Ask anyone who frequents the forests of New England and they will likely speak of unwelcome companions — ticks. Blacklegged ticks are expanding their range and rising in numbers, infecting people with pathogens that cause conditions like Lyme disease and babesiosis. Climate change is frequently blamed, but researchers have noticed another man-made problem may be […]
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The American woodcock is a well known shorebird found across eastern North America. Each year, they migrate from overwintering locations in the southeastern U.S. to breeding locations across the northeastern and midwestern U.S. and southeastern Canada. To gather data on the woodcock’s migration, a team led by faculty at the University of Maine has collaborated […]
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American lobsters along Maine’s coast have relocated to new habitats, while the population simultaneously shrunk in abundance and grew older, according to a new study by University of Maine researchers. For decades, the vast majority of adult lobsters resided in boulder shelter habitats. This knowledge helped inform longtime conservation efforts and regulations within the more […]
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If you’ve felt the familiar itch of browntail moth rash, seen the grayish-green needles of an infested hemlock or watched as woodpeckers bore into ash trees for a meal hidden beneath the surface, you’ve experienced the devastating effects of non-native pests. Browntail moth, hemlock wooly adelgid and emerald ash borer are only three of the […]
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The Times Record highlighted research efforts by two University of Maine graduate students to research, understand and protect amphibians. Marisa Monroe launched a two year project in Acadia National Park to study seasonal patterns among amphibians, and Greg LeClair founded Maine Big Night, a statewide citizen science project encouraging volunteers to collect data and monitor […]
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The Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station (MAFES) has restarted it’s publication funding program after a two-year pause. We are proud to announce that with the first cycle of 2024 funding, MAFES has supported seven peer-reviewed publications. These publications reflect the diverse research programs supported by the Experiment Station (see below). A second 2024 funding […]
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May 24, 2024 Noah Charney, an assistant professor of conservation biology at the University of Maine, was featured in a profile by the New York Times for his work on understanding and interacting with landscapes. Charney practices reading the land around him — its past, present, potential for the future by picking up on patterns […]
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May 7, 2024 Scattered across the Penobscot Experimental Forest are veritable treasure troves for its denizens, each containing riches beyond comprehension. These caches do not contain gold or jewels – they’re filled with eastern white pine seeds and were placed by a team of researchers at the University of Maine for one purpose: to catch […]
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The Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station has published MR448: Bees and Their Habitats in Four New England States. Authors Alison C. Dibble, UMaine Francis A. Drummond, UMaine Anne L. Averill, University of Massachusetts Kalyn Bickerman-Martens, UMaine Sidney C. Bosworth, The University of Vermont Extension Sara L. Bushman, UMaine Aaron K. Hoshide, UMaine Megan E. […]
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Vernal pool conservation strategies that incorporate the best available science and social and economic needs of Maine citizens. Since the passing Significant Vernal Pool regulation in Maine in 2007, there has been a political backlash to dismantle all regulations associated with Significant Wildlife Habitats. In particular, in developing landscapes, vernal pool resources are rapidly disappearing […]
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