Life Sciences Commons^™

Collaborative Cnic: Us-Argentina Planning Visits For Fungal Biodiversity Investigation, Laurie B. Connell

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This collaborative project aims to catalyze a research collaboration between US and Argentinian researchers. The project will be led by Drs. Russell Rodriguez at Symbiogenics and Regina Redman of the University of Washington, both in Seattle, Washington, and Dr. Laurie Connell at the University of Maine, Orono, for the US side. On the Argentinean side, Drs. Diego Libkind, Martin Molino and Virginia de Garcia of INIBIOMA (Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente, an Argentinean National Scientific and Technical Research Council Institute) and the University of Comahue, are the counterparts for the project. The Argentinian researchers bring to the collaboration …

Rapid: Effect Of A Very Low Nao Event On The Abundance Of The Lipid-Rich Planktonic Copepod, Calanus Finmarchicus, In The Gulf Of Maine, Jeffrey A. Runge

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The copepod, Calanus finmarchicus, is a dominant member of the plankton in the Gulf of Maine, (GoM), despite its location at the southern edge of the species' subarctic range. Wilkinson Basin, one of the three deep basins in the GoM, harbors very high concentrations of the early developmental stages of C. finmarchicus in the summer through winter and serves as a source of C. finmarchicus to GoM coastal ledges and banks. A recent study based on C. finmarchicus habitat characteristics across the North Atlantic predicts that climate-driven change will force the distribution of C. finmarchicus northward out of the GoM …

Rapid: Natural Laboratories In The Chilean Fjords: Studying Reproduction And Development In Emergent Deep-Sea Corals, Rhian G. Waller

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The northern Patagonian fjords lie on the interface between the high Andes Mountains in the east and the South Pacific Ocean, formed thousands of years ago through erosive glacial activity and tectonic sinking (Borgel, 1970). Around 12,000 years ago the icefields in the Chiloé Interior Sea began to open, leaving behind over 15,000km2 of fjords, channels and gulfs (Clapperton, 1994). The waters within the fjords are influenced by strong tides, large volumes of freshwater runoff, and upwelling of deep-ocean waters as well as steep climatic gradients from north to south (observed in parameters such as temperature, wind intensity and precipitation; …

Rapid: Natural Laboratories In The Chilean Fjords: Studying Reproduction And Development In Emergent Deep-Sea Corals, Rhian G. Waller

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Intellectual Merit

The northern Patagonian fjords lie on the interface between the high Andes Mountains in the east and the South Pacific Ocean, formed thousands of years ago through erosive glacial activity and tectonic sinking. Around 12,000 years ago the icefields in the Chiloé Interior Sea began to open, leaving behind over 15,000km2 of fjords, channels and gulfs. The waters within the fjords are influenced by strong tides, large volumes of freshwater runoff, and upwelling of deep-ocean waters as well as steep climatic gradients from north to south. This dynamic environment has resulted in extremely high biodiversity and endemism, yet …

Understanding Copepod Life-History And Diversity Using A Next-Generation Zooplankton Model, Andrew J. Pershing, Frederic Maps, Nicholas Record

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Evolution has shaped the physiology, life history, and behavior of a species to the physical conditions and to the communities of predators and prey within its range. Within a community, the number of species is determined by both physical properties such as temperature and biological properties like the magnitude and timing of primary productivity, and ecological interactions such as predation. Despite well-known correlations between diversity and properties such as temperature, the mechanisms that drive these correlations are not well-described, especially in the oceans. The investigators will conduct a model-based investigation of diversity patterns in marine ecosystems, focusing on calanoid copepods. …

Functional Diversity Of Subsurface Deposit Feeders, Peter A. Jumars, Sara M. Lindsay

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The major goals of the project are to gain a comprehensive understanding of polychaete chemosensory behaviors below the sediment-water interface and to understand how burrowing displaces sediment grains.

A method and apparatus for investigating subsurface properties of sediment, soil, snow, food stuff and other soft materials incorporates a probe head, preferably in the form of a coil spring that functions as a screw thread, which moves into the soil, snow, sediment, food stuff or other soft material, isolates a column of the material and applies tension to that column while measuring the applied force with a force sensor.

