Shoals Marine Laboratory

Volunteers disembarking from the R/V John M. Kingsbury

Appledore Island, originally named Hog Island, was visited by Scandinavians sailing from Greenland before the 17th century. Europeans arrived in 1614 to take advantage of the favorable fishing conditions in the Gulf of Maine. The island saw an exodus in 1680 and sustained a small population until 1847. Thomas Laighton and daughter Celia Thaxter helped to revitalize the island through Celia's hospitality, artistry, and garden. The garden has been restored as a tourist attraction today which helps generate revenue for SML. Celia's death in 1894, subdivision of land in 1908, and a major fire at the Appledore Hotel in September 1914 led to the decline of this era in Appledore history. UNH's Marine Zoological Laboratory on Appledore thrived from 1928 to 1940. This was followed by government control of the island during World War II and a period of vandalism into the 1970s.

The current form of the lab was conceived by John M. Kingsbury and John M. Anderson, both professors at Cornell. Having visited the Star Island conference center, they were keen to bring undergraduate university students out to the Isles of Shoals as an alternative to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The first group of students arrived on Star Island in 1966. Appledore Island, which was mostly uninhabited since World War II, was selected and developed from the late 1960s to early 1970s as the future home of the lab. UNH took interest in the project due to their proximity and previous association with the island. Dominic Gratta of Kittery, Maine, directed his crew, assisted by students and early SML staff, in the refurbishing of old hotel and military era buildings as well as the construction of six new buildings and utility services.

Students aboard the R/V John B. Heiser as part of SML's Underwater Research diving course

SML is dedicated to undergraduate education and research in marine science, and has been offering courses since 1966. The laboratory offers a wide variety of summer credit courses for undergraduates and high school students along with programs and workshops for graduate students, teachers, professionals, and the general public.[2][3] All Shoals programs provide participants with the opportunity to become immersed in the world of marine science under the tutelage of an academic teaching staff from Cornell, UNH, and other leading academic institutions.[4]

An academic day at Shoals consists of laboratory and classroom time, combined with extensive fieldwork. Fieldwork typically includes excursions along Appledore's rocky intertidal zone and seabird nesting colonies, visits to neighboring islands to study harbor seals, terns, and archaeological sites, off-shore cruises, and trips to the Maine/New Hampshire coast to study mud flats, salt marshes, and bogs. Lessons on sustainable living are incorporated into the experience. Credit course offerings range from survey courses like Field Marine Science to more specialized courses like Field Ornithology, Underwater Research, and Ecology of Animal Behavior.[5] Other programs, workshops, and citizen science opportunities include biological illustration, a course about forensic science, and island archaeology.

There are several courses offered during the summer.

Harbor Seals hauling-out on Duck Island at Isle of Shoals

The Shoals Marine Laboratory emphasizes its dedication to undergraduate research by offering several positions within the Shoals Undergraduate Research Group (SURG). This program is the successor to the Research Internships in Field Science program (RIFS) and the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program before that, which was funded by a seven-year National Science Foundation grant. The SURG program allows undergraduates to research within a variety of fields—from conservation to engineering—in a 3-10 week program. This opportunity is dependent on the availability of mentors and funding and therefore is constantly shifting to meet those demands. It also provides participants with full room and board.[6]

In addition to the formal research internship, nearly all credit courses at SML require small individual research projects. For example, students enrolled in the Underwater Research course must produce an original research proposal, supported by preliminary data collected and analyzed in the course.[7]

The lab also hosts and works with visiting researchers from across the country, including the New Hampshire Fish and Game tern restoration project on White Island, gull research, monitoring of subtidal communities, and a migratory bird banding program.[8]

Gull research is conducted by Gulls of Appledore project, which works to band individuals in the island's large Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull populations.[9]

The bird banding program is known as the Appledore Island Migration Station (AIMS).[10] Opening in 1974, AIMS studies migratory birds using Appledore as a stopover. AIMS data is collected in the spring and fall of each active year by volunteers and students.

In 2016, researchers investigated an intertidal species of fish called a mummichog. The researchers discovered how mummichogs use a tail-flip jump to cross land into new tidepools, and how they prop themselves into an upright position before leaping to receive extra visual cues. It was suggested that this behavior provides insight into how fish made the transition on to land.[11]

Shoals Marine Lab hosts an Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program each summer where five to six artists stay at Shoals for two or three consecutive weeks at a time.[12] While on Appledore, the artists are free to pursue their art, but are also involved in an art program that is integrated into the classes that are on the island at the same time. The artists usually spend one hour per course per week, and will spend time with a maximum of four separate classes per week. The goal of having the artists interact with the students taking classes is to improve observational skills and generate creativity.[13] When participating in the AIR program, the artists are exposed to the happenings of Shoals Marine Lab, which aims to help the artist create a connection with the natural world and help to blur the lines between art and science.[12]

Shoals must provide the utilities necessary to support the island population during its operating season independent of mainland services. Since 1974, SML has generated its own electricity, produced its own drinking water, and treated its own wastewater.[16] Recent initiatives in engineered island systems and the educational and operating benefits to living more sustainably on Appledore have guided the development of renewable energy resources and low impact wastewater management.

Wind, sun, and diesel power

Sealed absorbed glass mat batteries for photovoltaic power collection

SML maintains three diesel generators and two green energy grids to provide electrical power day and night. Green energy grids collect power from the sun with photovoltaic panels and from the wind with a 10 kW Bergy wind turbine.[17] Power collected is stored in sealed absorbed glass mat batteries. There are 52 batteries creating a storage capacity of 388 A·h at a nominal 48 V DC.[18] Stored power is inverted to AC electricity for distribution to the island's 14 buildings. Diesel generators provide backup power. Over the past eleven years, addition of photovoltaic power generation with battery storage, along with sustainability and energy efficiency efforts, has reduced fuel needs by 80%.[19]

Solar hot water panels on the roof of the SML water conservation building

Shoals Marine Lab's R/V John B. Heiser underway

The lab is served by two US Coast Guard inspected research vessels: the 47 ft (14 m), 34.49 gross ton R/V John M. Kingsbury and the 35.7 ft (10.9 m), 13 gross ton R/V John B. Heiser.[25] Both boats are used to transport goods and people to the island and for research/education. The R/V John M. Kingsbury has a winch and a one-ton crane for the deployment of research equipment and for the movement of heavy materials from the mainland to the island.

The lab also operates various smaller vessels, including the 27 ft (8.2 m) R/V Acipenser, 21 ft (6.4 m) R/V Storm Petrel, numerous inflatables, a 16 ft (4.9 m) Boston Whaler (R/V Miss Christine), and two small sailboats, a 16 ft (4.9 m) Herreshoff Doughdish (S/V Becker) and a 19 ft (5.8 m) Cape Dory Typhoon (S/V Mako)[26]

• Shoals Marine Laboratory: Visitor's Guide to Appledore Island
• Appledore Times, Shoals Marine Laboratory, Winter 2004, Vol. 3, No. 1
• The Shoals Marine Laboratory (1999), Cornell University

• Official website