This blog post discusses the seminar given by Walter Boynton of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, at the IAN Seminar Series on July 29, 2010. Walter Boynton at the IAN Seminar Series. The discussion focused on the bioavailability of nitrogen in its different forms. The dissolved inorganic nitrogen forms (e.g., nitrate and ammonium) were contrasted with dissolved organic nitrogen and particulate nitrogen.

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We recently held our annual Integration and Application Network retreat, titled "Creating synergies and leveraging impacts". It was conducted at the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology, on the Wye River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay. Attending this retreat were the Science Integrators and Science Communicators from a) the 'bathhouse' on the Horn Point Laboratory campus, b) the EcoCheck team based at the Cooperative Oxford Laboratory and c) the Annapolis Synthesis Center.

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Ben Fertig, graduate student, became Dr. Ben Fertig following his successful dissertation defense at Horn Point Laboratory on 6 July 2010. His thesis is titled "Stable nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) in the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) as an indicator of nitrogen source". Ben gave a powerpoint thesis summary (5 years compressed into 45 minute talk) to a large gathering of Horn Point faculty and students.

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This blog post discusses the seminar given by Howard Townsend, of the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, at the IAN Seminar Series on June 24, 2010. Following Howard's seminar, two short videos were aired. The first one depicted some of Howard's hidden talents on the dance floor, and the second one was a 6 minute Computer Generated Image (CGI) film entitled "Life in the Chesapeake Bay", produced by NOAA in conjunction with Lenfest Ocean Program and the University of British Columbia.

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Following a science communication training session with the Research Experience for Undergraduate program at the Chesapeake Bay Program, we took a brief walking tour of historic downtown Annapolis. We stopped at the Alex Haley monument, U.S. Naval Academy, Maryland State House, Thurgood Marshall statue, and pointed out the Banneker-Douglass Museum. We crossed the bridge from Eastport into Annapolis and our first stop was the Alex Haley monument.

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This blog post discusses the seminar given by Dr Kathy Boomer, of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, at the IAN Seminar Series on May 20, 2010. A lively discussion took place following Kathy's seminar, focused on the use of models, particularly the use of multiple models, for planning and resource management.

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This blog post discusses the seminar given by Dr Heath Kelsey, of EcoCheck, at the IAN Seminar Series on April 22, 2010. A wide ranging discussion of bacteria, viruses and contaminants in water and shellfish followed the seminar. Typical of discussions of bacteria in water or shellfish, the issue of the different methods was raised. The Most Probable Numbers technique used for faster turnaround (hours) was contrasted with the Membrane Filtration method which takes ca. 24 hours.

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The Erasmus Mundus program, a European Union sponsored educational initiative, has a joint Master's program in Water and Coastal Management. The Master's program includes a lecture based phase, which Tim Carruthers has taught twice; once in Faro, Portugal at the Universidade do Algarve and once at the Universidad de Cadiz, in Cadiz, Spain. Following the lecture phase of the thesis, which is held at different participating universities in Europe, students produce a thesis project.

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This blog post discusses the seminar given by Dr Walter Boynton, of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, at the IAN Seminar Series on March 25, 2010. If agricultural nutrient management activities like cover crops were instituted, how long would it take to see an effect in the estuary? Time lags were a topic of much discussion regarding the potential delay in restoration progress due to long groundwater residence times.

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This blog post discusses the seminar given by Sara Powell, of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, at the IAN Seminar Series on February 25, 2010. The issue of what constitutes a citizen scientist was discussed, and several issues regarding data quality assurance were raised. The turnover of different citizen scientists means that ongoing training was necessary. Mechanisms to cull bad data are needed with citizen scientist groups.

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