Volume CXXXIII, Number 19 March 29, 2002 f

Summer at the Island
LAUREN M. WHALEY
STAFF WRITER

Bowdoin Scientific Station, Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada: home to more than 200 bird species, 30 species of marine algae, 280 plant species, as well as many insects, mushrooms, muskrats, and snowshoe hares; there is one outhouse, one weather station, a dock, and this summer it is home to eight students, two professors, and a $650,000 dollar grant from the National Science Foundation.

Corey Freeman-Gallant. (Courtesy of Nat Wheelwright)

Nat Wheelwright, professor of biology, along with former student, professor Corey Freeman-Gallant of Skidmore College, recently received a grant for a collaborative study on Savannah sparrows. Wheelwright, a behavioral ecologist by trade and Freeman-Gallant, an evolutionary biologist who uses molecular techniques, will be looking at numerous questions concerning the adaptive significance of female mate choice with an emphasis on extra-pair paternity, which arises when females copulate with males other than their social mate). The scientists, along with students from both colleges, will assess the role of the major histocompatibility complex (Mhc) as a measure for predicting female fidelity. They are testing the hypothesis that females prefer mates that will bring genetic diversity to their offspring, particularly with regard to immune function. Student researchers will spend the summer on Kent Island collecting field data on the birds, using knowledge from Wheelwright's past 15 years of research on the subject. They will ask such questions as: What factors contribute to female mate choice? Are the underlying physiological clues that correspond to the compatibility of genes between two birds detectible?

Walking waist-deep through blooming goldenrod, counting gull eggs, digging under leaf litter for fungi, and clamping colored bands on the fragile legs of Savannah sparrows, Wheelwright, Freeman-Gallant (Bowdoin '91), and their students will rise with the sun, explore their questions, and spend the summer on a secluded island full of discoveries. Four of the eight students sent to live on the island will be working on the Savannah sparrow project, while the others design other natural history, art, and carpentry projects.

This project will include not only testing previously identified pairs but will also include egg mortality monitoring. Further collaboration between Bowdoin and Skidmore during the academic school year will enable student researchers from both institutions to complete honors theses. Molecular analyses will be completed at Skidmore in Freeman-Gallant's lab.

Wheelwright inherited the title of director of the 1.8 mile-long island in 1987. Of his first journey there, he muses, "the light was singing and rich and drenched with color." The magical Kent Island is located 5.4 mi. (9 km) south of Grand Manan Island in the Bay of Fundy. Visitors from Brunswick drive North to the U.S.-Canadian border at Calais-St. Stephens. The students, the van, food enough for a month, all the boots, raingear, and research materials load onto a ferry to Grand Manan Island. Seal Cove resident Russell Ingalls, longtime friend of Kent Island and Nat's, welcomes the group onto his lobster boat. After a forty-five minute ride, the muddy landing on Kent Island is thick enough in places so that visitors have to watch that their shoes don't get sucked off as they navigate their footing on the slippery seaweed-covered rocks.

At first, this island could seem daunting as it threatens to remove the walls of comfort with its early mornings, gritty air, and cold wind. But Wheelwright sees this as beauty. "I even love the fog and rain," he claims. Overall, however, Wheelwright gushes about the experiential learning that an environment such as Kent Island allows. While on Kent Island (K.I. for veterans), there are no televisions, no videos, no credit, and no grades. "It's a place where students, teachers, little children, and old men gather together to learn what learning is about," Wheelwright said. The communal dinners spark conversations about daily discoveries and are often followed by music, skits, and games. In providing students with this opportunity to create their own community and live in a small cottage, surrounded by enthusiastic people, Wheelwright enables them to come out of their comfort zones in an environment that's challenging but safe. He supports learning in this way and advocates "pulling students out of Facilities Management tidiness."

Freeman-Gallant and Wheelwright will construct a challenging environment in which their students will be learning, designing, and asking their own questions of their mentors, each other, and themselves. Freeman-Gallant will teach Wheelwright about molecular lab techniques while Wheelwright will contribute his long-term data set; both will be heavily involved in field work. Both men will bring energy, excitement, and a strong work ethic to the project. The collaboration will not be the first (nor the last), but it will certainly have its own challenges and delights. When asked about the difficulties of undertaking a project of this magnitude, Wheelwright smiled. "The summer's gonna go fine. We always learn lots." With regards to possible concerns about the partnership, Wheelwright beamed, "Corey is such a dynamo. It's gonna be a glide."