UMaine researchers to receive funding for lobster research, media report
The Portland Press Herald, Fish Information and Services, The Weekly Packet, The Ellsworth American and the Associated Press reported several research projects at the University of Maine will receive funding obtained by the Maine Department of Marine Resources from the sale of lobster license plates. The funding will go to five UMaine projects led by professors in the School of Marine Sciences, one project at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and several mini grants. Data from the projects will be shared through a research collaborative to address the impact of the changing ocean environment on Maine’s lobster industry, according to the Press Herald. Yong Chen will receive three grants for $190,000 to investigate the impacts of conservation management, project changes in lobster habitat driven by climate change and evaluate state monitoring programs that document habitat changes. Richard Wahle will receive $40,000 to study the relationships between lobster larvae and zooplankton. Robert Steneck will receive $10,000 to research connections between lobster larvae settlement, kelp forests and density near shore of different size lobsters. The UMaine recipients of $5,000 mini grants are Jeffrey Runge, a professor of oceanography, and Damian Brady, an assistant research science professor. WABI (Channel 5), News Center Maine and the Bangor Daily News carried the AP report.