Life Sciences Commons^™

Preliminary Analysis Of Β-Methylamino-L-Alanine Interactions With Cu/Zn Superoxide Dismutase In Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Zebrafish Models, Elizabeth Pflugradt

Honors College

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a terminal neurodegenerative disease

with symptoms including limb-onset muscle wasting, difficulties swallowing and breathing, leading to death. Sporadic ALS occurs in 90% of patients, while 10% of cases are familial (FALS). Twenty percent of FALS cases are a result of mutation in the copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1) gene, leading to the activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Meanwhile, a prominent cause of sporadic ALS is exposure to neurotoxins, such as β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). BMAA has been suggested to induce selective motor neuron death, which is observed in ALS patients. While research has been done to how …

Characterization Of The Mycobacteriophage Ukulele Integration System; Identification Of Integration Site Attp And The Role Of The Integrase In Lysogeny Regulation, Emily E. Whitaker

Honors College

Mycobacteriophage (phage) are a group of viruses that infect bacteria in the genus Mycobacterium. Two phage lifestyles are lytic and temperate. Lytic phage only carry out the lytic life cycle, resulting in host cell lysis. Temperate phage are capable of completing both lytic and lysogenic life cycles. During the lysogenic life cycle, a phage-encoded integrase facilitates integration at sites attP in the phage genome and attB in the host to form a lysogen. The cluster E mycobacteriophage integration system is poorly understood. Ukulele, a lysogenic cluster E phage, is being used to identify the Cluster E attP and characterize lysogeny …

Sources Of Ecologically Important Trait Variation In Mosquitofish (Gambusia Affinis And Gambusia Holbrooki), Heather Ann Arnett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study of contemporary evolution and eco-evolutionary dynamics is classically defined in terms of genetic evolution, but the actual suite of processes driving contemporary trait change is likely much more complex than often credited. This dissertation considers additional mechanisms of trait change that might be important to an emerging model system for study of contemporary evolution and eco-evolutionary dynamics. Specifically, the research focuses on phenotypically plastic and demographic trait variation in Eastern and Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis and G. holbrooki) facing the major ecological gradient of predation risk. Plasticity experiments employed a common-garden rearing design to manipulate fish …

Wild Tulips, Lynne M. Holland

Garden & Yard

Staff picks for Maine Home Garden News plant of the month. Wild tulips, the flower that created Tulipmainia

Remote Sensing For Oyster Aquaculture In Maine, Jordan Snyder

Miscellaneous Publications

No abstract provided.

Oyster Environmental Interactions, Carter R. Newell

Miscellaneous Publications

No abstract provided.

Quantifying Nitrogen Flux At The Sediment-Water Interface, Libby Gorse

Miscellaneous Publications

No abstract provided.

Damariscotta River Estuary, Damian Brady

Miscellaneous Publications

No abstract provided.

Understanding Oyster Growth In The Damariscotta River Using A Coupled Modeling Approach, Katie Coupland

Miscellaneous Publications

No abstract provided.

Sedimentation Patterns In The Damariscotta River Estuary, Emily Chandler, Joseph Kelley, Daniel Belknap

Miscellaneous Publications

No abstract provided.

Landings, Vol. 24, No. 4, Maine Lobstermen’S Community Alliance

Landings: News & Views from Maine's Lobstering Community

Landings content emphasizes science, history, resource sustainability, economic development, and human interest stories related to

Maine’s lobster industry. The newsletter emphasizes lobstering as a traditional, majority-European American lifeway with an economic and social heritage unique to the coast of Maine. The publication focuses how ongoing research to engage in sustainable, non-harmful, and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices benefit both the fishery and Maine's coastal legacy.

Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance (MLCA) started publication of Landings, a 24-page newsletter in January 2013 as the successor of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) Newsletter. As of 2022, the MLCA published over 6,500 copies of …

The Dandy Scroll, Spring 2016, University Of Maine Pulp And Paper Foundation

General University of Maine Publications

The Spring 2016 issue of The Dandy Scroll newsletter produced by the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation.

