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3rd place: “Up Close and Personal with a Cecropia Moth” by URI biology and psychology double major Gillian Mitkowski ’23 of Ashaway, RI. The cecropia moth, Hyalophora cecropia , is the largest moth native to North America and has an average wingspan of 5 to 7 inches. Rearing of H. cecropia moths is part of the research done at the URI Biological Control Lab to assist with the United States Department of Agriculture spotted lanternfly biological control research.

Honorable Mention: “Off the Shoulder of Orion” by Adjunct Instructor Kevin Gilmore of URI’s Department of Art and Art History. The photo was taken for “The 79 Moons of Jupiter,” a live, audio-visual installation and performance piece that includes electronic sounds synthesized and uses live data of the orbits of Jupiter’s moons. The artistic vision for the audio-visual performance includes educational, research, and outreach goals to activate the local treasures found in the Frosty Drew Observatory at Ninigret Park in Charlestown, RI. This photo represents part of the preparation and research for this project and depicts some of the creative process involved. Gilmore is from Wakefield, RI.

Honorable Mention: “Polycarpa and Caulerpa” by URI biological sciences and biological and environmental sciences graduate student Erin Borbee ’21 of Burlington, MA.

Our research is a collaboration among Professor Christopher Lane and Associate Professor Austin Humphries labs at URI and the Marine Biodiversity and Biosystematics Lab at Bogor Agricultural University in Indonesia. We use environmental DNA to evaluate biodiversity in coral reef ecosystems across Indonesia. Environmental DNA allows us to capture diversity that might easily be missed in macroscopic and microscopic organisms. In this photo the water and sediment around the organisms are full of microbial life as well as DNA from fish and invertebrates on or near this reef. The DNA is captured on filters and sequenced to get a full picture of the diversity on a reef and begin to look at what factors, human and otherwise, may be influencing the diversity of various groups of organisms on the reefs.

Honorable Mention: “The American Woodcock Project” by URI wildlife and conservation biology major Justin Moore ’21 of Middletown, RI. “This depicts how URI engages in the wildlife field and what we do to conserve these amazing creatures,” said Moore, a URI Coastal Fellow undergraduate. The three hatchlings are being fitted with radio telemetry transmitters for tracking and monitoring in hopes to better understand how this species makes use of the area. The project is gathering and analyzing data to better comprehend the nesting ecology of this bird species.

URI Initiative Plastics: Land to Sea SPRING | 2021 Page 65