Marine Sciences

Ruleo Camacho

Ruleo Camacho: Promoting coral reef health

A graduate student at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center received a Young Investigator Award Honorable Mention at the 9th Florida State University Mote Symposium in October. Ruleo Camacho, who is a pursuing a dual master’s degree in marine biology and marine policy, presented his thesis research, “Antigua’s Community Based No-Take Reserves: Developing a […]

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Tyler Carrier

Tyler Carrier: Invertebrate investigator

After Tyler Carrier took a course focused on invertebrates — an animal that lacks a backbone — during his first-year at the University of Maine, he was hooked. Carrier graduated from UMaine in May 2015 with a B.S in marine sciences. His honors thesis explored the interactions between sea urchins and alexandrium — a species […]

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Algal Bloom

Climate change may increase blooming, but not the good kind

Marine scientists warn that the future may bring more harmful algal blooms (HABs) which could threaten wildlife and the economy, but that poor scientific understanding limits long-term forecasts. Understanding algal blooms and how they will impact society was the focus of a four-day workshop — comprised of 11 marine science researchers from around the world […]

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Graduate student studies dams, impact on American Eel

The American Eel, Anguilla rostrata, is one of three species of freshwater eels found around the globe and is the only species found in North America. According to the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, the species has survived multiple ice ages and is considered to have the broadest diversity of habitats of any fish species […]

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Ocean waves

Leslie reviews ecosystem-based ocean management approaches

The director of the University of Maine Darling Marine Center says ecosystem-based approaches to restore ocean health provide a flexible framework for marine management and allow scientists and stakeholders to move beyond reactive and piecemeal solutions. “Ecosystem-based management (EBM) accounts for the diverse connections between people and oceans and the trade-offs inherent in managing for […]

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UMaine scientific divers win awards at AAUS Symposium

Three scientific divers with ties to the University of Maine received awards at the 2015 American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) Symposium in Florida. Marissa McMahan, a Ph.D. candidate at Northwestern University in Illinois, is a former UMaine student and assistant instructor for an introduction to research diving course. She was the recipient of the […]

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Underwater scene with tropical fish

Human-marine environment interactions crux of DMC director’s study

Heather Leslie, director of the University of Maine Darling Marine Center, is leading a research project to deepen her interdisciplinary investigations of ecological and human dimensions of small-scale fisheries in Mexico’s Baja peninsula. A $1.79 million award from the National Science Foundation’s Coupled Natural and Human (CNH) Systems Program funds the three-year project. “My studies […]

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Sea slug

DMC scientist: Sea slug sniffs out seaweed’s chemicals, then stalks its prey

An underwater sea slug has evolved chemical foraging and defense abilities that are functionally identical to those of terrestrial insects, despite being unrelated to their land-based counterparts and living in vastly different habitats for 400 million years. “Specialized herbivores on land and sea appear to make a living in similar ways,” says University of Maine […]

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Buoy data to contribute to aquaculture research, Phys.org reports

Phys.org carried a University of Maine news release about how UMaine scientists have deployed an ocean-observing buoy at the mouth of the Damariscotta River to help scientists understand how different types and scales of aquaculture can fit into Maine’s multi-use working waterfront. The buoy is part of a National Science Foundation’s Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network […]

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Buoy data to inform how aquaculture fits into working waterfront

University of Maine scientists have deployed an ocean-observing buoy at the mouth of the Damariscotta River to help scientists understand how different types and scales of aquaculture can fit into Maine’s multi-use working waterfront. The buoy is part of a National Science Foundation’s Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network (SEANET) project geared to assist the aquaculture sector […]

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