Public Access To Private Land: Research Summary, Jessica Leahy

Forest Resources Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Coming Spruce Budworm Outbreak: Initial Risk Assessment And Preparation & Response Recommendations For Maine's Forestry Community, Cooperative Forestry Research Unit, University Of Maine, Maine Forest Products Council, Maine Forest Service

General University of Maine Publications

The Maine Spruce Budworm Task Force was formed in summer 2013 by the University of Maine’s Cooperative Forestry Research Unit (CFRU), Maine Forest Service (MFS), and Maine Forest Products Council (MFPC) to begin preparing for the next outbreak of the eastern spruce budworm.

The last SBW outbreak during the 1970s–80s grew quickly, killed millions of acres of spruce-fir stands, and cost the region’s economy many hundreds of millions of dollars. Although it is not possible to predict exactly when defoliation of balsam fir and spruce will begin, how severe the next outbreak will eventually become, or how long it will …

Highly Seasonal Reproduction In Desmophyllum Dianthus From The Northern Patagonian Fjords, Keri Feehan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the basic reproductive biology and seasonality of the Patagonian fjord coral Desmophyllum dianthus. Desmophyllum dianthus is a deep-sea solitary scleractinian found throughout the world’s oceans and an important benthic habitat builder. The Chilean Patagonian fjords are the only known location where this species occurs >50 m and thus are the only place to collect samples efficiently, effectively and economically. Corals were collected via SCUBA approximately every three months (when conditions permitted) from August 2012 to September 2013 from three sites within the Northern Patagonian fjords – Lilihuape (n=76) and Punta Huinay …

The Secret Life Of Eels, Catherine Schmitt

Maine Sea Grant Publications

An overview of the natural history, biology, and population status of the American eel in Maine, research on eels in the Penobscot River, and description of the fishery.

Landings, Vol. 24, No. 3, Maine Lobstermen’S Community Alliance

Landings: News & Views from Maine's Lobstering Community

Landings content emphasizes science, history, resource sustainability, economic development, and human interest stories related to

Maine’s lobster industry. The newsletter emphasizes lobstering as a traditional, majority-European American lifeway with an economic and social heritage unique to the coast of Maine. The publication focuses how ongoing research to engage in sustainable, non-harmful, and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices benefit both the fishery and Maine's coastal legacy.

Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance (MLCA) started publication of Landings, a 24-page newsletter in January 2013 as the successor of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) Newsletter. As of 2022, the MLCA published over 6,500 copies of …

Modeling Spatiotemporal Variability Of The Bioclimate Envelope Of Homarus Americanus In The Coastal Waters Of Maine And New Hampshire, Kisei Tananka, Yong Chen

Publications

A bioclimate envelope model was developed to evaluate the potential impacts of climate variability on American lobster (Homarus americanus). Bioclimate envelopes were defined by season-, sex-, and stage- specific Habitat Suitability Indices (HSI) based on (1) bottom temperature, (2) bottom salinity, and (3) depth. The species’ association to each of these three environmental attributes was expressed using Suitability Indices (SIs) calibrated by standardized lobster abundance derived from 14 years of fishery independent survey. A regional ocean model (Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model) was integrated with the HSI to hindcast spatiotemporal variability of bioclimate envelopes for American lobster in coastal waters of …

Why Rhetoric Matters For Ecology, Caroline Druschke, Bridie Mcgreavy

Publications

Increasingly, scientists and funding agencies such as the US National Science Foundation are recognizing the need for better science communication and more effective broader impacts activities. Compelled to make research more relevant to public stakeholders and policy makers, researchers look for ways to gain the necessary skillset to move their science from the field and laboratory into public forums. We suggest that the ancient discipline of rhetoric provides a useful – and underutilized – path forward. Building from the fundamental connections between ecology and rhetoric and drawing from practical examples at the intersection of these two fields, we demonstrate how …

Landings, Vol. 24, No. 2, Maine Lobstermen’S Community Alliance

Landings: News & Views from Maine's Lobstering Community

Landings content emphasizes science, history, resource sustainability, economic development, and human interest stories related to

Maine’s lobster industry. The newsletter emphasizes lobstering as a traditional, majority-European American lifeway with an economic and social heritage unique to the coast of Maine. The publication focuses how ongoing research to engage in sustainable, non-harmful, and non-wasteful commercial fishing practices benefit both the fishery and Maine's coastal legacy.

Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance (MLCA) started publication of Landings, a 24-page newsletter in January 2013 as the successor of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) Newsletter. As of 2022, the MLCA published over 6,500 copies of …

2016 Aq Summit: Research Update By Avery Cole, Avery Cole

Annual Maine Aquaculture R&D and Education Summits

This is a short presentation regarding an economic impact survey that was carried out in 2015. The survey was conducted jointly by the Maine Aquaculture Association, Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, and University of Maine Aquaculture Research Institute. The data has not been analyzed at the time of this presentation, and this is a preliminary insight into some of issues coming to light.

2016 Aq Summit: Sea Vegetable Sub-Sector Update By Tollef Olsen, Tollef Olsen

Annual Maine Aquaculture R&D and Education Summits

This is an update on the current status and R&D needs of the sea vegetable aquaculture sub-sector in Maine, USA.

2016 Aq Summit: Introduction By Anne Langston, Anne L. Langston

Annual Maine Aquaculture R&D and Education Summits

Maine’s aquaculture sector is already strong and vibrant, but has substantial potential to increase in size and productivity, leading to new business and job creation. The vast majority (but not all) of Maine’s aquaculture firms have common characteristics such as: small size; small workforce and therefore a reduced diversity of in-company skills to draw on; limited access to capital; and reduced capacity for research and innovation. These characteristics can hinder growth both as a business and a sector.

To support Maine’s community of small businesses, and maximize growth for businesses and the aquaculture sector, collaborative research and development is required. …

2016 Aq Summit: Education Update On Seanet By Laurie Bragg, Laurie Bragg

Annual Maine Aquaculture R&D and Education Summits

Maine EPSCoR and the Aquaculture Research Institute at the University of Maine received a five year, $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to build the Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network (SEANET). This includes developing and building Maine's workforce in sustainable aquaculture. SEANET supports a broad portfolio of workforce development and educational outreach.

2016 Aq Summit: Research Update On Seanet By Meggan Dwyer, Meggan Dwyer

Annual Maine Aquaculture R&D and Education Summits

Balancing wild fisheries, sustainable aquaculture, and other coastal activities can assist the state of Maine, the nation, and the world in feeding a growing population, and creating employment and economic development. Maine EPSCoR and the Aquaculture Research Institute at the University of Maine has received a 5 year, $20 million grant from the National Science foundation (NSF) to establish the Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network (SEANET) to research opportunities in sustainable aquaculture which can be deployed on the coast of Maine and nationwide.

SEANET will advance understanding of sustainable ecological aquaculture systems (SEAS) by promoting a statewide collaborative network of faculty, …

2016 Aq Summit: Research Update By Barry Costa-Pierce, Barry Costa-Pierce

Annual Maine Aquaculture R&D and Education Summits

A summary on Maine's potential eel harvesting capacities.

2016 Aq Summit: Innovation Update By Isabelle Gendron-Lemiuex, Isabelle Gendron-Lemiuex

Annual Maine Aquaculture R&D and Education Summits

An overview of the innovations in seaweed culture in Quebec.

2016 Aq Summit: Education Update By Dana Morse, Dana Morse

Annual Maine Aquaculture R&D and Education Summits

A presentation highlighting aquaculture training opportunities in the State of Maine.

2016 Aq Summit: Education Update By Laurie Bragg, Laurie Bragg

Annual Maine Aquaculture R&D and Education Summits

An update on the University of Maine's SEANET educational outreach programs.

2016 Aq Summit: Innovation Update By Laurie Connell, Laurie B. Connell

Annual Maine Aquaculture R&D and Education Summits

A general summary of methods and technologies that can be employed to combat pathogenic microbes that adversely affect aquaculture yields in Maine.