Thursday Professional Development Institute (PDI)
February 7, 2013
Two half-day sessions: 9am - 12pm and 1pm - 4pm
One full-day session: 9am-4pm
Lunch provided
Sponsored by the Maryland Sea Grant Extension Program/University of Maryland
Extension STEM Education Action Team Grant, College Park, MD, four focused, contentbased programs explore key topics in significant depth. These courses complement the
applied methodologies that will be explored on Friday and Saturday. Interactive,
university level instruction.
Oyster Biology and Ecology
Presenters: Jackie Takacs, University of Maryland Extension / Sea Grant, Watershed Restoration
Specialist
J. Adam Frederick, University of Maryland Extension / Sea Grant, Marine Education Specialist
The session will provide participants with the fundamentals of oyster (Crassostreavirginica) anatomy by
examining shells (valves) and live oysters for use in dissection, the use of Maryland Sea Grant webbased interactive tools on oyster anatomy, and an analysis of the impacts of acidification and oyster
ecology as presented in a recent issue of Chesapeake Quarterly (Vol.11, No.1) entitled, Acid Test for the
Great Shellfish Bay. Hands-on work with oysters and understanding their anatomy will be the main focus
and this will provide a springboard for the connection to web-related materials that can be used in
conjunction with the presentation. Also, the analysis of the CQ article will engage participants in a better
understanding of ocean acidification and the related impact of acidification in the Bay.
Marcellus Shale and Implications for Maryland
Presenter: Derrick Bender, University of Maryland Extension / Allegany County
Marcellus development, receiving much media attention, is often talked about without being understood.
Do we even know the complete economic or environmental impact of Marcellus shale in a state like
Pennsylvania? Certainly not; however, there are some known factors. In this session we will review
Pennsylvania Department of the Environment (DEP) violations associated to the natural gas industry.
Although they do not record every environmental impact these recorded violations do show trends and
prevalent issues. We’ll discuss what these records capture and what they don’t. The other portion of this
session will take a close look, at the county level, of natural gas development and economic impact in one
of the more developed counties in Pennsylvania.
Pfiesteria Hysteria in the Chesapeake: The Wisdom of Dead Microbiologists
Presenter: Dan Terlizzi, University of Maryland Extension Water Quality Specialist and Affiliate Professor
UMD Institute for Marine and Environmental Technology
In 1996 a series of fish mortalities at Hyrock, a hybrid striped bass farm on Maryland’s’ eastern shore,
suggested that the dinoflagellatePfiesteriapiscicida the so called “cell from hell” might have arrived in
Maryland’s waters. Since its discovery in North Carolina coastal waters during extensive fish kills,
researchers claimed that it had an unusually complex life history with a potent toxin that not only killed
fish but caused memory loss and bizarre human behaviors. The fish deaths at Hyrock were attributed to
Pfiesteria by researchers but another dinoflagellate that was more abundant than Pfiesteria at the time of
fish deaths quickly became the management focus at Hyrock. In 1997 reports of fish death and memory
loss in watermen working on the Pocomoke River suggested that the Pfiesteria problem had arrived in the
Chesapeake, however the same dinoflagellate that was abundant at the fish farm mortalities was also
present in some of the Pocomoke events. Was the “cell from hell” finally invading the Chesapeake or was
another less frightening organism to blame? Was human health finally being impacted by water quality
concerns in the Bay? Was the poultry industry to blame? All of these questions and concerns fueled by
limited science and extensive media coverage precipitated a public hysteria that cost the Chesapeake
seafood millions of dollars and something unthinkable in Bay country—the possibility of a summer without
crabs.
In this program we will consider the events that precipitated the hysteria and the dynamics of science,
policy and politics that surrounded it. We will consider the increased knowledge of toxic algae in the Bay
that the Pfiesteria scare facilitated. This program will include a presentation of the award winning
Maryland Sea Grant film “Pfiesteria Files” written and produced by Michael Fincham that analyzes the
role of media in the Pfiesteria hysteria.
PDI Full Day Session (9:00 am - 4:00 pm)
eBirding Program - Classroom & Fieldwork
Presenters: George Radcliffe, Youth Coordinator for the Maryland Ornithological Society
Wayne Bell, Senior Associate, Washington College
Justine Schaeffer, Naturalist, Willow Grove Nature Education Center
Participants will learn how to develop a bird monitoring station at a park, school, or home location. The
on-line web site eBird will be used for data entry and management, and we will present a monitoring
model that maximizes the utility of this important citizen science resource. Several birding stops in the
Ocean City area will demonstrate the monitoring protocols in the field. Binoculars will be loaned to any
participants needing them.
Open to both novice and advanced birders, the workshop will focus on monitoring techniques and, to a
lesser extent, bird identification. The session will demonstrate how data from organized and carefully
conducted bird observations can be used to manage a piece of property as simple as a home garden or
as large as a park, nature center, or school.
Highlighted will be the Bird Monitoring Center at Cromwell Valley Park where eBird data from volunteers and
school groups are being used to help manage are