Max Fournier

Master's in Marine Biology at Northeastern University ('22) • @NU_ThreeSeas 38 • @NOAASBNMS S4 Intern • he/him/his 🏳️‍🌈

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

1/4 #WSTC8 #PopSesh #Alcids are a #seabird family in the #GoM and deemed a priority species by @NOAA. Little is known about them during their non-breeding season in #SBNMS where climate change is having big impacts. We used #CitizenScience to study trends in alcid abundance.

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

@EbyAlyssa Great question! The #SBNMS S4 program conducts standardized surveys on an established transect. An observer and recorder cover 90° one side of the vessel. Birds seen within 300m are counted with other behavioral observations (distance, number, age, distance from water, etc.).

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

1/4 #WSTC8 #PopSesh #Alcids are a #seabird family in the #GoM and deemed a priority species by @NOAA. Little is known about them during their non-breeding season in #SBNMS where climate change is having big impacts. We used #CitizenScience to study trends in alcid abundance.

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

@penguin_nati We overlaid a grid system over the transect we take for each survey. Using this, we were able to effort correct the observations by dividing # of observations by the transect length for each grid cell. Then, we could use density maps and statistics!

[Alyssa Eby @EbyAlyssa]

Finishing off #PopSesh we have Max Fournier @MaxBFournier from @NU_ThreeSeas presenting on ‘Environmental and biological factors influencing alcid abundance and distribution in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (@NOAASBNMS).Take it away @MaxBFournier! #WSTC8 #TeamAuk

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

4/4 #WSTC8 #PopSesh Alcid sightings ⬇️ in 2015, which had abnormal temp and a shift in chla dist. Alcid #'s correlated ⬆️ with year and ⬇️ with chla. A ⬇️ trend was seen with the #NAO index. With more long-term data, we may be able to see even more trends in alcid abundance!

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

3/4 #WSTC8 #PopSesh Alcids are the 2nd most abundant family during the winter 2013-2018, but are also seen in the spring (left). Compared to a survey from 1994-1995 (right), alcids were seen in the winter and fall. Could there a seasonal migration shift due to #climatechange?

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

* 11:20AM EST, 3:20PM UTC! Time zones!!

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

Hello everyone! I will be presenting for the #WSTC8 on Alcid abundance and distributions within #SBNMS at 3:20PM EST for the #PopSesh! Hope to see you there 🐳

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

@anoble114 That was me all yesterday. Explaining to students that they made this aggregate for a reason!! So you can plot it!

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

@Dena_Spatz This is really crucial research for bird conservation! I'm excited to see what your results find, and am curious if success of colony restoration methods will differ by species or geographic location? #ToolSesh2

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

@LeandroTamini @AvesArgentinas 936 carcasses is impressive! Have you considered working with other agencies to perform necropsies of a subset of these animals to get an idea as to their cause of death? Particularly interested in the predominantly juvenile seabirds. #ToolSesh2

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

@EPICislands @USFWSIntl @USAID @ABCbirds @BirdsCaribbean This is really important research and another great use of taking local action for community science and conservation! Will you continue to use these efforts and track success of invasive species management? #ToolSesh2

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

@NOAASBNMS @MassAudubon @Seabirders @sanctuaries @NOAA Love seeing community science at play for conservation and research! I'm excited to be using this data for my own research questions pertaining to alcids and climate change, and hope to see other students join the team in the future! #ToolSesh2

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

So excited to start working with @NOAASBNMS for their S4 program using community science monitoring seabirds the next 6 months as an intern! #DataScience #seabirds #conservation

[NOAA Stellwagen Bank NMS @NOAASBNMS]

1/4 #WSTC7 #ToolSesh2 @NOAASBNMS Seabird Stewards conduct standardized transect survey cruises to gather data on the pelagic #seabird populations within the sanctuary. We want to determine if #SurveyMethods have an effect on our field data #BestPractices #Statistics

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

@sam_albright_ This is all super fascinating, Sam! Fellow Master's student and intern at #StellwagenBank. Do you have a working hypothesis? Does light/visibility and vocality relate to predation maybe? #ToolSesh2

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

Lesson learned: one does not simply "ask" for data from the government, otherwise one's email will automatically be blocked

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

It’s not every day where someone finds your mask you lost 2 weeks ago at the same dive site! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[Max Fournier @MaxBFournier]

We had the great pleasure of learning about @MaggieDJohnson’s research coupled by some snorkeling around the seagrass beds. Here’s some of our spoils: various calcareous and fleshy algae as well as seagrass, which help stabilize sediment and serve as habitat! #3cs38