnerability!of!Coastal!Transportation!Assets!Using!Indicators!

Coastal!areas!all!over!the!world!are!experiencing!the!effects!of!climate!change,!such!as!severe!

floods.!Consequently,!various!studies!have!focused!on!measuring!the!vulnerability!of!different!systems!

(such!as!ecosystems,!social!systems!and!infrastructure)!to!such!events.!Assessing!vulnerabilities,!in!

general,!can!be!divided!into!three!main!components:!assessing!exposure!(i.e.,!whether!the!asset!will!be!

exposed!to!the!climate!stressor),!assessing!sensitivity!(i.e.,!once!a!given!asset!has!been!exposed!to!a!

climate!stressor,!what!will!be!the!magnitude!of!impact),!and!adaptive!capacity!(i.e.,!what!is!the!

significance!of!the!impact).!The!current!study!takes!this!approach!to!assess!the!vulnerability!of!the!

transportation!system!of!Massachusetts!to!coastal!floods.!The!transportation!system!in!this!area!

includes,!interQalia,!roads,!railroads,!train!stations,!and!ports.!

In!particular,!the!current!study!focuses!on!the!sensitivity!and!adaptive!capacity!components!of!

vulnerability,!using!an!indicatorsQbased!approach.!According!to!the!latter,!the!qualitative!variables!(i.e.,!

sensitivity!and!adaptive!capacity)!are!measured!through!different!physical!and!socioQeconomic!

indicators,!i.e.,!measurable!attributes!that!are!relevant!to!the!examined!asset.!The!area,!in!this!case,!is!

divided!into!different!segments,!and!the!indicators!are!measured!over!space!and!time.!The!indicators!

are!aggregated!to!a!single!value!to!assess!the!vulnerability!of!each!asset!or!spatial!unit.!Consequently,!

policyQmaker!can!recognize!the!vulnerable!parts!of!the!system!and!direct!adaptation!efforts!toward!those,!in!order!to!increase!their!resilience!to!climate!change.!!!O-21%%Debra!Butler!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!The!Lesson!of!Cuba!under!Scarcity:!A!Model!of!Environmental!and!Social!Resilience!

This!paper!examines!the!phenomena!of!Cuba’s!organizational!transition!of!“fields”!in!the!midst!of!postQsanction!“FidelQtoQRaul”!transformation!of!its!organizations.!!My!research!focuses!on!the!convergence!of!science,!business,!law,!economics,!social!justice,!security,!philanthropy!and!politics!Q!within!environmental,!historical!and!cultural!contextsQ!transformation!in!and!through!organizations.!!!Organizations!are!systems!that!manage!disruptions,!connections,!chaos!and!synergies!which!impact!distribution!of!scarce!resources!QQaccess!to!information,!shelter,!clean!air!and!water,!food,!timely!and!purposeful!responses!to!climatic!events,!domestic/!international!security,!deQdemocratization!of!civil!rights,!militarization!of!security!and!financialization!of!governance.!!

During!the!“Special!Period!1989Q2002”,!Cuba!demonstrated!incredible!resilience!under!conditions!of!scarce!resources!and!economic!restrictions.!Cuba!is!an!example!of!beneficial!“deQgrowth”!which!benefited!environmental!end!ecological!systems,!and!a!reQcoupling!of!humanQnonhuman!resource!relationships!in!energy,!medicine!and!agriculture.!Socialism,!the!US!embargo,!the!influence!of!the!former!Soviet!Union,!Cuba’s!intervention!on!the!African!continent,!and!regional!alliances!with!other!Americas!created!hybrids!in!virtually!every!sector.!!!

Currently,!mutations!in!Cuba’s!civil!code,!agricultural!policy,!trade!relationships!and!capital!markets!are!unpredictable,!chaotic!and!fluid.!As!government!continues!to!ease!constraints!throughout!civil!society,!organizations!will!transform!to!redistribute/!enormous!human,!physical!and!capital!resources,!inQ!country!and!through!exchanges!with!diaspora.!!

Environmental!issues!include:!(1)!What!kinds!of!organizations!facilitate!or!coordinate!regional!expansion!of!climate!change!policy!in!the!Americas?!How!are!such!interventions!materialized!(i.e.,!the!offQshore,!deep!water!port!in!Mariel)?!(2)!Is!reQforesting!a!sustainable!land!use!(reform)!strategy!for!long!term!mitigation!of!climate!change!impact?!Can!the!forest!“commons”!also!serve!as!an!economic!driver!in!capital!markets!through!carbon!capture!and!carbon–trading!schemes?!(3)!To!what!extent!does!access!to!information!facilitate!resilience!and!new!models!for!resilience?!What!is!the!potential!of!offQgrid!solar,!thermal!or!wind!technologies!supported!by!mobile,!cloud!based!infrastructure!for!agriculture!distribution!channels!and!supply?!!

I!argue!that!networks!of!small!or!medium!size!entities!support!sustainable!communities!in!ways!that!larger,!single!organizations!cannot.!This!paper!will!propose!theoretical!frameworks!for!legal/judiciary!and!nonQstate!organizational!agency!through!which!emprende!(entrepreneurship)!initiatives!are!promoted,!constrained!or!impeded.!!!%%%%

O-22%%Jamilia!Gilliam!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Social!Enterprise!Entrepreneurs!and!National!Biogas!Programs/Partnerships!as!Dissemination!agents!in!Ethiopia!

As!Ethiopia!continues!pushing!forward!with!policy!initiatives!in!alignment!with!the!newly!released!GTP!II,!climate!change,!mitigation!of!green!house!gas!emissions,!and!climate!adaptation!are!center!of!focus.!Hydropower,!and!Wind!energy!have!been!gaining!traction!as!the!major!agenda!is!set!to!build!climate!resilient!economy.!While!access!to!electricity!service!coverage!has!increased!13.2%!between!2009!and!2013,!approximately!70%!of!Ethiopian!households!continue!to!use!biomass!(wood)!for!cooking.!Traditional!cooking!practices!in!Ethiopia!have!not!only!significantly!contributed!to!Ethiopia’s!deforestation!problem,!but!have!also!become!a!major!public!health!issue.!This!paper!aims!to!examine!the!roles!of!social!enterprise!entrepreneurs,!national!biogas!programs!and!partnerships!in!the!continuing!yet!challenging!process!of!biogas!technology!dissemination!throughout!rural!Ethiopian!households.!Research!in!this!area!has!directed!attention!toward!the!challenges!faced!in!reference!to!diffusion!of!innovation,!socioQeconomic!factors,!cultural!issues,!and!feasibility!in!regards!to!affordability!of!biogas!and!biogas!cook!stoves.!This!study!will!examine!how!social!enterprise!entrepreneurs!operationalize!marketing!and!distribution!strategies,!identify!and!outline!connections!between!social!enterprise!organizations!and!national!partnership!programs!that!may!have!developed!in!efforts!to!reach!common!goals!on!the!journey!to!establishing!sustainable!energy!resource!accessibility!in!rural!Ethiopia.!!!O-23%%V.!Miranda!Chase!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Fishery!Management!Projects!in!the!Lower!Amazon!Basin:!Promoting!Sustainable!Development!or!simply!Environmental!Conservation?!

The!Amazon!region!is!blessed!with!a!wealth!of!natural!resources,!yet!its!inhabitants!are!faced!with!poverty!on!a!daily!basis.!This!juxtaposition!presents!challenges!for!both!policy!makers!and!environmentalists.!In!the!Lower!Amazon,!fishery!management!projects!seek!to!reduce!this!human!burden!through!economic!development,!while!still!sustaining!environmental!resources.!The!research!question!here!is!to!investigate!the!extent!to!which!these!enterprises!effectively!contribute!to!this!goal.!The!main!objective!is!to!appraise!the!performance!of!fishery!management!projects!according!to!principles!related!to!the!area!of!Integrated!Water!Resource!Management!(IRWM).!I!conducted!field!research!using!CommunityQBased!Participatory!Research!methods,!and!identified!common!issues!across!many!caseQstudies,!such!as!community!conflicts,!surveillance!of!communitarian!lakes,!and!economic!incentives!for!joining!or!implementing!fishing!agreements.!This!analysis!has!found!the!fishery!projects!to!be!environmentally!sustainable!and!somewhat!socially!equitable,!as!they!abide!by!principles!of!intergenerational!equity,!precaution,!and!good!governance.!However,!although!these!schemes!achieved!poverty!reduction!through!food!security,!it!is!vital!to!understand!that!their!inefficient!operation!and!excessive!maintenance!costs,!along!with!unsatisfactory!enforcement!mechanisms,!impede!continued!economic!development!in!the!region.!Beyond!that,!these!projects!are!also!heavily!genderQbiased.!Furthermore,!conclusions!also!point!towards!flawed!governance!practices!that!hinder!social!

emancipation!and!economic!development,!since!wellQintentioned!but!poorlyQdesigned!policies!allow!loopholes!for!corruption!and!natural!resource!depletion.!!!O-24%%Natalia!EscobarQPemberthy!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Species,!States!and!Secretariats:!The!role!of!CITES!in!protecting!wildlife!

Global!environmental!conventions!facilitate!collective!action!to!environmental!challenges.!Still,!not!all!the!agreements!are!successful!in!terms!of!solving!the!problems!they!were!designed!for,!and!evidence!is!inconclusive!regarding!the!factors!that!determine!this!process.!Considering!this,!the!purpose!of!this!paper!is!to!present!an!evaluation!of!the!effectiveness!of!CITES,!through!the!construction!of!an!index!that!measures!each!state!party’s!fulfillment!of!the!obligations!under!this!treaty,!its!effect!in!terms!of!the!protection!of!endangered!species!and!the!role!of!CITES’!Executive!Secretariat!in!the!overall!working!of!the!convention.!

