Saving the Estuaries with Stony Brook SWMS
In the fall semester of 2023, the Society of Women in Marine Science chapter at Stony Brook University partnered with the Peconic Estuary Partnership (PEP), an environmental protection organization focused on preserving and restoring the Peconic Estuary, and Dr. Bradley Peterson’s Community Ecology lab at the Southhampton Stony Brook campus. This partnership was made possible by a grant the Peterson lab was awarded which focused on eelgrass restoration in Shinnecock Bay and the Peconic Estuary. As a new club at Stony Brook, we are very grateful for the opportunity to work with the Peterson lab and PEP, as it awards our members with more hands-on experiences that have an impact on actual research being conducted. One memorable experience was our event on April 17, 2024 where our members helped prepare burlap discs to be used for panting eelgrass shoots. Jade Blennau, the Coastal Resilience and Community Coordinator for the Peconic Estuary Partnership, kicked off the event by giving a fascinating presentation about the importance of eelgrass beds on Long Island and their decline in the past decades. After her presentation, Jade introduced us to Lucas Wong, a graduate student in Dr. Peterson’s lab focused on benthic ecology. Lucas told us about our task for the meeting which included cutting specifically sized circles out of a large amount of burlap, as well as using a handmade device to punch holes in the circle cutouts.
Our goal was to produce as many finished discs as possible in our 50-minute meeting period. The Stony Brook SWMS chapter advisor, Dr. Tara Rider, even promised to make the members brownies if we produced 500 discs. The members split into groups, some cutting out the circles and some hole punching, to maximize efficiency. Sadly due to a lack of good scissors, we were not able to meet the brownie quota, but we still managed to make over 100 discs. It was very fulfilling to know that our hard work was directly helping Lucas with his master’s work and eelgrass restoration in our community. PEP and the Peterson lab also just recently held another event for volunteers to help assemble eelgrass discs, allowing more students and community members to get involved in important science.
Our partnership with PEP also allowed our members to get involved with horseshoe crab monitoring in the Peconic Estuary. Throughout the summer, the Peconic Estuary Partnership employs volunteers to help tag and survey horseshoe crab numbers on the eastern end of Long Island. Horseshoe crabs come to shore during full moons from May through July to breed, which is the best time to survey them. It is a great experience to learn survey as well as tagging skills. This field experience looks good on our members' resumes and allows them to create connections with others in the field of marine science. The Society for Women in Marine Science chapter at Stony Brook University is also very thankful for the Peconic Estuary Partnership working with us at our upcoming symposium in the fall 2024 semester. This partnership has awarded our new club with many exciting opportunities that we are incredibly grateful to PEP and the Peterson lab for providing.
