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Aly B. Putnam Talks to WBUR About Invasive Sea Squirts

April 23, 2025 Careers

Content

A sea squirt

Sea squirts, or tunicates, are filter-feeding marine invertebrates known for squirting water when disturbed. While some are native to New England, most found by researchers in the region today are invasive species thriving due to warming waters and a lack of natural predators. One College of Natural Sciences researcher has been tracking these resilient invaders as they spread rapidly along the New England coast.

Aly B. Putnam, a marine ecologist and a post-doctoral researcher with the Spatial Ecology Lab housed within the College of Natural Sciences's Department of Environmental Conservation, was recently quoted in a WBUR story about warming ocean waters off the New England coast and the emergence of these sea squirts. 

“We’re starting to have these warmer winters. Then species can gain a foothold.”

— Aly B. Putnam speaking with WBUR

Learn more about Putnam's work: WBUR, NEPM.

Article posted in Careers for Public

Related programs

  • Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
  • Environmental Science

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  • Environmental Conservation

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