Marine Sciences

Get your feet wet this summer at the Maine Discovery Museum

Have you heard the old saying about selling seashells by the seashore? Well, what about telling sea stories about the seashore? If you haven’t yet, don’t worry, it’ll catch on soon. This summer, the Maine Discovery Museum is hosting SEANET education outreach assistant Jordan Houdeshell for a weekly Seaside Stories hour in downtown Bangor. The […]

Read more

Scallops

SEANET announces grants for Down East aquaculture research

Maine EPSCoR’s Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network (SEANET) is funding two projects in Washington County to better understand the effects of environmental change and management policies on soft-shell clams and Atlantic sea scallops. Sustainable aquaculture presents opportunities for economic development and growth in Down East Maine’s coastal communities. “As interest in this industry continues to grow, […]

Read more

Oyster

Community invited for coffee talk about oysters with DMC director

The public is invited to join Heather Leslie, director of the University of Maine Darling Marine Center, for coffee and a chat about the past, present and future of Maine’s oyster industry at 10 a.m. June 16 in Brooke Hall. The hour-long event is to celebrate the Damariscotta River oyster industry, its longtime connection to […]

Read more

MIRTA team presentation

First five MIRTA teams showcase their discoveries

Five discoveries, including one designed to monitor the health of beehives using radar, were showcased by University of Maine faculty-led teams from the Maine Innovation, Research and Technology Accelerator (MIRTA) May 30 at the Foster Center for Student Innovation on campus. The five MIRTA projects are: A radar-based beehive activity monitor, developed by Nuri Emanetoglu, […]

Read more

Beal, Skonberg to be among presenters at Green Crab Working Summit

Solutions to the green crab problem will be the focus of the two-day Green Crab Working Summit June ​6–7 in Portland. Brian Beal, a professor of marine ecology at the University of Maine at Machias, will provide an overview of green crab population dynamics. Denise Skonberg, an associate professor of food science and human nutrition […]

Read more

Calhoun leads vernal pool workshop at DMC

Members of local land trusts and municipal conservation and planning committees attended a recent vernal pool conservation workshop led by wetland ecologist Aram Calhoun at the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center. Calhoun, a UMaine professor of wetland ecology and conservation, opened the workshop with a primer on the ecology of vernal pools and their […]

Read more

Coral reef

Study finds marine protected areas help coral reefs

Reports in recent years that marine protected areas (MPAs) aren’t effective in saving coral reefs from the damaging effects of global climate change have led some to argue that such expensive interventions are futile. But a study that spanned 700 kilometers of the eastern Caribbean reveals that MPAs can, indeed, help coral reefs. Robert Steneck, […]

Read more

Shellfish farming workshop

DMC to offer hands-on shellfish farming workshop in June

The University of Maine Darling Marine Center in Walpole will offer an intensive, hands-on shellfish farming workshop June 25–29. The “Applied Methods in Shellfish Farming Workshop” is intended to familiarize participants with practical approaches to cultivate molluscs — including oysters, mussels, clams and scallops. Attendees will learn about hatchery methods and upweller and nursery systems, […]

Read more

Famed oceanographer Sylvia Earle to lecture April 30

Famed oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle will present “Exploring the Ocean in the 21st Century” April 30 at the University of Maine. The public lecture, from 4:30–5:30 p.m. at the Collins Center for the Arts on campus, will include underwater film of her research and conservation efforts in many coastal and deep areas of the […]

Read more

Follow a researcher

Students invited to Follow a Researcher on the coast of Maine

What do green crabs, ducks and crab traps have in common? How do scientists make sure data they collect are accurate? What is an invasive species and how can it be identified? This spring, University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H invites K–12 students from Maine and beyond to explore the science of tracking invasive species […]

Read more