FSML: Improvements to Living Facilities, Data Communications, and Electrical Generation Capacity at the Bowdoin Scientific Station

Bowdoin College, Brunswick ME

Investigators

Abstract

Bowdoin Scientific Station (BSS), Bowdoin College's biological research station on the Bay of Fundy, has been awarded a grant to improve its dormitory facilities. BSS is unusual in many respects, it: is operated by an undergraduate liberal arts institution; provides access to a wide variety of terrestrial and marine habitats; has remarkable ecological characteristics (large tides, extreme philopatry among migratory animals, self-compatible plants, boreal plant communities despite temperate location, and geographically isolated plant and animal populations); and possesses several valuable long-term ecological databases, some of which span more than 70 years. But what makes BSS truly extraordinary is its scientific productivity. Considering its small size (20 person maximum capacity, including staff), seasonal usage, and undergraduate focus, the Station has an unusually high publication rate (187 peer-reviewed papers since its founding in 1936; 68 of which were authored or co-authored by undergraduate students). Twenty-five papers have been published in the past 5 years. Infrastructure audits of BSS conducted in July 2008 identified 4 areas of need: (1) long-term structural integrity of the main dormitory, (2) personnel capacity, (3) electrical generation capacity, and (4) internet communication capabilities. This project will address items 1 and 2 by renovating the Station's main dormitory. Renovations will preserve the main living facility at the Station and double the number of personnel that this building can house, ensuring continued growth of scientific productivity and educational opportunities. BSS is an exceptionally valuable research and teaching asset, which has trained and inspired thousands of students by giving them the opportunity to work in close collaboration with professional biologists in the field. This experience has a profound and lasting effect on these students, a disproportionate number of whom go on to careers in science and environmental management. By preserving the structural integrity of the main dormitory and increasing the personnel accommodations, this project will enhance the quality and quantity of research projects that the Station is capable of supporting. In addition, these upgrades will make it possible for more classes to take advantage of the Station's facilities. Clearly, these upgrades will benefit Bowdoin's students and faculty. But since approximately 1/3 of the Station's users traditionally come from other institutions (including undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty), the impact of this infrastructure project will reach far beyond the Bowdoin community. These improvements in infrastructure at BSS will allow the Station to continue fulfilling its mission as a facility for ecological research, student training, and environmental stewardship.