ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SPRING 2001 MEETING

31 MAY – 2 JUNE 2001
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS

HOSTED BY

SALEM STATE COLLEGE


ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY

ENSR INTERNATIONAL
&
NORMANDEAU ASSOCIATES, INC.


CALL FOR PAPERS & PRE-REGISTRATION

MEETING SITE:

The first NEERS meeting of the true new millennium (apologies to Mike M.) will be held in Salem, Massachusetts. Four years older than Boston, Salem was founded in 1626 (as Naumkeag) and served as the primary seaport in America until it was eventually supplanted by the deeper harbor of its younger sister. The city of Salem offers many historic and interesting sites to visit. Of particular marine interest are the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the Old Custom House (which employed Nathaniel Hawthorne as surveyor from 1846 to 1849), and the country’s oldest continuously operating museum, the Peabody Essex Museum (founded in 1799 by the sea captains of the China Trade and known worldwide for its collections of Asian export art, maritime history, archaeology, and natural history). Of general interest are the House of the Seven Gables, the 1637 Charter Street Burying Point (which includes the graves of a Mayflower passenger, a governor, and a witchcraft trial judge), the site of Leslie’s Retreat, where was shed the first blood of the American Revolution (52 days before Lexington), Pioneer Village (a re-created Puritan settlement), the Salem Wax Museum, and several Witch Museums.

THURSDAY SYMPOSIUM:

Robert Buchsbaum is organizing a special symposium, "The Use of Bioindicators to Assess the Health of New England Coastal Habitats” which will take place on Thursday afternoon in Charlotte Forten Hall on the 4th floor of the Salem State College Library. The use of biological indicators to assess the health of ecosystems is becoming an increasingly popular topic among regulators and scientists. This is reflected in a number of recent symposia and the formation by EPA of working groups to examine biological indicators of wetland health. Much of the work and validation of biological indicators has been carried out in freshwater ecosystems, particularly flowing water. This symposium will examine whether biological indicators make sense for different coastal habitats, and if so, which metrics or parameters have the greatest potential as indicators of ecosystem health. Several research papers will cover where we are at present in terms of the science. Topics to be covered include estuarine biological integrity indices, salt marsh vegetation metrics, and the potential use of eelgrass, fish, birds, benthos, invasives, and nitrogen as indices. This will be followed by a panel discussion on the validity of the approach and an examination of future research needs in developing appropriate indices. Registration for the symposium is included in the registration for the NEERS meeting.

SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATIONS:

Forten Hall will also be the site of oral and poster presentations all day Friday and Saturday morning. Each presentation will be limited to 15 minutes with an additional 5 minutes for discussion. Poster presentations will be displayed for the duration of the meeting and highlighted during a special poster session. Reports of work in progress as well as work in advanced stages and reviews of relevant topics are encouraged. Any subject on estuaries or coastal environments is welcome. Students can compete for the Ketchum and the Rankin Prizes for oral presentations or the Dean Prize for posters (see below). All presenters must be (or become) a NEERS member.

Please submit your abstract TO BE RECEIVED BY FRIDAY, APRIL 6 to Pat Kremer, NEERS Program Chair. Abstracts should be submitted via the NEERS web page (www.neers.org and select ?meetings?, then ?spring 2001 meeting?), or by email (pkremer@uconnvm.uconn.edu). All electronic submissions will receive electronic confirmation of being received. If for some reason you have to, you can submit your abstract by US mail to Patricia Kremer, NEERS Program Chair, Department of Marine Sciences, UCONN - Avery Point, 1084 Shennecossett Road, Groton, CT 06340-6097, 860-405-9140.

POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS:

To avoid delays with PowerPoint presentations we will follow the procedure that worked so well at the Fall 2000 meeting on Block Island. We will load all the PowerPoint presentations onto either an IBM-compatible or Mac laptop prior to the meeting. In order for us to do this, please follow the instructions below.

