Monthly ArchiveSeptember 2007
Events RINHS on 21 Sep 2007
First Annual Lisa L. Gould Native Plant Program
Please save room on your busy October calendar for the first Lisa Lofland Gould Native Plant Program which will be held Saturday, October 13, from 
Tour the Preserve’s rare plant sights, including its beautiful sugar maple grove, and visit RINHS’s barberry control demonstration plots to learn about the latest techniques for knocking down this nasty-nasty…you can even try your hand with the weed wrench. Refreshments will be served and Lisa Gould will be the guest of honor. The event hosts are the Rhode Island Natural History Survey, Rhode Island Wild Plant Society, and
More details on this special event will follow shortly.
Lectures & News & Events RINHS on 21 Sep 2007
Natural History Survey Annual Meeting: “Varves, Palaeomagnetism, and Radiocarbon”
Date: 21 September 2007
Contact:
Geologist, Expert on the History of Glaciers in New England, to speak at Natural History Survey Annual Meeting
Kingston, RI: The Rhode Island Natural History Survey will host a lecture entitled Varves, Palaeomagnetism, and Radiocarbon: Formulating a Detailed History of the Last Ice Age in New England by geologist Jack Ridge, Thursday, September 27th, at 7:30 p.m., at the Coastal Institute building on the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston Campus. This lecture is the first event in the Survey’s 2007-2008 Mark D. Gould Memorial Lecture Series. The lecture will be preceded by the Survey’s 13th annual meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. The annual meeting will include a look back at events and discoveries of the past year and a preview of new projects coming up. Both the lecture and the annual meeting are free and open to the public. The entire program will take place in Weaver Auditorium at the Coastal Institute on URI’s Kingston Campus.
At 7:30 p.m., Dr. Jack Ridge, Professor of Geology at Tufts University, will speak on “Varves, Palaeomagnetism, and Radiocarbon: Formulating a Detailed History of the Last Ice Age in New England.” Through extensive field investigations, Ridge succeeded in securely dating the retreat of the glaciers that covered New England during the last glaciation. For any point in New England, the departure of the glaciers marked the beginning of ecological processes that still determine much of our local environment today so dating this sequence was an important breakthrough. Ridge has been able to trace subtle fluctuations in the earth’s magnetic field in “varves,” fine-grained sediments deposited in lakes near retreating glaciers. By combining advanced radiocarbon dating techniques with the known history of magnetic fluctuations, Ridge created a detailed history of glacial retreat in New England between 22,000 and 11,000 years ago.
The lecture will be preceded, at 5:30 p.m., by the Survey’s 13th annual meeting, which is open to the public. During the meeting, executive director David Gregg and president of the board Peter Paton will update RINHS members and the public on the role of the Survey in the course of environmental science and management in Rhode Island in the past year and discuss plans for the future.
The entire evening is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will precede the lecture. For more information and directions call 401-874-5800, email: programadmin@rinhs.org or visit www.rinhs.org
The Rhode Island Natural History Survey, founded in 1994, serves as a non-profit, umbrella organization for ecological information in Rhode Island. It gathers and disseminates information on RI’s biology, geology, and ecosystems, manages the Biota of Rhode Island Information System (BORIIS), the most complete source of information available on the state’s animals, plants, and natural communities, and hosts events to highlight the state’s biodiversity and the work of researchers and naturalists. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in Rhode Island’s plants and animals.
 (Pleistocene age varves at Scarboro Cliffs, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The thickest varves are more than half an inch thick. Source: Wikipedia) |
Invasives & News RINHS on 20 Sep 2007
Asiatic Clam Recently reported from Wordens Pond
The Asiatic Clam (Corbicula fluminea) has been reported in Worden Pond, the third water body in Rhode Island. This species, native to Southeast Asia, was first reported in Tiogue Lake, Warwick, in 1990. The second report was from Mishnock Lake in West Greenwich, in 2007. Continue Reading »
Invasives & Events RINHS on 19 Sep 2007
Volunteer Stewardship Opportunity - Second Effort
Sunday, September 23th, from
Invasives & News RINHS on 07 Sep 2007
Volunteer Stewardship Opportunity
Saturday, September 15, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm there will be a combined effort between the RIDEM, USFWS, RINHS and IPANE to hand pull populations of Japanese stilt grass (Microstegium vimineum) at the Burlingame Campground in Charlestown, Rhode Island. Continue Reading »
News dgregg on 04 Sep 2007
Pest beetle new to Rhode Island
The Rhode Island Natural History Survey confirmed the identification of an adult
Cotinis nitida L. (green June beetle) found in Westerly in early August (see photo). A common southern and mid-Atlantic species, this is the first documented record of this species in Rhode Island, although it is known from Connecticut and has probably been in Rhode Island in low numbers for some time. Its presence here may represent a northward range expansion, perhaps due to climate warming or another habitat factor. Continue Reading »
Invasives & News & Events dgregg on 04 Sep 2007
Invasives Preparedness for Land Conservation Organizations
Invasives Preparedness for Land Conservation Organizations, a
presentation by the Rhode Island Natural History Survey at the 2007 Land and Water Conservation Summit, an event sponsored by the Rhode Island Land and Water Partnership, March 24, 2007, Memorial Union, University of Rhode Island, Kingston. Continue Reading »
