The National Marine Life Center Is One of 500 Finalists for Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good Program!

Help us win a new car to make an even bigger difference!

The National Marine Life Center is proud to announce we’ve been selected as a finalist in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good Program. Now we need your help!

Tell all your friends and vote for the National Marine Life Center at www.100carsforgood.com on May 26.

Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program will be awarding 100 vehicles to 100 nonprofits over the course of 100 days based on votes from the public. A total of 500 nonprofits were selected from more than 4,000 applications nationwide.  The National Marine Life Center is hoping to win a new Toyota Highlander to be used as an animal ambulance and as transportation for our education and outreach programs.

NMLC requires a reliable vehicle to transport sick and injured seal and sea turtle patients to and from our marine animal hospital in Buzzards Bay. A new Toyota Highlander 4×4 would offer the versatility to accommodate large animal carriers, the durability to reach off road release sites, and the dependability for long distance transports.

Our education programs use marine animal strandings and rehabilitation as subject material to teach critical science, technology, engineering, and math skills and reinforce lessons in ocean conservation. With a new Toyota we can expand the influence of our outreach efforts and help educate the community about the importance of conservation, science, and rehabilitation.

Please vote for NMLC on May 26!

Teachers:

When:  Monday, July 9 through Friday, July 20, 9 am – 4 pm

Where:  Mass Audubon Stony Brook, Mass Audubon Oak Knoll, Buttonwood Zoo, Lloyd Center, & National Marine Life Center

What:  Nature has inspired engineering design for millennia. From airplane wings to high tech fabrics to Velcro, the technologies that make our lives easier and more efficient often have their roots in natural systems. Dive into marine mammal research, exploring how the anatomical and physiological characteristics of marine animals have inspired naval architecture and the design of underwater vehicles. How many examples of nature’s superior design skills can you find among the surf and sand? Discover how processes used by mussels and other shellfish inspire the design of products you use in daily life, such as cement. Look to the sky at the avian world for more inspiration. From the structure and function of eggs to a peregrine falcon’s unique adaptations to high speed flight, humans have looked to the avian world for models to solve flight and other technology designs. What have we learned about sustainability from the natural world? Explore how structures built by animals have influence human architecture and products, from the mound building skills of termites to the flow-control mechanisms of beavers. Learn how to make engineering come alive with hands-on, minds-on activities to inspire your students to connect science and technology, and perhaps become the next generation of engineers.

• Participate in a balance of indoor, classroom and outdoor experiences.
• Learn to use inquiry-based, hands-on methods in your classroom.
• Visit each site for 1-2 days and participate in both content and skill development sessions.
• Learn about educational resources in your community.
• Experience inquiry-based investigations linked to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
• Earn PDPs or PDPs and 4 graduate credits (for an additional cost).
• Take home a resource kit containing investigations and materials for your classroom.

Partners:
~ Museum Institutes for Teaching Science
~ Mass Audubon Oak Knoll and Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuaries
~ Buttonwood Park Zoo
~ Lloyd Center for the Environment
~ National Marine Life Center

Cost: $300/1 educator; $275 each/ team of 2 educators; $250 each/ team of 3 or more educators. Graduate Credit available for an additional fee.

Graduate Credit:  Graduate Credit will be offered from Framingham State University (4 credits/$300) and Cambridge College (4 credits/$200)

To Register:  Visit www.mits.org, e-mail mits@mits.org, or call 617-328-1515
Registration Deadline is June 6th. Call for availability after deadline.

The Museum Institutes for Teaching Science (MITS) offers Summer Institutes for teachers in six regions of Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, in partnership with local non-profit organizations such as the National Marine Life Center.

High School Teachers:

Investigate the connections between science and engineering and get ready to meet the forthcoming science and engineering frameworks. Learn how the natural sciences and engineering practices are connected through research and technology. Explore examples of how science provides engineers with the foundations to create solutions to real world problems. Participate in and develop inquiry-based investigations to present the engineering design process to your students and how it relates to science inquiry. Explore the interconnections between the natural sciences – life, physical, chemical, earth, space and environmental – and how to use these interconnections in your curriculum to meet the Next Generation Science Standards and prepare your students for STEM careers.

