Wildlife

UMaine leads international team to study, conserve woodcock

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 lobster population, habitat preferences shifting, study finds

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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Pest predictor identifies ingredients for ecological recipe for destruction

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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Times Record highlights how UMaine students help protect amphibians

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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MAFES provides funding to support seven publications

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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NYT profiles work of conservation biologist Charney

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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New miscellaneous report on bees and their habitats in four New England states

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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wood frog

Conserving vernal pools and other wetland resources through coupling natural and human systems

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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small fish

Ecology, conservation, and recovery of Maine native fishes in a changing environment

Native fishes of commercial, recreational, or ecological importance in Maine, such as Atlantic salmon, brook trout, alewife, and sea lamprey, have experienced range-wide decline because human activities have degraded freshwater habitats. Recently humans have sought to mitigate these negative impacts and restore native fisheries, especially for migratory species, by removing dams and restoring access to […]

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