Research/Collections
Nantucket is an island located approximately 30 miles of the coast of Massachusetts. The pristine waters of the area are home to many unique life forms. The Maria Mitchell Association conducts research projects studying the populations and diversity of Nantucket’s waters, including the bay scallop.
Bay Scallop
Biodiversity of Marine Fishes and Invertebrates
Horseshoe Crab Survey
Bay Scallop Research
Congratulations Valerie Hall, MMA Research Associate!
The Maria Mitchell Association is pleased to announce that Valerie Hall, MMA Research Associate, has successfully defended her doctoral dissertation proposal titled "The Ecological Significance of Fall Spawning in the Nantucket Bay Scallop, Argopecten irradians irradians (Lamarck, 1819)” to the faculty and students at UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST), and to her graduate committee. Ms. Hall’s proposal was evaluated on four aspects: 1) Quality of her written proposal; 2) Quality of her oral presentation to faculty and students; 3) Her ability to field questions from the floor after her oral presentation; and 4) The closed door defense with her doctoral committee. She was unanimously approved by her committee and all members went out of their way to comment that she had done exceptionally well in all four criteria.
Val's accomplishment is a major milestone in the Maria Mitchell Association's/Nantucket Shellfish Association’s Bay Scallop Research Project. With the quality of her doctoral committee and the support of SMAST, combined with the input of colleagues Dr. Bob Kennedy, Senior Research Fellow at MMA, Dr. Peter Boyce (MMA Research Associate), Tara Riley (Nantucket Shellfish Biologist) and scallop fisherman, her dissertation will be the definitive source on the biology and role of the "Nub" scallop in Nantucket's bay scallop population.
The Nantucket Shellfish Association and the Nancy Sayles Day Foundation have been generous supporters of the Bay Scallop Research Project. Their financial support and the work of dozens of MMA interns and volunteers have been critical to the success of the project and a great support to Val Hall.
Val now begins the work of writing up years of field research and laboratory work focused on the Bay Scallop. We look forward to celebrating the successful defense of her dissertation! Great job, Val!
More Bay Scallop Research
Since 2003, the Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) and Nantucket Shellfish Association (NSA) have collaborated on a long-term study of the Nantucket Bay Scallop to understand scallop longevity, reproduction and survival and habitat preferences of the bay scallop. The scallop research program has been very important to our understanding of the timing of spawning of the wild scallop population in Nantucket Harbor. One of MMA’s Research Associates, Valerie Hall, is using data from the research projects for her doctoral dissertation at UMass Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology. When completed, it will be the definitive study of the fall-spawned or “nub” scallop that has brought so much controversy to the scallop fishery on Nantucket.
In 2008, the research projects on the nub scallop and on the size of the wild population were instrumental in keeping the scallop industry alive on Nantucket. Data provided to the Town Shellfish Biologist, Jeff Mercer, helped convince the Mass Division of Marine Fisheries to revise their ruling on the harvesting of the nub scallops. The revised ruling allowed for the harvesting of scallops of 2.5 inches or greater in shell height. If this had not been allowed, the scallop season would have ended before Thanksgiving and the industry may have collapsed on Nantucket. Such a loss would be tragic since Nantucket’s wild bay scallop fishery is considered to be a national treasure.
In addition, the 2008 scallop research contributed to a recommended change by the Nantucket Bay Scallop Advisory Committee, appointed by the Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board, to allow the taking of all scallops thicker that one inch that had a raised growth ring of any size. The suggested change was not accepted by state authorities because it was felt that there was not enough information known (at this point) about the nub scallop and that there was no need to modify the 2.5 inch ruling now. MMA will continue to collect data to inform the ruling throughout the rest of the nub study. The results of the study will be made public in 2010 when Ms. Hall’s dissertation will be completed.
Biodiversity Inventory of the Marine Fishes and Invertebrates of Nantucket and Madaket Harbors
The Aquarium’s daily Marine Ecology Walks are a true “citizen science” experience. 
Families and children who join the walks collect and count species collected in the seine nets. The data is recorded and added to the inventory of the population. In Summer 2008, 58 species of vertebrates and 79 species of Invertebrates were collected in the waters of Nantucket. The inventory included a moderate number of tropical fish. For more information on how you can participate in one of our Marine Ecology Walks, visit our Aquarium’s program page or check our brochure [link to brochure] or calendar [link to calendar] for details.
Horseshoe Crab Survey
Horseshoe crabs are at least 300 million years old as a species. During May and June males and females gather on sandy beaches along the U.S. east coast to mate and lay eggs. The number of horseshoe crabs appearing on these beaches is declining and this may have serious consequences on species that depend on the horseshoe crab life cycle (migrating birds are the biggest concern). Humans use horseshoe crab blood to produce a substance that detects bacterial contamination in medecines and surgical equipment.
There is a national effort to track the number of horseshoe crabs making it onto our beaches each year. Nantucket organizations began counting in 2009. The Maria Mitchell Association surveys Monomoy, the Conservation Foundation surveys Eel Point, and the UMass Field Station surveys UMass beaches. Surveys take place at high tide around new and full moons in May and June. Interested in helping? Contact info@mmo.org to find out when the next survey is!
Below are pictures from Maria Mitchell's first survey at Monomoy. The left picture illustrates how we delineate a 5 meter box to count in and the right picture shows us measuring down the beach to the next counting spot. The bottom picture is a night survey.
