2024 SNEC Student Travel Award Announcement

The SNEC Student Travel Award provides monetary travel awards for deserving graduate students and undergraduate students to make an oral or poster presentation at the American Fisheries Society (AFS) annual meeting. Any student who is active in fisheries or related aquatic disciplines, is presenting a paper or poster at the AFS annual meeting, and has not received this award previously is eligible to apply. The awardee is chosen by the SNEC Education Committee and the SNEC Board of Directors. Selection is based on academic qualifications, professional service, and recommendation from advisor. The deadline for submitting the travel award application is May 13, 2024 at 5:00 PM (ET). The award in 2024, which will be determined this summer, will be at least $1,200 to defray the cost of attending the AFS 154th Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, from September 15-19.

One week after the meeting, the awardee must submit a short report describing positive outcomes of attendance to [email protected]. This report will be posted in our website and included in our newsletter to communicate with other students about benefits of attending professional meetings.

Use the application form in the SNEC website (linked below) to apply for the Southern New England Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Student Travel Award https://snec.fisheries.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SNEC_Student_Travel_Award_Application_2024-1.pdf

Questions can be directed to Tracy Maynard at [email protected]

AFS SNEC Winter 2024 Science Meeting Program

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A pdf of the program with abstracts can be downloaded here, and the text version of just the schedule is below.

SCHEDULE

8:30 – 9:00               Registration and Coffee

9:00 – 9:10               Opening Comments. Corinne Truesdale, President

9:10-9:25                  Ontogeny of schooling in larval Atlantic Silversides reared under ocean acidification conditions.* Mouland, Matthew E.P., Max D. Zavell, Jacqueline F. Webb, and Hannes Baumann.

9:25-9:40                  Diet and maternal investment affect larval rockfish condition and survival.* Walsh, Kamran A., Andrew R.Thompson, Garfield Kwan, Brice X. Semmens, H. Will. Fennie, and Rasmus Swalethorp.

9:40-9:55                  Variation in fecundity of Winter Flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, and Yellowtail Flounder, Limanda ferruginea: patterns across stocks over ten years. Wuenschel, Mark J., Emilee Tholke, Yvonna Press, W. David McElroy, and Richard S. McBride.

9:55-10:10                Where did the Smallmouth Bass go? Bade, Andrew P., Spencer M. Mallette, and Christopher P. McDowell.

10:10-10:25             CT-DEEP update on Candlewood Lake Grass Carp and vegetation management efforts. Cassone, Joseph and Andrew Bade.

10:25-10:50             Break

10:50-11:05             Energy content of major prey species of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) in the Northwest Atlantic as determined by proximate composition analysis. Hobbs, Ethan, Ken Oliveira, Mark Wuenschel, and Tim Sheehan.

11:05-11:20             Characterizing outmigration patterns and downstream passage of landlocked Atlantic Salmon in the Winooski River, Vermont. Heisey, Aaron, Theodore Castro-Santos, Jonah Withers, Kurt Heim, Laurie Earley, and William Ardren.

11:20-11:35             Investigating the size and spawning history of river herring within the Connecticut River over the past decade.* Stephens, Jacqueline, Allison Roy, Adrian Jordaan, Dave Perkins, and Kenneth Sprankle.

11:35-11:50             Comparing juvenile river herring growth and density in freshwater lakes and associated estuaries.* Burgoff, Julian, Allison Roy, and Adrian Jordaan.

11:50-12:05             Is drought the new fad diet? Effect of entrapment on size, body condition, and growth rates of juvenile anadromous alewives.* Burgess, Michael, Katherine King, Ryan Adams, Eric Schultz, and James Knighton.

12:05-13:35             Lunch and Posters

13:35-13:50             Oyster health and restoration in Long Island Sound. Mayo, Isaiah M., Mariah Kachmar, Genevieve Bernatchez, Mark Dixon, LTJG Tyler Houck, Meghana Parikh, and Katie McFarland.

13:50-14:05             A numerical investigation of size selectivity in a modified scallop dredge.* Cowles, Geoff and Sean Boisvert.

14:05-14:20             Using AIS data and machine learning to improve estimates of development exposure for the scallop fishery in Southern New England.* Livermore, Julia.

14:20-14:35             American Lobster and Jonah Crab populations inside and outside the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, USA. Arnott, Stephen A., Michael P. Long, Aubrey Ellertson, and N. David Bethoney.