An!assessment!of!CITES!effectiveness!decisionQmakers!with!the!necessary!information!to!correct!any!possible!pitfalls!in!the!process!Additionally,!it!raises!awareness!about!the!need!to!constantly!monitor!this!type!of!international!agreements.!The!analysis!of!the!factors!behind!the!role!of!the!convention!in!the!protection!of!wildlife!will!demonstrate!that!there!is!no!specific!correlation!that!evidences!a!strong!link!between!effectiveness!and!the!specific!national,!systemic!or!agenda!variables!that!characterize!a!country.!On!the!contrary,!the!effectiveness!of!the!convention!is!multidimensional!and!results!from!a!specific!combination!of!determining!factors.!CITES!and!other!environmental!agreements!need!to!understand!this!approach!to!provide!the!member!states!with!the!best!information!and!policy!recommendations!to!improve!the!results.!!!!

POSTER%SESSION%ABSTRACTS%!P-1%Xiaofeng!Zhang!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!OneQpot!double![3+2]!cycloadditions!for!diastereoselective!synthesis!of!a!novel!triazolobenzodiazepineQfused!polycyclic!skeleton!

Cascade!double![3+2]!cycloaddition!reactions!of!azomethine!ylide!and!triazo!for!the!synthesis!of!novel!triazolobenzodiazepineQfused!polycyclic!compounds!are!introduced.!This!oneQpot!reaction!generates!six!bonds,!four!rings,!and!four!stereogenic!centers!to!afford!the!product!scaffold!with!high!diastereoselectivity.!Performing!sequential!cycloaddition!and!cyclization!reactions!is!a!common!and!powerful!method!for!the!construction!of!polycyclic!scaffolds!containing!nitrogen!heterocyclic!rings.!Our!group!has!previously!reported![3+2]!cycloaddition!of!azomethine!ylide!followed!by!cyclization!and/or!cycloaddition!reactions!such!as![3+2]!or![4+2]!for!the!synthesis!of!polycyclic!scaffolds!AQE!(Scheme1).!!Introduced!in!this!paper!is!a!new!sequence!through!the!combination!of!azomethine!ylide![3+2]!cycloaddition!and!triazo![3+2]!(the!click)!cycloaddition!reactions!for!the!synthesis!of!triazolobenzodiazepines.!

P-2%Raphael!Fennimore!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Long!Wave!Infrared!(LWIR)!Sensing!in!Marine!Environments:!a!Comparison!of!a!HighQEnd,!HighQResolution!Sensor!and!a!SelfQAssembled,!LowQResolution!Unit!

Most!optical!marine!observation!efforts!have!focused!on!light!within!the!visible!spectrum,!but!many!studies!have!shown!Long!Wave!Infrared!(LWIR)!to!be!a!valuable!indicator!of!environmental!constituents!as!well.!LWIR!sensors!are!best!known!for!producing!Infrared!Thermography!(IRT)!images!from!thermal!radiation,!and!this!work!will!use!two!uncooled!LWIR!sensors!to!observe!marine!environments,!with!the!longQterm!goal!of!assessing!each!for!megafauna!detection.!Both!sensors!detect!LWIR!radiation!in!the!8Q14!μm!spectrum!and!have!thermal!sensitivities!of!50mK!(.05°C),!but!the!sensors!vary!greatly!in!spatial!resolution,!size!and!cost.!For!highQresolution!imaging,!this!study!will!use!the!Sofradir!ATOM!1024,!the!first!commercially!available!highQdefinition!infrared!camera,!which!outputs!an!XGA!resolution!of!1024x768.!The!lowQresolution!imaging!will!be!performed!by!the!world’s!smallest!commercially!available!LWIR!sensor:!FLIR’s!dimeQsized!Lepton!sensor,!which!has!a!resolution!of!80x60.!The!Lepton!sensor!has!been!integrated!into!a!custom!socket!board!connected!to!an!interpreting!microcontroller!in!order!to!achieve!a!very!affordable,!very!useful!fieldQready!LWIR!detector.!!!P-3%Michael!O’Neill!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Gulf!Stream!Orphan!Sighting!Distribution!and!Abundance!

Each!summer,!the!Gulf!Stream!is!responsible!for!transporting!tropical!and!subtropical!fish,!larvae,!and!eggs!north!to!the!coast!of!New!England.!!Warm!Core!Rings!are!the!dominant!mechanism!of!transport!which!approach!the!New!England!coastline!and!allow!for!the!survival!of!these!tropical!species!during!the!summer.!Many,!if!not!all,!will!fail!to!survive!their!first!New!England!winter!as!water!temperatures!drop!below!the!tolerance!of!these!Caribbean!species.!For!decades,!marine!research!institutions,!universities,!aquariums,!divers,!and!hobbyists!have!known!about!this!seasonal!phenomenon!and!have!independently!collected!data!and!specimens!but!the!transmission!of!data!has!been!largely!anecdotal.!The!goal!of!GSOproject.org!is!to!build!a!comprehensive!data!set!with!contributions!from!researchers!and!citizen!scientists!to!better!understand!the!phenomenon!of!Gulf!Stream!Orphans!and!their!environmental!impact.!In!addition!to!abundance!and!distribution,!Gulf!Stream!Orphan!sightings!may!be!useful!in!gauging!climate!change!and!environmental!perturbations!in!the!northwest!Atlantic.!!!P-4%Melina!Gjoni!Worcester!State!University,!Undergraduate!Cellulomonas%flavigina!produces!electricity!(an!alternative!fuel!source)!

Microbes!in!the!soil!have!the!ability!to!transfer!electrons!to!a!titanium!wire!in!a!microbial!fuel!cell,!thereby!generating!electricity!as!the!electron!is!pulled!from!the!anode!to!the!cathode.!The!organisms!involved!often!grow!on!the!anode,!forming!biofilms!as!part!of!the!process.!Both!aerobes!and!anaerobes!have!the!ability!to!do!this.!This!study!examines!the!organism!Cellulomonas%flavigena,!and!its!

ability!to!generate!electricity.!It!is!an!aerobic!bacterium!known!for!its!degradation!of!cellulose!and!hemicellulose.!To!determine!if!Cellulomonas%flavigena!has!the!ability!to!generate!an!electric!current,!sterile!soil!was!inoculated!with!Cellulomonas%flavigena!and!placed!in!a!Mudwatt!fuel!cell.!This!study!demonstrated!that!Cellulomonas%flavigenia!is!an!electrogenic!bacterium!that!has!the!potential!as!an!alternative,!ecofriendly!fuel!source.!!!P-5%Amy!Johnston!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Paleoclimate!reconstruction!of!the!Gulf!of!Maine!during!the!recent!Holocene!(past!5000!years)!using!Archaeological!Mollusk!Shells!

The!paleoclimate!of!the!Gulf!of!Maine!(GOM)!during!the!recent!Holocene!can!be!examined!through!archaeological!shell!middens!in!Maine!(Turner!Farm)!and!Nantucket!Island,!MA.!We!reconstructed!the!ocean!conditions!across!the!Holocene!occupation!at!these!sites!(~!5000!years)!using!trace!element!chemistry!of!SoftQshell!and!HardQshell!clams!(Mya%arenaria!and!Mercenaria%mercenaria)!and!Eastern!oyster!(Crassostrea%virginica).!The!location!of!each!site!is!at!the!extreme!north!and!south!of!the!GOM!providing!boundary!conditions!for!the!ocean!chemistry!across!this!time!period.!We!analyzed!trace!element!composition!along!the!growth!axis!using!laser!ablation!inductively!coupled!plasma!mass!spectrometry!(LAQICPQMS).!Trace!element!composition!was!analyzed!to!help!reconstruct!trophic!structure,!pH,!salinity,!and!temperature.!Moreover,!since!the!midden!species!are!extant!in!these!regions,!it!is!possible!for!us!to!groundQtruth!temperature,!salinity,!and!pH!proxy!data!with!modern!specimens.!Paleoenvironmental!reconstruction!and!the!study!of!events!associated!with!humanQenvironment!interactions!shapes!our!understanding!of!future!climate!change.!Preliminary!results!indicate!whether!variations!in!trace!element!composition!of!archaeological!midden!shells!can!be!used!to!reconstruct!the!recent!Holocene!climate!of!the!GOM.!This!research!helps!further!our!understanding!of!long!term!trends!in!shellfish!population!distributions!and!the!interactions!between!humans!and!natural!resources.!!!P-6%Rachel!Vincent!UMass!Boston,!Undergraduate!Determining!the!bacterial!communities!on!the!shell!of!American!lobsters,!Homarus%americanus,!over!time!and!space!

