The latest Maine EPSCoR print newsletter is out now. This newsletter covers some of the amazing work researchers across both Maine and the state’s EPSCoR grants. Maine EPSCoR Newsletter March 2023: Featured Stories: Maine-eDNA Research Learning Experience Forest Bioproducts Research Institute Mind the Gap: Ecology, evolution, and the impact of humans on the natural […]
Read more
By Daniel Timmermann In early 2022, Maine-eDNA brought on new research coordinator Karen James. This inclusion to the project will help Maine-eDNA coordinate the grant’s vast amount of work happening across the state. James brings with her a deep knowledge of genetics, environmental DNA (eDNA), and its application in marine and terrestrial habitats. While James […]
Read more
By Daniel Timmermann The University of Maine is home to a number of prestigious research centers and institutes working on the cutting edge of their research fields. Many were developed by and grew out of research projects brought to Maine through NSF’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (ESPCoR). One example of this is the […]
Read more
By Caty DuDevoir, Writing Intern Illustrations by Nhan Chau, Media Intern Maine’s forests, oceans, rivers, and land sustain vital economic and social opportunities, and understanding how to properly manage the state’s resources requires a level of stewardship. Involving undergraduate students in research is a small step in addressing resource management and promotes exploration within scientific […]
Read more
By Ilaria Bardini, Media Intern We are already seeing the repercussions of our changing climate through altered weather patterns, development of new diseases, increasing numbers of annual natural disasters, and warming oceans. The NSF EPSCoR RII Track-2 Biodiversity and Rural Adaptation to Climate Change Using Data Analysis project (Barracuda) is working to develop tools with […]
Read more
By Caty DuDevoir, Media Intern In the fall of 2016, shellfisheries in the Gulf of Maine were closed and five tons of clams and mussels were recalled due to an unprecedented harmful algal bloom (HAB) of toxin producing species Pseudo-nizschia australis that spread from the Bay of Fundy to Rhode Island. Pseudo-nizschia australis can produce […]
Read more
By Ilaria Bardini, Media Intern As the world’s climate changes, ecosystems and the animals that inhabit them are changing as well. This holds true for blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, which are beginning to populate areas along the coast of Maine. Native to warmer waters along the U.S. coastlines, the rising temperatures in the Gulf of […]
Read more
By Caty DuDevoir, Media Intern Across the NSF EPSCoR Track-1 Maine-eDNA grant, researchers are partnering with local communities and organizations to maintain dialogue and expand conservation in Maine’s waters. Located close to the University of Maine Orono campus, the Penobscot River, New England’s second largest river system, provides Maine-eDNA researchers studying freshwater systems or species […]
Read more
Undergraduate Student Employees Environmental DNA (eDNA) Maine-eDNA Full-time, starting May 2023 Overview: The Maine-eDNA program is seeking undergraduate students 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/). Students will have the opportunity to participate through internship experiences in a […]
Read more
By Ilaria Bardini Writing Intern, Along the rocky intertidal zones of New England, blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), a native species of filter feeding bivalves, cling onto rocks, piers, and other structures. Although seemingly mundane and relatively sedentary in nature, these molluscs are essential to biodiversity, commercial aquaculture, and serve as habitats for a myriad of […]
Read more