Research professor Rick Wahle and graduate student Carl Huntsberger are testing a technique at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center to determine the age of lobsters. Unlike fish, mollusks and trees, Wahle says lobsters and other crustaceans molt — or cast off their skeletons thereby discarding external signs of growth. That means a lobster’s […]
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Nine undergraduate and graduate students recently earned their scientific diving certification at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center in Walpole. Scientific divers use scuba or other diving equipment to study the underwater environment, says UMaine diving safety officer Christopher Rigaud. “Our students spend many hours learning about diving physics, physiology, equipment, first aid and […]
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Farming of finfish, shellfish and plants in fresh and saltwater is the fastest-growing food production sector in the world and it’s growing in Maine, too. From 2007 to 2014, the total economic impact of aquaculture in Maine — including sales revenue, full- and part-time jobs and labor income — nearly tripled from $50 million to […]
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Dana Morse, a researcher with the University of Maine’s Darling Marine Center, Maine Sea Grant and UMaine Cooperative Extension, gave a gentle warning to Portland Press Herald readers, looking to serve large, succulent Maine oysters at their New Year’s parties. “By and large, the larger the oyster you get, the stronger they’re going to be […]
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The annual Marine Sciences Boot Camp at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center offers first-year students a concentrated preview of what their lives will be like as marine sciences majors. “I loved every minute of it,” says Miranda Furnari, a student from Danvers, Massachusetts.“It was so incredible to actually get a taste of what […]
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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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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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Students, researchers, fishermen, aquaculturists and other marine professionals will gather at the University of Maine’s marine laboratory, Darling Marine Center (DMC), on Thursday, Aug. 11 for the SEA Fellows Summer Science Symposium. The SEA (Science for Economic Impact and Application) Fellows program is a new initiative developed by UMaine and the University of Maine at […]
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Eight students from Maine universities delved into the science and practice of marine aquaculture last week, thanks to an innovative new program developed by the University of Maine and University of Maine at Machias. Students visited sites from Walpole to Eastport under the leadership of UMaine Darling Marine Center director Heather Leslie and UMM professor […]
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Stephen Colbert introduced millions to Skylar Bayer’s marine reproductive ecology research. When “The Colbert Report” aired a mock crime story about missing scallop gonads and a lonely lady scientist performing experiments, the audience laughed while it learned. That funny, true, personal stories can both inform and entertain resonates with Bayer, a doctoral candidate based at […]
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