When:  Saturday, June 16, 8:30 am – 12:00 pm (mandatory orientation) and
Monday, July 9 through Friday, July 13, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm

Where:  Massachusetts Maritime Academy, National Marine Life Center, Woods Hole Village, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Cost: $275 per individual educator; $250 each per group of two or more teachers from the same school/district. MITS encourages teachers to attend the Summer Institutes as collaborative teams.

PDPs:  Participants can choose to receive 40 PDPs or 3 graduate credits and 67.5 PDPs. To receive the full number of PDPs participants must attend the orientation and callback sessions.

Graduate Credits:  Graduate credits are available for an additional cost from Cambridge College (3 credits, $150) and Framingham State University (3 credits, $225).

Housing:  Optional housing is available at the Mass Maritime Academy in dorm-style rooms for $50/night, Monday – Thursday.

To Register:  For more information and to register, contact: 617-328-1515, e-mail sryackbell@mits.org, or visit www.mits.org.
Registration Deadline is June 6th. Call for availability after deadline.

The Museum Institutes for Teaching Science (MITS) offers Summer Institutes for teachers in six regions of Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, in partnership with local non-profit organizations such as the National Marine Life Center.

The hatchling release will be held on Tuesday May 29th from 10am-12pm at the DFW’s Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area, in Hanson, MA. Please  meet at Hawk’s Avenue entrance. We welcome anyone who is interested in this event to join us on this exciting send off. Staff from NMLC will be there with a booth to answer your questions about our facility and the headstart program, and state biologists will be on site to coordinate the release. It is a rare opportunity to see one of our states most endangered turtles.

In addition to the normal release festivities NMLC will stay on site for an private release.  We will be releasing three additional turtles at the same location following the state’s event. Bruce, Pierce & Vesuvius who were also originally part of the Red Bellied Cooter head start program at another facility were turned over to NMLC for rehabilitation and diagnosed with metobolic bone disease last May. They likely did not receive proper care and their dietary needs were not met. Please see our previous posts “New Patients Admitted to the Center – how to care for freshwater turtles” for more about these three turtles. We are happy to say that after spending a year under the care of NMLC staff and volunteers these three turtles are ready to join the other head start turtles. With proper husbandry, calcium treatments, and exposure to necessary UV radiation they have recovered for their ailments.  We are so excited to send these turtles off and would love for you to join us!

For more information on these release events please call the center at 508-743-9888 or email kshaffer@nmlc.org.

Photo from Bag It, a film by Reel Thing Productions.

Single use, disposable plastic bags and containers are a major source of land and water pollution.  In the U.S. alone, an estimated 12 million barrels of oil is used to make the plastic bags people consume.  The U.S. International Trade Commission reported that 102 billion plastic bags were used in the U.S. in 2009.  About 2,480,000 tons of plastic bottles and jars were disposed of around the world in 2008.  According to the EPA, the average American produces 4.4 pounds of trash a day – or 1,600 pounds per year.  The U.S. produces 220 million tons of garbage a year – enough to bury 82,000 football fields six feet deep in compacted garbage.  80% of the plastic and trash that finds its way into our oceans comes from land.  More than 260 species of marine animals – including birds, sea turtles, seals, and whales – are affected by plastic debris in the ocean through entanglement and/or ingestion.  (Source of above information: Bag It Movie).

Laysan Albatross. Photo from Bag It, a film by Reel Thing Productions.

So, what can we do to help?  In honor of Earth Day, here’s a list of suggestions from the documentary film “BAG IT:  Is your life too plastic?” that will help you make your life – and those of our marine animal friends – a little less plastic.

1. Carry reusable shopping bags. Whether you’re shopping for groceries, clothes or electronics, be sure to bring along the reusable bag(s) of your choice. Keep them in your car so you don’t forget to use them.

2. Give up bottled water. By drinking your water from a glass jar or a reusable bottle, you can help reduce the environmental costs associated with producing bottled water and save money while you’re at it. Unlike bottle water, the quality of your tap water is regularly monitored by your city.

