Marine Sciences

Blue mussels

Researcher who discovered decline in blue mussels to talk at DMC

Cascade Sorte, a biologist who documented a massive decline in wild blue mussels in the Gulf of Maine, will present “Global change consequences and coping mechanisms in coastal marine systems” at noon Oct. 6 at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center in Walpole. Sorte found blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), a foundation species that influences […]

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Stages of lobster larvae development

DMC, Bigelow study: Rising ocean temperatures threaten baby lobsters

If water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine rise a few degrees by end of the century, it could mean trouble for lobsters and the industry they support. That’s according to newly published research conducted at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. The research is the only published […]

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Tiny fossils

For Allen, fossils yield data to understand ocean circulation, climate

Katherine Allen is an ocean historian. But instead of poring through old texts, she studies the chemical composition of tiny ancient fossil shells in Southwest Pacific marine sediment. Allen, a research assistant professor at the University of Maine, says these marine fossils — which have been accumulating on the seafloor for millions of years — […]

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New publication focuses on access, use, and ownership of the Maine coast

Access to Maine’s beaches and coastal areas can sometimes be a challenge. According to the latest analysis of property ownership data by the Maine Coastal Program, the public owns just 12 percent of Maine’s 5,400-mile shoreline. Public rights to the rest of the coast vary considerably, from submerged areas below low tide through the intertidal […]

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Behavior of decorating crabs topic of DMC talk

Molly Jacobs, a visiting researcher from McDaniel College in Maryland, will present a brown bag seminar, “Age-appropriate outfits? Decorating behavior in juvenile and adult decorator crabs,” at noon Thursday, Sept. 15 at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center. Decorator crabs hide from predators by covering themselves with materials from their environment. In young crabs, […]

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Students: Conducting research to buoy aquaculture

Read transcript In summer 2016, students from the University of Maine, University of Maine at Machias and the University of New England became SEA (Science for Economic Impact & Application) Fellows. Knowledge gained from hands-on research projects involving oysters, lobster shell hardness and disease, clam growth and surface runoff in the Damariscotta River estuary is […]

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‘Serendipity’ author to speak Sept. 8 at DMC

A professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will present a brown bag seminar titled “Adventures in nature and the pathways to ecological understanding” at noon Thursday, Sept. 8 at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center. Jim Estes’ talk will feature excerpts from his book “Serendipity; An Ecologist’s […]

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Volunteers help new students move into residence halls

UMaine welcomes its largest incoming class

The University of Maine is welcoming its largest incoming class — 2,300 students — with Maine Hello on Aug. 26, in preparation for the start of classes for the fall semester on Monday. Arriving on campus, members of the Class of 2020 and their families are being greeted by hundreds of UMaine community volunteers who […]

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