Life Sciences Commons^™

Rui: The Role Of Dissolved Organic Material In Regulating Primary Production In Prairie Saline Lakes, Jasmine E. Saros

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Grasslands and converted grasslands (i.e. agricultural land) cover extensive areas in semi-arid regions of the world. Lakes situated in grasslands are usually saline and have high concentrations of dissolved organic matter (DOM). We hypothesize that DOM plays a critical role in regulating algal production in prairie saline lakes by binding nutrients and making them less available to algae. To explore this hypothesis, we will survey a suite of chemical and biological parameters in lakes from three areas in the central and northern Great Plains (ND, SD, NE). A series of experiments will be conducted in Years 2 and 3 to …

Abiotic Controls On The Tropic Status Of Oligotrophic Water, Stephen A. Norton

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This research will investigate how the elements aluminum (Al) and phosphorus (P), both originally from soil, interact in water moving through soil pores to downstream lakes in ways that prevent P from being biologically available to algae in surface waters. This causes oligotrophic conditions (i.e., water with very low nutrient concentrations). Solid aluminum hydroxide will adsorb and can permanently capture P from the water if the acidity is low. Changes in the acidity of surface waters from "acid rain", climate change, or other factors should induce changes in the interaction between Al and P, and thus changes in the biological …

Tb199: Ant–Homopteran Relationships: Relevance To An Ant Invasion In Maine, Katherine E. Mcphee, Eleanor Groden, Francis A. Drummond

Technical Bulletins

The richness and diversity of native ant species on Mt. Desert Island, Maine, have been reduced in areas infested with Myrica rubra (European red ant). In general, the success of invasive ant species has been attributed to interference and exploitative competition coupled with the ants’ opportunistic diets. In field experiments on Mount Desert Island, Maine, M. rubra discovered and recruited to baits faster than native ants. This study also showed that M. rubra displaced most native ant species from food resources (Garnas 2005). This, together with M. rubra’s aggressive defense of invaded territories, has led to fewer native ants in …

The Lobster Bulletin, Fall 2008, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Fall 2008 Special Edition announcing the MTAF Challenge issue include:

• The MTAF Challenge
• Heannsler Family Helps to Meet MTAF Challenge
• Research Report: Gifts of Property: How they work and How They Can Benefit the Donor
• Basil & Harriet Heannsler Help the Lobster Institute Meet the MTAF Challenge With a Gift of Property

The Lobster Bulletin, Summer 2008, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Summer 2008 issue include:

• Lobstermen's Town Meeting Draws Comments from Australia
• The Lobster Institute's C.O.R.E. Initiative Receives NOAA Funding
• Lobster College at Kenniston Hill Inn B&B
• Research Report: Lobster Health Coalition
• Research Report: Determining the Health Risks of Lobster Bait to Marine Animals
• Research Report: Study to Investigate Lobster Stressors
• Pat and Herb Hodgkins …

Adaptive Divergence Versus Gene Flow In The Wild: Evaluation In Trinidadian Guppy Populations, Michael T. Kinnison, David N. Reznick

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This research investigates the impact of gene flow (genetic exchange among populations) on the evolution of biological diversity. The investigators will first document background patterns of diversity in adaptive traits (e.g., morphology, color pattern, life history) and gene flow for wild populations of Trinidadian guppies that face different environmental conditions (high vs. low predation). The investigators will then perform an experimental manipulation of the rate of gene flow between selected populations in order to evaluate theoretical predictions about the impact of gene flow on variation in adaptive traits.

Gene flow is pervasive in the wild, but the activities of humans …

The Lobster Bulletin, Spring 2008, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Spring 2008 issue include:

• Lobster Institute Hosts 5^th Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen's Town Meeting
• The Business of Lobstering
• Research Report: Assessing Affects of the Lobster Culture on Coastal Tourism
• Even Lobsters Need Friends

Collaborative Research: Extreme Discordance Between Allozyme And Non-Allozyme Introgression In Baltic Mussels. Selection On Allozymes?, Paul D. Rawson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

A major challenge for evolutionary biologists is to determine the degree to which natural selection shapes genetic variation in natural populations. Hybridization is common between two species of blue mussel found in the North and Baltic Seas. The differential exchange of genes between the two mussel species, particularly genes encoding enzymes involved in central metabolic pathways, suggests those genes may be under selection and involved in adaptation to low salinity conditions in the Baltic Sea. Tests for selection will be conducted by comparing levels of genetic exchange for these metabolic genes against nonmetabolic and presumably neutral (i.e., not under selection) …

The Lobster Bulletin, Winter 2008, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Winter 2008 issue include:

• Over $4 Million for Lobster Research in Canada
• Woodward Preserves a Piece of Lobster Industry History
• Town Meeting Celebrates 5^th Year
• 2007 Friends of the Lobster Institute
• Research Report: Lobster Enhancement Efforts Discussed
• Research Report: Coral Reef Crisis Could Signal Treat to Local Marine Life and Fisheries
• C.O.R.E. Campaign …

Relative Fitness And Behavioral Compensation Of Amphibians In A Managed Forest, Sean Michael Blomquist

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Habitat loss and degradation are two of the most important factors leading to the imperilment of species worldwide including amphibians, but mechanisms underlying these changes are poorly understood. To understand the fitness potential of harvested forests, I conducted studies of a forest specialist, Rana sylvatica (Wood Frogs) and compared these results with those from identical studies with an open canopy specialist, R. pipiens (Northern Leopard Frogs) in response to an unharvested control and three forest harvesting treatments: clearcutting (with removal of all merchantable timber > 10 cm diameter), clearcutting with coarse woody debris retention, and partial harvesting with removal of < 25% canopy cover. First, I used radio-telemetry data collected on 72 adult R. …