Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area - Nature & Science (U.S. National Park Service)

The natural systems on the Boston Harbor Islands encompass a wide range of process and features. All of these are collectively referred to as natural resources. The National Park Service (NPS) is taking the lead for the Partnership to collect and manage data about the park's natural resources.

Island Research
The islands also offer an exceptional perspective on change in the region’s ecosystem. Surrounded by expanses of open water, the islands vividly illustrate the region’s complex geological past and the continual effect of natural and human processes on their habitats, their uses, even their shapes. The improvement of Boston Harbor waters has regenerated the biotic communities of the islands and the sea around them and has made possible an impressively wide range of recreational uses. Thus the islands are both a recreational haven for urban residents and tourists and a highly effective laboratory in which to learn about natural change, cultural history, and stewardship.
more . . . island research

Science Symposia
A 2002 Biodiversity Seminar brought together scientists conducting studies on the Boston Harbor Islands. The proceedings of the May 30, 2002, seminar were published by the MIT Sea Grant Program (Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area: 2002 Islands Biodiversity - Seminar; MIT Sea Grant College Program Publication No 03-22. Jacobson, Bruce and Pederson, Judith. 2003.)

In October 2003 the Boston Harbor Islands Science Symposium was held at the Boston Museum of Science. Several studies highlighted at the symposium were published in a special issue of the Northeastern Naturalist (Vol. 12, Special Issue 3, 2005). Abstracts of articles in the special issue are available at BioOne.org.

The 2008 Boston Harbor Islands Science Symposium will be held at the University of Massachusetts–Boston on October 3, 2008.

Protected Species
The Massachusetts Natural Heritage Program lists six rare species known to exist within the park, including two species listed as threatened and four of special concern. They are the birds barn owl, common tern, least tern, and Northern harrier, and the plants sea beach dock and American sea blite.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service reports several federally listed endangered and threatened species of fish, turtles, birds, and mammals near or in coastal waters of Massachusetts, but not known to be found among the Boston Harbor Islands. There are no island species on the federal list.