National Geographic quotes Gill in article on warming climate, animals

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

July 24, 2015 Climate Change, UMaine in the News

Jacquelyn Gill, assistant professor of paleoecology and plant ecology at the University of Maine, was quoted in the National Geographic article, “Abruptly warming climate triggered megabeast revolutions.” Around 34,000 years ago, woolly mammoths went extinct from parts of Europe, only to be replaced by other woolly mammoths that belonged to the same species, but had a different genetic lineage, according to the article. The same event has happened with other large animals that are now extinct. A team of scientists investigated these extinctions using ancient DNA, carbon-dating and climate records. The researchers found when one group of large beasts cycled into another, and, eventually, into extinction, it usually happened during the warm periods, the article states. “In the last two and a half million years, ice ages have been the rule for the Earth’s climate system — the warm periods are the exception,” Gill said. “Given that, it absolutely makes sense that the authors found evidence for more turnover during warmer climates, rather than cold events.” Gill said the results are also of concern in the present. “When it comes to the conservation of elephants, rhinos, or tigers, it’s clear that we need to be conserving the genetic diversity that may be critical to their survival through the coming centuries of warming,” she said.