Peter Burn, Professor

Peter Burn, Ph.D.

Professor

Department of Biology

Suffolk University

41 Temple Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02114-4280

 

Phone: 617.573.8248

Fax: 617.573.8245
pburn@suffolk.edu

Office: Archer Building, A507

Research Interests

Characterization and comparison of New England barrier island and salt marsh habitats. Uses of hypermedia in research and education.

 

Education

University of New Hampshire

Ph.D., Zoology, 1978

Northeastern University

M.S., Biology, 1973

University of Pennsylvania

B.A., Biology, 1969

 

Employment

1996-present, Professor of Biology, Suffolk University
1989-1998, Consultant in Radiology (non-clinical), Massachusetts General Hospital
1989-1996, Associate Professor of Biology, Suffolk University
1982-1989, Assistant Professor of Biology, Suffolk University
1978-1981, Jessie Smith Noyes Post-doctoral Fellow, Osborn Laboratories of Marine Science, New York Zoological Society

 

Selected Publications

Perez, K., E. Davey, R.H. Moore, P.R. Burn, M. Rosol, D. Kopans.  1999.  Application of Computer-Aided Tomography (CT) Scanning to the study of Benthic Estuarine Communities.  Ecological Applications 9(3): 1050-1058

Burn, P.R., M.S. Potts, R.H. Moore, A.J. Fischman, H.W. Strauss.  1993.  Tissue Distribution and and Excretion of 99mTc-Disofenin in three marine Species:  Pleuronectes americanus (winter flounder), Homarus americanus (lobster), and Mya arenaria (soft-shell clam).  Mar Biol 116: 355-361.

 

Recent Oral Presentations

Burn, P.R.  2005.  Spanning Biogeographic Provinces and Plant Hardiness Zones:  Observations on the Species Composition of Coatue (Nantucket), Sandy Neck (Barnstable), and Plum Island (Newburyport) Barrier Beaches.  Presented at the Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative Conference.  September 24, 2005.

Burn, P.R.  2006.  Plum Island and the Great Marsh – Biology and Geology,  Past, Present and Future.
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Biodiversity Lecture Series.  June 14, 2006.

 

Professional Activities

• 1995-present, President, Marine Studies Consortium
• 1990-2002, MA EOEA Coastal Resourses Advisory Board
• 1985-present, Coordinator, Suffolk University Marine Science Program

 

Other Activities

1982-present, President, SuAsCo Watershed Association
2000-present, SuAsCo Watershed Community Council, Executive Committee
2002-present, Sudbury Assabet Concord Wild and Scenic Rivers Stewardship Council

 

Current Grant Support

Contract support from the NSF funded Electronic Field Guide Project with Rob Stevenson and Bob Morris of UMass Boston. In conjunction with this grant, my students and I have prepared Electronic Field Guides for the Shrubs, Trees and Flowers of the Plum Island (Newburyport, MA) barrier beach. Other EFGs are in progress. The basis for these EFGs is a hierarchically arranged, 36,000 digital image catalogue of the flora and fauna of Plum Island.

 

Courses Taught

BIO 114/L114 - Major’s Biology II (Zoology) and Laboratory

BIO 254 - Marine Biology

BIO 343 - Biodiversity and Conservation Biology

BIO 357 - Biology of Fishes   BIO 359 - Biology of Whales