Description: On loan from Phil Whitney. This turtle shell, according to Whitney family legend, is suspected to be from an 1825 whaling expedition to the South Pacific. It was kept in the family home until 1928, when the Spurling house burned down, and was rescued from the flames by islanders trying to salvage their possessions. The shell is that of a Hawksbill sea turtle, larger than most found today, and you may notice an indentation on the left side. Turtles are adept at recovering from injuries but they can’t grow back bone, so this is likely an injury sustained from when this turtle was far smaller. [show more]
Description: A collection of shells and photographs taken from the Shell Midden on Fish Point. Some of the shells have holes in them, which may have been created by the indigenous people who hunted for them. Dating through the shell middens and other archeological remains, we know people have used this coastline and its plentiful marine resources for thousands of years. The Cranberries themselves were used by the indigenous peoples here, evidenced by the remains of a shell midden on Fish point (at the hook of the island) which isn’t accessible to the public. Shell middens are often referred to as trash heaps and they contain oyster, clam, and shellfish remains, along with ‘faunal remains’ which refers to the mammal, fish, bird, reptile bones and teeth that are found. A minor portion of the middens are often stone tools or their fragments, and pieces of ceramic pottery. Shellfish middens are phenomenal records of the lives lived in proximity to the coast, and they are often found in sheltered coves and bays, near small mudflats, and tidal/inland streams. They tell us which seasons people were occupying areas, their preference for sheltered areas with easy access to the ocean (for their canoes) and plentiful marine resources, such as shellfish flats, and spring runs of migratory fish. They are extraordinary records which are disappearing rapidly due to rising oceans. [show more]
Description: Photos of places, duck hunt, and whale on GCI. A= Bunker Boatyard 1965-1970s, B= Ice in the Creek Feb 12, 1934. C= Ice in the Pool Feb 6, 1934. D= town dock 1940s or 1960?. E= Cranberry Road from Dolly Hill. Duck and geese hunt on the El Pescado. G= Whale washed up on the back of the island (1919?), see report of Dr. Bowditch on Islesford.. H= Raymond Bunker's car on ice in the pool Feb. 12, 1934. I= Unknown car.
Description: Photographs. Collage of colorful dog photos made by Susan White dogs identified as: Jack, Casey, Ollie, Loki, Brady, Sailor, Hermiga (?), Cappy, MyaLunaTide and Rosie. Unknown date but modern 2010ish? Black frame.
Description: Great Duck Island (GDI) is a 91-hectare island lying 13 kilometers south of Mount Desert Island in the Gulf of Maine. GDI has a long history of human occupation, and has been farmed, grazed, and lived upon since the early 19th century. Today, approximately 85 hectares of the island are co-owned by TNC and the state of Maine and has been managed as a preserve since 1985. There is a small private inholding on the north end of the island, and the remaining five hectares are owned by the College of the Atlantic (COA). COA manages the Alice Eno Field Station out of the light station on the south end of the island, where students have conducted regular research on the ecology of the island since 1999 (Anderson 2018) [show more]
Description: Since long ago, each spring the River Herring swam up the Concord, Sudbury and Assabet Rivers (SUASCO) in unfathomable numbers to spawn. Their numbers turned the sluggish river turbulent with movement, and their masses colored the water black. Nipmuc, Pawtucket, and Massachuset people, their ancestors before them, and later English colonists, treasured these runs for food and fertilizer, and many seasonal communities were once situated at ideal fishing places. The industrial revolution came with largely little heed to the fish or those that used them. [show more]
Description: The Harenna forest is the largest cloud forest in Ethiopia, located in the southern region of the Bale mountain range. 60⁰ 20' and 60⁰ 50'N
Description: The Buck Island Sea Turtle Research Program (BISTRP) is a long-term sea turtle monitoring project that focuses on nesting sea turtles in the Caribbean. BISTRP was initiated by the National Park Service in 1988 after Buck Island was identified as an important nesting beach for sea turtles, in particular for the critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle. Since 1988, the program has conducted annual monitoring of the nesting sea turtles on Buck Island with the goal of identifying each nesting female, collecting biological data, and tracking nest success on the island. [show more]
Description: The Common Loon (Gavia immer) has historically been used as an indicator species during it's summer breeding season. More specifically, loons have been used as an indicator for heavy metals, biocontamination, and acidity (Canadian Lakes Loon Survey).
Description: Songbirds use islands for breeding and migrating. Great Duck Island is located 10 miles from Mount Desert Island, Maine; it is about 200 acres large and consists of a variety of habitat types.
Description: The longest distance a human shout has been heard from is just over 10 miles, and that scream happened over a lake. Researchers have estimated that a whale scream, or more so a song, can be heard from over 10,000 miles away! Though we can't always hear these songs because of their low frequencies, whales can listen and respond to each other from oceans away.
Description: Acoustic Receivers are monitoring devices that listen for specific sound wavelengths. When these soundwaves are detected a data point is stored and categorized under a unique ID.
Description: Herring gulls are found around the world, not only by the sea, despite often being called "seagulls". There is debate over the herring gull's taxonomic status. American ornithologists lump herring gulls in North America and Europe, while European ornithologists split them. They are often described as scavengers, though there is evidence that individual herring gulls specialize on particular food sources (intertidal, aquaculture, ocean, anthropogenic, freshwater). [show more]