by Robert Kenney Although they don’t get the publicity that North Atlantic right whales or wandering belugas do, or the love from the public that humpback whales do, fin whales (also known as finbacks) are the most common large whale species in New England waters…. Continue reading
At a press event Thursday, June 4, the Rhode Island Natural History Survey announced that citizen scientists participating in the 2014 BioBlitz event at Rocky Point Park, in Warwick, re-discovered a species of ladybug once common throughout eastern North America but now virtually absent. The… Continue reading
Nancy Karraker was born at the Grand Canyon and grew up in Yosemite National Park and Olympic National Park, so it’s no wonder that she became interested in wildlife and conservation. Her father, a ranger for the National Park Service, tells the story of how… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney Now where were we? Installment 6 in this series on the marine mammals of Rhode Island was on harbor seals. The next was supposed to be about harp seals to contrast the two species, but the unusual appearance of a beluga… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney Installment 7 in this series on the marine mammals of Rhode Island was supposed to be on harp seals, but recent events have forced us to let the beluga cut in line without waiting its turn. In June, on the afternoon… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney In a previous installment of “Marine Mammals of Rhode Island” we looked at the harbor porpoise, our smallest cetacean. We now turn to one of the largest—the sperm whale. Both species are toothed whales, or odontocetes; in fact the sperm whale… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney In our report for the Rhode Island Ocean Special Area Management Plan, we showed that 36 species of marine mammals had been recorded in our estuarine and marine waters, and a few others were possibilities. Despite what might seem to some… Continue reading
To put more of a face on the Natural History Survey, we are including profiles of board members, staff, and members among our Rhode Island Naturalist blog posts. This time the celebrity treatment goes to Pete August, Rhode Island’s bat-man and GIS pioneer. Pete August… Continue reading
[I originally published this in January 2008. I thought in honor of today’s low temperatures I’d resurrect it from the back of the blog roll. Enjoy! -DWG] by David W. Gregg, Executive Director, RINHS Today’s Exec’s Blog is about global warming and is RINHS’s contribution… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney The porpoises are six species of small toothed whales within one family—closely related to the dolphins. The harbor porpoise is the smallest cetacean, and the only porpoise species, that occurs in the North Atlantic. When I was a graduate student, I… Continue reading