Shell!disease!in!American!lobsters!(Homarus%americanus)!has!been!rising!in!frequency!throughout!southern!New!England!over!the!last!15!years!and,!more!recently,!in!the!Gulf!of!Maine.!Shell!disease!has!a!negative!effect!on!this!important!commercial!fishery!due!to!visually!unappealing!lesions!and!increased!mortality.!The!purpose!of!this!study!was!to!determine!the!bacterial!communities!on!different!parts!of!the!American!lobster!shell!and!examine!how!these!communities!changed!over!the!progression!of!molt!cycles!and!disease!states.!We!hypothesized!that!bacterial!communities!would!change!over!both!space!and!time.!We!sampled!initially!diseaseQfree!lobsters!at!the!New!England!Aquarium!by!using!sterile!toothpicks!to!sample!the!shell!biofilm!in!four!locations:!both!claws,!the!carapace,!and!the!tail.!We!took!samples!every!ten!days!until!every!lobster!had!gone!through!a!molt!

cycle.!At!some!point!during!sampling!all!lobsters!showed!at!least!initial!signs!of!disease.!We!extracted!DNA!from!these!samples!and!amplified!it!with!bacterial!specific!16S!primers!designed!for!the!Illumina!MiSeq!high!throughput!sequencer.!All!downstream!sequence!analysis!was!done!with!QIIME,!allowing!us!to!examine!the!relationships!between!bacterial!communities!from!different!samples.!Our!results!indicated!that!bacterial!community!composition!and!diversity!changed!through!the!course!of!molt!cycles!and!across!shell!location.!The!communities!varied!extensively!with!disease!progression!and!decreased!in!diversity!as!disease!progressed.!This!information!helps!us!better!understand!the!bacteria!found!on!lobster!shells!and!those!that!are!potential!causative!agents!of!shell!disease.!!!P-7%Edward!Saenz!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Utilizing!a!HyperQportable!Terrestrial!Lidar!to!classify!a!Hemlock!Woolly!Adelgid!Infestation!

Over!the!past!50!years,!hemlock!forest!stands!in!the!eastern!United!States!have!been!under!attack!by!the!invasive!Hemlock!Woolly!Adelgid.!!During!the!spring!through!autumn,!this!insect!lays!(cottonQlike)!eggs!along!the!base!of!needles!and!limit!vital!nutrients!to!the!hemlock!tree.!!This!infestation!is!the!focus!of!numerous!biological!studies,!but!this!research!focuses!on!the!use!of!terrestrial!laser!scanners,!as!an!emerging!technology,!to!characterize!the!spatial!distribution!(spread)!of!the!HWA!in!eastern!hemlock!forests.!!! !

Lidar!(light!detection!and!ranging)!instruments!are!increasingly!being!used!to!provide!information!on!the!fine!scale!structural!characteristics!of!forest!ecosystems.!!Much!of!the!lidar!data!collected!and!analyzed!today!are!being!utilized!for!objectQlevel!reconstruction.!!This!means!that!multiple!scans!are!acquired!over!a!limited!area!of!an!ecosystem!to!generate!a!threeQdimensional!representation!(from!the!multiple!viewing!angles)!of!the!individual!objects!in!that!area!(such!as!trees)!and!this!threeQdimensional!reconstruction!is!used!to!extract!biophysical!parameters!and!a!better!understanding!of!forest!ecosystem!function.!!Here,!we!utilize!a!novel!metaproperty!classification!model,!by!analyzing!various!distributions!of!laser!pulse!properties,!meaningful!information!about!the!environment!that!is!captured!in!lidar!datasets.!!The!integration!of!all!of!these!emergent!metaproperties!can!then!be!incorporated!in!a!classification!model!to!investigate!the!diagnostic!features!of!the!hemlock!woolly!adelgid!infestation!at!Harvard!Forest.!!%%P-8%Kristin!Bulpett!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Carbon!dioxide!emissions!associated!with!the!restoration!of!a!tidal!salt!marsh!in!Boston,!Massachusetts!

An!11Qacre!area,!underlain!by!dredge!spoil,!contributed!to!the!domination!of!P.%australis!in!the!Neponset!River!salt!marshes!in!Boston,!Massachusetts.!!In!2005,!restoration!of!this!section!involved!excavating!approximately!46,700!cubic!yards!of!dredged!materials;!lowering!the!marsh!platform!by!1.5!feet!to!reestablish!tidal!flushing.!!The!removed!materials!were!relocated!to!the!northern!portion!of!the!site,!deemed!unfit!for!future!restoration!efforts.!!The!mitigation!has!been!considered!successful!as!seawater!inundation!has!promoted!the!replacement!of!the!P.%australis!with!native!Spartina%alterniflora.!!!

However,!the!excavation!exposed!previously!buried!marsh!sediments!to!the!atmosphere,!releasing!the!stored!carbon!as!carbon!dioxide.!!Our!research!aims!to!evaluate!the!success!of!the!restoration!effort,!in!terms!carbon!dioxide!emissions,!by!comparing!soil!CO2!fluxes!and!percent!organic!carbon!of!the!remediated!site,!remaining!degraded!area,!and!dredge!spoils.!Ten!years!after!the!restoration,!direct!measurements!of!CO2!fluxes!from!these!soils!reveal!differing!in!emission!rates;!measuring!at!1.54!±!0.70!μmol/m2/s!in!the!remediated!site,!5.48!±!2.68!μmol/m2/s!in!the!remaining!degraded!area!and!9.57!±!2.09!μmol/m2/s!in!the!relocated!dredge!spoils.!!Our!measurements!suggest!that!the!restoration!had!resulted!in!a!significant!release!of!previously!sequestered!carbon!to!the!atmosphere!but!was!also!successful!in!preventing!CO2!emissions.!!Estimations!of!potential!emissions!and!avoided!emissions!resulting!from!coastal!restoration!projects!are!necessary!in!evaluating!mitigation!policies!and!practices!and!managing!conservation!efforts!of!these!essential!ecosystems.!!!P-9%%Jack!Payette!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Utilizing!social!media!for!informal!ocean!conservation!and!education:!The!BioOceanography!Project!

Science!communication!through!the!use!of!social!media!is!a!rapidly!evolving!and!growing!pursuits!in!academic!and!scientific!circles.!Other!online!tools!and!social!media!are!being!used!in!not!only!scientific!communication!but!also!scientific!publication,!education,!and!outreach.!Standards!and!usage!of!social!media!as!well!as!other!online!tools!for!communication,!networking,!outreach,!and!publication,!etc.!are!always!in!development.!Caution!and!a!conservative!attitude!towards!these!novel!“Science!2.0”!tools!is!understandable!because!of!their!rapidly!changing!nature!and!the!lack!of!professional!standards!for!using!them.!However!there!are!some!key!benefits!and!unique!ways!social!media,!online!systems,!and!other!open!or!open!source!technologies,!software,!and!“Science!2.0”!tools!can!be!utilized!for!academic!purposes!such!as!education!and!outreach.!Diverse!efforts!for!ocean!conservation!and!education!have!and!will!likely!continue!to!utilize!social!media!for!a!variety!of!purposes.!The!BioOceanography!project!is!an!informal!communication,!education,!outreach,!and!conservation!initiative!created!for!enhancing!knowledge!related!to!Oceanography!and!Marine!Science!with!an!unbiased!yet!conservationQminded!approach!and!in!an!Open!Source!format.!The!BioOceanography!project!is!ongoing!and!still!evolving,!but!has!already!contributed!to!ocean!education!and!conservation!communication!in!key!ways!through!a!concerted!web!presence!since!2013,!including!a!curated!twitter!account!@_Oceanography!and!BioOceanography!blog!style!website.!Social!media!tools!like!Twitter!and!this!project,!if!used!properly!can!be!highly!effective!and!valuable!tools!for!encouraging!students,!networking!with!researchers,!and!educating!the!general!public!in!Oceanography.!!!P-10%Isaac!Rosenthal!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Floating!Forests:!Utilizing!Citizen!Science!to!Answer!Global!Ecological!Questions!

Coastal!ecosystems!are!known!to!be!vulnerable!to!human!activities.!Kelp!forests!in!particular!sit!at!an!intersection!of!high!value!and!high!vulnerability.!They!are!a!global,!multi!billionQdollar!resource!providing!food!and!income!for!millions!of!people.!Because!of!their!global!distribution!there!have!been!

relatively!few!successful!efforts!to!study!large!scale!trends,!primarily!due!to!logistical!constraints.!Floating!Forests!is!a!citizen!science!effort!that!seeks!to!fill!this!knowledge!gap.!

The!goal!of!the!Floating!Forests!project!is!to!document!global!coverage!of!kelp!forests!for!the!entirety!of!the!Landsat!data!series,!beginning!in!1984.!Floating!Forests!is!a!web!based!service!(through!Zooniverse)!that!allows!website!visitors!to!view!satellite!images!of!coastline!and!mark!off!areas!of!kelp!cover.!By!embracing!citizen!science,!it!will!be!possible!to!process!an!unprecedented!amount!of!data,!giving!rise!to!a!host!of!novel!analyses!and!investigations.!

This!project!is!still!in!the!data!collection!phase!but!results!are!promising.!Over!6000!webQbased!citizens!have!analyzed!almost!2.5!million!images.!School!curricula!has!also!been!developed!and!implemented!in!collaboration!with!public!school!teachers.!!This!level!of!involvement!is!encouraging!and!is!an!indication!of!the!high!level!of!community!engagement!the!project!has!already!achieved.!By!working!with!the!public!this!project!aims!to!generate!interest!in!kelp!as!well!as!science!in!general.!Another!key!benefit!of!citizen!science!is!a!high!level!of!transparency!and!communication!between!researchers!and!the!general!public.!!!%P-11%Greg!Davies,!Christine!San!Antonio,!and!Nichole!Weber!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Development!and!Climate!Adaptation:!Mangroves!and!Coral!Reefs!

