Maine’s wet 2017 winter and spring eased the 2016 drought conditions, says Sean Birkel, University of Maine research assistant professor and Maine State Climatologist. Winter precipitation was 2.3 inches more than normal on a statewide average, he says, totaling 11.7 inches water equivalent. And spring precipitation was 2.5 inches above normal, totaling 12.3 inches water […]
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Colorado potato beetles can decimate spud crops by devouring the plants’ foliage. That’s a big problem for farmers in Maine where the 2016 potato harvest was valued at more than $142 million. There’s more unsettling news — each female Colorado potato beetle can lay about 600 eggs in a growing season. And the species — […]
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Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC) has successfully completed full-scale testing of a specialized, water-lubricated bearing system and associated driveline components designed for underwater systems that capture energy from ocean tides and river currents at the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center. The purpose is to make the systems more durable and efficient, reduce […]
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“Are we going to be dissecting something?” a Great Salt Bay third-grader asked as he entered the classroom. When he got a whiff of the empty petri dish in front of him, he announced, seemingly pleased with his guess: “Yup, this smells dissected.” For the next 45 minutes, he and other students learned about oyster […]
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Well into the 19th century, home for Native families continued to be where they camped, fished, hunted and gathered wood in Maine. For Wabanaki people, home wasn’t confined to, or defined as, one place. Nor was home bound by walls or lines on a map, says Micah Pawling, assistant professor of history and Native American […]
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Increasing temperatures are fostering more favorable conditions for the transmission of malaria into the highlands of Ethiopia, according to a study led by University of Maine associate research professor Bradfield Lyon. Traditionally, the cooler climate in the highlands has provided a natural buffer against malaria transmission. But new data indicate rising temperatures over the past […]
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For the second year, 25 young leaders from Sub-Saharan Africa will spend six weeks at the University of Maine’s Public Management Institute sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. During the Institute, June 16–July 30, the fellows will participate in a rigorous agenda of academic, professional, service and recreational activities statewide, including a weekend homestay […]
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Oxford University postdoctoral researcher Michelle Taylor discovered two coral species while working with University of Maine oceanographer Rhian Waller and marine science students Genevieve Wilson and Jennifer Field at the Darling Marine Center. “It is unusual to find new ones, and that is definitely exciting,” Taylor says. In England, Taylor will describe the corals’ characteristics […]
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A Shakespeare scholar whose public talks focus on the Bard in popular culture has been selected to hold the inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of Maine. Caroline Bicks is an associate professor of English at Boston College, where she has been teaching since 2002. She will leave Boston College to […]
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For clam harvesters in Maine, invasive green crabs are voracious predators that threaten their livelihood. One green crab (Carcinus maenas) can devour 40 half-inch clams in a single day, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Which might be one reason Maine’s soft clam harvest dropped from 9.3 million pounds in 2015 to […]
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