Experiment Station News

Highmoor Farm keeps pumpkin and apple season alive in Maine

Pumpkin season starts at the University of Maine’s Highmoor Farm early in June. David Handley, a small fruit and vegetable specialist at University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Mark Hutton, associate professor of vegetable crop, watch as the pumpkins grow, taking calls along the way from farmers in Maine who may be experiencing their own […]

Read more

State’s future economy anchored in the sea, University of Maine president says

Joan Ferrini-Mundy highlighted the university’s leadership at today’s Maine Blue Economy Innovation Summit. ‘You don’t get to focus on an economy without thinking about the people who make and drive that economy,’ she said. On Maine’s rugged coast, where shipbuilding, fishing and working waterfronts have defined generations, leaders say the future is once again tied […]

Read more

Right whale distribution models detailing prey can inform conservation efforts

Despite being one of the largest animals on the planet, the small population of the North Atlantic right whale and its vast habitat makes these marine mammals difficult to track. Models accurately detailing where they are located at different times of the year are essential for conservation. A new study published in the journal Endangered […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more

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 […]

Read more

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).

Read more

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 […]

Read more