2025 NBI Research Conference Program
Saturday November 1st, 2025
(subject to minor changes)
8:30 – 9:00am: Coffee and Refreshments
9:00 - 9:10am: Opening Remarks: Danielle O’Dell: Chair, NBI
Session 1: 9:10 - 10:30am
9:10 – 9:30am: INVASIVE MARINE SPECIES IN NANTUCKET AND MADAKET HARBORS, Yvonne Vaillancourt-1, Christina Norman-2, 1-UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station, 2-Maria Mitchell Association ( Abstract)
9:30 - 9:50am: THE EEL APPEAL: MONITORING THE AMERICAN EEL THROUGH COMMUNITY SCIENCE ON NANTUCKET ISLAND, Jisun Reiner, Nantucket Conservation Foundation (Abstract)
9:50 - 10:10am: BAY SCALLOP REPRODUCTION AND HARBOR STRESS: CONNECTING BIOLOGIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CLUES, Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Sherman, Bennington College and Maria Mitchell Association, (Abstract)
10:10-10:30am: EELGRASS COMMUNITY BIODIVERSITY IN NANTUCKET HARBOR, Shane McGonagle, UMass Boston Nantucket Field Station, (Abstract)
10:30-11:00am: Morning Break: Poster Session, Coffee, & Refreshments
Session 2: 11:00am – 12:40pm
11:00 - 11:20pm: IDENTIFYING SUPER-SPREADERS OF AVIAN INFLUENZA, A MULTI-SCALE APPROACH, Jonathan Dain, UMass Boston (Abstract)
11:20 - 11:40pm: YOUNGER BIRDS AS A DISPERSAL PUMP FOR A NANTUCKET GULL (LBBG) SPECIES RANGE EXPANSION IN NORTH AMERICA, Lisa L. Manne, PhD, Richard Veit, PhD, City University of New York, Staten Island, NY (Abstract)
11:40 - 12:00pm: EXPLORATORY BEHAVIOR BY LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, Richard R. Veit, PhD, Lisa L. Manne, PhD, City University of New York, Staten Island, NY (Abstract)
12:00 - 12:40pm: SPATIAL ECOLOGY AND FINE-SCALE HABITAT USE OF SANDBAR SHARKS (CARCHARHINUS PLUMBEUS IN NANTUCKET SOUND. Caroline Collatos, New England Aquarium & UMass Boston (Abstract)
12:40 - 1:40pm: Lunch Break & Poster Session
Session 3: 1:20-2:50pm
1:40 - 2:00pm: BIODIVERSITY OF ARTHROPODS IN FOUR NANTUCKET SALT MARSHES, Mayra Vidal, PhD, UMass Boston (Abstract)
2:00 - 2:20pm: BLACK PINE MANAGEMENT TO RESTORE SANDPLAIN GRASSLANDS; INCREASING RESILIENCE OF A GLOBALLY RARE HABITAT, Sarah Bois, PhD, Linda Loring Nature Foundation, Nantucket (Abstract)
2:20 - 2:40pm: A 30 YEAR COLLABORATION TO RE-ESTABLISH THE AMERICAN BURYING BEETLE (NICROPHORUS AMERICANUS) TO NANTUCKET ISLAND MASSACHUSETTS, Lou Perrotti, Roger Williams Park Zoo, (Abstract)
2:40-3:00pm: BIODIVERSITY AND INSECTICIDE SENSITIVITY OF NANTUCKET BOG SPIDERS Tyler Kulak, UMass Boston (Abstract)
3:00-3:30pm: Afternoon Break & Poster Session
Session 4: 3:10 – 4:30pm
3:30 - 3:50pm: THE IMPACT OF OVERABUNDANT WHITE-TAILED DEER ON BIODIVERSITY AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR NANTUCKET. Martin Feehan, PhD, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife (Abstract)
3:50 - 4:10pm: TICKS AND THEIR FLORA ARE PART OF NANTUCKET BIODIVERSITY, TOO. Sam Telford, ScD, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University (Abstract)
4:10 - 4:30pm: PREVENTING TICK-BORNE DISEASE: THE NAUSHON EXPERIENCE Paul Elias, The Naushon Trust, location (Abstract)
4:30-5:00pm: Closing Remarks and Final Poster Session
5:00 – 6:00pm: Cocktail Reception Great Harbor Yacht Club
Poster Presentations
Analysis of Distribution and Diet of Ctenophores in Nantucket Waters Valeria Dountcheva1, Jack Dubinsky2, & Labib Rouhana1,1-Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, 2-Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA (Abstract)
Conserving the Common: Spatial Ecology & Habitat Use of a Nantucket Painted Turtle Population, Nathan Ernst, Linda Loring Nature Foundation (Abstract)
Long-Term Wetland Monitoring Informed by Historic Vegetation Forays. Spencer Kimball, Nantucket Conservation Foundation (Abstract)
Macroinvertebrate Diversity of a Restored Nantucket Wetland, Helen Poynton, PhD, UMass Boston (Abstract)
Measuring and Modeling Sedimentation Rates in Nantucket Salt Marshes, Coleman Miller, Nantucket Conservation Foundation
Tree Swallow Nest Box Use at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation, Saliha Nazir, Linda Loring Nature Foundation (Abstract)
Windswept Bog Wetland Restoration Project: Benefits to Biodiversity from Taking a Phased Implementation Approach, Karen C. Beattie, Nantucket Conservation Foundation (Abstract)
Field Weekend Workshops
Please register and find more information at the links below.
Sunday November 2nd: Polpis Harbor Watershed Loop: Almanack Pond to Stump Swamp to Windswept Cranberry Bog and back. Time 9AM-12:00 Watershed Excursion Registration
Sunday November 2nd: Natural History Tour of the Coskata-Coatue Refuge. 2PM -4PM Coskata-Coatue Excursion Registration
