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CHESAPEAKE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY | SOLOMONS, MDFEBRUARY 2024ISSUE 90Lab LinesIN THIS ISSUE:DIRECTOR’S VIEW1IN CASE YOU MISSED IT RECENT PUBLICATIONS / 56SAFETY CORNER 24 1 IN THE NEWS Director’s View - Excing TimesTAILWINDS978It’s that me of year when rapid changes occur, which has certainly been the case for UMCES this February. As announced on February 20th, we welcome our new UMCES President Dr. Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm, who will ocially be joining us on July 1, 2024. Dr. Miralles-Wilhelm is currently Dean and Professor at George Mason University who’s experse in research, academic leadership and cross-sector porolio (government, industry, NGOs etc.) aligns with UMCES’ core research areas and mission. Further details are provided later in this newsleer and you can virtually ‘meet’ him in his self-introductory video. Before his ocial appointment, Dr. Miralles-Wilhelm will be vising all of the UMCES units, so watch this space for an upcoming date so that we can welcome him to our community! Many of our sciensts aended the Ocean Sciences meeng in New Orleans this past week and we also welcomed back Dave Secor from his visit to Japan – check out his write up on just some of his activities! We are also seeing more community engagement activities, our Wednesday seminars have been diverse in topic, entertaining and informative. Some external community events have also involved CBL staff, FRAs and students; thank you to Stacy and the TailWinds team for representing CBL at the Spark! Career Fair and Jessica McGlinsey for exhibiting the ‘Wave of Plastic’ at the MOEOE conference in Baltimore. Our outreach to the local community will continue with our ‘Science for Community’ series on March 26th and will feature some highly topical and interesting talks from our faculty and students each week for five weeks. The announcement will be out shortly, so please share it with your friends, family and local communities. The events will take place on Tuesdays at 7pm in BFL and will also be available on Zoom.
In Case You Missed ItIn Case You Missed It 2February was a busy month for Jessica McGlinsey. She was invited to present at the annual Patuxent River Conference held at the Patuxent River Wildlife Refugee in Laurel, Maryland; highlighng her work as a graduate student and research assistant with Chris Rowe. During PaxCon, she had the pleasure of sharing the story of the Northern Diamondback Terrapin and how climate is aecng the species and its spaces. Jessica McGlinsey and Dr. Carys Mitchelmore had the pleasure of exhibing at the annual Maryland Associaon for Environmental and Outdoor Educaon (MAEOE) Conference held in Towson, Maryland. As the project coordinator for the UMCES Wave of Plasc program, Jessica enjoyed connecng with educators from around the state and bringing them this engaging NOAA funded science-based curriculum. This was Jessica’s 5th MAEOE conference and Dr. Mitchelmore’s rst. Lee Cooper, Jackie Grebmeier, Nick Silverson, Brian Marx, and Chrisana Goethel are among those from CBL making presentaons at the Ocean Sciences Meeng in New Orleans, February 18-23.(Photo with UMCES' previous President Dr. Don Boesch)
In Case You Missed It 3Dr. Dave Secor's visit to JapanIt was an honor and privilege to receive a visiting Professor appointment at AORI (Nov 2023-Feb 2024) within the Department of Living Marine Resources hosted by Professor Shingo Kimura and Assistant Professor Hikaru Itakura. AORI has a remarkable legacy in fisheries oceanography. No wonder that the research of AORI scientists K. Tsukamoto, T. Otake, S. Kimura, J. Aoyma, and K. Sato figured prominently in my book, Migration Ecology of Marine Fishes. So, it was a career highlight for me to participate in the fisheries oceanography program. Working on a near daily basis with H. Itakura and R. Wakiya, research addressed (1) how climate is influencing Japanese eel river and coastal ecology in transitional ecosystems at the trailing (Amami Island) and leading (Otsuchi) edges of the species range; and (2) a novel retrospective analysis to assess how marine heatwaves influence estuarine fish production. Eels