Field Notes

Maine-eDNA update

University of Maine researchers and collaborators – including multiple members of the Leslie Lab – are leading the way in an emerging field that combines environmental science and genetics, revolutionizing how scientists understand and monitor our state’s 3,500 miles of coastline that our marine ecosystems depend on. Read on…

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New ocean renewable energy project

Jess and Heather have been awarded funds from the Northeast Sea Grant Consortium to conduct social science that supports the coexistence of marine energy, including wind, current, tidal and wave energies, with Northeast fishing and coastal communities. Their project, Building Capacity for Participatory Approaches to Community Resilience and Ocean Renewable Energy Siting, will characterize values and beliefs […]

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Chadbourne, Damariscotta R Estuary

Summer shellfish project launched

Sarah Risley is leading a team of undergraduate and high school students to study shellfish species living at several sites along the upper Damariscotta River and document local knowledge of the estuary held by fishermen and other local residents. Read the full article in the Lincoln County News HERE 

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Spring break – Journeying to urban estuaries

For my daughter’s school vacation last month, we traveled to urban estuaries south of Maine. We drove into spring, in southern New England and then worked our way along Long Island Sound to the Hudson River. We spent several days on the Hudson, crossing by ferry from Hoboken to Manhattan to explore New York City, […]

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Shellfish project featured on The Mudflat

The Mudflat, Maine Shellfish Learning Network’s website, now features the Shellfish Project we’ve contributed to over the last several years, along with the Town of Damariscotta and other community partners. Learn more via this one pager or at https://themudflat.org/damariscotta-assessment-of-shellfish-resource-for-coastal-resilience/ 

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Collaborative image making

Congratulations to graduate student Jen Smith-Mayo, who won the 2022 CMJ Showcase (Graduate Work Category) award in April. The UMaine Department of Communication and Journalism (CMJ) held its inaugural student showcase this spring to recognize the outstanding creative, research, and engagement work of CMJ students. Click HERE to access Jen Smith-Mayo’s project video and learn […]

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Sarah’s defending!

Wed, Apr 13 at 1030 AM, School of Marine Sciences graduate student Sarah Risley presented her research linking local knowledge and community science in support of coastal marine stewardship. This presentation partially fulfilled the requirements of her dual MS degrees in Marine Biology and Marine Policy. The video of Sarah’s zoom seminar is available here.  […]

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Jen shares her PhD path

Weaving together science, story, collaboration and communications research, Jennifer Smith-Mayo is doing incredible work as part of the Maine-eDNA project. She is co-advised by Heather and Dr. Bridie McGreavy. Jennifer Smith-Mayo: Rethinking how we talk about science

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Communicating across disciplines

Leslie Lab members and other UMaine researchers from a range of disciplines — including anthropology, ecology and environmental science, genetics, journalism, marine science and Native American studies — collaborated on a study recently published in the journal Frontiers in Communication. The researchers looked at communication among partners from different disciplines in developing science for coastal resilience […]

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