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Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2010
- Title: Secrets of the Mud: The Hemlock Mystery
- Author: Allison J Gillette (Emerson College)
- Abstract:
Paleoecology—the study of past ecosystems—provides a valuable, long-term perspective, but its methods and key findings are not well understood by the general public. My work this summer at the Harvard Forest had two primary goals: First, I participated in the field and laboratory components of a paleoecological study of a site on Martha’s Vineyard. We collected a sediment core from Black Pond and are analyzing pollen, charcoal, organic content, and chemistry to reconstruct past changes in vegetation, fire, and climate. Our preliminary findings indicate that this site, like others on Cape Cod and the adjacent islands, experienced an abrupt decline of oak and expansion of beech 5500 years ago, synchronous with the decline of hemlock across much of eastern North America. The current mortality of oak across Martha’s Vineyard due to the combined effects of drought and insect outbreaks may serve as an analogue for what took place along the New England coast 5500 years ago. Second, I created a documentary film to share the methods and findings of this project with a general audience. My film shows how lake-sediment cores are collected, explains the laboratory procedures, and presents data and interpretations. The documentary features interviews with several paleoecologists and highlights hypothesized causes of the hemlock and oak declines. The film was created to inspire a general audience to learn more about paleoecology and science in general.
- Research Category: Historical and Retrospective Studies
