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CHESAPEAKE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY I SOLOMONS, MDISSUE 98Lab Lines OCTOBER 20241Directors ViewCongratulations to Isabel Butler-Viruet who received a highly competitiveand prestigious John A. Knauss marine Policy Fellowship award. Isabelwill begin this one year long fellowship in February 2025 which builds onher passion speaking to our UMCES mission in providing advice tolegislators on the protection of our natural resources. Our Fall Science for Communities series in October was a greatsuccess, many of the talks were student and FRA led showcasing theimportance of CBL’s commitment to conducting research continuinglong-term local datasets as a prelude to our centenary celebrations nextyear. Our Patuxent sentinel data which was started with Pier monitoringcollections by our founder Dr. Truitt has expanded in the number ofdatapoints but also the extent of the chemical and now biological (Dr.Bi’s real-time imaging of zooplankton) measurements. 100 years ago,climate change was not even known, let alone a focus of research byTruitt and CBL scientists, and yet their data collected has beeninstrumental in understanding changes today as shown by our climatestripes display. The decades long research that Dr. Rowe and his teamhave been conducting on our iconic Diamondback terrapin is essentialfor looking at climate change driven influences on terrapins and recentlyin the discussion on whether these species should be listed asendangered. Thank you to all of the speakers and participants (includingCBL/UA IT, facilities etc.) who helped with this event, we cannot do itwithout you! Thank you also to our CBL DEIC who keep us informed andeducated on Nationally recognized awareness days and holidays. A reminder to please attend the Distinguished seminar series(Wednesdays BFL 1101 at 11am) and sign up for meeting slots(including the student, FRA time) as our December and Januaryspeakers are all faculty at UMCES who are going up for promotion. Afinal request, please send us in items for the newsletter, I would like tohighlight all of your achievements, big and small from our entirecommunity, photos are especially appreciated!

Congratulations to Isabel Butler-Viruet for receiving a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship award for2025. This highly competitive and prestigious award places graduate students from across the USA into officesacross the federal government in Washington D.C. allowing them to engage in national policy decisions onocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources. This one-year, paid fellowship program is run through the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Sea Grant and has been ongoing since 1979, placing1665 fellows throughout the executive and legislative branches. Isabel is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Jeremy Testa’s laboratory, joining in 2019, after receiving a B.Sc. from theUniversidad Ana G. Mendez (Universidad Metropolitana - Puerto Rico). Her research focuses on floatingwetlands and their potential for nitrogen removal in Chesapeake Bay waters. An excellent description of herresearch can be found on the UMCES website following an August 2022 interview with her. She ranexhaustive mesocosm experiments in three different summers on the outdoor seawater pad at CBL, and thoseof you who were here likely remember her near-constant presence there.It is no surprise that Isabel is a recipient of this award. She is passionate about resource management andworking with local and federal stakeholders to provide guidance and solutions for real-world issues concerningthe protection of our natural resources. She has received numerous awards to support her research, includinga CBL Solomons House Fellowship, a UMCP Dean’s Fellowship, and in May 2023 a Clint Waters StudentAward. But Isabel is not just dedicated to research, she has been a highly engaged advocate across UMCESfor graduate students, her efforts of which were recognized in 2023 as she received the UMCES studentaward. Isabel joins two other UMCES graduate students, Abdulmajid ‘Majeed’ Alrefaie (Ph.D. candidate) and ShaynaKeller (M.Sc. student) who will be the 46th class of Knauss fellows beginning their fellowships in February2025 with 88 other finalists representing 70 universities across the USA. As part of their fellowship, the 2025finalists will participate in professional development opportunities, build their networks and have mentorshipopportunities. For any soon to be graduating students I recommend that you look into applying for thisprogram, click on this link to learn more about the Knauss Fellowship.LINKS in order:https://seagrant.noaa.gov/sea-grant-welcomes-2025-knauss-marine-policy-fellowship-finalists/https://www.umces.edu/directory/isabel-sanchez-viruethttps://www.umces.edu/news/next-generation-isabel-c-s%C3%A1nchez-viruethttps://seagrant.noaa.gov/communities/students/graduate-fellows/knauss-fellowship-program/“We are so proud of Isabel’s accomplishments! This is a well-deservedacknowledgment of her hard work and her commitment to research andthe community around her. We wish her luck!” -Jeremy TestaIn Case You Missed It2