Developing!countries!face!the!simultaneous!challenges!of!economic!development!and!climate!change!preparedness.!Djibouti,!a!country!located!in!the!Horn!of!Africa,!is!one!of!the!territories!most!vulnerable!to!climate!change!and!among!the!least!prepared!(NDQGain,!2016).!Djibouti!is!the!only!relatively!stable!country!in!the!Horn!of!Africa!with!an!available!coastline!for!port!development.!Due!in!part!to!its!strategic!location!and!relative!stability,!Djibouti’s!370!km!coastline!is!expected!to!host!upwards!of!nine!ports!for!international!clients.!The!proposed!coastal!development!poses!a!threat!to!already!stressed!mangroves!and!coral!reefs,!essential!components!of!marine!ecosystem!and!natural!barriers!to!climate!change!(see!Witsen,!2012).!At!the!moment,!Djibouti!has!the!potential!to!do!what!no!other!port!city!in!a!developing!nation!has!done!–!build!sustainably!in!partnership!with!the!coastal!ecosystem!and!community.!In!order!to!accomplish!economic!development!without!serious!repercussions!for!marine!ecosystem!services,!through!archival!research!and!discussions!with!key!stakeholders!in!the!region,!we!have!preliminarily!identified!pressures!to!marine!ecosystem!services!from!port!development,!key!stakeholders!in!development,!and!viable!solutions!to!engage!stakeholders!in!planning!for!both!economic!security!and!climate!change!preparedness.!!!P-12%Arnold!Fernandes!Boston!University,!Graduate!Dynamics!of!coastal!regimes!and!its!relation!to!forest!regeneration!in!the!Virginia!Coastal!Reserve!

Changing!vegetation!patterns!provide!information!useful!to!understand!the!effects!of!environmental!changes!on!estuarine!systems!like!the!Virginia!Coastal!Reserve.!On!the!eastern!shore!of!Virginia!National!Wildlife!Refuge,!a!steep!decline!in!the!regeneration!of!young!saplings!compared!to!

their!mature!counterparts!has!been!observed!post!loss!of!initial!forest!cover.!This!decline!in!regeneration!of!young!saplings!could!be!linked!to!storm!surges,!and!increase!in!ground!and!soil!water!salinity.!This!project!aims!to!reconstruct!and!monitor!the!environmental!conditions!at!the!Virginia!Coastal!Reserve!to!understand!their!impact!on!vegetation!patterns!and!the!effects!of!climate!change!on!the!dynamics!of!this!terrestrialQcoastal!boundary!ecosystem.!To!reconstruct!climatic!signals!and!changes!in!nutrient!availability,!wood!increment!core!samples!from!Pinus!taeda(L.)!are!being!analysed!using!dendrochronological!methods.!Integrating!the!results!from!tree!ring!records,!with!NOAA!storm!and!precipitation!records,!will!provide!an!overview!on!the!relative!roles!played!by!climate,!sea!level,!groundwater!and!nutrient!availability!in!potentially!causing!the!decline!in!recruitment!of!young!saplings!on!the!eastern!shore!of!Virginia!National!Wildlife!Refuge.!This!project!will!provide!insights!for!ecological!and!bioQgeoscience!research!which!can!be!extended!to!understand!the!dynamics!of!other!terrestrialQcoastal!boundary!ecosystems!globally.!!!P-13%Daniel!Genest!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Spartina%alterniflora!and!Spartina%patens!distributions!in!Plum!Island!Ecosystem,!Rowley,!Massachusetts!

In!recent!years,!blue!carbon!systems!have!increasingly!become!a!focus!of!environmental!concern.!!Coastal!marsh,!mangrove,!and!seagrass!systems!sequester!and!store!carbon!at!rates!that!are!vastly!more!efficient!per!unit!area!than!many!terrestrial!ecosystems!(noaa.gov).!!Such!systems!are!increasingly!under!duress!as!they!reside!on!the!landQcoast!interface,!where!the!majority!of!the!world’s!population!resides.!!The!Great!Marsh,!extending!from!Gloucester,!Massachusetts!to!Salisbury,!New!Hampshire,!is!one!such!system.!!European!colonists!arriving!in!North!America!heavily!relied!on!salt!marsh!hay!for!livestock!feed!and!for!other!purposes.!!Consequently,!the!Great!Marsh!was!heavily!modified!over!the!last!four!centuries,!especially!in!the!last!100!years,!with!drainage!ditches!designed!to!both!reduce!mosquito!populations!as!well!as!drain!the!marsh!platform!to!make!hay!retrieval!easier.!!A!GIS!analysis!was!undertaken!to!examine!the!extent!to!which!these!hydrological!alterations!to!the!Great!Marsh!affected!the!distribution!of!the!primary!species!found!on!the!marsh!platform:!Spartina%patens!and!Spartina%alterniflora.!!A!relationship!between!species!distribution!and!ditch!location!was!observed.!!Further!work!will!seek!to!quantify!how!this!modification!of!species!distribution!affects!the!carbon!sequestration!and!storage!capabilities!of!the!marsh.!!!P-14%Farah!Ahmad!UMass!Boston,!Undergraduate!Importance!of!Bird!Predation!in!Reshaping!the!Ecology!of!New!England!Salt!Marshes!

Top!predators!can!shape!ecosystems!via!consumption!of!ecosystem!engineers,!removal!of!alternate!prey,!foraging!activities,!and!nutrient!regeneration.!Teasing!apart!these!contributions!can!be!difficult.!The!range!expansion!of!fiddler!crabs!(Uca%pugnax)!in!New!England!provides!an!opportunity!to!examine!the!indirect!effects!of!one!of!their!predators,!birds,!on!salt!marsh!structure!and!function.!Fiddler!crabs!change!marshes!through!burrowing,!engaging!in!a!wide!variety!of!positive!and!negative!ecological!interactions.!Consequently,!birdQdriven!reductions!in!crab!abundances!could!alter!crabQ

related!salt!marsh!ecosystem!functions.!To!test!this!idea,!we!conducted!a!bird!exclusion!experiment!at!

four!different!locations!in!New!England!–!two!with!and!two!without!large!populations!of!fiddlers.!We!

monitored!a!suite!of!community!and!ecosystem!functions!from!plant!cover!to!the!abundance!of!bird!

prey!items!to!benthic!sediment!properties!such!as!chlorophyll!a.!We!find!that!in!areas!where!fiddler!

crabs!occurred,!caging!reduced!fiddler!densities!and!had!a!cascading!effect!on!chlorophyll!a.!In!areas!

with!few!crabs,!the!treatment!had!little!effect.!Our!results!indicate!that!the!effect!of!birds!on!salt!

marshes!might!largely!be!via!their!effect!on!ecosystem!engineers.!

P-15%Andrew!Pineda!

Boston!University,!Undergraduate!

The!impact!of!snow!on!the!microclimate!and!hydrology!in!the!city!of!Boston:!a!modeling!study!

Urbanization!is!an!extreme!case!of!landQuse!and!landQcover!change!that!transforms!green!spaces!

into!urban!landscapes!that!include!roads,!buildings,!ports,!factories,!etc.!From!this!change!an!

environmental!phenomenon!known!as!the!urban!heat!island!(UHI)!effect!occurs.!It!is!crucial!to!study!the!

effects!of!the!UHI!since!urban!areas!are!home!to!half!the!world’s!population!with!projections!for!

continued!increase.!However,!“studies!from!across!the!globe!have!examined!this!phenomenon,!but!

relatively!few!have!focused!on!coldQwinter!cities!and!the!effects!of!snow!cover!and!snow!fall”!(Klink,!

2011).!Studying!snow!and!its!effect!in!cities!is!particularly!interesting!not!only!from!a!microclimatic!

perspective!but!also!from!a!hydrological!perspective!since!snow!is!an!important!component!of!the!water!

cycle!and!snow!melting!can!cause!serious!flooding!issues.!

This!research!project!aims!to!study!snow’s!effects!on!the!microclimate!and!water!balance!in!the!

city!of!Boston!using!of!a!stateQofQtheQart!urban!climate!model!that!is!coupled!with!the!Geophysical!Fluid!

Dynamics!Laboratory!global!climate!models.!The!city!of!Boston!is!a!perfect!case!study!to!begin!our!

research!and!understanding!because!of!Boston’s!high!snow!levels!and!high!urban!density.!Furthermore,!

studying!Boston!hits!home!on!the!issue!of!climate!change!and!the!weight!of!potential!impacts!by!

researching!a!place!we!actively!call!home.!Specifically,!we!examine!the!effects!of!certain!variables!(such!

as!the!snow!albedo!and!the!snow!location)!that!are!influenced!strongly!by!human!activities!by!

performing!sensitivity!studies.!Such!sensitivity!tests!will!allow!the!information!gained!from!this!research!

to!potentially!contribute!to!global!climate!models!that!are!still!under!development.!By!starting!this!

research!we!hope!to!open!a!discussion!so!that!in!the!future!modelers!appreciate!the!importance!of!

snow!in!cities,!as!well!as!to!provide!a!platform!for!investigating!the!effects!of!snow!in!complex!urban!

terrain.!

P-16%Alan!Stebbins!

Reconstruction!of!bottomQwater!oxygenation!conditions!in!the!Late!Permian!NeoQTethys!

