Charles Clarkson, a Ph.D student working at the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) LTER was featured on the local National Public Radio on Tuesday, August 30, 2011. Under the direction of advisor Mike Erwin, Clarkso is studying chick growth and contaminants on birds at the VCR LTER site and at a comparative site near New York City. He uses innovative methods such as ptilochronology (the study of growth bands in feathers) and automated cameras at nest sites of several species of water birds to explore the relationships among feather growth, body growth, nutrition, mercury contamination, and estuarine condition in the study area. The study is expected to provide useful clues as to whether ptilochronology might be a useful rapid-assessment bio-indicator tool.
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