14:35-15:00             Break

15:00-15:15             Investigating the utility of complementary fixed and random stratified sampling to track marine fish and invertebrate abundance trends . McManus, M. Conor, Chris J. Parkins, and Scott D. Olszewski.

15:15-15:30             Unwrapping the natal origins of coastal Striped Bass. Gahagan, Ben, Nathalie LeBlanc, Scott Pavey, P. Adrian Jordaan, Eric Anderson, and Andrew Whiteley.

15:30-15:45             Accounting for avoidance behavior in fishery catch rates of Atlantic Cod.* Grezlik, Max and Steve Cadrin.

15:45-16:00             Prototype management strategy evaluation for ecosystem-based fisheries management in New England. Guyant, Madeline, Gavin Fay, Lisa Kerr, Emily Liljestrand, Jerelle Jesse, Andrew Applegate, John Pappalardo, and Samuel Truesdell.

16:30-18:00             Social at Graduate Hotel

* Denotes student paper

Presenter name is underlined

Posters

P1                               Maternal mercury transfer from pregnant Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) to their pups through ovoviviparous reproduction.** Ajemian, Maxwell R. and David Taylor.

P2                               Chemical analysis of plastics particles in an estuary (Thames River, CT) and the digestive system of seabirds (Tasmania, Australia).** Beauchemin, Elise, Mikasa Lierman, Sadie Olson, Sarah Skurat, Cheyenne Waters, Dr. Karina Mrakovcich, and Dr. Deanna Bergondo.

P3                               Engaging the fishing community to understand disease and reproductive dynamics of the Atlantic Sea Scallop. Brander, Douglas, N. David Bethony, Anna Mercer, and George Maynard.

P4                               Ontogenetic effects of harmful algal blooms and ocean acidification on the Artemia spp.** Candia, Joseph, Christopher J.Gobler, and Konstantine J.Rountos.

P5                               Investigating the diet of endangered sturgeon in the Connecticut River using gastric lavage and eDNA metabarcoding techniques.** Kraczkowski, Michelle, Loren Tardif, and Jacqueline Benway.

P6                               Using fine-scale fishery data to estimate economic impact of wind farms on the Summer Flounder fishery. Marjadi, Meghna N., Anna J. Mercer, Andrew W. Jones, and Steven X. Cadrin.

P7                               Pilot hook and line survey for data continuity in wind energy areas. Mercer, Anna, Dave McElroy, and Katie Viducic.

P8                               Kokanee in Connecticut; the past, present and future. Ransom, Andrew and Brian Eltz.

P9                               Pilot observer program for Rhode Island state waters gillnet fishery. Remick, Abrielle and Nicole Lengyel Costa.

P10                             Launching an expert elicitation exercise to develop a comparative framework of synergies and tradeoffs from a suite of decarbonization solutions on fishery ecosystems.** Sedore, Vanessa and Sarah Schumann.

P11                             Population dynamics and competitive interactions of Channel Catfish in Connecticut lakes and ponds. Shubat, Danielle and Ryan Adams.

P12                             Terrestrial predator visitation patterns at riverscape cold-water thermal refuges.** Sullivan, Christopher J., Chadwick D. Rittenhouse, and Jason C. Vokoun.

P13                             How does adaptation to local conditions affect the ability of gene flow to help widespread species adapt to changing climates along a latitudinal gradient? Wasserman, Ben A. and Mark C. Urban.

P14                             Overwintering growth and lipid accumulation in northern stock Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata) juveniles.** Zavell, Max D., Matthew E.P. Mouland, Eric Schultz, and Hannes Baumann.

P15                             New SNEC Logo Ballot

**Denotes student poster

Presenter name is underlined

AFS SNEC/NED DEI Discussion – this FRIDAY, December 16 at 11AM

Please join us for the next AFS SNEC/NED DEI Discussion – this FRIDAY, December 16 at 11AM

Topic:  How to host an inclusive conference

Discussion Facilitator: Patrick Shirey, AFS NED Past-President and Assistant Professor at University of Pittsburgh, Department of Geology and Environmental Science


Reading

Ten simple rules to host an inclusive conference
https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010164

Discussion Questions
What was your biggest take-away from the readings?
How are our AFS annual meetings doing at accomplishing the ten simple rules? 

