We've all heard amazing facts about bird migration—the long distances that birds travel, the ways that they navigate, etc. But did you ever wonder how we figured all of this out? While working for the American Ornithological Society, Rebecca Heisman became fascinated with the varied and creative techniques that scientists have used to study bird migration, and this eventually became the basis for her book Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration. In her talk, she'll share some surprising stories from the history of bird migration research and discuss why understanding migration is so crucial for bird conservation. Bio: Rebecca Heisman is a freelance science writer who lives in Walla Walla, Washington, and has worked with organizations including the Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the American Ornithological Society. Flight Paths is her first book.

Science Pub is a virtual speaker series by the Linda Loring Nature Foundation to connect people with real-world science and research. Guest speakers present their work in an informal and relaxed setting where questions and discussion are encouraged.

Elizabeth Crisfield will talk about a 5-year regional pollinator project in the northeast, including Nantucket, and the effects of management on xeric (dry) habitats and the native pollinators these habitats support.

Dr. Wendy Puryear of the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, will give an update on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in our region and beyond.

Tribal Nations and Indigenous Communities have witnessed changes in the climate from time immemorial. However, anthropogenic climate change coupled with the impacts of colonization pose unique challenges for Tribal Nations. Despite these challenges, Tribal Nations are leading the way in climate change adaptation planning and resilience. This talk will provide geographic background and political status of Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities in the U.S. with an emphasis on the East Coast and coastal Indigenous communities. It will then discuss climate change impacts and concerns of Tribal Nations in addition to sharing some examples of Tribal-led climate change adaptation. The talk will conclude with comments on examples of respectful engagement with Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities in the space of climate change adaptation and building partnerships.

BIO: Casey Thornbrugh is an Indigenous Geographer with a background in Climate Science. He has a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Arizona and is a citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. Casey taught geography and climate science courses both at the University of Arizona and at Tohono O’odham Community College, a Tribal College serving the Tohono O’odham Nation. Upon completion of his Ph.D., Casey returned home to work as the Natural Resources Director for his Tribal Nation, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe until 2017. Over the past six years Casey has worked as a Climate Science Liaison for United South and Eastern Tribes Inc. (USET) working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Climate Resilience Branch (BIA-TCR) and the Northeast and Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers (NE/SE CASC). In this role, he has worked with agencies and departments of Tribal Nations to provide climate science information, identify climate research needs and priorities, and offer climate adaptation planning support. Casey is also serving as a co-author on the Fifth National Climate Assessment – Northeast Chapter.

The Great Sunflower Project: Detecting pollinator declines through community science. Dr. Gretchen LeBuhn of San Fransisco State University and the Great Sunflower Project. For the past fifteen years, scientists, naturalists, farmers, and gardeners have been concerned about pollinator declines and the impact on natural and agricultural systems. This talk will bring you up to date on the current state of pollinators, ways you can help and the role of community science in providing essential data while engaging new communities in scientific research.

Ben Gahagan is a Diadromous Fisheries Biologist with MA DMF based at the Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station in Gloucester. His primary focus is on monitoring and restoring diadromous fish populations in Massachusetts and he serves on the diadromous fish Technical Committees for the Merrimack and Connecticut rivers. His research interests are broad but largely focus on the mechanisms and ecology of fish migrations and how this information can be applied to improve conservation and management. Advances in biotelemetry have allowed scientists to unlock the migration patterns and behaviors of fish. MA DMF has been a leader in striped bass research and management and has been using acoustic telemetry for over a decade to inform striped bass fishing and management in state waters. Ben will review past and current DMF projects, including post-release mortality studies, and how the results apply to where striped bass in Massachusetts spend their time, how they get there, and how we can improve abundance and fishing opportunities in the future.

Dr. Banu Subramaniam of UMass Amherst will present a talk about her work: Decolonizing Botany. Abstract: What does it mean to be a feminist botanist? Drawing on recent interdisciplinary scholarship, I show how gender, race, class, sexuality, and nation shape the foundational language, terminology, and theories of modern botany, and how botany remains grounded in the violence of its colonial pasts. Decolonizing Botany reckons with these difficult origins and lays a roadmap to imagine a new field that harnesses the power of indigenous and feminist thought to re-imagine the practices of experimental biology. To learn more about Dr. Subramaniam’s work, visit

White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, the common deer of eastern North America, currently number approximately 2-3000 on Nantucket Island. Although white-tailed deer remains are known from Wampanoag archeological sites on the island, no deer were noted by the beginning of the 20th century. Most accounts of the history of deer on Nantucket say that in 1922 a single male deer was found swimming in Nantucket sound and brought ashore by a local fisherman. In 1926, 2 female deer from Michigan were imported to the island as companions for the lone male. This scenario implies that the thousands of deer on Nantucket are descended from these three original animals. From this start, the deer herd grew to several hundred by 1935. However, historical records also indicate that additional deer (2 males and 3 females) were brought to the island from New Hampshire in 1935 and 1936. My research students and I have been looking at patterns of genetic variation in deer from Nantucket, surrounding mainland areas, as well as Michigan. Using mitochondrial DNA sequence variation, which tracks maternal inheritance, preliminary results support the hypothesis that most of the deer on Nantucket are descendants of deer from Michigan. There is also evidence that some of the deer on the island are from ancestors on the New England mainland. As predicted from the known history of the herd, genetic variation among deer on Nantucket is much lower than in deer herds on the mainland of Massachusetts.