In Case You Missed ItDetermined to be Extraordinary, a book that was featured in our June2024 newsletter, has recently won the NYC Big Book Award for juvenilenon-fiction. Christina Goethel, PhD an Assistant Research Scientist atCBL has been involved in the project over the past few years. The book isa collective memoir of 27 women in STEM who share their story in theirwords. It was started by Dr. Dawn Heimer, who realized as she wasreading books with her daughter that many of the books about women inSTEM were about women who had already died, and she wanted to hearstories of real life, current women. More info about the project can befound here https://dawnheimer.com/.Photo of Elizabeth River and wastewater outflow diffuser plume. Credit: Casey HodgkinsWe are gearing up to begin a new research initiative! In an effort toremove carbon from the atmosphere without further harming theenvironment, Jeremy Testa and Ming Li working with scientists fromthe University of DE will add minerals to wastewater, which aims toreduce ocean acidification, too. With support from PlanetaryTechnologies and NOAA, this trial, set to take place at HamptonRoads Sanitation District in late October, will mirror the wastewatertreatment process except that instead of removing sewage, theminerals added to the water will remove carbon instead. This effort,which will be meticulously monitored for safety and compliance, is animportant step toward improving the health of the Elizabeth River inVA and helping to bolster global climate-change mitigation efforts.Carys Mitchelmore chaired 2 sessions at SETAC North America 45thAnnual Meeting, 20-24th October 2024 at Fort Worth, Texas focused onaddressing the environmental risk of UV filter chemicals contained insunscreens and other products. In the first session on “New Approachesand Data to Evaluate Environmental Risks of Sunscreens“, StefanieLandeweer presented on “Temporal variation of UV filters at a recreationalbeach in Florida, USA” and Carys presented on “Developing StandardizedMetrics for Analytical and Biological Assessments in Corals”. In the secondsession on “Advances in Ecotoxicology of Scleractinian Corals and OtherCoral Reef Organisms” Carys presented on “Toxicity of the UV filteroctocrylene to the scleractinian coral Acropora cervicornis”. Carys was alsoan invited speaker and panelist in the 45th Anniversary SETAC specialsession “Using SETAC’s successes on the 45th Anniversary as a Bridge tothe Future”.carys MItchelmore and Abby Renegar (collaborator fromNova Southeastern University in Florida3

In Case You Missed ItCarys Mitchelmore gave a talk at the Personal Care Products Council’s 2024 Science Symposium& Expo at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City, Arlington, VA, October 8-9th. The title was “How timeand place define the concentration of UV filters off a Florida Beach” and summarized the projectmeasuring levels of sunscreen chemicals in seawater at Fort Lauderdale beach on Spring breakand memorial day with UMCES scientists, Michael Gonsior, Andrew Heyes and StefanieLandeweer in partnership with Dr. Abby Renegar and laboratory group at NOVA SoutheasternUniversity in Florida.Lead TailWinds analyst Kirsten Silva (CBL) presented findings and saton an expert panel at the 2024 North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium(Providence, 24 October). Her findings revealed that right whaleschanged their call behaviors in response to periods of intense vesselnoise off Ocean City, near the Delaware shipping lanes.TailWinds (Dave Secor, PI) and UMCES Sponsored Programs arefinalizing a $1M, 3-year award; a unique state, industry, and federalpartnership; which will allow continued deployment of the Real-TimeWhale Buoy alertsystem that informs Kirsten’s work. Deployed within MD’s offshorewind project areas since 2022, the system continuously surveils largebaleen whales and produces alerts that enable ship captains to avoidcollisions through reduced speed. For more information, seehttps://tailwinds.umces.edu/rtwb/. 4The end of September we saw floodingevery day by the Tiki Bar, events whichhave certainly been increasing over the23years I have been at CBL (from what I canrecall). Please keep an eye in floodwarnings on the Patuxent Sentinel site,anything above the red line I wouldrecommend using the alternate road alongPatuxent Avenue, which in emergenciesand flooding events can be used, after allit is our only option to getting off campuswhen Charles Street floods!Photo Credit: Carys Mitchelmore