Eager: Collaborative Research: Developing Transformation Technologies For Porphyra, Susan H. Brawley

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The genome of the marine red alga Porphyra umbilicalis is being sequenced by the Joint Genome Institute. The sequence information will help scientists address many fundamental questions, because Porphyra spp. belong to an ancient eukaryotic lineage, are important human foods ("nori"), have complex life histories, and---even compared to other intertidal organisms--- possess an unusually stress-tolerant metabolism. Computer-based analyses of the new genomic data will be sufficient to address some research questions, but most studies (e.g., the basis of Porphyra's tolerance to extreme drying or high light) will require experimental approaches based upon bioinformatics analyses. This project will develop the essential …

Collaborative Research: Life Histories Of Species In The Genus Calanus In The North Atlantic And North Pacific Oceans And Responses To Climate Forcing, Jeffrey Runge, Andrew J. Pershing

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Species in the genus Calanus are predominant in the mesozooplankton of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. Their key role in marine food web interactions has been recognized in GLOBEC programs, both in the U.S. and internationally. Considerable knowledge of life history characteristics, including growth, reproduction, mortality, diapause behavior and demography has been acquired from both laboratory experiments and measurements at sea. This project reviews and synthesizes this knowledge and uses it to develop an Individual Based Life Cycle model for sibling species in two sympatric species pairs, C.marshallae and C. pacificus in the North Pacific Ocean and C. …

Improvements To Sampling From The Research Vessel Ira C, Mary Jane Perry

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The University of Maine's Darling Marine Center is awarded a grant to equip the 42-ft Ira C., the Center's largest vessel, with a well instrumented CTD, including optical sensors and a small array of sampling bottles plus a winch with conducting cable so that CTD work from the Ira C. no longer needs to depend on users bringing their own CTD and lowering by hand. This proposal is to expand the environments and variables within effective reach of the University of Maine's marine laboratory, the Ira C. Darling Marine Center (the Center) in midcoast Maine. The Center is within a …

Photodissolution Of Sedimentary Organic Matter, Lawrence M. Mayer

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The field of marine photochemistry has previously focused on dissolved organic matter and trace metals. However, recent studies have shown that sediment suspensions in the ocean are also affected by sunlight and have the potential to dissolve most of their particulate organic carbon to the dissolved organic phase.

A researcher from the University of Maine will determine the importance of photodissolution in the coastal Louisiana area, where riverine particulates are quickly deposited in shallow waters. Optical properties of the particulates will be examined to assess the photon fluxes and to determine the quantum yields of this photodissolution reaction. To determine …

Symposium Support: Integrative Biology Of Animal Regeneration - Seattle, Wa January 2010, Sara M. Lindsay, Alexandra Bely

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Certain animals can regrow (regenerate) lost body parts, whereas others cannot. This is a fascinating and important area of biology, but why only some animals have this ability is still poorly understood. The purpose of this conference symposium is to bring together researchers working on regeneration from a variety of research perspectives in order to foster integrative approaches to studying this question. Ten researchers working from different perspectives in regeneration biology, ranging from molecular and cell biology to ecology, will present current research findings and participants will discuss the state of the field and needed areas for future research. Additional …

U.S. Globec: Nwa Georges Bank - Processes Controlling Abundance Of Dominant Copepod Species On Georges Bank: Local Dynamics And Large-Scale Forcing, Jeffrey A. Runge

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

A fundamental goal of Biological Oceanography is to understand how underlying biological-physical interactions determine abundance of marine organisms. For animal populations, it is well known that factors controlling survival during early life stages (i.e., recruitment) are strong determinants of adult population size, but understanding these processes has been difficult due to model and data limitations. Recent advances in numerical modeling, together with new 3D data sets, provide a unique opportunity to study the biological-physical processes controlling zooplankton population size. This project uses an existing state-of-the-art biological/physical numerical model (FVCOM) together with the recently processed large 3D data set from the …

