Life Sciences Commons^™

Investing In Maine Research Infrastructure: Sustainable Forest Bioproducts, Michael Eckardt, Stephen Shaler, Hemant P. Pendse, Adriaan R. P. Van Heiningen, Robert G. Wagner

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The University of Maine, the University of Southern Maine, several baccalaureate institutions in the state, along with other federal, state and local public, private, and non-profit institutions will collaborate to create the Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI) at the University of Maine. The vision of the FBRI is to advance understanding about the scientific underpinnings, system behavior, and policy implications for the production of forest-based bioproducts that meet societal needs for materials, chemicals, and fuels in an economically and ecologically sustainable manner.

The research plans Integrate three themes. They are (1) forest sustainability modeling of life cycle assessment, (2) integrated …

Collaborative Research: Differential Expression Of Oxygen-Binding Proteins In Antarctic Fishes Affects Nitric Oxide-Mediated Pathways Of Angiogenesis And Mitochondrial Biogenesis, Bruce Sidell

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The polar ocean presently surrounding Antarctica is the coldest, most thermally stable marine environment on earth. Because oxygen solubility in seawater is inversely proportional to temperature, the cold Antarctic seas are an exceptionally oxygen-rich aquatic habitat. Eight families of a single perciform suborder, the Notothenioidei, dominate the present fish fauna surrounding Antarctica. Notothenioids account for approximately 35% of fish species and 90% of fish biomass south of the Antarctic Polar Front. Radiation of closely related notothenioid species thus has occurred rapidly and under a very unusual set of conditions: relative oceanographic isolation from other faunas due to circumpolar currents and …

Explore It! Building The Next Generation Of Sustainable Energy Researchers, Darrell W. Donahue, David J. Neivandt

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This award will establish an REU Site at the University of Maine. The program will engage 10 undergraduates each year for three years in a 10-week summer research experience. This REU site will leverage a focus area represented by the newly established University of Maine Forest Bio-products Research Institute (FBRI). Undergraduate students will conduct research advancing their knowledge of sustainable forest bio-products and will gain a detailed understanding of one of the thematic elements of the research effort as well as a broad understanding of all areas, specifically: 1) sustainable and life cycle analysis; 2) solids extraction/modification; 3) process control …

What Is The Downeast Fisheries Heritage Trail?, Maine Sea Grant

Downeast Fisheries Trail

The Downeast Fisheries Trail is an educational trail that showcases active and historic fisheries heritage sites, such as fish hatcheries, aquaculture facilities, fishing harbors, clam flats, processing plants and other related public places in an effort to educate residents and visitors about the importance of the region’s maritime heritage and the role of marine resources to the area’s economy.

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 …

Collaborative Research: The Response Of Lakes To Disturbance And Climate Change: Calibrating Sedimentary Records To Test The Landscape Position Concept, Jasmine E. Saros

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Landscape disturbance and climate change affect lakes in proportion to their contact with ground water, sometimes resulting in different responses in neighboring lakes. This project develops methods for reconstructing past water chemistry and food webs of lakes. The biological and chemical deposits in surface sediment samples will be compared with the water in 62 modern lakes. The resulting relationships will be tested by comparing sediment cores with 24 years of observations from the North Temperate Lakes Long Term Ecological Research (NTL-LTER) site. The methods will then be used to reconstruct 150 years of history for several lakes, adding perspective to …

The Lobster Bulletin, Fall 2009, 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 2009 issue include:

• Lobster Council of Canada Has Great Potential
• Lobster Institute Events of Interest
• 2010 Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen's Town Meeting
• Research Report: Lobster Health Coalition Makes Progress on Baseline Health Data
• Research Report: LFA 33/34 Lobster Moult Timing & Quality Monitoring Project Update
• Fisheries On-Line Forum Launched

The Dandy Scroll, Fall 2009, University Of Maine Pulp And Paper Foundation

General University of Maine Publications

The Fall 2009 issue of The Dandy Scroll newsletter produced by the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation.

Collaborative Research: Abandoned Elephant Seal Colonies In Antarctica: Integration Of Genetic, Isotopic, And Geologic Approaches Toward Understanding Holocene Environmental Change, Brenda L. Hall

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

During previous NSF-sponsored research, the PI's discovered that southern elephant seal colonies once existed along the Victoria Land coast (VLC) of Antarctica, a region where they are no longer observed. Molted seal skin and hair occur along 300 km of coastline, more than 1000 km from any extant colony. The last record of a seal at a former colony site is at ~A.D. 1600. Because abandonment occurred prior to subantarctic sealing, disappearance of the VLC colony probably was due to environmental factors, possibly cooling and encroachment of land-fast, perennial sea ice that made access to haul-out sites difficult. The record …

Thresholds And The Mismatch Between Environmental Laws And Ecosystems, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr., Michael J. Bean, David Lindenmayer, David S. Wilcove

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Lobster Bulletin, Summer 2009, 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 2009 issue include:

• Development of Best Management Practices to Reduce or Eliminate Stress on Lobsters
• Mariner Beverages, USA Wine West Unveil New Wine to Benefit the Lobster Institute
• Lobster Institute Presents First Rising Star Award to Lobster Gram, Inc.
• Best Management Practices to Reduce or Eliminate Stress from Hauling & Handling of Lobsters …

