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Anthropogenic Impacts To Essential Habitats In The Gulf Of Maine: A Case Study Of The American Lobster, Homarus Americanus, And Its Fishery, Andrew Goode

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf of Maine has been fundamentally altered by anthropogenic forcings for decades and offers an ideal study system to monitor response to change. Through complex interactions between ocean warming, altered demographic bottlenecks, and reduced top-down controls, the American lobster (Homarus americanus Milne Edwards) capitalized on favorable conditions and proliferated within the Gulf of Maine. These changes catalyzed the expansion of the lobster fishery, elevated its status as North America’s most valuable marine resource, and shifted coastal communities towards a virtual lobster monoculture. The same processes that facilitated lobster to capitalize on favorable conditions may come with unintended consequences …

Maine Won't Wait One-Year Progress Report, 2021, Maine Climate Council, Governor's Office Of Policy Innovation And The Future, Ivan Fernandez, Stephen Dickson, Susie Arnold, Cassaundra Rose, Troy Jackson, Russell Black, Nicole Grohski, Amanda Collamore, Linda Bacon, Brian Beal, Sean Birkel, Alix Contosta, Amanda Cross, Adam Daigneault, Phillips Demaynadier, Susan Elias, Glenn Hodgkins, Joe Kelley, Glen Koehler, Rebecca Lincoln, Pamela Lombard, Brandfield Lyon, Nicole Price, Jonathan Rubin, Joseph Salisbury, Peter Slovinsky, Alyssa Soucy, Robert Steneck, Sally Stockwell, Richard Wahle, Aaron Weiskittel, Carl Wilson

General University of Maine Publications

This document, an “Maine Climate Science Update 2021”, is an interim communication to the Maine Climate Council and the public about the ongoing work of the scientific community and recent events associated with climate change. It is divided into three sections: (1) current events that reflect the acceleration of extreme weather events in Maine and elsewhere with possible connections to climate change; (2) noteworthy scientific reports with national and international scope released in 2021; and (3) examples of recent peer-reviewed publications from the ongoing work of the scientific community to understand climate change in Maine.

S5e4: What Can Mud Reveal About The History Of Oceans?, Ron Lisnet, Katherine Allen

The Maine Question

Oceans serve as the dominant feature of the Earth. They sustain life, which began in their salty waters, and influence weather and climate.

Despite the significance of Earth’s oceans, much of their history remains a mystery. Katherine Allen, and assistant professor from the School of Earth and Climate Sciences at the University of Maine, looks to literally dig up that history, which can be found in mud along the ocean floor and the many objects embedded in it. Dredging up the record of Earth’s oceans from the seafloor requires detective work, and provides exciting adventures.

In this episode of “The …

Tisher Hopes Climate Timeline Provides Perspective, Serves As A Springboard For Action, Beth Staples

General University of Maine Publications

For more than a decade, Sharon Tisher, a lecturer in the School of Economics and Honors College, has been researching and writing, "A Climate Chronology" which serves as a record of events in climate science, U.S. policy, and international policy that spans from 1824 to early 2021.

Farmer Engagement Through Mental Modeling: Opportunities For Climate Change Outreach, Ruth S, Clements

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change poses a challenge to farming systems worldwide. Effective adaptation and mitigation may be facilitated by outreach that is locally tailored and framed in terms of farmers’ perceptions and values. However, existing research suggests that farmers and those providing outreach may have different climate change perspectives, and there is little understanding of how farmers consider and prioritize climate change in relation to other aspects of their farming system. Furthermore, the diverse agricultural, economic, social, and environmental challenges farmers face require agricultural research and engagement efforts that can identify and adapt to farmers’ dynamic priorities and perceptions. Mental modeling is …

Variations In Zooplankton Communities As Indicators Of Biological Responses To Climate Change And Recovery From Acidification In Northeastern And Maine Mountain Lakes, Stephanie Dykema

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, lakes in Maine and much of the Northeastern US have seen significant shifts in response to reduced atmospheric deposition as well as climate change. The organisms that inhabit lakes are susceptible to environmental change, but our understanding about how biological communities react to simultaneous changes in geochemistry and climate is incomplete. This research investigates how zooplankton communities respond to geochemical changes and warming, on both long-term and seasonal scales. These small organisms are sensitive to changes in physical lake conditions, and variation within zooplankton communities could indicate larger ecosystem shifts. We evaluated …

Deciphering The Ecology Of Aulacoseira Taxa In Alpine Lakes: Implications For Paleoclimate Reconstructions, Edna Luz Pedraza Garzon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Diatoms of the genus Aulacoseira are thought to bloom during enhanced lake mixing. Thus, changes in their relative abundances in lake sediment records may track lake thermal conditions and be used to reconstruct past climate. However, the lack of species-specific ecological information for the genus, and taxonomical conflicts for low-height mantle taxa, generates uncertainty about the conditions in which they occur. As many of the environmental reconstructions analyzing alpine lake sediments report species from this genus, it is relevant to understand the factors that control their growth and persistence to improve climate inferences. This research focused on low-mantle species, particularly …

Effects Of The Transportation And Climate Initiative On The Maine Economy: An Analysis Of Cap-And-Invest And Its Heterogeneous Impacts On Rural And Urban Households, William L. Somes

Honors College

In December 2020, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was released by the Transportation and Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P), a collaboration of 13 jurisdictions in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Modeled on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the TCI-P follows a cap-and-invest framework to reduce emissions from the transportation sector by 26% from 2022 to 2032. Since the TCI-P is expected to raise the price of gasoline by 5¢ to 9¢ per gallon, there has been concern that some populations may be disproportionately affected. The present research studies the potential heterogeneous impacts of the TCI-P …

A Climate Chronology, Sharon S. Tisher

School of Economics Faculty Scholarship

The most challenging of all endeavors in human history will likely be that of understanding the impact of our industrial and technological enterprises on the planet’s climate and ecosystems, and responding effectively to the threats posed by that impact. I began writing this chronology while developing a climate policy course at the University of Maine. It has grown substantially during the ensuing nine years, and continues to grow.

By juxtaposing developments in climate science, U.S. policy, and international policy over the previous two centuries, I hope to give the reader new insights into where we have been, where we are …

Zealandia Switch May Be The Missing Link In Understanding Ice Age Climates, Margaret Nagle

General University of Maine Publications

The origins of ice age climate changes may lie in the Southern Hemisphere, where interactions among the westerly wind system, the Southern Ocean and the tropical Pacific can trigger rapid, global changes in atmospheric temperature, according to an international research team led by the University of Maine.