Career: Physiological Genetics Of The Dwarf Surf Clam, Mulinia Lateralis, Paul D. Rawson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, is a condition where more heterozygous individuals physiologically outperform more homozygous individuals. Although heterosis has often been reported for marine bivalves, as well as other taxa, the physiological and genetic bases of heterosis are still poorly understood. The proposed research will use a combination of quantitative and molecular genetic approaches to examine the physiological and genetic underpinnings of heterosis in the dwarf surf clam, Mulinia lateralis. The specific goals of this work are:

1) to determine the genetic and physiological basis of growth rate variation,
2) to estimate the degree to which the physiological components …

Us Globec Nwa/Georges Bank: Processes Controlling Abundance Of Dominant Copepods On Georges Bank: Local Dynamics And Large-Scale Forcing, David W. Townsend

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

A fundamental goal of Biological Oceanography is to understand how underlying biological-physical interactions determine abundance of marine organisms. For animal populations, it is well known that factors controlling survival during early life stages (i.e., recruitment) are strong determinants of adult population size, but understanding these processes has been difficult due to model and data limitations. Recent advances in numerical modeling, together with new 3D data sets, provide a unique opportunity to study the biological-physical processes controlling zooplankton population size. This project uses an existing state-of-the-art biological/physical numerical model (FVCOM) together with the recently processed large 3D data set from the …

Peet: Lower Worms Of The Meiofauna - Models For Early Metazoan Evolution, Seth Tyler

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Among the small invertebrates living between sand grains in the marine environment, are tiny, cryptic worms that many consider to be the most primitive of all bilaterally symmetrical animals (that is, all animals excluding the cnidarians and sponges). These worms include two small groups called acoel and catenulid turbellarians which are now classified in the phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms) but that, according to some systematists, may not even be related to the more familiar flatworms such as planarians and polyclads. Another of these primitive worm groups is the Gnathostomulida, whose relationships to other phyla of invertebrates have been similarly controversial; by …

Collaborative Research: What Limits Denitrification And Bacterial Growth In Lake Bonney, Taylor Valley, Antarctica?, Mark L. Wells, Charles Trick

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Denitrification is the main process by which fixed nitrogen is lost from ecosystems and the regulation of this process may directly affect primary production and carbon cycling over short and long time scales. Previous investigations of the role of bioactive metals in regulating denitrification in bacteria from permanently ice-covered Lake Bonney in the Taylor Valley of East Antarctica indicated that denitrifying bacteria can be negatively affected by metals such as copper, iron, cadmium, lead, chromium, nickel, silver and zinc; and that there is a distinct difference in denitrifying activity between the east and west lobes of the lake. Low iron …

Sger: Investigation Of Potential Co-Introduction Of Fucus Serratus And Littorina Littorea To North America In 1800s, Susan H. Brawley

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This research will apply new approaches and expertise to understanding the probable invasion of North American intertidal zones by the herbivorous snail Littorina littorea in the 1800s. The investigator developed the following hypothesis during her recent analyses of late 1700s to mid-1800s shipping records: Fucus serratus and Littorina littorea were co-introduced into North America from Britain via the dumping of intertidal rock ballast in ships arriving at Pictou Harbor during the massive emigration of nearly 40,000 Scots (and some Irish and English) in the late 1700s-mid-1800s. This hypothesis will be tested using innovative molecular techniques (i.e., assay of nuclear …

Collaborative Proposal: Form And Function Of Phytoplankton In Unsteady, Low Reynolds-Number Flows, Peter Jumars, Lee Karp-Boss

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Small-scale flow dynamics at low Reynolds numbers (Re) are important to phytoplankton cells in delivery of nutrients, sensory detection by and physical encounter with herbivores, accumulation of bacterial populations in the "phycosphere" or region immediately surrounding phytoplankton cells and coagulation of cells themselves as a mechanism terminating blooms. In nature most phytoplankton experience unsteady flows, i.e., velocities near the cells that vary with time due to the intermittency of turbulence and to discontinuous, spatially distributed pumping by herbivores. This unsteadiness has not previously been taken into account in models or measurements with plankton. Moreover, there have been decade- and century- …

