Maine EPSCoR

Over the past two centuries, river herring (alewife and blueback herring) experienced a decline in their populations due to the construction of dams blocking migration paths. However, the recent removal of dams and construction of fishways and other infrastructure has led to the start of their recovery. As part of the NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 […]

By Ryan Abedi and Lauren Crofton-Macdonald, As the Gulf of Maine warms, new species, invasive and not, are moving in. The delimitation between invasive and noninvasive species can be difficult to discern. At a simple level, it can be the level of human involvement in the species movement. For example, the European green crab made […]

By Camryn Sudimick While not as expansive as the renowned kelp forests of California and other parts of the world, the Gulf of Maine (GoM) is also home to a diverse kelp forest ecosystem on its rocky reefs. These out-of-sight underwater forests are known to foster biodiversity, providing vital resources and habitats for various marine […]

By Camryn Sudimick In the vast expanse of the Earth’s ocean, our planet’s largest ecosystem, lie countless mysteries that have yet to be explored. Dedicated to uncovering such mysteries is Jamie Fogg, a sophomore studying Marine Science at the University of Maine. Fogg began exploring marine biology during high school when she was involved in […]

By, Camryn Sudimick, Maine EPSCoR Writing Intern The Gulf of Maine (GoM) is warming rapidly, and ecosystems contained within, including Maine’s rocky reefs, are undergoing significant changes. The kelp forest habitats along Maine’s coast are transitioning to red algae turf reefs. These kelp forests stand from one to a few meters tall that fish and […]

By Camryn Sudimick, Writing Intern Amid Maine’s watersheds reside countless microorganisms that many do not take the time to consider. These organisms, while small in size, play a crucial role in their ecosystems. Scientists have harnessed the power of environmental DNA (eDNA) when it comes to understanding the world of microscopic organisms. Étaín Cullen, an […]

Congratulations to Maine-eDNA’s summer internship cohort! The NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Maine-eDNA project provided support to 32 undergraduate interns this summer. Working up and down the coast and into the interior of Maine, these interns made meaningful contributions to the project by helping advance efforts like Maine-eDNA’s Index Site Sampling project.  The interns used eDNA […]