in transitional ecosystems: During week-long visits, we undertook telemetry monitoring of Japanese eels and other top predators. At Otsuchi, eels overlap with chum salmon, the latter species at its southern limit; and at Amami, Japanese eels overlap with the giant mottled eel, that species at the leading edge of its range. Thus, these study sites represent great opportunities to study the response of fish communities to “tropicalization.” At both locations, particularly impressive was the degree with which eels adapt to human-engineered river and coastal habitats. Mountains crowd narrow coastal regions at both Otsuchi and Amami causing a high degree of potential coastal hazards. At Otsuchi this means extreme protections following the 2011 tsunami ― 15 m seawalls, tidal storm surge protection at each river mouth, and hardened and channelized rivers. At Amami, I enjoyed pristine and protected rainforests, mangroves, and riverscapes, but also observed hardened mountainsides to protect against mudslides and conversion of receiving rivers into culverts and canals. Yet eels persist and even thrive as top predators in these altered environments. Japan’s engineered rivers had been ignored by generations of eel scientists, in part because >95% of eels marketed come from aquaculture. Drs. Itakura and Wakiya are finding that these altered habitats are far from dead, show important connections to coastal ecosystems, and are sensitive to cliamate change. Transional ecosystems for Japanese eels. Top panels: retrieving telemetry receivers at Otsuchi. Boom panels: Collecon of giant moled eels from channelized rivers in Amami. Sown are H. Itakura and D. Secor.Biochronology and marine heatwaves. The theme of climate change was the focus of otolith research conducted with partners at AORI (H. Itakura, K. Shirai) and Kyoto University (H. Asanuma and A. Suzumura). For Hudson River (New York, US) striped bass and American eels, hundreds of otoliths were selected from a large archive of samples collected over my career. Otolith sections were digitized and annuli measured resulting in biochronology records for the last 4-5 decades. For American eel, we completed analysis showing a pervasive negative influence of marine heatwaves on growth. For striped bass, data was collected for 264 otoliths supporting ~1400 measures of yearly growth rates. Ongoing analysis is addressing the hypothesis that the Hudson River no long supports summertime growth by striped bass, owing to pervasive marine heatwaves.
In Case You Missed It 4Eels and striped bass have tails, so complementary microchemistry analysis was conducted to evaluate how migraon paerns might inuence the relaonship between growth and marine heatwaves. Eels residing in freshwater or brackish water were similarly sensive to marine heatwaves. Using a state-of-the-art LA-ICPMS at Kyoto University, we tested whether striped bass juvenile migraon behaviors carryover to adult migraon behaviors. Inial ndings strongly support the armave. Sumo oung and AORI rerement party with Professor Kimura’s laboratory group.Laser ablaon ICPMS analysis of striped bass otolith. Shown are K. Shirai and H. Itakura.Department engagement. Drs. Kimura and Itakura provided ample opportunies to interact with AORI students through aendance at Division and Laboratory seminars, one-on-one student meengs, and interacon with their students in the lab and in the eld. I gave seminars at the Japanese Society of Fisheries Oceanography in Sapporo, Hokkaido, where I met several colleagues from my work in Japan over the past 30 years. I presented an AORI departmental seminar and provided feedback on student manuscripts. I’m a big fan of sumo and a highlight was a trip organized by Professor Kimura to aend the January tournament. I also enjoyed Shinnenkai, which aracted over 20 Kimura-lab alumni and a rerement party for my short-lived but evenul AORI career. I presented an AORI departmental seminar and provided feedback on student manuscripts. I’m a big fan of sumo and a highlight was a trip organized by Professor Kimura to aend the January tournament. I also enjoyed Shinnenkai, which aracted over 20 Kimura-lab alumni and a rerement party for my short-lived but evenul AORI career.