The!consequences!of!the!current!climate!change!situation!can!be!partially!predicted!through!the!

investigation!of!climate!change!events!in!Earth's!past.!!Through!the!geological!the!paleoQenvironmental!

conditions!prior!to,!during,!and!after!a!climate!change!event!can!be!reconstructed.!!One!of!the!most!

important!events!in!Earth's!past!is!the!endQPermian!mass!extinction,!the!largest!extinction!in!Earth's!

history.!Similar!to!the!currently!projected!climate!change!scenarios,!the!Late!Permian!was!a!period!of!increasing!temperatures,!rising!sea!level,!and!ocean!acidification.!!However,!not!all!aspects!or!the!exact!sequence!of!events!associated!with!the!endQPermian!extinction!are!completely!understood!including!the!global!extent!and!timing!of!oceanic!anoxia.!!In!this!study,!we!present!framboidal!pyrite!size!distributions,!δ34Spyr!values,!and!sulfur!to!carbon!(S/C)!ratios!for!three!Late!Permian!sections!(Mud,!Lingti,!Attargoo)!from!the!southern!NeoQTethys!(Spiti!Valley,!Himachal!Pradesh,!India)!to!determine!bottomQwater!oxygenation!conditions!of!this!understudied!region.!!Each!section!consists!of!black!to!silty!shales!from!the!Late!Permian!Gungri!Formation!which!is!uncomformably!overlain!by!a!5Q10!cm!ferruginous!layer!(FL).!!The!diameter!of!individual!pyrite!frambiods!is!measured!using!a!Scanning!Electron!Microscope!in!backscatter!electron!mode.!Pyritic!sulfur!was!extracted!using!the!chromium!reduction!method!and!isotopes!values!are!measured!by!Isotope!RatioQMass!Spectrometry.!!Results!suggest!that,!in!the!Late!Permian,!oxygen!limitation!(dysoxia!to!euxinia)!was!present!in!the!bottomQwaters!of!the!southern!NeoQTethys!for!an!extended!period!of!time!(Wuchiapingian!to!early!Changhsingian)!well!prior!to!the!endQPermian!extinction.!!!!!P-17%Title:!TBD!!!P-18%Jeremy!Hyatt!UMass!Boston,!Undergraduate!Recyclable!Organocatalytic!Quadruple!Cascade!Reactions!for!Asymmetric!Synthesis!of!Fluorinated!Cyclohexanes!Bearing!Six!Contiguous!Stereocenters!

The!incorporation!of!fluorine!into!biologically!interesting!molecules!can!have!a!significant!impact!on!its!biological!activity,!bioavailability!and!metabolic!stability.!Due!to!these!effects,!organofluorine!technology!–!including!asymmetric!fluorination!–!has!become!a!highly!active!research!topic!in!medicinal!and!agricultural!chemistry.!Polyfunctional!cyclohexanes!are!the!framework!of!diterpenoid!alkaloid!natural!products!and!are!present!in!many!pharmaceutically!relevant!chemicals.!As!part!of!our!effort!to!broaded!the!scope!of!organocatalytic!reactions,!we!have!recently!studied!the!use!of!a!fluorous!bifunctional!cinchona!alkaloid–thiourea!catalyst!for!asymmetric!synthesis!of!fluorinated!Michael!adducts!by!oneQpot!fluorination/Michael!addition!reactions!and!fluorinated!polysubstituted!2Qpiperidinones!by!Michael/Mannich/lactamization!reactions.!Introduced!in!this!poster!is!a!novel!quadruple!cascade!fluorination/Michael/Michael/aldol!sequence!catalyzed!by!a!recyclable!fluorous!bifunctional!cinchona!alkaloid/thiourea!for!the!synthesis!of!cyclohexanes!bearing!six!contiguous!stereocenters.!The!oneQpot!reactions!gave!polysubstituted!cyclohexanes!in!45Q80%!yields!with!excellent!stereoselectivities!(up!99%!ee!and!20:1!dr).!

P-19%Delilah!Bethel!

Norfolk!State!University,!Undergraduate!

Examination!of!Macroinvertebrate!Community!Changes!in!Response!to!Passive!Restoration!of!a!

Cranberry!Farm!in!Plymouth,!MA!

Streams!are!shaped!by!natural!and!anthropogenic!disturbance!regimes,!which!affect!inQstream!

productivity!and!biodiversity.!!Agricultural!activities!act!as!press!disturbances!on!stream!systems,!thus!

the!removal!of!an!agricultural!press!disturbance!should!yield!a!response!from!the!biological!community.!

Meanwhile,!the!River!Continuum!Concept!(RCC)!describes!how!both!biotic!and!abiotic!conditions!along!a!

stream!gradient!shapes!the!functional!aspects!of!benthic!macroinvertebrate!communities.!Our!research!

question!is!how!does!the!macroinvertebrate!community!respond!compositionally!and!functionally!to!the!

release!from!an!agricultural!press!disturbance.!Our!study!system!is!Tidmarsh!Farms,!a!former!flowQ

through!cranberry!bog!in!Plymouth,!Massachusetts.!This!system!has!undergone!five!years!of!passive!

restoration!in!which!water!controls!have!been!removed!coinciding!with!the!cessation!of!farming.!We!

examined!multiQhabitat!dip!net!samples!of!the!benthic!macroinvertebrate!community!at!three!sites!for!

the!last!three!years!of!passive!restoration!obtained!seasonally!(spring,!summer,!autumn).!We!used!nonQ

metric!multidimensional!scaling!(NMDS)!analysis!to!assess!shifts!in!the!community!assemblage!and!

compared!functional!feeding!group!(FFG)!percentages!against!RCC!expectations!for!headwater!streams!

as!well!as!comparison!sites!(least!disturbed!headwater!stream!and!active!cranberry!bog).!We!expect!to!

see!slight!changes!to!the!community!assemblage,!consistent!with!ecological!succession,!rather!than!an!

extensive!shift!more!common!to!a!pulse!disturbance!recovery.!We!also!predict!FFG!percentages!to!be!

more!similar!to!the!active!cranberry!farm!FFG!percentages!than!either!RCC!expectations!or!least!

disturbed!condition!FFG!percentages.!!!!!!

P-20%Guoqing!Wang!

Phytoplantkon!distribution!in!Boston!Harbor!based!on!imaging!flow!cytobot!

A!new!instrument!imaging!flow!cytobot!(IFCB)!was!used!to!monitor!the!phytoplankton!

composition!and!distribution!in!Boston!Harbor.!Combining!the!microscope!and!camera,!the!IFCB!can!

look!at!the!phytoplankton!cells!in!the!water!and!takes!images!of!them!one!by!one.!By!a!systematic!

analyzing!and!long!term!monitoring,!a!vivid!story!about!the!phytoplankton!composition!and!variances!

could!be!told!about!the!Boston!Harbor.!

P-21%Title:!TBD!

P-22%Zach!Mertz!

Tracking!the!Flood!–!Using!SocioQhydrology!to!Gain!a!New!Perspective!on!Flood!Management!in!Boston!

SocioQhydrology!is!a!new!subQdiscipline!for!identifying!the!emergent!properties!of!humanQflood!

interactions.!The!Charles!and!the!Mystic!Rivers!in!eastern!Massachusetts!have!been!the!subject!of!such!

interactions!for!hundreds!of!years.!Over!time,!human!dependency!and!settlement!have!altered!the!

natural!conditions!of!the!rivers,!and!changed!the!potential!for!floods!and!property!damage.!As!a!result,!

flood!management!strategies!have!been!enacted!to!counter!this!potential.!Before!we!can!assess!how!

human!vulnerability!and!actions!related!to!river!flooding!will!change!under!future!climate!conditions,!we!

must!first!document!the!evolution!of!flooding!and!flood!management!and!understand!the!motivations!

and!thresholds!of!response!that!describe!how!the!system!has!evolved!in!the!past.!In!this!research,!

historical!data!from!traditional!and!nonQtraditional!sources!were!mined!and!have!“mental!models”!were!

developed!from!inQdepth!interviews!of!key!personnel.!The!result!is!a!socioQhydrological!characterization!

of!the!current!system,!and!the!events!that!drove!it!to!exist!as!it!does!today.!

P-23%Tyler!O’Brien!

Microplastics!in!Savin!Hill!Cove!

Microplastics!Q!small!plastic!pieces!in!the!environment!that!are!less!than!5!mm!in!length!(Cole,!

2014)!Q!are!infiltrating!the!world's!oceans!and!causing!increased!problems!for!the!organisms!they!come!

in!contact!with.!Understanding!the!extent!of!the!presence!of!microplastics!and!their!ability!to!travel!

through!multiple!oceanic!trophic!levels!via!primary!consumers!like!zooplankton!is!important!and!is!the!

goal!of!this!study.!Data!will!be!collected!at!Savin!Hill!Cove!near!UMB!over!a!period!of!eight!months!in!

order!to!establish!a!base!level!understanding!of!the!abundance!of!microplastics!at!that!site.!Several!

different!analytical!techniques!will!be!used!to!classify!the!types!of!microplastics!found!within!the!

collected!samples.!Further!investigation!will!measure!the!amount!of!ingested!plastic!within!zooplankton!

species.!Knowledge!of!the!presence!or!absence!of!plastic!in!wild!zooplankton!will!allow!further!

understanding!of!the!ability!of!microplastics!to!travel!through!multiple!trophic!levels.!This!data!can!be!

used!in!the!future!to!affect!education/policy,!organism!health,!and!human!health.!

P-24%Linda!Holcombe!

The!CrimeQConservation!Nexus:!Interdisciplinarity!in!Practice!

There!is!much!talk!in!academics!and!the!literature!about!interQ!and!transdisciplinarity.!What!

does!it!look!like?!How!can!one!practice!it?!This!presentation!will!highlight!current!issues!in!an!ongoing!

problem!that!transcends!disciplines!as!easily!as!it!does!international!borders.!What!are!key!debates!

within!this!nexus?!Where!are!there!gaps!in!either!attention!or!knowledge?!This!project!will!explore!

these!questions!and!make!suggestions!going!forward!to!address!these!issues.!

P-25%Laurissa!Gulich!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Path!flow!analysis!of!hierarchical!drivers!on!water!quality!in!the!Charles!River!watershed!tributaries,!Massachusetts!!

