There is only one living species of marine equid: Pelagicaballus devius, the wandering horse of the sea, more commonly known as the meritee...

As a senior at the University of New Hampshire, I presented a poster project at Undergraduate Research Conference in the spring of 2008. The poster was a collaboration between myself and Dr. Jessica Bolker of the Zoology department. The attractive poster introduced the meritee, discussed its ecological adaptations and evolutionary history, and demonstrated its anatomical characteristics - all supported by useful graphics. The poster introduced the concept of a phylogenetic tree (used to visualize evolutionary relationships between animals) and talked about the evolutionary adaptations of marine mammals. As I discussed the poster to interested passersby, I brought up a lot of related topics, including the social structure of meritee herds, or 'pods,' their ancient relationship with fishermen in the Gulf of Maine, and meritee conservation issues, including habitat loss and speedboating accidents.

Unfortunately, the plight of the meritee is beyond the influence of any marine conservation group. The meritee is, sadly, completely fictional.

The project was not just about ecology, evolutionary biology and marine conservation - it was about the importance of imagination and creativity in science education. The project was about thinking critically about biology and questioning our assumptions. It was about building on prior knowledge to reach for something bigger. It was about presenting cross-disciplinary research to a mixed audience in a way they could understand, appreciate and relate to.

And it was a lot of fun to do, too.

One of the best parts of the poster experience was the way it drew people in. I was very satisfied with the final design, which delivered a lot of information while looking attractive and approachable.

With Dr. Bolker's invaluable assistance, I designed every aspect of the poster - from planning the layout to painting the background (and all the cute marine ponies!) and 'manipping a few meritees into old photographs for that extra credibility.

Of course, it says right on the poster that "The meritee doesn't exist - but the scientific principles it embodies are entirely real." This heads the portion of the poster, written by Dr. Bolker, discussing the use of fictional animals as a teaching tool.

A professor from the New Hampshire Cooperative Extension was the only person to catch on right away - meritees aren't real! She was a good sport, though, and kept a straight face while I explained my project to her companion.

I wanted the poster to be visually attractive, but filled with plenty of scientific information, presented in a way that members of the public could appreciate.

Most casual attendees aren't interested in reading every single detail on a dry, boring poster composed of blocks of text and inexplicable figures. The popping graphics, bright clean design, visual accessibility and intriguing content of the poster helped me to reach the passersby and talk to them about my project.

I used the appealing meritee mascot as an oppurtunity to talk about marine conservation issues - a weighty topic that's difficult to discuss - and I was delighted to see how engaged people were.

As Dr. Bolker states on the poster, "By requiring imagination as well as knowledge, the fictional species assignment both unleashes students’ creativity and promotes rigorous scientific thinking."

As a cute and catchy mascot for a number of weighty causes, the meritee proved to be a success!

After an exciting career and presentations at two conferences, the poster was donated to the Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island, ME.