Research Programs

Atlantic bluefin tuna diets are shifting in a changing Gulf of Maine

Maine’s coastal communities have been hooked on the Atlantic bluefin tuna since at least the late 1880s — first as bycatch, until the 1930s when the fish became a prized target in fishing tournaments. Through the subsequent decades, bluefin tuna have and continue to support working waterfronts in Maine and beyond. Despite a decline in […]

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Calling all anglers! Help reel in data for UMaine striped bass research

At the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center, student researchers have launched a new project this summer to investigate the feeding habits of striped bass along the coast of Maine.  The project is led by Abby Remick, a first-year graduate student in the lab of Michelle Staudinger, associate professor of marine sciences. Student researchers will […]

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Tapping for gold: UMaine research fortifies state’s maple industry

It’s late spring, and the leaves on Maine’s maple trees are full – the buds have swelled, and the season for collecting sap is long over.  Maine maple sugar producers, like Mark Prentiss and Kim Roberts, are already at work preparing for next year’s sap-collecting season. Prentiss and Roberts, who are married, are co-owners of […]

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Canines sniffing out wood turtles for science

Check out WABI-TV5’s piece on Dr. Matthew Chatfield’s unique method for locating the subject of his research in the field. Partnering with the Center for Wildlife Studies, Chatfield and his team use trained dogs to locate endangered wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta).

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Amanda Gavin: Investigating Greenland’s rapidly changing water supply

For nearly a decade, Amanda Gavin has studied and conserved lakes, including many in Maine, that provide drinking water and support agriculture. Today, she’s investigating what the future may hold for tens of thousands of crystalline blue lakes within an Arctic country experiencing rapid ecological change: Greenland.  More frequent heat waves, drought, heavy rain and […]

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Meireles to illuminate centuries of biodiversity data with $1M award from NSF

Jose Eduardo Meireles, assistant professor of plant evolution and systematics at the University of Maine, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award to develop faster, cheaper methods to study biodiversity and plant function. The CAREER, or Faculty Early Career Development, awards are among NSF’s most prestigious and support research and education activities led […]

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Ph.D. student awarded fellowship to conduct research in Acadia 

One of this year’s Acadia Science Fellows is a doctoral student in the University of Maine School of Forest Resources, Colby Bosley-Smith.  The fellowship program is an initiative of the Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park supported by the David Evans Shaw Family Foundation, Sibley-Saltonstall Charitable Foundation and individual donors. Fellows inform management and protection […]

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Maine kicks off Dairy Month at Witter Farm to celebrate industry advances

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and Gov. Janet Mills launched Dairy Month on June 6 at the University of Maine’s Witter Farm, uniting dairy farmers, 4-H students, researchers, state and local leaders and industry partners. Together, and with a celebratory milk toast, they highlighted the vital role of dairy in Maine’s agricultural […]

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