● Spark! Career FairOn 1 February 2024, members from the TailWinds team (Kirsten Silva, Rebecca Wingate, Caroline Tribble, andEvan Kostelecky) aended the Spark! Student Career Awareness Fair at the USMSM SMART Building in California,MD to represent the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. This event hosted over 900 high school students fromthe southern Maryland Tri County area. This was an opportunity for students to learn about career pathways inthe world of STEM. TailWinds sciensts showed students how to idenfy baleen whales in real-me data andtested their knowledge with a quiz that they were enthusiasc to aempt (and succeed at!). Sound recordings ofdolphins, humpbacks, and North Atlanc right whales had many students smiling and asking various quesons.Students were also interested in how survey methods were conducted for the commercial sheries aspect ofthe Fish Monitoring Project and watched a short video from one of the commercial surveys conducted this pastsummer. Overall, this was successful in engaging students and sharing aspects of marine environmental scienceas a potenal career pathway.TailWinds 5● Fishery and Marine Mammal Monitoring○ The Tailwinds team welcomes back Dave Secor from his sabbatical in Japan. We have heard many great stories from his travels, and are happy that he is back at CBL!○ Dave, Mike, and Evan are scheduled to attend the American Fisheries Society Tidewater Chapter meeting at the end of February, where Evan will present survey findings related to seasonal changes in black sea bass diet and physiological condition.○ Caroline Tribble analyzed 2023 echolocation click detections of dolphins and porpoises to describe the occurrence of these species in and around the Maryland Wind Energy Area (MWEA). She is utilizing the full array of passive acoustic receivers to dive deeper into dolphin and whale occurrence, beginning with describing daily occurrences of North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW) detections.○ Below is a spectrogram image of dolphin echolocation clicks and whistles collected on an LS-1X underwater recorder in the MWEA that shows how versatile these animals are. The repeated pattern of the same whistle is an example of a signature whistle, which dolphins use to identify themselves in a pod. All these vocalizations are being emitted at frequencies higher than 6 kHz, where below 6 kHz the ambient noise appears much louder, possibly from ship noise in the distance. Dolphins have been shown to simplify calls and adjust the frequency of their calls in response to high ambient noise levels in this region.
TailWinds (Cont.)6● RTWB○ The Ocean City (OC) Real-me Whale Buoy (RTWB) connues to monitor baleen whale species: n, sei, humpback and North Atlanc right whale (NARW) for the third year in a row. So far the buoy has detected n, humpback, and NARW oshore Ocean City, MD since it’s re-deployment in October 2023. Acousc detecons of NARW from the RTWB trigger Slow Zones within the Ocean City region acvated by NOAA for periods of two weeks, encouraging vessels to travel at 10 knots or less to protect crically endangered NARW. NOAA acvated a Slow Zone on 20 November 2023 and has extended it 6 mes based on detecons of NARW on the RTWB, resulng in a connuous slow zone since then. Image below shows NARW upcalls detected on 24 January 2024.Image below shows NOAA’s Slow Zone alert detailing extension of the East Ocean City Slow Zone through 8 February, 2024.In January 2024 we saw an increase in the number of humpback whale detecons on the RTWB. It is well known that humpback whales produce song units in idenable paerns that change from year to year. On January 24th, we had conrmed presence of humpback whales in the area and our rst clear detecons of the new humpback whale song for this year (shown below)!
Recent Publications7Krisi K. Tikka, Edwin "Ed" Levine, Akua Asa-Awuku, Cynthia Beegle-Krause, Victoria Broje, Steven Buschang, Dagmar Schmidt Etkin, John Farrington, Julia Fought, Bernard Goldstein, Carys Mitchelmore, Nacy Rabalais, Sco Socolofsky, Berrin Tansel, Helen K. White, Michael Ziccardi. (2023) Oil in the Sea IV Quick Guide for Praconers and Researchers. [2024_UMCES-TS-801-24]Wainger, L.A., Price, E.W. (2023) Evaluaon of the Balmore Washington Maglev Environmental Benets Assessment. [2024_UMCES-TS-802-24]Geneviève M. Nesslage. (2024) Enhancing sustainable development of the winter bait shery for Atlanc menhaden through the use of industry acouscs. [2024_UMCES-TS-803-24]In The News New study says the world blew past 1.5 degrees of warming four years ago (Grist) February 5“I would want to include more records before claiming a global temperature reconstrucon,” Dr. Hali Kilbourne, a geological oceanographer at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, told the New York Times. With more research being undertaken — a team in Japan is looking into Okinawan sponges — we may have those records soon.Six spongy sea creatures suggest warming might be worse than thought (New York Times) February 5Measurements from any single locaon can only tell you so much about the climate worldwide, said Hali Kilbourne, a geological oceanographer at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. “I would want to include more records before claiming a global temperature reconstrucon,” Dr. Kilbourne said.Click HEREOcean sponge skeletons suggest a more signicant history of global warming than originally thought (Smithsonian Magazine) February 7“I would want to include more records before claiming a global temperature reconstrucon,” Hali Kilbourne, a geological oceanographer at the University of Maryland [Center for Environmental Science], tells the New York Times’ Raymond Zhong. The most widespread cricism of the study is that it incorrectly suggests the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold, specically established in the Paris Climate Agreement, has already been surpassed.Saying goodbye to 1.5°C (Daily Kos) February 9 How convincing their small sample will be to other sciensts is yet to be determined. While the study passed the peer review process, Hali Kilbourne, a geological oceanographer at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, told The New York Times, “I would want to include more records before claiming a global temperature reconstrucon.”
