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The Wrack

The Wrack is the Wells Reserve blog.

Why "The Wrack"? In its cycles of ebb and flow, the sea transports a melange of weed, shell, bone, feather, wood, rope, and trash from place to place, then deposits it at the furthest reach of spent surf. This former flotsam is full of interesting stuff for anybody who cares to kneel and take a look. Now and then, the line of wrack reveals a treasure.

  • Green Crab Project Update

    Wells Reserve Contributor | January 14, 2015

    Back in September we reported on a current research project going on at the reserve? green crab sampling! We now have an update on this project, but first to refresh your memory&

    Over the 2014 field season, research staff and interns participated in a green crab abundance study in hopes of getting a better understanding of population dynamics of this invasive species on marshes along the coast of Maine. We used modified eels traps baited with Atlantic herring, deployed two traps at a time per site, left them for 24 hours, and repeated this process eight times between June and October.

  • My Favorite Science and Nature Stories of 2014

    | December 26, 2014

    The Strummer snail

    The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 12/28/2014.

    I sat in the tire shop the day before Christmas, waiting for the technician to switch my summer tires for winter ones, and scrutinized my fingers. Id recently read an article about new biological research that pointed to a possible explanation for one of the great mysteries that has bedeviled mankind for millennia: why DO our fingers get wrinkly in the bath?

  • Bridging the Gulfs

    | December 17, 2014

    Interdisciplinary Methods for Stakeholder Engagement and Collaborative Research

    Lessons from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System

    Overview

    The orange bridge used as a symbol of boundary spanning through collaborative learning in the reserves.How can busy researchers work with even busier managers to facilitate effective application of science to the complex tasks of coastal management, from strategic planning to the design of best management practices and in day-to-day decision-making?

    The NERR System is completing 5 years of research nationally around bridging the gulf (boundary spanning) between science and management. These workshops will review boundary spanning projects and work toward developing a primer of best practices for use in coastal management.

    Workshop Goal

    To build awareness, capacity, and skills to enable coastal management and research communities to use expert interdisciplinary practices to engage stakeholders in developing and implementing collaborative research projects that link science to coastal management and policy.

    Project Period

    • September 22 & 23, 2014 in Maine
    • January 14 & 15, 2015 in Texas
  • Wells Reserve Hosts Workshop on "Blue Carbon" Science

    | December 8, 2014 | Filed under: News

    Group photo of 'blue carbon

    WELLS, Maine, December 8, 2014  Scientists from around New England met at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve on December 5 for a workshop focused on blue carbon science and policy. For the first time, scientists from throughout the region gathered to share research results, identify gaps in knowledge, and plan future collaborations involving carbon in coastal habitats.

    The term blue carbon refers to the ability of salt marshes, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests to take up and store carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Coastal wetlands capture carbon and store it at rates even greater than rainforests.

    Carbon held naturally in coastal wetlands is not entering the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas, so these habitats have real potential to mitigate climate change, said Dr. Kristin Wilson, Wells Reserve research director, who co-coordinated the workshop.

  • Winter Wonder Wander

    | December 6, 2014

    Future Scientist

    The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 12/7/2014.

    My family likes to takes walks, particularly in the fall and winter. Given the calories were consuming lately, and the long nights given over to reading and TV, were trying to grab every opportunity we can to stretch our legs and lungs outside.

    While golf may be a great way to spoil a long walk, as the saying goes, fortunately theres nothing like the scientific method to enhance a little wander through the woods. Proposing, testing, and analyzing hypotheses prevents hypothermia by keeping the brain warm, I tell my wife and kids. They roll their eyes& but then we find something to examine.

  • A Year of Field Trips to the Estuary

    Kate Reichert
    | December 4, 2014 | Filed under: Program Activities

    Some 1,200 students participated in 49 field trip programs during spring and fall this year. Thank you, docents and teachers!

  • What is "Blue Carbon"?

    | December 4, 2014 | Filed under: Opinion

    It sounds cool: Blue carbon. Have you heard of it? What does it make you think?

  • Every Day Should Be #GivingTuesday

    | December 2, 2014 | Filed under: Opinion

    Frankly, I don't understand why giving comes *after* shopping. As if the other 364 days of the year, I should be... not giving?

  • Watermark, Fall 2014

    | December 2, 2014
    In this issue of Watermark: King Tide 2014 For Peat's Sake: Storing Carbon in Coastal Wetlands Up Front: Kayak Tours, Maine Island Trail, Soundscapes, Larval Fish, Branch Brook, SWMP, MIMIC 2020 Vision…
  • 20/20 Vision at Our 2020 Vision

    | November 25, 2014

    Staring at the camera through cardboard-tube binoculars. Photo courtesy Jackie Lipsky.

    The Wells Reserve at Laudholm is a timeless place, but these are changing times.