3. Say no to plastic produce bags. Bagging your produce is generally unnecessary. If you do want a separate bag for produce, cloth options are available.

4. Buy from bulk bins. You can find almost all dry foods, as well as some personal care products, from bulk bins. If you can’t find bulk bins in your neighborhood, you can still buy non-perishable goods in large packages, which will decrease the amount of plastic used.

5. Make your own seltzer. When it comes to carbonated drinks, you can avoid high intakes of high fructose corn syrup AND the need for purchasing disposable bottles by making your own seltzer. We recommend adding a splash of juice to your homemade soda to create a delicious bubbly drink. Kids love it!

6. Pack food in reusable containers. Bring reusable containers to restaurants to take home your leftovers. Ask the butcher or deli server at your grocery store to package your food in your reusable container. Use them to pack your lunch, and don’t forget to carry along reusable utensils.

7. Choose milk in returnable glass bottles. Many communities have local dairies that provide milk in returnable glass bottles rather than plastic or plastic-coated cardboard. All cardboard milk containers are coated inside and out with plastic, not wax. Check out local dairies in your area to see if this is offered, or ask them to start a co-op.

8. Use bar soap and shampoo. Make the change from liquid to bar!

9. Choose lotions and lip balms in plastic-free containers. There are lotion bars and lip balms and glosses that come in cardboard, glass, or metal containers. Or you can even make your own products.

10. Make sure your personal care products are phthalate-free. Phthalates, which are plasticizers, have become standard as additives to scented products because they help fragrances last longer. But research has shown reasons to be concerned about the impact of phthalates on our health.

By taking a few simple steps, we can help keep plastic out of our oceans, our waterways, our animals, and ourselves!

Our Blue Marble. Photo by NASA.

Animal Care & Education Interns

Animal care and education interns serve NMLC in a number of capacities. They assist with our weekly educational programs including the Little Flippers Club and Marine Animal Medical Mystery. Each intern is assigned a week where planning of the programs is their responsibility. They also represent NMLC at community events and deliver marine science programs to local school and community groups on and off site. They are responsible for the upkeep of our popular Critter Tank in the Discovery Center, and for water quality testing for all of our animal tanks. They will participate in hands on animal husbandry and assist in medical care for our current Red Bellied Cooter patients and any patients admitted into our new marine animal hospital this summer. Each intern will select a project to work on throughout the summer and will present the outcome to the staff, volunteers and public in August.

Smanatha Beynor

Samantha grew up on Cape Cod spending much of her time on the beach. After a discovering a stranded porpoise she became very interested in marine animals strandings and rehabilitation.  Samantha is currently completing her Sophomore year at the University of Conneticuit where she is majoring in Biological Science with a minor in Marine Biology.  She ultimately would like to pursue a career in conservation or animal behavior. Samantha’s background includes volunteering with the Cape Wildlife Center and  coaching tennis for the Barnstable Recreation Department. She is looking forward to “working with the National Marine Life Center Staff and other interns to learn more about marine organisms and rehabilitation, to make new friendships and gain experience.”

Dylan O’Leary

Dylan will be graduating from Ithaca College in May with a degree in Biology. Dylan comes to NMLC with a background in research biology. He recently presented his research findings on the Eastern Chipmunk at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Utah. He has experience handling wild animals in a research/field setting and teaching experience through coaching soccer. He would ultimately like to work in conservation or restoration biology and is most looking forward to “taking [his] very first step into the world of conservation biology and having the opportunity to devote [himself] to the advancement of marine wildlife health”

Alisia Trevino

Alisia from nearby New Bedford, MA is finishing her Sophmore year at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She is majoring in  Marine Biology with a minor is education. Her goal is to work as an educator and teach others about the importance of ocean conservation. Alisia is also a graduate of the Bristol County Agricultural School animal science program where she gained hands on experience with many animals including fish and turtles. Alisia is looking forward to her summer at NMLC and “being able to interact with the public and the children that come visit and teaching them something new about marine animals”.