1) Please email your PowerPoint presentation or send a zip disk or CD to be received no later than Thursday, MaY 24 to Paul Kelly, Biology Department, Salem State College, 352 Lafayette Street, Salem, MA 01970, (paul.kelly@salemstate.edu) 978-542-6709.
2) Since some NEERSians won't have their talks prepared one week in advance, there is another option. Bring a zip disk or CD with your PowerPoint presentation to the NEERS meeting. We will load your presentation at that time.
3) Bring along another back-up disk with your presentation on it (Salem has lots of gremlins).
4) Finally, and as a fall-back, you may want to bring your own laptop to the meeting, just in case those gremlins prevent us from getting your presentation up and running on our equipment.

STUDENT PRIZES:

The Buck Ketchum Prize (of $100.00) will be awarded to the graduate student who, in the opinion of the prize committee, presents the best paper in terms of scientific content, and in clarity and professionalism of presentation (including graphics). To be eligible, the student must clearly be the major contributing author of the paper and may not have been a previous winner. The Stubby Rankin Prize (of $100.00) is for the best paper by an undergraduate student, but otherwise the guidelines and the selection criteria are the same as for the Ketchum Prize. Both graduate and undergraduate students can compete for the David Dean Prize (of $100.00). This prize (named after the first elected President of NEERS) is for the best student poster in terms of scientific content and in clarity and
professionalism of both presentation and responses to questions about the poster. Contributions towards the endowment fund for these prizes would be greatly appreciated by NEERS.

STUDENT TRAVEL AWARDS:

NEERS will award up to four student travel awards, each for $100, to help cover travel and lodging costs for this NEERS meeting. Graduate and undergraduate students,
regardless of whether they are submitting an abstract or not, are eligible. Selection will be by lottery, and selection will not affect your student presentation prize eligibility. In order to be considered for this award, please have your faculty advisor send an email to David Burdick (dburdick@unh.edu) by the abstract deadline of APRIL 6 to certify that you are a student in good academic standing. Contributions towards the endowment fund for the newly named Bill Niering Student Travel Fund would be greatly appreciated by NEERS.

ACCOMMODATIONS:

The historic Hawthorne Hotel (named after Salem’s famous author, Nathaniel Hawthorne) in the center of Salem will provide accommodations for NEERS participants as well as be the location for the Thursday evening social and Friday evening banquet. The Hawthorne was described in the May 1999 issue of Boston Magazine as sitting “like a miniature Ritz Carlton on the edge of Salem Common”. Over the years, the Hawthorne Hotel has played host to many well-known personalities, including Walter Cronkite, Bette Davis, Billy Joel, General Colin Powell, and former president George and First Lady Barbara (but not “W”) Bush. Perhaps of greater importance, the Hawthorne served as the on-screen residence of Samantha and Darrin on Bewitched. It is within walking distance of the waterfront and several of the historic sites mentioned above and 1.6 miles from Salem State College, the site of all the scientific presentations at this NEERS meeting. The Hawthorne Hotel will hold a block of rooms for NEERS participants until Tuesday, May 1. After that time any unreserved rooms will be released to the public. Each room contains either 1 or 2 queen-size beds. Rental rates will be $135 per night (plus 9.7% tax) single or double occupancy. Please make your reservations directly with the Hawthorne Hotel, Salem, MA 01970, at (800) 729-7829 or (978) 744-4080 or email and identify yourself as attending the NEERS meeting. You can get more information about the Hawthorne Hotel on their web page.

NEERS SOCIAL:

The traditional NEERS social will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on Thursday May 31, in the Essex Room of the Hawthorne Hotel. Beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, and snacks will be available. Members can then make their own arrangements for dinner at the Hawthorne Hotel’s own Nathaniel’s Restaurant, or one of the many other fine restaurants in Salem or the greater North Shore area.

AWARDS BANQUET:

The banquet will be held in the Lower Deck dining room of the Hawthorne Hotel on Friday evening at 7 PM. It will include a chicken, seafood, or vegetarian entrŽe (please note your selection on the registration form). The cost of the banquet will be $30. The Ketchum, Rankin and Dean Prizes will be awarded at this time and all candidates for these awards will receive a free banquet ticket. Information on post-banquet dance venues within walking distance of the Hawthorne will be provided. (There is a rumor that there will be an Honorary Membership conferred at this meeting so don’t miss the banquet!)

BUSINESS MEETING:

The NEERS Business Meeting will take place after the last paper on Friday, June 1, in Forten Hall at Salem State College. All meeting participants are invited to attend and participate in discussions but you must be a NEERS member to actually vote on anything (non-members can only boo or clap).

