Training program created in wake of Superstorm Sandy brings graduate students from varied disciplines together to solve real-world climate problems. As a child, Dan Blanco watched low-income neighborhoods in his native Chicago flood during storms while the more affluent enclaves did not. Now, he is pursuing a doctoral degree in atmospheric sciences at Rutgers so he can further explore – …
Blue Acres: The Art and Science of Managing Flood-Prone Open-Space Properties in New Jersey
By Carol Peters, EOAS Communications A wildlife and conservation management expert for Rutgers Cooperative Extension, EOAS faculty member and Associate Professor Brooke Maslo works with local NJ municipalities to help them manage and restore properties in FEMA-established flood-prone areas purchased through the DEP Blue Acres program. Imagine the plight of families in New Jersey who own homes in the state’s …
Living Shoreline Combats Coastal Erosion Caused by Sea Level Rise
Rutgers scientists and high school volunteers from Camden are using nature to mitigate the effects of coastal erosion in southern New Jersey. Together they built a living shoreline, near the New Jersey Aquaculture Innovation Center in Cape May, that uses marsh grasses and recycled oyster and clam shells. The shells, incorporated into modified concrete blocks called oyster castles, fit together like Legos to …
4-H Launches 2022 STEM Challenge Focused on Marine Science and Climate Change
15th annual youth-led initiative provides hands-on learning opportunities during 4-H STEM Month and throughout the year. October is 4-H STEM Month. Rutgers Cooperative Extension has teamed up with Cooperative Extension at Cornell University in New York to bring educators from across two states to the New York Aquarium for an immersive full-day professional development experience. They will be introduced to …
Rutgers Marine Field Station: On the Edge of Climate Change
As the facility marks its 50th anniversary, here is a look back at its history and how it developed into a crucial research station in New Jersey. Rutgers Marine Field Station stands at the heart of where climate change is happening the fastest in the world, providing a unique and crucial window into the future for researchers. A former U.S. Coast …
Feasible Surfclam Husbandry Techniques for Northeast Shellfish Growers
Editor’s note: Michael Acquafredda (GSNB’19) earned a doctoral degree in Ecology and Evolution in the Rutgers School of Graduate Studies A study that provides technical aspects of Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) husbandry supports the feasibility for the culture of the species in the U.S. Northeast region. “Overall, successful surfclam nursery culture aligns well with the Northeast’s established shellfish farming framework, and …
EOAS In the News: “Tiny Oysters Are a Hopeful Sign in the Hudson River”
New York Times reporter James Barron joined #EOAS faculty member Thomas Grothues and other #Rutgers scientists on a trip on the Hudson River in lower Manhattan to check on the “oyster habitat enhancements” they had installed last year and seeded with juvenile oysters. Barron reports “The oysters were small, barely the size of a thumbtack. The people measuring them, on a skiff rocking …
Rutgers Awarded $12.6 Million Grant to Create Oyster Habitat for Coastal Resilience
The university-led project is in response to a broader effort to protect critical coastal civilian and Department of Defense infrastructure and personnel at risk of climate change. Rutgers has been awarded $12.6 million by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an oyster-based shoreline ecosystem to help protect coastlines from storm damage, flooding and erosion. The Rutgers-led project, …
Rutgers Shellfish Breeding Program Enters the Genomic Era
A consortium of scientists led by Rutgers University has developed a high-density DNA chip for the eastern oyster to better research and breeding. The Rutgers shellfish breeding program, an ongoing project supported by the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fishery Service, is testing a high-density DNA chip for genomic selection, which is expected …
Celebrate the Rutgers Marine Field Station with Inaugural Special Collections Apparel
University Communications and Marketing has introduced a new initiative to showcase points of pride at Rutgers through a limited-edition collection of retail merchandise, only available online and at the University Bookstore. SEBS and NJAES have been selected to kick off the series, just in time for the Rutgers University Marine Field Station (RUMFS) to celebrate 50 years of preserving the …