Shad meeting @ Sandy Hook June 7th:

[AndyS]

Dear Friends of the American Shad,
I will be presenting a powerpoint presentation on Shad Egg Development Experiments by MAST students that will highlight their images of the egg development over four days of experimentation using the sophisticated equipment at James Howard Laboratory at NOAA Sandy Hook.
We will meet in the conference room at the James Howard Lab for a 11 am start. NOAA has set up a live webinar if you would prefer to watch this in the comfort of you own office or home. There is a limit of 25 spots so if you want to do this please follow the instructions that follow. Staff of NOAA at other locations have had a chance to sign up. If anyone wants me to come and give them a presentation I would be more than happy to come (within reason or expenses).
I am very pleased to be hosted by Carl Alderson of NOAA who will be part of the removal of the dam two of three on the Raritan this summer. This is all very exciting for the Shad spawning grounds.
So follow along and sign up if you want to see more about Shad Egg Development Experiments by Seniors in High School.
Here is the Abstract and my Bio
Abstract For Presentation at NOAA on June 7th, 2012 11 am
American Shad Egg Development Experiments 2011 by MAST students at NOAA
In the Spring of 2011, students at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology conducted experiments to test optimal, suboptimal, and poor conditions to hatch American Shad eggs with the cooperation of the James Howard Laboratory. The Laboratory provided a microscope with a Zeiss Axio camera to document the development of eggs. The students were able to test hatching procedures in optimal conditions, suboptimal conditions with fewer bioballs in the reserve tank, and poor conditions with suspended solids. The presentation will summarize the events that lead up to this cooperative effort by MAST and NOAA, the experiments methods, the images, and the results. The highlight of the program is the series of high resolution images showing the day to day development from a fertilized egg to a hatched larvae four days later.
The results of the students experiments showed that Shad eggs are adversely affected in poor conditions with suspended solids and inconclusive results on the effect of suboptimal conditions.
These results pose several suggestions for future experiments to consider. The significance of the experiments is to show the feasibility of classroom hatching systems for area schools. The presentation will briefly discuss the other there are other educational programs underway to raise awareness of the decline of the American shad populations on the East Coast.
Kathleen Devine - Citizen Scientist and Mentor
One of the ongoing efforts of NOAA laboratory is to assist the experiments of MAST students and encourage local citizens to study the issues of the area. Kathleen Devine, formerly a inspector of industrial and municipal facilities with NJPES permits, has volunteered in her hometown of Oceanport to teach nature, sampled the Shrewsbury River, and served as a field instructor to Sandy Hook Bay. On a vacation, she found a small paperback book describing a school initiative in Virginia to raise fish eggs in the classroom and for the student to release the hatched fry into the Potomac river. While completing her Masters in Education, Kathleen
realized the value of this hands-on program and has worked for the last 6 years to bring it to New Jersey. Spring 2008 Kathleen and Brian Harris hatched approximately 1000 eggs in the basement of NJMSG. With the spawning grounds soon to be opened by the demolition of three dams on the Raritan, Kathleen continues to test the feasibilty of a hatch and release program in New Jersey along the Raritan River and Bay. In the 2011 she mentored two students from MAST to test if students can hatch shad eggs using the classroom sized hatching systems.
The seminar is scheduled for Thursday June 7, 2012 at 11:00 AM in the Howard Laboratory Conference Room in Sandy Hook, New Jersey (http://sh.nefsc.noaa.gov/directions.htm). An informal social with light snacks and beverages will begin at 10:45 AM.
Seminar Title: "American Shad Egg Development Experiments in 2011 by MAST students at NOAA".

More information on the Seminar Series will be soon available at:
http://sh.nefsc.noaa.gov/seminar_schedule.htm

[AndyS]

I am not giving seminar but I like what I read:

"With the spawning grounds soon to be opened by the demolition of three dams on the Raritan, Kathleen continues to test the feasibilty of a hatch and release program in New Jersey along the Raritan River and Bay. In the 2011 she mentored two students from MAST to test if students can hatch shad eggs using the classroom sized hatching systems."