CLAMBAKE:

Ed Rhodes has offered to put on a clambake Saturday afternoon if enough people are interested. Ed describes his clambake as “based on an old New England recipe which includes lobsters, steamers, mussels, sausage, potatoes, onions, and corn, with a bit of fish and a few eggs thrown in for good measure.” (The traditional Salem variation includes bat wings and eye of newt but those items are getting harder to locate). With clam chowder, cole slaw on the side, and a fruit cobbler for dessert, this will be a must-attend party and a bargain at $20. Please indicate your interest on the registration form.

REGISTRATION:

Pre-registration for this meeting includes the Symposium and is $20 for members, $10 for students and $35 for non-members. The Pre-registration deadline is MAY 16. You can pre-register for just the Thursday SymposIum for $10.00! You can either mail the hard copy form to NEERS Treasurer David Burdick, Jackson Estuarine Laboratory, 85 Adams Point Road, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, or you can pre-register online and follow that with a check made out to NEERS and mailed to Dave. On-site registration is $30 for members, $15 for students, and $45 for non-members. The NEERS registration desk will be open on Thursday from 12:00 noon to 3:00 PM and on Friday morning from 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon at Forten Hall, Salem State College, and during the Thursday evening Social at the Hawthorne Hotel. You also can pay your NEERS dues for 2001 ($15 for regular, $5 for student membership). This is Dave’s first meeting as Treasurer, so help him out -- pre-register and pay-up!

GETTING THERE:

Directions to the Hawthorne Hotel:
From the South: Rt. 95 North to Rt. 128 North to Exit 25A. Follow Rt. 114 East through Peabody to Salem center (in Peabody, Rt. 114 makes a left turn and two right turns – watch the signs carefully). Approximately 2.5 miles from Rt. 128, cross the North River bridge and exit right onto Rt. 107 (to Beverly/Peabody). After a half mile, turn right onto Rt. 1A South. Follow Rt. 1A around Salem Common to the Hawthorne Hotel on the left. (3.3 total miles from Rt. 128). From the North: Rt. 95 South to Rt. 1 South (Exit 50) to Rt. 114 East or Rt. 95 South to Rt. 128 North to Rt. 114 E (there is no direct exit from Rt. 95 South to Rt. 114.) Follow directions above.

Directions to Salem State College:
Follow Rt. 114 East through the center of Salem until you are at a traffic light facing Salem State College. (Rt. 1A bears right to the site of the Spring 1994). Continue straight on Rt. 114 another 0.2 mile to the SSC Library (the last large brick college building on the right). Turn right onto College Drive immediately after the Library and proceed to the parking lot on the left at the bottom of the hill. Forten Hall is on the 4th floor of the Library. (4.8 total miles from Rt. 128). [From the Hawthorne Hotel follow Rt. 1A South (which merges with Rt. 114 East) about 1.4 miles to the traffic light where the two roads diverge again.]

FIELD TRIPS:

On Saturday afternoon a tour will be provided of Salem State College’s new Cat Cove Aquaculture Laboratory and 8-acre tide pool located on a 16-acre site about a mile from the Hawthorne Hotel. Field trips to a local salt marsh or a rocky intertidal site (for those of you who think that the coast consists only of estuaries and eelgrass) can be arranged.

QUESTIONS?:

If you have any questions, contact Alan Young, Biology Department, Salem State College, Salem, MA 01970 (978-542-6710). For questions dealing specifically with the Thursday Symposium, contact Robert Buchsbaum, Massachusetts Audubon Society, 346 Grapevine Road, Wenham, MA 01984 (978-927-1122). Questions concerning abstracts, etc. should be addressed to NEERS Program Chairperson Pat Kremer, Department of Marine Sciences, UCONN - Avery Point, 1084 Shennecossett Road, Groton, CT 06340 (860-405-9140).



NEERS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

Linda Deegan, President & ERF Representative
David Burdick, Treasurer
Pamela Morgan, Secretary & ERF Correspondent
Marshall Pregnall, President-Elect
R. Scott Warren, Past President
Michelle Dionne, Member-at-Large
Charles Roman, Member-at-Large
Alan Young, Historian
Patricia Kremer, Program Chairperson