In 2021, the Survey managed to expand in a number of directions despite the challenges of the continuing pandemic. If you missed the Survey’s 2022 annual meeting, which was held online on April 7, you can still catch up on all the news, including the finance report, nominating committee report, and program report, by taking a look at this PDF of the 2022 annual meeting slideshow that was shown that night.
The Rhode Island Natural History Survey is excited to announce the return of its periodic publication, the Rhode Island Naturalist. This publication covers local natural history stories written by professional and amateur scientists and naturalists. The Survey will publish two issues per year, Summer and… Continue reading
By Scott Buchanan, Ph.D., Herpetologist, RIDEM Division of Fish & Wildlife … As I neared my home about midnight, there was virtually no amphibian activity, and so a stout frog sitting in the road near an area of unpromising oak woodland could not help but… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney Gray seals (“grey” seals in Canada and Europe) are the second most likely seal species to be encountered in Rhode Island, after harbor seals (harbor seals are covered in installment 5 in this series). Unlike harbor seals, which are found in… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney I know what you’re saying—“He’s really gone off the deep end now! There are no gray whales in the Atlantic.” That’s sort of true (take your pick about which part), but not entirely. In May of 2010 marine biologists conducting a… Continue reading
by Robert D. Kenney Humpback whales were not scheduled to be the next installment in this series, but a lot of things have been happening recently, so it seemed like a timely idea to let them cut in line. [Editor’s Note: this was sent to… Continue reading
Way back in 2009 I wrote a blog about Emerald Ash Borer at a time when it was becoming clear it would indeed break out of attempted containment areas in the Mid-west and spread across the east. Well, since then we’ve watched it move inexorably… Continue reading
by Robert Kenney Mother Nature is never quite as neat as we’d like her to be. Common dolphins are a good case in point; over the years they have given me quite a headache. Although I first learned as a graduate student that there was… Continue reading
by Robert Kenney We’ve reached the point in this series where we need to talk about the differences between a dolphin and a whale. The truth is that there isn’t a real definition; it’s pretty much arbitrary. In general, bigger animals are called whales and… Continue reading
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