Acadia National Park to hold Science Day at The Jackson Laboratory

Date: October 30, 2003

On Saturday, November 8th, 2003, Acadia National Park neighbors, friends and visitors are invited to attend the first Acadia Science Day for the public. The program will feature presentations by university scientists and others who have conducted studies in the park. It will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the auditorium of The Jackson Laboratory, which is located on Route 3 south of the town of Bar Harbor, and is free and open to the public.

The symposium, like past Resource Acadia seminars, is designed to give local residents an overview of the research that occurs in Acadia National Park. Speakers will highlight eight specific projects within the areas of vegetation, wildlife, air and water quality, and cultural resources. Participants will learn firsthand from scientists about current projects in Acadia National Park. Four of the presentations will discuss research which focuses broadly on effects caused by human activities, including a study on the European Red Ant which is a problem throughout Mount Desert Island (MDI), a look at the impact of toxins such as mercury on birds, an investigation of the effects of invasive plants on natural fire cycles, and a study of methods for revegetating disturbed areas in the park’s campgrounds.

The other four presentations will focus on cultural and natural history research including an oral history project to document historical Civilian Conservation Corps activities in the area, the abundance and distribution of fish in the intertidal zone and estuaries of MDI, a comprehensive vegetation mapping project which recently finished documenting all ecological communities in the park and surrounding lands, and a study of the breeding success of loons on the freshwater lakes of MDI.

This science symposium is being presented by the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC), one of thirteen National Park Service Research Learning Centers nationwide. All Research Learning Centers are associated with national parks and are part of a National Park Service initiative to improve science-based management and to share with the public the excitement and importance of park research. For more information about the science symposium or to get on the mailing list for future events, please call the park at (207) 288-8808.

This Press Release is courtesy of Acadia National Park and The National Park Service.

Contact(s): Joyce Peterson, 207-288-6058, joyce.peterson@jax.org

For information on automatic email delivery of news releases (journalists only), please send an email request for details to news@jax.org.

Office of Public Information
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6051
Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org