Rock Talk Seminar Series

Our Rock Talk Seminar Series is a long-standing and well-loved tradition at SML. Historically, faculty members and guest speakers would gather with students on Appledore Island's rocky shoreline (giving the Rock Talk series its name) to present on a wide range of topics related to natural history, ecology, biology, and more. To stay connected with our community following the pandemic, we transitioned our Rock Talks to a hybrid format and have featured guest speakers from across the world.

Please note: All Rock Talks begin at 8pm on Tuesdays.

Watch the Rock Talk

Introducing our 2025 Rock Talk Speakers

expand all

Beyond the noise: Studying colonial animals through sound

Colonial animals present distinct challenges for conservation managers aiming to monitor their populations. This presentation explores my research uses passive acoustic monitoring to gain insights into the behavior and health of these dense colonies. By listening to the soundscape of colonies, including terns at Isles of Shoals, we can gain insights into the number of individuals, the behavioral state of the colonies, and monitor how they are responding to disturbance, offering a powerful, minimally invasive tool for conservation

a woman picking something up from a rocky shoreline

Valerie Eddington is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of New Hampshire. She is a member of both the Ecological Acoustics and Behavior Lab and the Quantitative Marine Ecology Lab. Her dissertation focuses on how we can use passive acoustic tools to efficiently monitor large aggregations of animals, including colonial bats and seabirds. She earned her B.S. in Biology from Saint Mary’s College where she developed a passion for bioacoustics research. As an undergraduate, she was involved in projects investigating the vocal behavior of small mammals, including northern short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda) and fox squirrels (Scuirus niger).

Bats Across Borders: A Scientific Journey Through Island Bat Fieldwork

This presentation will explore bat species found along the East Coast of the United States and the Caribbean, with a particular focus on populations studied in Staten Island, NY, and St. John, USVI. The discussion will be divided into two sections: the first will highlight bat species documented in Staten Island, along with an overview of species found in the New Hampshire/Maine area. The second section will focus on St. John, presenting findings from field research conducted over the past decade. The talk will cover mist-net capture data, acoustic data, and detailing species diversity and behavioral observations recorded during field studies. Additionally, it will explore the impacts of White Nose Syndrome (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) on bat populations, alongside other environmental stressors. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on conservation strategies, and what we can do to help spread awareness and protect this vital species.

Danielle Fibikar was born and raised on Staten Island, New York, and earned her M.S. in Biology from the College of Staten Island (CSI). Since 2016, she has worked as an adjunct instructor of biology at CSI. Over the past decade, her research has focused on studying bat populations on Staten Island and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Danielle is passionate about educating the public on the ecological and economic importance of bats. Throughout her career, she has observed that fear of bats often stems from misunderstanding. Danielle believes that education is the key to reshaping the public view and eliminating the negative stigma surrounding these important species. Her goal is for people who attend her presentations to leave with a newfound respect and appreciation for bats and their contributions to the ecosystem.

Community-scale Steelhead Trout Operations in New Hampshire: Sustainability from Hatchery to Harvest

The University of New Hampshire, Center for Sustainable Seafood Systems completed successful growth and harvest of 4387 kg of cleaned steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) during the 2023-2024 season. The operation took place at one of the UNH coastal aquaculture sites permitted for stocking 7000 juvenile trout in a community-scaled, integrated multitrophic aquaculture system called the AquaFort. The AquaFort has two containment sections, each approximately 6-m x 6-m x 4.57-m, for growing fish. The fish originate as a specific strain of rainbow trout eggs, hatched and grown in a freshwater raceway facility in Ossipee, NH. For this season, two size cohorts were investigated. The first cohort of 2000 fish was stocked into the saltwater AquaFort on October 24, 2023, at a mean size of 304 grams. The second cohort of 2000 fish was stocked in the adjacent containment section on December 1, 2023, at a mean size of 148 grams.

This presentation will focus on Aquafort operational datasets and define components of environmental, welfare and economic sustainability. The datasets will include growth and harvesting statistics from October to September for the first, higher performing cohort that grew to a mean size of 2.5 kg, with some individuals approaching 5.5 kg. Datasets will show how the community-scaled system can be categorized as a non-Concentrated Aquatic Animal Production facility by the EPA-National Permit Discharge Elimination System based on small harvest biomass and feeding rates. By maintaining accurate growth and harvest datasets, this seafood system can also be managed to keep stocking densities below the nominal threshold of 22 kg m^-3, appropriate for fish welfare. Most of the harvested fish were distributed and sold fresh to local markets in Portsmouth, NH with some hot-smoked in Boston, MA. Sales have approached $70,000. The team is now investigating additional market opportunities as a second year of Aquafort operations are underway.

a man standing in front of an ocean dock

David W. Fredriksson is a Professor of Ocean Engineering and Director of the Center for Sustainable Seafood Systems at the University of New Hampshire. He has over 25 years of experience in the analysis and design of open ocean aquaculture systems for finfish, shellfish and macro-algae using field measurements, physical models and computational techniques. Professor Fredriksson also teaches a course at UNH called The Design of Recirculating Aquaculture Systems and presently has a “crop” of shrimp growing in a tank system in the Chase Ocean Engineering Laboratory. He is presently working on projects supported by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, World Wildlife Fund, and the Gulf States Fisheries Commission. Dr. Fredriksson has contributed to over 50 peer-reviewed journal publications.

More about Dave Fredriksson

TBD

Tending the Tides: Workforce Development in Aquaculture

This talk explores the development of the nation's first registered aquaculture apprenticeship, created in 2022 by the Maine Aquaculture Association in partnership with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Designed to address one of the sector’s most pressing challenges—workforce development—the apprenticeship trains the next generation of sea farmers through hands-on training and technical instruction. This presentation includes a screening of Tending the Tides, a 28-minute documentary film that follows several apprentices from different cohorts. These new farmers come from a wide range of backgrounds and many relocated to Maine to participate in the program. Their stories offer a firsthand look at the motivations, challenges, and opportunities that come with entering the aquaculture field. Through their voices, the film highlights why growing Maine’s aquaculture sector matters—and why workforce development is key to its future.

Trixie earned her B.A. in Spanish and Criminal Justice from the University of Maine in 2022. After graduating and moving to southern Maine, she was introduced to aquaculture through her work on an oyster farm in Brunswick, where she exercised her creative skills to tell the farm’s story through social media. Her current role expands on what MAA has done to date by building out new and enhanced social media campaigns, sharp video production and design, and other key methods of outreach, both online and in person. She is passionate about farmer-forward storytelling that amplifies the narratives of the people who shape the industry, showcasing their personal accounts of working on the water, and emphasizing why farming is more than a job.