Sophie Trowbridge

Sophie is a recent graduate of Cornell University in Ithaca, NY with a degree in Animal Science.  She comes to us with a diverse animal background including, research, husbandry, rehabilitation, outreach, and veterinary experiences. Some of her most relevant work includes an externship at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife in Sanibel, FL, and her animal keeper internship  at the Central Park Zoo. Sophie plans to become a veterinarian and intends to start vet school in the fall. Sophie is “looking forward to combining [her] passion for veterinary medicine with educational outreach”. She believes “that successful wildlife rehabilitation and education go hand in hand. The more awareness raised regarding the importance of a diverse ecosystem the more people appreciate how their choices can impact the ecosystem surrounding them”. She is ” excited to take part in this combination of veterinary medicine and outreach and bring [her] passion for science to the cape”.

Marketing/Development Intern

For the first time NMLC has hired a Marketing/Development Intern for the summer. This intern will be helping with our major fundraising events including the Feet Fins & Flippers 5K, the Mermaid Ball, and helping prepare for Spectacle of the Trees. She will also be helping to represent the center at at fairs & festivals, via website blogs, social media, and marketing materials, making sure that you are fully aware of all the great things happening at the National Marine Life Center this summer

Chelsea Clark

Chelsea will be graduating from Bridgewater State University in May with a degree in Communication Studies. She has spent the last semester studying abroad at Bond University in Queensland Australia. Chelsea has been the Producer, Writer, & Host of WBIM the Bridgewater State University radio station, and has experience in audio editing, social media, fundraising, and marketing. She was interested in this particular internship because she loves the ocean and thought it would be a great place to apply her skills. She is looking forward to “learning more about this wonderful organization and being a part of the NMLC team” she is excited to “have the opportunity to expand [her] knowledge of both marketing related jobs and marine animals, which not many internships offer”.

We are so happy to have such enthusiastic young students coming to work and learn with us this summer. Interns play a key role in accomplishing the goals of NMLC during this busy time of year. Please join me in welcoming our 2012 Summer interns!

This harbor seal by the Cape Cod Canal is calling for sponsors for the Feet, Fins, & Flippers 5K! NMLC photo.

We’re calling out for sponsors for our Feet, Fins, & Flippers 5K! 

The 5K is a family-oriented event on May 27 brings together runners and walkers from near and far who use their feet to help our finned and flippered friends.  The success of the day depends on our sponsors, and we hope you will consider a sponsorship investment.  It’s a great way to showcase your business or organization while helping to save marine animals, advance science, and teach youth about ocean conservation.

Sponsorship packages begin for as little as $100 and include a variety of benefits including having your name on the race t-shirt and your name and web link on our website.
~ Click here for a Sponsorship Form to print and mail, or
~ Click here to sign up on-line as a Sponsor.

So join our ever growing list of 5K sponsors including:  Buzzards Bay Veterinary Associates, The Fair Insurance Agency, The Hair Boutique II, Kids on the Cape, Purple Turtle Productions, Small Office Computer Support of Cape Cod, and United Insurance Agency!  A full list of sponsorship benefits is detailed below.

Harbor Seal Sponsor – $100-249
Benefits: ~ Name on Race T-Shirt back (before 5/1)
~ Name & web link on nmlc.org
~ Name & web link in an E-Splash e-newsletter (1,600+ distribution)
~ Opportunity to distribute brochures at the start/finish line

Gray Seal Sponsor – $250-499
Benefits: ~ 1 Race Slot
~ Name on Race T-Shirt back (before 5/1)
~ Name & web link on nmlc.org
~ Name & web link in an E-Splash e-newsletter (1,600+ distribution)
~ Opportunity to distribute brochures at the start/finish line

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Sponsor – $500-999
Benefits: ~ 2 Race Slots
~ Logo on Race T-Shirt back (before 5/1)
~ Name & web link on nmlc.org
~ Name & web link in an E-Splash e-newsletter (1,600+ distribution)
~ Opportunity to distribute brochures at the start/finish line

Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Sponsor – $1,000-2,499
Benefits: ~ 3 Race Slots
~ Logo on Race T-Shirt back (before 5/1)
~ Name & web link on nmlc.org
~ Name & web link in an E-Splash e-newsletter (1,600+ distribution)
~ Opportunity for a table/display at the start/finish line

