Douglas B. Rasher Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Robert Steneck University of Maine Matthew Suskiewicz Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences Kelp forests are the primary habitat of Maine’s nearshore waters. As the population of green sea urchins, which eat kelp, has declined, kelp forests are returning to their former glory beneath the surface. This project […]
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Lisa Kerr Gulf of Maine Research Institute Kathy Mills Gulf of Maine Research Institute Andrew Pershing Gulf of Maine Research Institute The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than most of the world oceans. Increasing temperatures are reshaping the ecosystem in ways that are difficult to keep pace with and manage. Species of fish and […]
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Michele LaVigne Bowdoin College Branwen Williams Claremont Colleges Alan Wanamaker Iowa State University David Carlon Bowdoin College Aaron Strong University of Maine Increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are causing ocean waters to become more acidic, the result of gas exchange at the air-sea interface and chemical reactions in seawater. A more acidic […]
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David Fields Senior Research Scientist Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences The Gulf of Maine is warming at a rapid rate, with unknown consequences for marine life, including commercially and culturally important species such as American lobster and soft-shell clams. Previous work by Bigelow and UMaine scientists provided some of the first indication that temperature is […]
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Bailey Bowden Town of Penobscot Alewife Committee Penobscot, ME The Bagaduce River Estuary is the focus of a watershed-wide effort to restore passage for sea-run fish and enhance ecosystem integrity, including participation in the SEANET project and NOAA’s Habitat Blueprint. The effort is led by the Town of Penobscot with support from Sedgwick and Brooksville, […]
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Monique Coombs Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association In 2017, Bert Jongerdon, General Manager of the Portland Fish Exchange, called the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association because he had a load of cusk and could not find a buyer. MCFA couldn’t identify a buyer, either, and the fish ended selling for pennies. Shortly after, MCFA discussed the […]
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Alice Kelley School of Earth and Climate Sciences University of Maine More than 2,000 historic Wabanaki shell middens are located on the coast of Maine. These human-created accumulations of shells, faunal remains, and artifacts were once seen as trash heaps, but are now viewed as archives of over 4,000 years of coastal lifeways and environmental […]
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Karen Wilson University of Southern Maine In the Penobscot River Estuary, the return of large numbers of river herring coincides with a legacy of mercury contamination from historic industrial activity. Sea Grant funded research has demonstrated that juvenile river herring are spending much longer in the estuary than previously thought (weeks to months) and consuming […]
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Ian Bricknell School of Marine Sciences University of Maine The European green crab, Carcinus maenas, is an invasive species on the East Coast of the United States as well as many other regions around the world, and threatens important seafood species in Maine. There are no significant natural predators of green crabs on the coast […]
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Meredith White Mook Sea Farm Email Mook Sea Farm Bacteria belonging to the genus Vibrio are found naturally in brackish and marine environments and represent the leading cause of human illness associated with eating raw seafood, including oysters. The recent warming trend in sea surface temperature of the North Atlantic is linked to the spread […]
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