In The News (Cont.) 8Meet the New UMCES PresidentThe University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents has appointed Dr. Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm the next president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), the seventh president in its nearly 100-year history. Miralles-Wilhelm is currently professor and dean of the College of Science at George Mason University.In his 30-year career, Miralles-Wilhelm has combined his dues as a faculty member and administrator with a diversity of roles outside of academia—in the federal government, in the private sector, and with internaonal development organizaons. Miralles-Wilhelm’s appointment is eecve July 1. He will have the addional role of USM vice chancellor for sustainability.Miralles-Wilhelm is a renowned ecosystem hydrologist. His scienc porolio aligns with UMCES’s core research areas, including water resources and watersheds, ecosystem restoraon, biodiversity, and conservaon science. Miralles-Wilhelm envisions a key role for UMCES at the state, naonal, and global levels, with work and partnerships that address not only our climate and environmental crisis, but the challenges that accompany it—for instance, food insecurity, public health impacts, and economic stagnaon.The full announcement and further details of Dr. Miralles-Wilhem’s experse and background can be found in the QR code link from the UMCES website. In the second QR code, Dr. Miralles-Wilhem has sent a self-introducon YouTube video.Dr. Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm has been named president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.UMCES Self-Introducon video from Dr. Miralles-Wilhelm:Announcement:
8Safety CornerIt is important to remember when working in the laboratory, that one type of glove will not meet all yourlaboratory needs. Nitrile gloves are what we most frequently use, but they are not appropriate for all chemical andphysical hazards. In order to know what type of glove is needed, you need to know about the chemical you areworking with by reading the Safety Data Sheets, parcularly Secon 8 which covers personal protecon. There isalso an excellent glove selecon guide provided by Ansell that will let you know which type of glove is compablewith a parcular chemical. Ansell uses three criteria to evaluate the glove:I have provided the link for the guide-hps://cdn.mscdirect.com/global/media/pdf/search/ansell/ansell-chemical-glove-resistance-guide.pdf1) Degradaon- change in the physical properes aer contact with the chemical2) Permeaon rate – how quickly a chemical will pass through the material at a molecular level.3) Breakthrough me – how much me it takes the chemical to get to the other side of the glove (soaks through).Somemes there are physical hazards in the lab that require hand protecon. Will the item be hot or cold? Isthere a puncture hazard? How much dexterity do you need?Here are some other items to help you:www.umces.edu/cbl | 410-326-4281P.O. Box 38 | 146 Williams Street | Solomons, MD 20688-00381) Make sure your gloves t properly.2) Do not touch door knobs, computer keyboards, or telephones while wearing gloves. There is a risk forcontaminaon of these surfaces.3) DO NOT reuse disposable gloves. Be sure to discard them aer use.4) Make sure you use the safe method for glove removal, by turning the rst glove parally inside out. Use yourgloved nger ps to remove the second glove completely by pulling it down towardsthe ngers from the wrist. Use your unprotected ngers to grab the inside of the rst glove and remove it theremainder of the way. Throw both gloves away. This is demonstrated on pg. 12 in the Right to Know documentin the Safety folder on the p drive. The locaon is p:\Safety\Plans & Policies\RTK Training Docs.5) Remember to wash reusable gloves (such as Viton or neoprene), with soap and water aer using and hangout to dry.9