White-Sided Dolphin Sponsor – $2,500-4,999
Benefits: ~ 4 Race Slots
~ Logo on Race T-Shirt back (before 5/1)
~ Name & web link on nmlc.org
~ A 468 x 60 px banner ad above posts on nmlc.org for one month
~ Name & web link in an E-Splash e-newsletter (1,600+ distribution)
~ Opportunity for a table/display at the start/finish line

Pilot Whale Sponsor – $5,000-9,999
Benefits: ~ 5 Race Slots
~ Name on Race T-Shirt sleeve (before 5/1)
~ Name & web link on nmlc.org
~ Logo on Race T-Shirt back (before 5/1)
~ A 125 x 125 px sidebar ad on nmlc.org for one month
~ Name & web link in an E-Splash e-newsletter (1,600+ distribution)
~ Opportunity for a table/display at the start/finish line

Feet, Fins & Flippers Sponsor (Presenting Sponsor) – $10,000+
Benefits: ~ Your business name as the presenting sponsor in all press for the event
~ 6 Race Slots
~ Name on Race T-Shirt front and sleeve (before 5/1)
~ Logo on Race T-Shirt back (before 5/1)
~ A 250 x 250 px sidebar ad on nmlc.org for one month
~ Name & web link on nmlc.org
~ Name & web link in an E-Splash e-newsletter (1,600+ distribution)
~ Opportunity for a table/display at the start/finish line

The National Marine Life Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation.
Our federal identification number is 04-3290276.
Thank you for your support!

Pierce and Vesuvius hang out while their tank is being cleaned.

Hey NMLC fans – just when you thought you’d finally gotten rid of me – I’m back for a visit! I’ve missed the NMLC so much the past few months I’ve been back home, that I saved up and got a plane ticket so that I could visit during my spring break. I’ve been out here since Sunday, and having the opportunity to catch up with the staff and the patients here has been no less than rejuvenating. I’ve been keeping really busy around here, and I’d just like to update you a little bit on what’s happening at the Center!

This morning I was able to help out by cleaning the tank of our three not-quite-so-little-anymore rehabilitated hatchlings. You may remember that last summer we took in three little red-bellied cooters, Bruce, Pierce, and Vesuvius, with metabolic bone disease. They had been kept as part of the Hatchling Head Start Program, but unfortunately developed severe shell and bone problems and needed additional treatment. These three turtles are particularly close to my heart because I was there when we got them in and I and the other summer 2011 interns were able to assist our veterinarian, Dr. Rogers, and our Animal Care Coordinator, Kate Shaffer, with their rehabilitation from day one. We set up the tank that they stayed in for the first several months; we were there for the intake exam. We actually were given 4 turtles to care for, but unfortunately, the smallest one was dead on arrival.

At first, it was actually pretty hard to tell if the little guys were alive, because they had such difficulty moving and had absolutely no energy. It seemed unlikely that they would be able to swim with such significant deformities. Luckily, they have surprised us when we tested their swimming abilities. They were much better at swimming than they were at walking – the bones in their legs were so weak that they couldn’t even support themselves to walk. I was able to help out with administering the oral calcium treatments to the turtles each day and assisting with animal veterinary exams and husbandry.

Bruce warming up under the heat lamp.

If you were to come into the Center today, you would see 3 completely different animals. They are voracious, eating 10 leaves of Romaine lettuce a day and swimming with vigor. When I left in August to return to my studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the prognosis for the little guys was still up in the air because they were still calcium deficient and it was unclear how their deformities would respond to the animals’ growth, and if they would be able to pass eggs if they turned out to be female. At this age, it’s not possible to determine the sex of the turtles. Because red-bellied cooters are an endangered species, every individual that we can release into the wild is valuable to the population; however, we don’t want to release turtles that aren’t able to reproduce. It so warms my heart to come back after a few months away to hear that they are scheduled for release this summer! The turtles have finally caught up with their calcium deficiency and are able to maintain acceptable blood calcium levels. They are completely off rehabilitative treatment and are just waiting for it to warm up enough for release. A year’s worth of diligent work and a smidgen of hope and it seems that these guys have made it!