Are there ideas in here that AFS could take action on?

Reading for if you have time:

Inclusive Scientific Meetings – Where to Start

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This document arose from an Aspen Global Change Institute workshop about diverse, inclusive, and equitable scientific meetings, led by 500 Women Scientists and the Earth Science Women’s Network. The workshop was funded by the Heising-Simons Foundation, and held at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Maryam Zaringhalam formatted the document. 

AFS SNEC DEI Discussion Friday Nov 18 at 2PM

Please join us for the next AFS/NED SNEC DEI Discussion – this FRIDAY, November 18 at 2PM

For the link please check your emails from the SNEC listserv, or email [email protected]

Topic:  Affirmative Action

Discussion Facilitator: Patrick Shirey, AFS NED Past-President and Assistant Professor at University of Pittsburgh, Department of Geology and Environmental Science

Readings:
Scientific American Opinion, By Stacy FarinaK Amacker on October 31, 2022: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-scientists-must-stand-for-affirmative-action-and-against-scientific-racism/

NPR’s 11 minutes coverage of what diversity initiatives could look like in higher education if the Supreme Court rules that race cannot be considered in college admissions: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/03/1134118873/diversity-after-affirmative-action 

NPR’s 5 minutes of coverage from the case in front of the Supreme Court: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/31/1132954999/the-supreme-court-hears-affirmative-action-case

Affirmative Action Policies throughout History: https://www.aaaed.org/aaaed/History_of_Affirmative_Action.asp

The Origins of the Term ‘Affirmative Action’ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/learn-origins-term-affirmative-action-180959531/

Discussion Questions
-What was your biggest take-away from the readings?
-Did any of these readings cause you to reconsider your opinions about Affirmative Action programs?
-Is there a role for American Fisheries Society in this issue?

Send SNEC News for the Fall Newsletter

AFS SNEC needs YOU to send us links about your recent accomplishments for the Fall 2022 newsletter.
The Chapter newsletter exists to spread the word about the interesting and impactful work that members are engaged in every day.

It’s easy! Just send us links to work that you’ve already done! There’s no need to write a whole article!

Submit your news and links via this Google webform.
https://forms.gle/9dny25282o2hRWAW9

Examples of Things you can submit:
Did you recently publish a paper?
Did you give a virtual talk for a community event that was recorded?
Did your agency or organization feature your work on their website or in their newsletter?
Were you interviewed for a podcast series?
Have you done anything in the realm of communications & outreach that you’d like to share?

SEND US THE LINKS

Emails to Newsletter Editor George Maynard are also welcome.  [email protected]

Submit your links for the Fall 2022 edition of the newsletter by Friday November 4.

Back Issues of the AFS SNEC Newsletter

Spring 2022 Newsletter
Summer 2022 Newsletter

October 20 at 2PM SNEC/NED Diversity Equity and Inclusion Discussion Group

Please join us for the next AFS/NED SNEC DEI Discussion – Thursday, October 20 at 2PM
Topic:  Indigenous Land Acknowledgement
Discussion Facilitator: Abigail Archer, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension & Woods Hole Sea Grant
Check the AFS SNEC or NED listserv emails for the Zoom link, or email [email protected]

Readings:
A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgement, Native Governance Center
https://nativegov.org/news/a-guide-to-indigenous-land-acknowledgment/

Boston City Council Offers Land Acknowledgement
https://www.boston.gov/news/city-council-offers-land-acknowledgement

The Upstander Project
https://upstanderproject.org/about/land-acknowledgement


Rethinking Land Acknowledgements  December 20, 2021 Anthropology News https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/rethinking-land-acknowledgments/#:~:text=Even%20more%20troubling%2C%20land%20acknowledgments,for%20Indigenous%20peoples%20and%20nations.

Discussion Questions

What are your experiences with Land Acknowledgements? For example, have you attended meetings where an Acknowledgement is given? Have you ever worked on crafting one for your school or organization? Do you give an Acknowledgement before you give presentations?

Did any of these readings cause you to change or reconsider your opinions about Land Acknowledgements?

What kind of statement do you think SNEC and NED should make at the beginning of the upcoming January 8-10 meeting?  What actions could SNEC & NED take to forge connections with the State and Federally recognized Tribes in the Boston area?