Join Thaïs M. Fournier, the Natural Resources Department’s Water Resource Specialist for an engaging talk on Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in Nantucket’s ponds; what they are, what harm they can cause, and what we all can do to help.

Thaïs Fournier is the Water Resource Specialist for the Town of Nantucket’s Natural Resources Department. Ms. Fournier received a B.S. in Biology from the University of New Hampshire and an M.S. in Marine Science from the University of San Diego, where she concentrated on habitat connectivity amongst coastal communities. Ms. Fournier’s broad research experience in New England, Southern California, Mexico, and New Zealand, has spanned a range of taxonomic levels and across habitats. Ms. Fournier has worked in several National Estuarine Research Reserves monitoring water quality as well as invasive species in coastal habitats and human-induced effects related to climate change. In in her career, Ms. Fournier worked for the New Hampshire Lakes Lay Monitoring Program (LLMP), monitoring lake water quality and managing their long-term datasets for informed watershed management decisions. Ms. Fournier has also participated in NOAA oceanic cruises assessing populations of Coastal Pelagic Species off the Pacific Coast while obtaining oceanographic data for analysis of environmental monitoring. Prior to joining Nantucket’s Natural Resources Department, Ms. Fournier worked at the EPA Headquarters to develop recommendations on policy and program issues to better characterize potential impacts of biosolids on water quality and human health, while working collaboratively with federal, state, and local environmental agency officials.

Join us for the next talk in the Linda Loring Nature Foundation Science Pub series. Effects of climate, habitat, and biodiversity on reproductive performance in an aerial insectivore, the Tree Swallow, in Massachusetts with Dr. Lucy Zipf North American avian aerial insectivores, including the Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), are undergoing dramatic population declines. These declines span multiple species of diverse life histories, and thus may be driven by the large-scale environmental changes caused by humans. Here we first investigate trends in Tree Swallow reproductive performance over the last three decades, and then test the hypothesis that declines in aerial insectivore reproductive success caused by anthropogenic changes in the breeding habitat, including climate change, decline in insect prey populations, and land management regimes, are contributing to overall population decline. Dr. Lucy Zipf is a community ecologist studying the integrated impacts of co-occurring global changes - climate, habitat, and conservation management - on biological communities in New England. Lucy recently received her PhD from Boston University and is currently a Visiting Lecturer at Wellesley College. Check out more info about Lucy's research projects at lucyzipf.com.

Dr. Austin Gallagher is the Chief Executive and lead scientist at Beneath the Waves. A marine conservation biologist and world authority on sharks, he has worked diligently studying and advocating for highly migratory species around the world. Gallagher has published science extensively, including in leading journals including Science, Nature, and Marine Policy. He has led over 30 scientific expeditions and has worked at the national and international level to prompt and inform ocean policy. Gallagher’s approach combines research, private sector collaboration, local engagement, and media to create effective partnerships. He is a National Geographic Explorer, Fulbright Scholar, and Adjunct Professor at Northeastern University. He is a Fellow of the Explorer’s Club, has spoken about ocean conservation at venues worldwide, sits on the Editorial Board of the journal Endangered Species Research, and serves as an advisor to governments, international organizations, media productions, and companies interested in sustainability.

Join us for a virtual tour behind the scenes of Gumbo Limbo Nature Center’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Facility. This past December, hundreds of cold-stunned turtles were rescued from the shores of Cape Cod. Twenty of these turtles were airlifted to Gumbo Limbo to complete treatment at this South Florida Nature Center. Manager Leanne Welch and Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Coordinator Whitney Crowder will give an update on the health and prognosis of the sea turtle “snowbirds” as well as some insight into what it takes to rescue, rehabilitate, and release hundreds of sea turtles each year.

Dr. Jenica Allen is the Campus Living Lab Manager at Mount Holyoke College. Learn about new tools for getting ahead of range-shifting invasive plants coming soon to a landscape near you. Whether you’re a property owner, land manager, landscape professional, or policymaker, these tools are for you. The presentation will provide an introduction to the Northeast Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (RISCC) Management network and a demonstration of the tools, followed by Q&A.

Dr. Tobias Landberg is the Director of Research at the Amphibian Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia. They house the only captive population of Frosted Flatwoods Salamanders in the world in their captive assurance breeding colony designed to prevent extinction of this federally endangered species. He also directs the new Bridge Program for Conservation Research which gives students opportunities to learn about amphibian and reptile conservation by doing research in a hands-on experiential and mentored program for adults before, during, or after college. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has continued his research head-starting imperiled coastal plains endemic amphibians such as Georgia's rarest frog, the Gopher Frog. Together with the bridge program and volunteers he has begun a litter clean-up study and amphibian and reptile surveys in an urban creek on the Blue Heron Nature Preserve. He will talk about how small conservation organizations have been impacted by and adapted to the pandemic and how you can work locally and safely to contribute to your local conservation efforts.

This is the third Linda Loring Nature Foundation’s Virtual Science Pub. April 27th, 2020 we welcomed Mass Audubon’s Nantucket Sanctuaries Director Sam Kefferstan to discuss their organization’s Coastal Waterbird Program. Sam covered a day in the life of a shorebird monitor and the role the program plays in state and federal efforts to protect threatened and endangered species such as Piping Plover, Least and Roseate Terns, and American Oystercatchers.

Dr. Sarah Bois reports on the LLNF 2020 BioBlitz

Jay Srikar Chittidi, Research Fellow at the Maria Mitchell Association presented a talk titled, "Strange Extragalactic Signals: E.T. or Something Natural?"