Global!change!drivers,!such!as!land!use!land!cover,!affect!a!watershed’s!hydrologic!regime!and!stream!biotic!life.!In!2012!and!2013,!physical!and!chemical!data!was!collected!in!conjunction!with!the!USQEPA!Streamside!Biosurvey!for!Macroinvertebrates!(SBM)!for!ten!sites!throughout!the!Charles!River!Watershed.!Geographic!Information!Systems!also!was!used!to!gather!LULC!and!impervious!cover!data!at!the!regional!subwatershed!and!local!buffer!scale.!A!path!analysis!model!was!developed!in!order!to!determine!the!path!of!influence!of!development!on!stream!biotic!life!and!ultimately!water!quality.!At!the!buffer!scale,!water!quality!was!influenced!more!directly!by!the!percentage!of!developed!land!area!versus!the!percentage!of!impervious!cover.!While!both!buffer!development!and!habitat!were!directly!correlated!with!SBM,!development!also!directly!hindered!habitat!quality!and!therefore!indirectly!influenced!SBM!through!habitat.!SBM!scores!were!shown!to!be!more!sensitive!to!development!within!the!buffer!versus!the!subQwatershed!scale,!whereas!impervious!cover!was!a!better!indicator!of!stream!health.!MapShed!complemented!these!findings!by!providing!sediment,!nitrogen!and!phosphorus!loads!and!sources!for!the!Charles!River!Watershed!and!assisting!in!developing!management!strategy!recommendations!for!the!Charles!River!Watershed!Association!including!reducing!impervious!cover,!stabilizing!stream!banks,!and!constructing!vegetative!buffers!and!bioretention!areas.!Over!the!long!term,!the!key!to!improving!water!quality!in!this!watershed!stems!from!making!watershedQscale!management!changes!in!an!effort!to!reduce!nutrient!loads,!improve!the!quality!of!habitat,!and!minimize!our!alteration!of!the!natural!flow!regime.!!!P-26%Lauren!Laskey!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!BuyQout!or!Build!back?!!What!does!Sandy!teach!us!about!how!we!respond!postQdisaster?!

In!late!October!2012,!Superstorm!Sandy!devastated!many!states!along!the!Atlantic.!With!recordQbreaking!storm!surges!and!flooding,!Sandy!became!one!of!the!costliest!and!most!dangerous!hurricanes!in!U.S.!history.!On!January!29,!2013,!the!Disaster!Relief!Appropriations!Act,!known!as!Sandy!Supplemental,!made!over!$49!billion!of!funding!from!19!federal!agencies!available!to!aid!the!areas!most!heavily!impacted!by!Sandy!and!other!declared!disasters!between!2011!and!2013.!These!funds!supported!a!large!variety!of!approaches!to!disaster!recovery!to!reduce!vulnerability!and!increase!resilience!to!the!impacts!of!climate!change.!This!research!assesses!and!compares!existing!and!prospective!disaster!responses!and!mitigation!laws!and!policies!in!Northeast!states.!We!address!the!question:!what!have!storms,!like!Sandy,!taught!us!about!how!we!respond!postQdisasters,!especially!regarding!rebuilding!and!retreat!strategies?!!!%%%

P-27%Patrick!Sheldon!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Satellite!Monitoring!of!Boston!Harbor!Water!Quality:!Initial!Investigations!

The!transformation!of!Boston!Harbor!(BH)!from!the!“dirtiest!in!harbor!America"!to!a!National!Park!Area!is!one!of!the!most!remarkable!estuarine!recoveries!in!the!world.!A!longQterm!water!quality!dataset!from!1991!to!present!exists!in!BH!due!to!a!$6!billion!lawsuit!requiring!the!harbor!cleanQup.!This!project!uses!discrete!water!sampling!and!underway!transects!with!a!towed!vehicle!coordinated!with!LandsatQ7!and!LandsatQ8!overpass!to!create!surface!maps!of!chlorophyll!a!(Chl!a),!chromophoric!dissolved!organic!matter!(CDOM),!total!suspended!matter!(TSM),!and!photic!depth.!In!addition,!3!buoys!have!been!designed,!constructed,!and!deployed!in!BH!to!autonomously!measure!(and!report!realQ!time!via!cesn.org)!inQ!water!optical!properties!and!air/!sea!conditions.!!I!will!report!on!in!situ!data!collected!over!7!field!campaigns!from!June!Q!October!2015!and!show!LandsatQ8!derived!distributions!of!water!quality!parameters.!Future!work!includes!another!field!season!to!accurately!adjust!QAA,!OC3,!Kd2!algorithms!for!the!specific!physical,!chemical,!and!biological!conditions!of!BH!and!using!Landsat!relevant!MWRA!historical!data!(Chl!a,!TSM,!attenuation,!photic!depth)!to!illustrate!the!progress!of!the!Boston!Harbor!Project!from!1991Q!present.!!!P-28%J.!Michael!Denney!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Building!a!Resilient!Landscape!in!Djibouti!

Djibouti!is!a!vibrant!cityQstate!located!on!the!coast!of!the!Horn!of!Africa!where!the!Red!Sea!meets!the!Gulf!of!Aden.!Though!its!economy!is!growing!quickly!due!to!its!robust!transportation,!shipping,!and!services!industries,!Djibouti!is!extremely!vulnerable!to!climate!change.!It!is!almost!100%!reliant!on!food!imports,!is!prone!to!desertification,!and!suffers!from!sea!to!groundwater!infiltration.!Djibouti’s!economic!growth!has!been!unequal,!and!a!majority!of!households!remain!chronically!food!insecure.!Thus!far,!all!of!the!targeted!development!projects!have!failed!to!decrease!Djibouti’s!reliance!on!imported!foods!and!improve!household!food!security.!A!shock!to!the!system,!such!as!a!breakdown!in!trade!relations!with!Ethiopia,!would!have!disastrous!consequences!for!the!majority!of!Djiboutians.!The!city!must!improve!its!resilience!if!it!is!to!prosper!in!the!coming!century.!!!P-29%Ryan!Knotek!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Identifying!bottom!trawl!bycatch!hotspots!and!“best!practice”!guidelines!to!reduce!the!discard!mortality!of!an!overfished!Species!of!Concern!–!the!thorny!skate!–!in!the!Gulf!of!Maine!

Thorny!skate!(Amblyraja%radiata)!is!one!of!the!most!overfished!stocks!in!New!England!waters,!currently!experiencing!overfishing!and!at!its!lowest!documented!biomass!level.!Due!to!the!thorny!skate’s!chronically!poor!stock!status!in!the!U.S.,!management!has!recognized!the!thorny!skate!as!a!prohibited!(zeroQpossession)!species!since!2003,!whereby!federal!regulations!mandate!that!all!thorny!skates!captured!during!commercial!fishing!operations!must!be!discarded.!In!the!Gulf!of!Maine!(GOM),!

bottom!(otter)!trawl!is!the!primary!gear!responsible!for!the!capture!and!discard!of!thorny!skates.!Consequently,!quantification!of!the!postQrelease!mortality!(PRM)!of!trawled!skates!under!a!wide!range!of!true!commercial!conditions!is!vital!toward,!among!other!endpoints,!estimating!exploitation!rates!and!establishing!total!allowable!landings.!This!study!will!take!a!multifaceted!approach!to!address!this!issue!by!first!examining!existing!fisheriesQdependent!and!independent!data!to!identify!locations!and!times!where!the!likelihood!of!capture!is!high!(bycatch!hotspots)!within!the!GOM.!Next,!working!with!a!commercial!fisherman,!evaluation!of!physical!trauma!and!reflex!impairment!of!trawlQcaught!thorny!skates!will!be!conducted!and!a!subsample!tagged!with!PSAT!tags!to!monitor!PRM!for!up!to!30!days.!Results!from!each!component!will!be!integrated!to!develop!practical!bycatch!avoidance!strategies!for!thorny!skates!in!the!GOM!(e.g.,!geographic!areas!that!should!be!avoided!in!space!and!time)!and!to!provide!clear!recommendations!on!“best!practice”!methods!(e.g.,!maximum!tow!times,!handling!methods,!optimal!time!on!deck)!for!reducing!PRM!in!trawlQcaught!thorny!skates.!!%P-30%Anastasia!Mozharova!!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Sexual!vs.!asexual!reproduction!in!populations!of!Myriophyllum!spicatum!in!Massachusetts!

Many!invasive!plant!species!are!capable!of!vegetative!reproduction!and!it!is!often!assumed!that!this!clonal!reproduction!is!the!key!factor!in!the!invasion!success!of!a!species.!Although,!it!has!been!explicitly!demonstrated!that!Eurasian!watermilfoil!(M.!spicatum)!reproduces!sexually!and!hybridizes!with!the!native!North!American!congener,!M.!sibiricum,!it!is!mostly!thought!of!and!treated!as!a!species!that!reproduces!clonally.!More!details!about!this!life!history!trait!of!M.!spicatum!are!required!for!better!management!of!the!species:!if!sexual!reproduction!plays!a!significant!role!in!sustaining!its!populations,!control!of!seed!set!might!be!just!as!important!as!prevention!of!the!spread!of!vegetative!fragments.!Moreover,!it!might!be!even!more!important!to!prevent!the!seed!set,!because!sexual!reproduction!creates!genetically!diverse!populations!in!which!the!appearance!of!novel!genetic!lineages!is!possible.!Drastic!changes!to!management!strategies!might!be!required!in!case!this!novelty!involves!herbicide!resistance,!for!instance.!!The!purpose!of!the!current!research!project!is!to!quantify!the!relative!frequency!of!sexual!and!asexual!reproduction!in!populations!of!M.!spicatum!in!Massachusetts!using!microsatellite!markers.!Four!populations!of!M.!spicatum!were!sampled!along!transects!for!genetic!analysis.!Seven!microsatellite!markers!were!used!to!amplify!corresponding!regions.!My!data!suggests!that!the!populations!in!question!are!exclusively!clonal,!and!it!is!possible!that!all!or!most!of!the!populations!in!Massachusetts!and!surrounding!areas!are!one!huge!clone,!because!all!of!the!analyzed!samples!from!the!region!have!identical!microsatellite!profiles.!!!