I was also happy to meet our new patients, the class 2012 red-bellied cooter headstart program hatchlings as well as Sir Isaac Newton, our newest shell fungus patient. Otherwise, most of what I’ve been doing this week is enjoying helping out at the Center with odds and ends, cleaning a few tanks, helping out with a couple educational programs, running a few errands, and preparing for the Feet, Fins and Flippers 5K the NMLC is hosting in May (which you should sign up for if you are at all interested! Just click here!)

The NMLC’s CEO and President Kathy Zagzebski and I traveled up to Dartmouth yesterday to speak at the high school Marine Science Symposium, and I really enjoyed speaking to the kids a little bit about the value of internship experience in general and more specifically about what my internship at the NMLC has done for my career. We then did an interactive activity teaching the kids about how to measure sea turtles, seals and cetaceans, and I ran the seal station. While my real passion is sea turtles, my knowledge of seal strandings and biology grew exponentially last summer, and my experience in Dartmouth yesterday proved how much I have learned when I was able to jump right into presenting to students after listening to Kathy’s presentation on the marine animals of Cape Cod and the NMLC’s mission. What I think I liked the most about working at the symposium was talking to a couple students that are really interested in pursuing a career in marine science. I love thinking that just maybe something I said might have impacted someone to get involved or pursue their dream, as difficult as succeeding in this field may seem. (My other favorite thing was probably leading the students in an activity involving the kids carrying Kathy in a dolphin stretcher as part of a rescue training activity!)

I’m so fortunate that my timing allowed me to celebrate some major milestones in the lives of our wonderful staff and volunteers. I’m also excited about the prospect of going to Provincetown to see if we can find some Right Whales, which if you don’t know, just so happen to be the most endangered whale in the world. They are seen in this area feeding this time of year, so maybe they’ll be willing to make an appearance for me!
I can’t say enough how wonderful it’s been to be reunited with my dear friends from the National Marine Life Center this week. I mean it when I say that last summer was the best of my life thus far, and when I’m here, minutes from the ocean and surrounded by like-minded marine animal people, I feel so much closer to my dreams than I have anywhere else. Even just running down to the store to pick up lettuce for the turtles in the NMLC van gave me such a strong feeling of nostalgia, remembering the first summer I got out of my home state and found myself in the unique and wonderful place that is Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and began pursuing a dream that previously seemed so out of reach. The summer I realized that I could get into sea turtle conservation – it just means I have to work harder than the next guy. Thanks so much to the staff and volunteers of the NMLC for welcoming me back and giving me a new surge of inspiration, and of course, thanks again for the life-changing experience last summer. Not only did they take me in and help me grow, but they made me part of the NMLC family during my first extended stay away from home. I can’t thank them enough; they are great people with a great cause. Be on the look out for another blog or two from me before I head back to the Midwest!

Use your FEET to help our FINNED and FLIPPERED friends! Join runners, walkers, and animal-lovers in a 5K run/walk to raise money for the National Marine Life Center! This is a fun, family oriented event.

Date:  Sunday, May 27, 2012
Time:  9:00 am start
Cost:  $20 pre-registration, $30 race day registration
Click here to register on-line!  (Includes $2 convenience fee.)   or
Click here to download a registration form to print and mail.
*** Free t-shirt to the first 100 racers to pre-register before April 30th! ***

The race begins at the Buzzards Bay Village Park, at the west end of Main Street next to the train station. The flat, scenic course travels down and back along the beautiful Cape Cod Canal. Ample parking is available. There will be two water stations along the route.

Click here for a map of the route.

The race will be timed. Prizes will be awarded to male and female runners in each of six age groups: Pup (19 and under), Yearling (20-29), Juvenile (30-39), Sub-Adult (40-49), Adult (50-59), and Senior (60+), as well as the overall winners.

Entertainment will be available in the park after the race; stay tuned for more information!

When presented with a blubber layer the cysts can be carefully dissected.

When isolated they look like this…

but they can have many forms.

What are they ?

What is their true name ?

What other intermediate metacestodes can used to presume infection ?

Who is the final host ?