Publications & Awards PublicationsKaitlynn J. Wade, Michael J. Wilberg, Burton Shank, Daniel W. Cullen (2024). Spatial distributions ofJonah and Atlantic rock crabs in the Georges Bank and Mid-Atlantic Bight regions during 1968–2021 link: https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/mcf2.10315North, E.W., Wilberg, M., Blair, J., Wainger, L., Cornwell, J., Jones, R., Hayes, C.G., Gawde, R.,Hood, R.R., Goelz, T., Hartley, T., Mace, M.M., Diriker, M., Fowler, N., Polkinghorn, B. (2024). Twoapplications of the Consensus Solutions process with collaborative modeling for management of acontentious oyster fishery. Front. Mar. Sci. 11.link: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1423534Read, D.J., Blair, E., Wainger, L. (2024). Effective Engagement Techniques Across the AgriculturalConservation Practice Adoption Process. Environmental Management. link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-024-02043-8Wainger, L.A., Weber, M.A., Price, E.W. (2025). Modifying Social Vulnerability Indices to ComplementPhysical Exposure Risk Analyses.Natural Hazards Review 26, 04024048. link: https://doi.org/10.1061/NHREFO.NHENG-2237Fireman, Alexandra L., Seth P. Stapleton, Hannah Vander Zanden, Dong Liang, and Ryan J.Woodland. "Ecological niche use varies with sea turtle reproductive age." Marine Biology 171, no. 11(2024): 214.AwardsMiller, T., Secor, D. In Stream Flow Requirements for Aquatic Biota: National InformationCollaboration on Ecohydraulics (NICE): Research on Beneficial Use for Chesapeake Bay Fisheries.USACE $220,328.5

October 10th, is World Mental Health Day. This day was first recognized in 1992 by the World Federation for MentalHealth with the intention of promoting education and awareness regarding mental health as well as removing negativestigmas and barriers to treatment. The theme for this year’s celebration is “It is Time to Prioritize Mental Health in theWorkplace,” which is focused on highlighting the vital connection between mental health and work.Mental health challenges, such as depression and anxiety, are particularly prevalent within academia, especially forthose earlier in their careers. It is important at our institution that we recognize these trends and support communitymembers that may be struggling with mental health. Toward this end, UMCES has formed a Mental Health Committee,which is co-chaired by Amy Griffin and Mike Wilberg. One charge for this committee will be to identify mental healthneeds and opportunities for our community. Additionally, UMCES keeps an updated Mental Healthcare document, whichincludes many local and regional mental health resources and options.October 14th, is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a day to honor the diverse cultures and experiences of Indigenous Americanpeoples. This day was established as an alternative to Columbus Day, which commemorates Christopher Columbus'sarrival in the Americas. Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes the resilience of Indigenous peoples that have beenaffected by the ongoing legacy of colonialism, and was first commemorated by presidential proclamation in 2021. Inrecent years, many state and local governments have shifted to observing Indigenous Peoples’ Day in addition to or inplace of Columbus Day to provide a more complete historical narrative inclusive of Indigenous perspectives. Here are five ideas for celebrating this day, including acknowledging the Indigenous lands of the Piscataway People onwhich CBL is located. To continue learning about the Indigenous peoples of the United States, consider attendingAmerican Indian Heritage Day on November 2nd at Jefferson Patterson Park in Calvert County, the PiscatawayIndigenous Peoples Festival in Charles County November 9-10, or visit the Smithsonian National Museum of theAmerican Indian online or in Washington DC.October 31st, is Diwali, a holiday known as the Festival of Lights, which is celebrated by a variety of religious faithsacross South Asia including Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Newar Buddhists. The holiday is regarded as a time to celebratethe triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil. Usually, the celebrations last for five days and involve using oil lamps, candles, and lanterns to light up homes, temples,and workspaces. Celebrants also engage in worship ceremonies tied to their faiths, light fireworks, and partake in familyfeasts. To learn more about this holiday and how each of the five days of the festival is celebrated, check out this article. ADiwali celebration will be held in Washington DC, at the National Museum of Asian Art on November 1st.Sincerely,The CBL Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC)The CBL DEIC is committed to listening, learning, and centering our community. Though we do our best to research allissues and content, we may not get everything right. If there is something that is misrepresented or incorrect, please letus know.DEIC6

