Forestry and the Environment

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UMaine research shows animal personalities change what role critters play in building the world around them

Just like people, animals have personalities — and, like people, these individual differences in behavior may determine what role an animal plays in building the world around it. “Mutualisms” are symbiotic relationships between animals: clownfish keeping stinging sea anemones clean in exchange for protection, or bats providing nutritious guano to pitcher plants as they provide […]

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PenBay Pilot features Sunnarborg talk

The Penobscot Bay Pilot shared information about an upcoming presentation by University of Maine Ph.D. student Julia Sunnarborg about the principles of environmental DNA. The online webinar will take place at noon on Tuesday, April 19, and is hosted by Merryspring Nature Center.

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Kopec speaks with BDN about mercury versus PFAS in fish

The Bangor Daily News interviewed Diane Kopec, faculty fellow at the George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, about the difference between mercury contamination and PFAS contamination in Maine’s fish. Kopec told the BDN that while mercury tends to collect in fish muscle, PFAS contamination appears to be more widespread throughout the fish, which could […]

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Mech speaks to WGME about browntail moth outbreak in Maine

Angela Mech, assistant professor of forest entomology, was interviewed for WGME Portland about Maine currently suffering through the worst infestation of browntail moths since they were first introduced to the state around the turn of the 20th century, more than 100 years ago. The current outbreak, which started in 2015, festered quietly for several years […]

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2022 Maine Food Waste Solutions Summit to be held April 15

The 2022 Maine Food Waste Solutions Summit will be held virtually on Friday, April 15, from 9 a.m.–noon. This year’s theme is “Improving Maine’s Food System.” Food waste data is grim. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that 40% of food produced is never eaten, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds that this waste […]

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Mortelliti quoted by Toronto Star about red squirrel personalities

Alessio Mortelliti, a University of Maine wildlife ecologist, was featured in the Toronto Star for his research studying the behavior of small rodents in the Penobscot Experimental Forest in Maine. The column, which focused on the charming behavior of red squirrels in the writer’s local park, highlighted a UMaine video featuring Mortelliti and his research. […]

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AP, News Center Maine highlight UMaine tick research

The Associated Press and News Center Maine reported on research from the University of Maine and Maine Medical Center Research Institute’s Lyme & Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory that shows blacklegged ticks, which can transmit Lyme disease, have been increasing in abundance in a forest in the midcoast region over the last three decades. The Bangor Daily […]

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