| The 45th annual Benthic Ecology Meeting was held in Portland, Maine this year, hosted by Bowdoin College. Organized by David Carlon and Steven Allen, the event was a huge success and the Witman Lab made a great showing! Professor John Witman presented on the long-term trends in the Galapagos invertebrate community, focusing on changes in urchin grazing and responses to the recent warm water event. PhD student Robert Lamb talked about El Niño-related changes in the Galapagos, showing very interesting changes in fish populations, especially planktivores, and increased disease prevalence. Anaide Wrublevski Aued, a visiting researcher from Brazil, presented results from her large-scale study of Brazilian shallow benthic communities. Eliza Moore created a poster summarizing her work with the Narragansett Bay Commission, documenting the improvement of water quality in the upper bay and outlining goals for restoration of the bay ecosystem. |  |
We also had a great time exploring Maine! We visited the Portland Head Lighthouse, went tidepooling along the rugged coastline, and ate some delicious food (HIGHLY recommend the Holy Doughnut, top 5 doughnut shops in the nation!)
Fiona, Anaide, and Robbie at the Portland Head Lighthouse