In the NewsShould diamondback terrapins be on the endangered specieslist? These scientists say so. (Baltimore Sun) October 14Another serious threat is shorelines that are ‘hardened’ bybulkheads and seawalls, eliminating wetland and beach areas,said Chris Rowe, a biologist who focuses on amphibians andreptiles at the University of Maryland Center for EnvironmentalScience… “They’ve kind of got sea level rise working againstthem both ways,” Rowe said. “It’s affecting their reproduction bycausing people to harden their shorelines, and then it’s affectingthe habitat where they spend the rest of their lives, just bywashing away the habitat.”NEFSA Petition Urging Janet Mills to Halt Development of Offshore Wind in Gulf of Maine Receives Over2,500 Signatures (Maine Wire) October 9According to the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, “there are some concerns aboutthe environmental impacts of wind turbines”... The Center also outlines a number of ways in which wind farmscan negatively impact marine life, particularly with respect to the noise and vibrations created by theconstruction and operation of the turbines.Fifty deceased diamondback terrapins were found in a crab pot pulled from theChester River earlier this year. (Courtesy of Beth Schlimm, MarylandDepartment of Natural Resources)Credit: Kevin Richardson/StaffHave any noteworthy news to share with thepublic? Don’t forget to share it with the UMCEScommunication team!CLICK HERE7

Chesapeake Biological LaboratoryScience for Community Seminar SeriesFree public seminar series Fall 2024Dr. Ryan WoodlandDr. Lora HarrisJessica McGlinseySeyedeh Fardis Pourreza AhmadiAllison DreissSyeda Sadia AliAmir AzarnivandAnna HildebrandKylien CherneskieThank you to all of ourparticipants whoVolunteered to make ourseminar series a success!Thank you to all of ourparticipants whoVolunteered to make ourseminar series a success!Kurt FlorezMike SantangeloCailian LiuDaniel JanzenLance KellyDr. Vyacheslav LyubchichJerry FrankAngela WhitneyDr. Carys MitchelmoreCaroline TribbleCynthia RossChris Rowe8

National Fire Protection Association Diamond Label The NFPA diamond label was developed for emergency personnel to quickly and easily identify any risksposed by hazardous materials when responding to a fire or a spill. It helps firefighters determine whatprocedures to follow, what equipment to use and what precautions to take upon arrival to the emergency.Responders are trained to read and understand these labels very quickly. The NFPA diamond is composed of four smaller diamonds that are each color coded. Blue – health, red –fire, yellow- reactivity or instability and white – special hazards.Hazards are numbered from 0-4 with 0 being the least hazardous to 4 being a severe hazard. The higher thenumber the more precautions and protective equipment is needed. Labels should be placed outside buildings, on doors and on vehicles.WWW.UMCES.edu/cbl I 410-326-4281P.O. Box 38 I 146 Williams Street I Solomons, MD 20688-0038Safety Corner: Cheryl Clark9Red- flammability 0 – will not burn.1 – Needs to be preheated for ignition;flashpoint > 200 °F.2– Must be moderately heated for ignition;flashpoint between 100° F and 200° F.3- Flashpoint between 73° F and 100 F.4 – Extremely flammable. Flashpoint below 73° F.Blue – health0 – normal material.1-Slightly hazardous. May cause irritation.2-Hazardous. Exposure may causeincapacitation and possibly injury if nottreated.3-Exposure could cause injury even if treated.4-Exposure may cause death.Yellow – reactivity or stability0 – stable.1-May detonate. May become unstable atelevated temperatures and pressures. May bemildly water reactive.2-Violent chemical change. Unstable, but willnot detonate. May form explosives with water.3-Shock and heat may detonate.4-Readily detonates.White – special hazard OX – oxidizer – no water SA – simple asphyxiantThese are the only authorized symbols for thewhite diamond. Other symbols- such as“corrosive” or “toxic” - are taken into account inthe other diamonds.It is important to remember that the numbering system for the Safety Data Sheets (Sec.2) are the opposite of theNFPA diamond. The GHS numbering has 1 as most hazardous and 4 is least hazardous.Excerpted from:Hazard Communication Right to Know OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200 COMAR 09.12.33National Research Council. (2011) Prudent Practices in the Laboratory. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.