Adaptive Changes In Life History And Survival Following A New Guppy Introduction, Swanne P. Gordon, David N. Reznick, Michael T. Kinnison, Michael J. Bryant, Dylan J. Weese, Katja Rasanen, Nathan P. Millar, Andrew P. Hendry

Biology and Ecology Faculty Scholarship

Numerous studies of wild populations have shown that phenotypic traits can change adaptively on short timescales, but very few studies have considered coincident changes in major fitness components. We here examine adaptive changes in life-history traits and survival rates for wild guppies introduced into new environments. Female life-history traits in the derived (Damier River) populations diverged from the ancestral (Yarra River) population, as a result of adaptation to predation regime (high vs. low) and other aspects of the local river. Moreover, some components of the derived Damier populations, particularly juveniles, now show higher survival in the Damier than do contemporary …

American Lobster Settlement Index: Looking Back, Looking Ahead 1989-2009, Maine Sea Grant

Maine Sea Grant Publications

Hosted by Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and Maine Department of Marine Resources, a workshop celebrating the 20th anniversary of the American Lobster Settlement Index convened some 40 scientists, managers, and industry members and guests from New England and Atlantic Canada who have been involved in the monitoring and research linked to the Index over the years. The workshop's aim was to look back at the accomplishments of the Settlement Index over the past two decades and to set future monitoring, research and outreach priorities for the program. Rick Wahle of Bigelow Laboratory and Carl Wilson of DMR coordinated the …

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 …

Acetylcholine-Induced Membrane-Potential Oscillations In Xenopus Laevis Oocytes, Corrine N. Grant

Honors College

Over the past several years, amphibian species have shown a sharp decline in population numbers. Many factors are believed to play a role in the loss of amphibian species. One of particular interest is the increase in ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching Earth’s surface. To estimate the health of a species, an assay needed to be developed. Health can be determined by measuring the ion channel functionality of the amphibian oocyte membrane. To develop this assay, we used acetylcholine to induce a membrane-potential oscillation in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Several studies have studied the membrane-potential oscillation of calcium-dependent chloride channels activated by …

The Lobster Bulletin, Spring 2009, 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 2009 issue include:

• Canadian Officials May Consider Ban of Floating Rope
• Sustainability Labeling & Traceability Trigger Much Discussion at Lobster Institute's 2009 Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen's Town Meeting
• Research Report: FSRS Lobster Recruitment Index
• Research Report: American Lobster Stock Assessment 2009
• The Lobster Institute presents Lobster College 2009

Maine’S Climate Future – An Initial Assessment, University Of Maine Climate Change Institute

General University of Maine Publications

This report considers past change over geologic time, recent evidence of accelerated rates of change, and the implications of continued climate change in Maine during the 21st century as a result of greenhouse gas emissions and their associated pollutants. Even if a coordinated response succeeds in eliminating excess greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the century, something that appears highly unlikely today, climate change will continue because the elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) can persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years to come.

Criterial Noise Effects On Rule-Based Category Learning: The Impact Of Delayed Feedback, Shawn W. Ell, David A. Ing, Todd W. Maddox

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Variability in the representation of the decision criterion is assumed in many category learning models yet few studies have directly examined its impact. On each trial, criterial noise should result in drift in the criterion and will negatively impact categorization accuracy, particularly in rule-based categorization tasks where learning depends upon the maintenance and manipulation of decision criteria. The results of three experiments test this hypothesis and examine the impact of working memory on slowing the drift rate. Experiment 1 examined the effect of drift by inserting a 5 s delay between the categorization response and the delivery of corrective feedback, …

An Overview Of Human Health Issues, Marcella H. Sorg

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Maine Forest Landowner Study, James Acheson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

One of the most important questions for resource management is, under what conditions will users conserve the resources on which their livelihood depends? This project studies the forest management strategies of different types of forest landowner groups in Maine. Some owners are doing a far better job of managing their forests sustainably than are others. The quality of management practices is a crucial issues at this time, because the rapid depletion of forests is a world-wide problem. Maine is a particularly good laboratory to study forest management issues because it is the most heavily forested state in the country, and …

The Lobster Bulletin, Winter 2009, 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 2009 issue include:

• Lobster Institute to Host 2009 Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen's Town Meeting, March 27-28
• Lobster Health Coalition Takes Shape
• 2008 Friends of the Lobster Institute
• Research Report: Lobster Enhancement Efforts Discussed
• Study on Economic Impact of Joint Canadian/U.S. Marketing of Lobster on Tap
• Research Report: Lobster Science Presentations Available Online

Aquaculture Situation And Outlook Report 2009: Maine, Dana Morse, Mike Pietrack

Maine Sea Grant Publications

The Maine aquaculture industry is diverse, with a variety of marine and freshwater species raised. Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) production dominates in terms of value and pounds harvested. The 2008 data from the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) estimate over 19 million pounds produced with a value of $56.6 million. This figure is down from a high of over 36 million pounds in 2000.

Shellfish production is dominated by the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis); DMR 2008 figures estimate landed values of $2 million and $640K USD for …

The Dandy Scroll, Winter 2009, University Of Maine Pulp And Paper Foundation

General University of Maine Publications

The Winter 2009 issue of The Dandy Scroll newsletter produced by the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation.