Marine Sciences

AP rates warming ocean top 10 Maine story of 2016

The Associated Press ranked a story that stemmed from University of Maine research — that baby lobsters might not be able to survive in the ocean’s warming waters — as the No. 10 story this year in Maine. WABI (Channel 5) and The Washington Times carried the AP’s top 10 list. University of Maine Darling […]

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Paradise Bay, Antarctica

NASA technology key to Boss’ exploration of polar phytoplankton dynamics

Free-floating ocean phytoplankton, often too small to be seen without a microscope, are a big deal. The tiny marine plants consume carbon dioxide and produce half of all the oxygen molecules that people and animals breathe. And, as the base of the ocean food web, they’re nourishment for zooplankton, fish, seabirds and whales. To gain […]

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Bricknell source for PPH piece on permitted exotic pets

The Portland Press Herald interviewed University of Maine professor of aquaculture Ian Bricknell for an article about a Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife task force that is reviewing and rewriting the list of exotic pets permitted in Maine. The committee is considering whether to ban some pets currently on the list in order to […]

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Weddell seal

Researcher charts advances in marine mammal genetic sequencing

Answers to evolutionary and ecological mysteries about marine mammal species may be closer at hand, thanks to advances in genetic sequencing techniques for so-called nonmodel organisms. Kristina Cammen, a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in biology and soon-to-be assistant professor of marine mammal science at the University of Maine (starting May 2017), led the research […]

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Kelp forest

Steneck contributes to global study touting local management of kelp forests

A half-century of global ocean research indicates local management is key to sustaining kelp forest health. Kelp  — large brown seaweed or alga  — provides food or habitat for a number of species, including fish, sea urchins and lobster, says Bob Steneck, a University of Maine oceanographer and one of 37 scientists who took part […]

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UMaine's Darling Marine Center

Water quality, lobster management focus of DMC grad students’ research

University of Maine Darling Marine Center graduate students Carl Huntsberger and Whitley Gilbert want their research to support better management of two of Maine’s most valuable natural resources — clean water and lobsters. Huntsberger was 9 when he began lobster fishing. He knew a legal-sized lobster, known as “a keeper,” is one whose main shell […]

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Maine Sea Grant recognized for seaweed aquaculture outreach, research

The National Sea Grant Extension Assembly selected Maine Sea Grant as the recipient of the 2016 Superior Outreach Programming Award, presented at the biennial meeting of the National Sea Grant Network on Oct. 13 in Newport, Rhode Island. Sarah Redmond, former marine Extension associate with Sea Grant and University of Maine Cooperative Extension, received the […]

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Members of the Marine Sciences Club post with a miniboat

Marine sciences undergrads to demo, launch unmanned sailboat on European voyage

Students in the University of Maine Marine Sciences Club are partnering with area schoolchildren to enter the 2016 Atlantic Miniboat Regatta with a nearly 5-foot unmanned sailboat equipped with GPS to track its voyage to Europe by way of the ocean currents. The regatta is organized by Educational Passages, a Belfast, Maine-based program that teaches […]

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