Living Marine Invertebrates: An Interactive Cd-Rom, Leslie E. Watling, Kevin Eckelbarger

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Invertebrates comprise 95% of all animal life on the Earth and dominate the world's oceans so some knowledge of their biology and ecology is fundamental to a student's understanding of the planet's ecosystems. Invertebrates are covered in many university-level courses ranging from traditional invertebrate zoology classes to those emphasizing general introductory biology, marine biology, oceanography, and biodiversity, to name a few. Invertebrates are represented by a dizzying array of body forms and morphological variations as well as complex feeding, locomotory, and other behaviors that are difficult to describe and illustrate. Virtually all textbooks represent invertebrates with line drawings and photographs …

Research Experience For Undergraduates At The Darling Marine Center, University Of Maine, 2002-2005, Kevin Eckelbarger

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This award provides renewed funding for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site that will host a total of seven students during eleven weeks of summer research. The REU program is based on the theory that mentoring and networking are the most effective methods for recruiting students into a profession and for training young researchers. Students will be working with researchers at the University of Maine's Darling Marine Center, located in Walpole, ME. Students will also participate in a series of seminars and workshops exploring issues related to hypothesis formation and testing, statistics, experimental design, scientific writing and data presentation, …

Ner: Exploratory Research On Developing A Nanoscale Sensing Device For Measuring The Supply Of Iron To Eukaryotic Phytoplankton In Natural Seawater, Mark L. Wells

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The long delay in recognizing the potentially key role of Fe in coastal marine systems has been in large part because of the complexity of microbial:Fe interactions in seawater. There still is no analytical method for determining biologically available Fe for either prokaryotic or eukaryotic phytoplankton. However, there is evidence that Fe availability to eukaryotic phytoplankton can be regulated by additions of the fungal siderophore desferrioxamine B (DFB) to coastal waters. The DFB-Fe complex not only is unavailable for uptake at significant rates, but also outcompetes the natural organic ligand classes in seawater for Fe. Measurement of DFB-Fe concentrations in …

Linking Bioturbation And Sensory Biology: Chemoreception Mechanisms In Deposit-Feeding Polychaetes, Sara M. Lindsay, Paul Rawson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Soft-sediment benthic habitats are ubiquitous in the marine environment and typically feature macrofaunal assemblages that include large numbers of deposit-feeding invertebrates such as polychaetes, bivalves, gastropods, crustaceans, holothurians, and hemichordates. Via their feeding, modulated in part by chemoreception, these organisms have profound effects on the ecology, biology, geology, and chemistry of their habitats. Very little is known, however, concerning the physiology and molecular biology of chemoreception in deposit feeders.

This research is a comprehensive investigation of the sensory mechanisms coordinating chemoreception in deposit feeding spionid polychaetes. It directly addresses this lack of information and will therefore have a significant impact …

Collaborative Research: Globec-01: Tidal Front Mixing And Exchange On Georges Bank: Controls On The Production Of Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, And Larval Fishes, David W. Townsend, Robert Houghton

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Georges Bank supports a rich fishery because: (1) large portions of the bank are shallow enough that light-limitation of phytoplankton is usually not important; (2) deep waters rich in inorganic nutrients are available for mixing onto the bank; and (3) the Bank's clockwise circulation can retain the planktonic stages of important fish species. The tidally mixed front (TMF) is central to the productivity of Georges Bank through the processes of nutrient injection in the north and retention of larvae on the south flank. These two regions are connected by a circulation pathway along the front in which nutrients lead to …

Biochemical And Molecular Autonomy Of Symbiotic Chloroplasts, Mary E. Rumpho

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Photosynthesis provides the energy that drives all plant growth, productivity and life on earth. A marine sea slug, Elysia chlorotica, has acquired the ability to carry out photosynthesis like a plant as a result of forming a symbiotic association with chloroplasts of the alga, Vaucheria litorea. Juvenile sea slugs feed on the filamentous alga and retain only the chloroplasts, incorporating them into cells of the digestive epithelium. The chloroplasts in the now dark-green animals are functional, i.e. they evolve oxygen and fix carbon dioxide and actively synthesize proteins from DNA contained in the chloroplasts. Once the symbiosis is established, the …

Evolution Of Endosymbiosis In (Xylotrophic) Wood-Eating Bivalves, Daniel L. Distel

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Daniel L. Distel of the University of Maine to investigate the evolution of wood-boring clams. Though not well known to the general public, wood-boring clams are destructive species that may be considered the marine equivalent of termites. They include many diverse species that cause more than a billion dollars in damage to wooden structures, boats, and fishing gear annually in marine environments worldwide. The most destructive of these are the "shipworms"; worm-like clams that burrow into and eat wood. These voracious wood eaters can destroy a twelve-inch diameter pier piling in less than …

Collaborative Reseach: Nitrogen Limitation And Ultraviolet Stress In Marine Macroalgae, J. Malcolm Shick, Carl Grobe

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Physical factors such as light, temperature and nutrient availability are known to limit marine productivity and play an important role in determining species distribution and community structure. Most understanding of the role of physical factors is based on studies with a single variable with other conditions being optimized for growth. Consequently, little information is available on physiological responses to the natural environment where several physical factors may be suboptimal. The ability to understand the constraints on marine productivity requires not only an understanding of potential synergistic or antagonistic interactions but also an analysis of their effects on algae with different …

Collaborative Research: Origins Of Cods On Georges Bank: Contributions Of Early Developmental Stages For The Scotian Shelf, David W. Townsend, Irv Kornfield, Linda Kling

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Recent work in the Georges Bank-Gulf of Maine area has documented significant, and apparently episodic, fluxes of Scotian Shelf Water (SSW) from the Nova Scotian continental shelf to Georges Bank. SSW is a relatively cold and fresh water mass with a significant component from the St. Lawrence River, and is commonly identifiable with temperature-salinity analyses of hydrographic data and in satellite images of sea surface temperature. One such flux episode was observed last March (1997) in satellite imagery and from shipboard hydrographic sampling on Georges Bank. Qualitative at-sea analyses of ichthyoplankton sampled on the March cruise revealed a remarkably tight …

Composition And Function Of A Novel Consortial Endosymbiosis In The Shipworm Lyrodus Pedicellatus, Daniel L. Distel

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Enormous quantities of wood and other woody plant materials
(including leaves, bark, shoots, stems and nuts) are produced annually in
the environment. In fact, cellulose, the major component of woody
materials, is thought to be the most abundant biological material on earth.
This remarkably strong and enduring molecule is a polymer of glucose
(sugar) linked by a type of chemical bond that makes it indigestible to
most living organisms. Therefore, this rich source of food energy is
available to only a few animals (e.g., termites and ruminants) that can
digest cellulose with the aid of microbes living in their guts. …

Collaborative Research: Determinants Of Male Reproductive Success In Natural Spawns, Philip O. Yund, Paul Rawson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This proposal is an extension of previous work aimed at understanding the effects of reproductive biology on patterns of life history evolution in a colonial marine tunicate, Botryllus schlosseri. The project will test five hypotheses about factors that may determine male reproductive success in natural spawns of this colonial invertebrate. The five hypotheses specifically aim to explore the effects of timing of sperm release, relatedness of mates, population density, and allocation to male function on fertilization success in field and experimental populations of Botryllus.

Previous work has shown that there is a narrow temporal window in which fertilization can result …

Molecular Systematics Of A Rapidly Evolving Species Flock: The Mbuna (Cichlidae) Of Lake Malawi, Irving L. Kornfield

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Kornfield Irv Kornfield of the University of Maine will employ hypervariable microsatellite markers to study the systematics and phylogeny of the mbuna , a large group of cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi, East Africa, that have obligate ties to shallow, rocky habitats. Mbuna represent a highly speciose assemblage known for rapid and extensive diversification over a short periods of time. Mbuna thus represent an ideal model system in which to examine processes (e.g., habitat fragmentation, trophic and spatial niche shifts, interspecific agonistic interaction, and sexual selection) that are associated with speciation and adaptive radiation. Kornfield will use microsatellite markers to …