Life Sciences Commons^™

Genetic Effects Of Anthropogenic Disturbance On Native Charrs, Brad Erdman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Artificial propagation has been utilized for over a century to offset anthropogenic declines of abundance for many fishes. Complex and poorly documented histories of habitat degradation and stockings have resulted in considerable uncertainty regarding whether contemporary populations are of native, hatchery, or mixed origins. This uncertainty is problematic as it precludes prioritizing the conservation of native populations that are postulated to possess local adaptations and greater evolutionary potential. Population genetics can assess the relative reproductive contributions of previous stocking events and in this dissertation I apply these methods to four empirical studies of native charr (genus Salvelinus) that have …

Save Maine Lobstermen Website, June 2023, Maine Lobstermen's Association, Sutherland Weston

History of Maine Fisheries

Screen capture of the #SaveMaineLobstermen website created on June 2, 2023. The screen capture includes the web pages: "The Issue," "The Solution," "Join the Fight," "In Court," "Shop to Support," and "Contact." The website was created in reaction to the 2021 call by the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) "ten-year whale plan that requires the Maine lobster fishery to reduce its already minimal risk to right whales by 98 percent."

This document includes all material available through the website on June 2, 2023, regarding the September 2021 lawsuit filed by the Maine Lobstermen's Association (MLA) challenging the 10-year whale plan. …

Writing An Existential Novel: An Environmental And Philosophical Exploration, Julia Whinston

Honors College

Halfway Through the Wood is a creative project guided by the question, does nature have intrinsic ethical, philosophical, and/or spiritual value, or do we project it there? As a subsidiary question, is our relationship with nature akin to our relationship with ourselves? The novel begins with a “man versus nature” conflict, exploring human relationships to land, then moves on to a conversation about self, which ultimately leads to an incredulous/existential discourse about interconnectedness. The novel explores the implications of experiencing grief alongside natural systems, and concludes that enmeshing oneself within a natural system is vital for discovering meaning after experiencing …

Variations In Plumage Wear In Three Closely Related Tidal Marsh Sparrow Species, Maeve Studholme

Honors College

Tidal marsh sparrow species like Saltmarsh Sparrows (Ammospiza caudacuta), Nelson’s Sparrows (Ammospiza nelsoni) and Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza maritima) are particularly vulnerable to the environmental stressors related to climate change and human activity like sea-level rise, warming temperatures, and increased coastal development, as they nest in the grasses of tidal marsh ecosystems where the principal mode of nest mortality is flooding. With increased sea-level rise, these species may not be equipped to adapt to changing tidal cycles, and thus have reduced fitness and population sizes. Saltmarsh Sparrows are experiencing sharp declines in population, so it is more vital than ever to …

Abundance Of Shell-Boring Polychaete Worms And Other Fouling Organisms In Aquacultured Oysters From Maine Used For Reef Restoration In Great Bay, Nh, Haleigh Wright

Honors College

Restoration projects on the oyster reefs in Great Bay, NH have been active since 2009 with the most recent involving the transfer of oysters from Maine oyster farms into the Bay. In an attempt to prevent the transfer of non-native species from oyster farms to the reefs, samples of oysters from each farm were inspected for shell-boring polychaete infestations. Polydora websteri, a common shell-boring species worldwide, was in high abundance in reference samples from oyster farms in Great Bay and in samples from the restoration grounds, themselves. A second shell-boring species, provisionally identified as P. onagawaensis, is present on oyster …

Mr449: Allagash Wilderness Waterway Visitor Survey 2019, John J. Daigle, Ashley Cooper

Miscellaneous Reports

Quality in outdoor recreation can be defined as the degree to which recreation opportunities provide the experiences for which they are designed and managed. Key to protecting the backcountry experiences is an understanding of the different types of visitors to the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, each one with different needs and expectations, and the different levels of importance they place on recreation opportunities and conditions. In this report, visitor management implications and suggested further research focus on the diversity of use of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway in order to maximize the quality of the visitor experiences while protecting the unique natural …

Covid-19_School Of Economics_Malacarne And Colleagues Address The Impacts Of Covid- 19 On Maine's Food System, University Of Maine School Of Economics

Teaching, Learning & Research Documents

Screenshot of a University of Maine School of Economics news release webpage regarding Jonathan Malacarne (SOE Assistant Professor), Jason Lilley (University of Maine Cooperative Extension Professional), and Tora Jackson (Maine Farmer Resource Network) presenting a summary of the impacts of COVID-19 on Maine's food system at the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's (DACF) 2021 virtual Maine Ag Trades Show.

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) Roost Site-Selection And Viability East Of The Appalachian Mountains, Brandon Boxler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Monarch butterfly is a flagship species and pollinator whose populations have declined by approximately 85% in the last two decades. Their largest population overwinters in Mexico, then disperses across the eastern United States and Canada during April to August. Between September-December, the butterflies return south using two migratory flyways, one spanning the central United States and another following the Atlantic coast. They fly during the day and at night roost in large groups. Roosting habitat is essential to the continuation of the Monarchs’ migration, however, threats such as anthropogenic habitat disturbance and climate change potentially endanger sustainability of these …

Alternative Large-Scale Conservation Visions For Northern Maine: Interviews With Decision Leaders In Maine, Elizabeth Dennis Baldwin, Laura S. Kenefic, Will F. Lapage

Maine Policy Review

Based on confidential interviews with 21 decision leaders in Maine, Elizabeth Baldwin, Laura Kenefic, and Will LaPage examine the complexity of the conflicts over alternate visions for large-scale conservation in Maine. Exploring models that may be useful for policymakers grappling with competing values for Maine’s forests, they present four alternatives: national forests, new U.S. forest service models, forest heritage areas, and the British national park model. The authors found that the leaders interviewed agreed about the need for some level of conservation, but did not completely agree on how this might happen and where the decision-making power should lie.

Jock Darling: The Notorious “Outlaw” Of The Maine Woods, James B. Vickery Iii

Maine History

Jim Vickery began work on this article shortly before he died in 1997. He had been researching Jock Darling for several years, and at my urging he set down his thoughts on the “old outlaw” under an arrangement by which he would compose the article on one of his infamous "yellow pads,” and I would transcribe the results on my computer and return a clean copy to him for editing and proofreading. He would also fill in the blanks where I could not decipher his handwriting. Before we could complete this project, Jim was hospitalized with the condition that finally …

Best Practices In Endangered Species Recovery Planning: Lessons For The Conservation Of Maine’S Atlantic Salmon, Raymond J. O’Connor, Ray B. Owen, Judith Rhymer

Maine Policy Review

The call for federal listing of Atlantic salmon as endangered implies that such action will result in a recovery plan for the species that is superior to Maine ’s Atlantic Salmon Conservation Plan. In this article the authors compare the Maine plan against the findings of a recent review of Endangered Species Act recovery plans. The review, conducted by the Society for Conservation Biology in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, assessed the quality of a national sample of Endangered Species Act recovery plans with the intention of identifying “best practice.” By comparing the Maine plan to the …