P-31%Gregory!Davies!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Holy!Green!Dots:!Ethiopia's!Church!Forests!

The!native!forests!of!northern!Ethiopia!have!all!but!disappeared.!Massive!deforestation!resulting!both!from!shifting!desert!boundaries!and!human!use!of!timber!produced!a!denuded!Ethiopian!landscape.!However,!dotting!the!otherwise!barren!terrain!are!circular!patches!of!green,!tiny!groves!of!trees!that!surround!church!buildings!of!the!Ethiopian!Orthodox!Christian!tradition.!Known!as!the!Tewahedo!Church!Faith!and!Order,!the!Christian!tradition!of!Ethiopia!has!ensured!that!small!bastions!of!forests!survive.!In!the!Tewahedo!view,!the!forests!serve!two!purposes:!they!stand!as!a!reminder!of!the!Garden!of!Eden,!and!they!prevent!prayers!from!being!lost!to!the!sky.!This!project!begins!with!an!examination!of!the!theology!that!has!preserved!the!last!vestiges!of!Ethiopia’s!forests,!and!attempts!to!articulate!lessons!for!ecological!protection!that!can!apply!far!beyond!the!Tewahedo!tradition.!!!P-32%Christine!San!Antonio!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Interactive!effects!of!ocean!acidification!and!temperature!increase!on!shell!development!and!response!to!disease!in!the!American!Lobster,!Homarus%americanus!

The!American!lobster!fishery!is!a!substantial!and!significant!component!of!the!coastal!New!England!economy!and!community.!Previous!research!on!the!American!lobster!has!been!limited!to!single!stressor!(pH)!lab!experiments!to!determine!the!effects!on!calcification,!growth,!and!survival!rates.!The!purpose!of!this!study!is!to!examine!the!potential!synergistic!effects!of!elevated!temperatures!and!decreased!pH!on!larval!shell!development!in!the!American!lobster,!Homarus%americanus!and!to!consider!how!these!effects!relate!to!whole!body!responses!to!epizootic!shell!disease.!Larval!lobsters!will!be!reared!under!elevated!pCO2!and!temperature!in!a!3x3!nested!factorial!design!with!pH!of!8.1,!7.8,!and!7.6!and!temperatures!of!18C,!21C,!and!24C.!Shell!morphology!will!be!assessed!using!a!scanning!electron!microscopy!(minerology)!and!fourierQtransform!infrared!spectroscopy!(inorganic!and!organic!composition).!Elemental!composition!will!be!measured!using!laser!ablation!inductively!coupled!plasma!mass!spectrometry.!We!expect!to!see!a!direct!link!between!ocean!acidification!and!temperature!stressors!and!the!onset!and!prevalence!of!epizootic!shell!disease!in!the!American!lobster,!as!evidenced!by!responsive!changes!in!shell!morphology.!!!P-33%Alexis!Johnson!Stonehill!College,!Undergraduate!Changes!to!Lagrangian!pathways!of!the!Gulf!of!Maine!Coastal!Current!from!1988Q2015!

The!Gulf!of!Maine!is!warming!faster!than!99%!of!the!planet’s!oceans!due!to!climate!change.!This!rapid!warming!can!be!linked!to!enhanced!warming!of!the!open!North!Atlantic,!whose!waters!feed!into!the!Gulf!of!Maine!via!the!Northwest!Channel.!!With!this!study,!we!aim!to!determine!whether!the!increased!temperatures!in!the!Gulf!have!been!accompanied!by!variability!in!the!surface!current!pathways!in!the!region,!an!impact!that!could!alter!nutrient!accumulation!and!ecosystem!functioning!in!

the!Gulf.!Specifically,!this!study!uses!data!collected!from!satellite!tracked!surface!drifters!deployed!in!the!Gulf!of!Maine!between!1988!and!2015!to!identity!changes!in!Lagrangian!pathways.!Six!major!regions!within!the!Gulf!of!Maine!Coastal!Current!are!analyzed!to!determine!the!percentage!of!floats!retained!within!the!current!and!locations!where!high!numbers!of!floats!are!lost!offshore.!Pre!and!post!2008!data!is!compared!with!results!from!previous!studies!to!determine!how!pathways!within!these!regions!have!changed!in!recent!years.!!!P-34%Avery!Palardy!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!The!Impact!of!Sea!Level!Rise!on!Hazardous!Waste!and!Oil!Contaminated!Areas!in!Boston!

Located!along!the!shorelines!of!the!City!of!Boston!are!thousands!of!contaminated!sites,!buildings!and!storage!tanks.!These!include,!but!are!not!limited!to!state!designated!hazardous!waste!sites!(21E!Sites),!underground!hazardous!waste!and!oil!storage!tanks,!above!ground!hazardous!waste!and!oil!storage!tanks,!sites!which!have!been!deemed!activity!use!limited!due!to!the!contaminants!located!there,!and!hazardous!waste!facilities!that!require!a!permit!to!operate.!!All!of!these!sites!are!regulated!according!to!state!and!federal!standards!and!regulations,!which!works,!for!the!most!part,!to!contain!these!hazardous!wastes,!keep!them!away!from!the!public,!and!out!of!our!waterways.!!In!the!near!future,!these!regulations!and!standards!may!not!be!enough.!! Sea!level!rise!due!to!climate!change!is!projected!to!have!a!significant!impact!on!the!City!of!Boston.!!There!has!been!speculation!in!previous!adaptation,!mitigation!and!climate!projection!reports!about!the!impact!that!climate!change!will!have!on!these!contaminated!sites.!It!has!been!predicted!that!significant!health!risks!will!arise!when!coastal!flooding!due!to!sea!level!rise!inundates!the!known!and!unknown!hazardous!waste!areas!along!the!shorelines!of!the!city,!but!quantitative!research!into!these!potential!public!health!risks!has!not!been!conducted.!This!poster!will!map!the!outline!of!the!methods!that!will!be!used!in!order!to!quantify!or!at!least!gain!a!better!understanding!of!how!many!contaminated!areas!will!be!impacted!by!sea!level!rise!and!the!potential!health!risks!caused!by!the!hazardous!waste!inundation.!!!P-35%Victoria!LaBate!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Taking!our!management!cues!from!nature!Q!littorally!

As!shorelines!recede!with!rising!sea!levels,!and!as!coastal!regions!become!more!developed,!increasingly!more!communities!are!considering!costly!engineering!solutions!to!address!coastal!change.!Given!that!the!shoreline!is!strongly!coupled!alongcoast!by!waveQdriven!coastal!sediment!transport,!actions!taken!locally!to!protect!residences,!businesses,!and!public!infrastructure!can!have!farQfield!effects!on!the!natural!system!that!can!then!affect!future!protection!measures,!both!locally!and!distally.!Focusing!on!the!littoral!cell—the!alongshoreQconnected!series!of!geologic!environments!from!upcoast!sediment!sources!(headlands!and!bluffs)!to!downdrift!coastal!stretches—this!research!aims!to!characterize!the!biQdirectional!interactions!between!the!natural!processes!that!sculpt!the!shore!and!local!human!responses!to!shoreline!change.!

P-36%AnnaMae!Maillet!UMass!Boston,!Undergraduate!100%!clean!energy!

I!do!not!have!an!advisor!or!research!team,!however!I!have!been!volunteering!with!MassPIRG!the!past!two!semesters.!There!is!an!initiative!to!get!Boston!to!go!100%!clean!energy.!MassPIRG!is!raising!awareness!and!gaining!public!support!of!the!movement.!Research!on!how,!where!and!what!type!of!renewable!energies!are!feasible!in!the!city!is!crucial.!I!would!like!to!give!a!general!presentation!of!feasible!and!cost!efficient!ways!to!green!up!Boston!and!create!new!sources!of!energy!with!the!goal!of!100%!renewables.!!!P-37%Patrick!Farrington!Stonehill!College,!Undergraduate!An!analysis!of!Massachusetts!precipitation:!changes!in!the!frequency!and!intensity!of!rainfall!events!

The!changing!of!weather!patterns!occurring!in!New!England!is!strongly!suggested!to!be!linked!to!climate!change:!as!air!warms!and!is!able!to!hold!more!moisture,!it!effects!processes!such!as!evaporation!and!precipitation.!Such!effects!are!demonstrated!by!storms!like!Hurricane!Sandy!which!have!tremendous!socioeconomic!impacts.!This!megaQstorm!alone!was!estimated!to!cost!the!northeast!economy!$50!billion!in!flooding!damages!and!left!millions!without!power,!highlighting!the!relevance!of!climate!change!in!our!lives.!This!study!examines!the!ways!in!which!precipitation!patterns!are!shifting!in!Massachusetts,!so!that!better!preparation!can!be!taken!when!considering!strategic!planning!for!the!future.!Specifically,!we!use!daily!records!of!precipitation!gathered!from!12!stations!across!Massachusetts!in!order!to!investigate!how!the!total!amount!of!rain,!the!frequency!of!rain!event,!and!intensity!of!extreme!rain!events!have!changes!since!the!record!began!in!1893.!Our!analysis!reveals!that!significant!changes!in!precipitation!have!occurred!for!many!of!these!measurements.!!!P-38%Zhehai!Shang!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!MonteQCarlo!simulation!for!selfQshading!correction!of!inQsitu!optical!measurement!

SelfQShading!effect,!which!is!caused!by!the!blocking!of!sun!light!and!sky!light!by!inQwater!(or!above!water)!radiometer!in!field!measurement,!is!inevitable!and!quite!hard!to!be!accurately!estimated!due!to!multiQinteractive!factors!(etc.!inherent!water!properties!(absorption!;!scattering),!wave,!cloud,!height!of!sun).!In!this!study,!MonteQCarlo!simulation!will!be!used!to!simulate!the!light!distribution!under!different!circumstances.!InQsitu!measurement!from!HyperQpro!(an!above!water!platform!that!can!measure!both!upwelling!light!and!downwelling!light!at!the!same!time)!will!be!used!as!a!reference.!The!primary!object!is!to!develop!a!more!precise!analytical!model!specially!designed!for!HyperQpro!shading!effect!correction.!Also,!in!the!future,!we!hope!to!develop!models!that!are!adequate!for!shading!correction!of!various!inQsitu!sensors!and!reduce!errors.!!!

P-39%Christine!Nguyen!UMass!Boston,!Undergraduate!Civic!Engagement!Reflection!! What I did during my 15 hours of civic engagement working with the campus kitchen at UMB and cleaning up the greenway park; how it influenced me to be a better person in my community. !!P-40%Yvetane!Moreau!UMass!Boston,!Undergraduate!Minimizing!shellfish!closures:!Testing!archiving!methods!for!Vibrio%parahaemolyticus!recovery!from!oyster!tissue!

Shellfish!poisoning!is!a!growing!concern!for!both!consumers!and!producers.!Vibrio%parahaemolyticus%is!one!of!the!major!bacterial!pathogens!causing!human!gastroenteritis!from!the!consumption!of!shellfish.!We!sought!to!design!an!economical!and!effective!method!of!preserving!oyster!tissues!for!the!purpose!of!recovering!viable!V.%parahaemolyticus!cells.!In!the!case!of!a!disease!outbreak,!a!shortQterm!archive!serves!as!a!platform!for!bacterial!isolation!and!genetic!analysis.!We!inoculated!whole!oysters!with!V.%parahaemolyticus!and!archived!half!in!a!25%!glycerol!saline!solution!at!Q20°C.!We!used!the!most!probable!number!method!to!enrich!and!count!V.%parahaemolyticus!in!a!selective!medium.!Individual!isolates!were!identified!at!the!species!level!by!PCR!amplification!and!sequencing!of!their!16S!rRNA!genes.!Taqman!qPCR!quantified!vibrios!directly!in!oyster!tissue.!We!hypothesized!that!total!Vibrio!numbers!would!not!change!in!archived!tissues,!while!viable!numbers!would!decrease!with!time.!Our!results!indicate!an!average!49%!decrease!of!viable!cells!for!25%!glycerol!saline!treatment!and!a!80%!decrease!for!saline!treatment!within!the!first!week.!MPN!counts!remained!constant!for!the!next!four!weeks!for!tissues!that!were!preserved!in!25%!glycerol!saline!solution,!with!a!small!decrease!after!six!weeks.!However,!for!control!tissues!in!saline!water,!we!saw!a!gradual!decrease!of!20%!per!week.!Our!results!show!that!preservation!of!oyster!tissue!in!a!glycerolQsaline!solution!in!a!freezer!is!a!simple,!practical!method!for!archival!of!harvested!shellfish!for!postQoutbreak!bacterial!analysis.!!!P-41%Monica!VelezQOrtiz!UMass!Boston,!Graduate!Stratigraphic!architecture!of!a!former!lowland!kauri!swamp!in!Ruakaka,!North!Island,!New!Zealand!

The!longQlived!Kauri!(Agathis%australis)!is!an!endemic!conifer!that!presently!exists!within!4%!of!their!preQhuman!contact!range!in!northern!New!Zealand.!Kauri!preserve!well!in!anoxic!swamp!and!wetland!environments!in!the!lowlands!across!Northland!and!buried,!subfossil!samples!of!this!species!are!commonly!termed!‘swamp!kauri’.!Subfossil!kauri!have!been!recently!employed!as!a!proxy!to!reconstruct!past!climate!and!establish!a!long!dendrochronological!records!that!have!direct!use!for!building!the!radiocarbon!calibration!curve.!One!component!of!work!related!to!interpreting!ancient!kauri!tree!ring!records!is!improving!the!understanding!of!the!stratigraphic!and!geomorphic!history!of!former!lowland!kauri!environments!to!outline!the!role!of!environmental!change!in!preserving!this!ancient!wood!resource.!!

This!study!contributes!to!improving!general!understanding!the!subsurface!stratigraphy!of!former!lowland!swamp!kauri!sites.!A!combination!of!ground!penetrating!radar,!sediment!cores,!probing!transects!and!trench!exposures,!provide!details!for!the!stratigraphic!relationships!for!one!type!of!swamp!kauri!site!–relic!coastal!dune!sequencesQ!that!will!form!a!basis!for!future!sediment!and!geochemistry!work.!Based!on!GPR!and!trenches,!the!stratigraphy!includes!several!units!–Peat,!woody!debris,!dune!sand,!and!coastal!sand.!Thickness!of!the!peat,!which!usually!contains!the!subfossil!kauri,!varies!from!thin!veneers!over!antecedent!coastal!deposits!10Q50cm!to!>!2.2m,!with!the!thickest!peat!accumulation!located!between!relic!foredune!ridges.!!

Prior!work!at!locations!nearby!have!shown!Rotoehu!Tephra!(>45ka)!has!been!observed!as!a!40!cm!thick!deposit.!Early!sedimentary!analysis!suggests!the!Rotoehu!is!present!at!our!study!site,!but!it!is!possibly!disseminated!and!bioturbation!may!have!mixed!the!tephra!into!the!underlying!peat!sediments.!OSL!samples!and!peat!sediment!samples!were!recovered!for!future!chemical!and!chronological!analysis!from!selected!locations!based!on!GPR!and!trench!sections.!%P-42%Title:!TBD!!!!!

PROGRAM - University of Massachusetts Boston · Charles Muirhead UMB, Graduate Conservation Scott...

Documents

Identification of perch (Perca fluviatilis), pikeperch ... · Identification of perch (Perca fluviatilis), ... counted by the time the fish are 16–18 mm in size. 660 ... membered

Hotel Casa La Fe - Kali Hotelskalihotels.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Catalogo-de-especies... · Delfín rosado / pink dolphin Inia geoffrensis Datos insuficientes / Insufficient

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HOME RANGES AND MOVEMENT PATTERNS OF THE ... - CAR-SPAW-RAC · OF THE MARINE TUCUXI DOLPHIN, SOTALIA FLUVIATILIS, IN BAÍA NORTE, SOUTHERN BRAZIL Paulo A. C. Flores 1, 2, * and Mariel

Growth- and Bioenergetic Models and their Application in ...€¦ · Growth- and Bioenergetic Models and their Application in Aquaculture of Perch (Perca fluviatilis) ... the principles

TAXONOMIC STATUS OF THE GENUS SOTALIA SPECIES ......Coleçao Zool˜ ógica Paulo Burheim, Centro Universitário Luterano de Manaus, Manaus, Brazil 1 2 MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, VOL

Extremely shallow spawning of perch (Perca fluviatilis L

Residence and site fidelity of Sotalia guianensis in the Caravelas

· PDF filethat grow well are Mayaca fluviatilis Aubl. and Utricularia gibba L. Both must be harvested often, as they can quickly cover the entire water surface

YADE - OHNENAME · Cobitis taenia (Linnaeus, 1758) Pungitius pungitius (Linnaeus, 1758) Leuciscus idus (Linnaeus, 1758) Perca fluviatilis (Linnaeus, 1758) Abramis brama (Linnaeus,

Retrospective pathological survey of pulmonary disease in ... · Verminous pneumonia. Bacterial pneumonia. First report of Halocercus brasiliensis infection in I. geoffrensis. First

Livro de Resumos Final - Instituto Mar · Processo de reabilitação de um indivíduo de Sotalia guianensis com diagnós˜co de morbilivirose em São Sebas˜ão - Relato de caso

Impact of ﬁsheries on the tucuxi (Sotalia ﬂuviatilis) …aquaticmammalsjournal.org/share/AquaticMammalsIssueArchives/2000/... · rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) populations

MOLECULAR ECOLOGY AND SYSTEMATICS OF SOTALIA DOLPHINS · 2019-10-09 · ecology of Sotalia dolphins, and is divided in two sections, each focusing on one of those topics.The first

10. Tratto di bassa pianura - adbpo.it · Specie ordinaria pesce persico Perca fluviatilis Percidae autoctono ... al fine di poter valutare in maniera puntuale ... (PR) Torricella

Are Pink Dolphins in grave danger?. What are they called? Botos in Brazil Bufeo or geoffrensis in Peru. Mostly Pink Dolphins. Geoffrenis Pink Dolphin

COMPORTAMENTO VOCAL DE BOTOS DO GÊNERO …ppgtpc.propesp.ufpa.br/ARQUIVOS/dissertacoes/NeusaLima... · 2015-10-31 · COMPORTAMENTO VOCAL DE BOTOS DO GÊNERO SOTALIA (CETACEA: DELPHINIDAE):

Synopsis of biological data on the perch Perca fluviatilis ... · SYNOPSIS OF BIOLOGICAL DATA ON THE PERCH Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1758 and Perca flavescens Mitchill, 1814 Prepared

Parental care behavior in the Guiana dolphin, Sotalia

Ed Harris FWC Invasive Plant Managementbugwoodcloud.org/CDN/floridainvasives/IntroAquaticPlantID.pdf · Mayaca fluviatilis. Mayaca flower. Hydrilla flower. Hygrophila polysperma