News

Group of seals together at their "haulout"

Using eDNA to Study Gray Seals with Julia Sunnarborg

By Nhan Chau, Media Intern & Daniel Timmermann For any species, it is helpful to have a wide range of traits in their genetic pool. This diversity helps them evolve as a species and buffers them against future threats. Losing this protection could be a problem, especially for species that have experienced a dramatic decline […]

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Participating teachers pose for photo with sensor.

INSPIRES & the RiSE Center Partnership: STEM is a Community Collective

By Stefania Irene Marthakis  INSPIRES, an NSF EPSCoR RII Track-2 grant that focuses on gathering, analyzing, and utilizing data collected from across the Northern Forest Region, has partnered with the Maine Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center), an interdisciplinary research center at the University of Maine. The RiSE Center provides support for twenty-two […]

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Sydney Jackson stands to the right of her poster wearing a white jacket.

Maine-eDNA Undergraduate Student Sydney Jackson Tests eDNA Sampling Methods

By Caty DuDevoir, Maine EPSCoR Media Intern Maintaining the natural state of an ecological community better informs future research and avoids disrupting the species that are present. Environmental DNA (eDNA) provides researchers with a cost-effective way to prevent significant invasion of an ecosystem while still being able to collect useful data. Determining the efficiency of […]

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Heather Richard holds a bang with crushed strawberry and a solution to extract DNA in a zoom window.

Maine’s Mysterious Marshlands Workshop with Heather Richard

By Daniel Timmermann In person STEM education has been difficult the past couple years. Due to restrictions, bringing students into a lab was not an option and outdoor programs are obviously limited by weather. Maine’s Mysterious Marshlands: Using eDNA to Understand Climate Change, a recent workshop led by Maine-eDNA graduate student Heather Richard, sought to […]

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Photo of two individuals looking at computer screen on boat with text that reads Spring 2022 Newsletter

Maine EPSCoR Spring 2022 Newsletter

The Maine EPSCoR Spring 2022 Newsletter is out now. This newsletter covers some of the amazing work happening across Maine EPSCoR from new classes to partnerships and sampling efforts. We also take a look at SEANET, Maine EPSCoR’s last Track-1 grant, and its long lasting impact. Spring 2022 Newsletter: Featured Stories: Developing Innovative Partnerships: How […]

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Rene Francolini holds seaweed above her head.

Studying the Kelp Populations in the Gulf of Maine with Rene Francolini

By Caty DuDevoir, Maine EPSCoR Media Intern Kelp forests and the kelp aquaculture industry are becoming increasingly important to Maine’s working waterfront. Studying the relationship between kelp forests and climate change ensures that there can be a level of responsibility when farming kelp for aquaculture businesses. Rene Francolini, a University of Maine Marine Biology Ph.D. […]

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Photo of Surveying Drone

An INSPIRES Collaboration: Peter Nelson & Kenneth Bundy

By Stefania Irene Marthakis  Peter Nelson, Forest Ecology Director at Schoodic Institute, has been facilitating a conversation about data analytics and machine learning as it applies to a variety of applications as part of the NSF EPSCoR RII Track-2 INSPIRES project—which serves as a framework for cross-disciplinary and cross-agency dialogue within forestry research.  During Nelson’s […]

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White shark swims in water.

Investigating White Sharks’ Role in the Gulf of Maine with Kyle Oliveira

By Caty DuDevoir, Maine EPSCoR Media Intern Traditionally, white sharks in the northwest Atlantic are found in Cape Cod and Nova Scotia waters, but little is known of their presence in the Gulf of Maine (GoM). Situated between both areas, one would suspect some presence of the species in Maine, especially with increasing temperatures in […]

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Maine EPSCoR Logo on White Field

Maine EPSCoR Media Assistant Positions Open

Maine EPSCoR is seeking student employees to join our team to provide media assistance. Video assistants and writing assistants will help produce stories about work happening across Maine EPSCoR’s many projects.  Video assistants will help create high-quality videos of Maine EPSCoR research and education projects, events, and activities. Their work creating video and photo content […]

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Maine-eDNA Undergraduate Summer Internships Open

Maine-eDNA program is seeking undergraduate student employees to join our team, a state-wide, multi-institutional initiative establishing Maine as a national leader in environmental monitoring, ecological understanding, and sustainability of coastal ecosystems (https://umaine.edu/edna/). The primary responsibility of the undergraduate employees will be to conduct field sampling at freshwater and marine sites, providing the opportunity for students […]

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