Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Maine Lobstermen's Association Whale Update, Amber-Jean Nickel, Maine Lobstermen's Association

Fisheries

The Maine Lobstermen's Association “has been closely following the death of Right Whale 5120 found dead on Martha’s Vineyard on January 28th. The MLA was shocked and dismayed when NOAA Fisheries announced on February 14th that the rope removed from the deceased whale 'is consistent with the rope used in Maine state water trap/pot buoy lines.’”

“Maine lobstermen have made many changes to how we fish to avoid harming a Right whale which makes this news hard to believe. As we move forward, MLA will push back on NOAA’s finding until the industry’s questions about the entanglement and how NOAA …

Riders On The Storm: Using Satellite Transmitters To Quantify American Woodcock Movement Behavior Following Extreme Weather Events, Katherine Trebilcock

Honors College

The American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) has experienced steady declines in abundance over the past fifty years, which has raised questions as to why (Sauer et al. 1991). Migration for many birds, woodcock included, is energetically intensive, and may be the cause for greater mortality compared to other times of the year (Newton 2007). Despite this, there remains uncertainty in how conditions encountered during migration affect their movements and survival. One obstacle that birds must face is extreme weather, which has been increasing in intensity and occurrence due to climate change. How these events impact a migrating woodcock has been speculated …

Maine Epscor, Vol. 1, Issue 1, Maine Epscor, University Of Maine, Kody Varahramyan, Shane Moeykens, Laurie Bragg, Daniel Timmermann, Jami Downing, Stefania Irene Marthakis, Christian Spindler, Bhavana Scalia-Bruce, Marcella Silver, Jennifer Smith-Mayo, Attis Bielecki, Grayson Huston, Markus Fredrich, Kristina Cammen

General University of Maine Publications

The University of Maine recently gained Carnegie R1 status, a level of recognition that speaks to the quality and scale of research happening at Maine’s land grant, sea grant, and space grant institution, and across the state as a whole. Research institutes, centers and labs established because of NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 grants have created a significant and lasting impact in Maine. These entities include the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, Frontier Institute for Research in Sensor Technologies, Forest Bioproducts Research Institute, and Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, which have generated over 500 million dollars in new R&D funding for …

The Synergistic Effects Of Elevated Temperature And Co2 - Induced Ocean Acidification Reduce Cardiac Performance And Increase Disease Susceptibility In Subadult, Female American Lobsters Homarus Americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837 (Decapoda: Astacidea: Nephropidae) From The Gulf Of Maine, Amalia M. Harrington, Robert Harrington, Heather J. Hamlin, Deborah A. Bouchard

Journal Articles

Increased greenhouse gas emissions have caused rapid ocean warming (OW) and reduced ocean pH via acidification (OA). Both OW and OA will likely impact marine crustaceans, but they are often examined in isolation. We conducted an environmental-stressor experiment to understand how exposure to current summer conditions (16 °C, pH 8.0), OW only (20 °C, pH 8.0), OA only (16 °C, pH 7.6), or both acidification and warming, OAW (20 °C, pH 7.6), differentially influence thermal physiology and immune response of female subadults of the American lobster, Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837. Following a 42 d exposure, cardiac performance was …

How Acidic Sediments And Seawater Affect Interactive Effects Of Predation On Survival, Growth, And Recruitment Of Wild And Cultured Soft-Shell Clams, Mya Arenaria L., Along A Tidal Gradient At Two Intertidal Sites In Eastern Maine, Brian F. Beal, William Otto

Miscellaneous Publications

No abstract provided.

Clamming In Maine, Brunswick High School

Maine Sea Grant Publications

To become good environmental stewards and gain knowledge of viable economic opportunities, students need opportunities to learn about their local ecosystem and natural resources. The project leader will provide Brunswick High School students with the hands-on experience and curriculum to directly learn about an important local marine habitat and resource. Drawing on curricula from organizations such as the Friends of Casco Bay, Downeast Institute, and the Island Institute, McCullough has designed a monitoring program in which students will take environmental measurements (oxygen, nutrients, temperature, salinity, predation, invasive species, and growth rate); monitor green crab populations; and collect wild oyster spawn …

Penobscot River Habitat Focus Area 2016 Annual Report, Matthew Bernier

Maine Sea Grant Publications

1 Penobscot River Habitat Focus Area 2016 Annual Report The Penobscot River is New England’s second largest river, draining nearly one-third of the state of Maine with a watershed area of 8,570 square miles not including tributaries to Penobscot Bay. The watershed is home to 11 migratory fish species, including three listed under the Endangered Species Act, and represents the largest run of Atlantic salmon in the United States. It has a rich cultural history of commercial, recreational, and sustenance fishing. It is also home to the Penobscot Indian Nation and includes the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. The …

Measuring The Impact Of Pollution Closures On Commercial Shellfish Harvest: The Case Of Soft-Shell Clams In Machias Bay, Maine, Keith S. Evans, Kevin Athearn, Xuan Chen, Kathleen P. Bell, Tora Johnson

Publications

Temporary closures of polluted coastal waters to shellfish harvesting protect human health but also generate broad socioeconomic impacts on rural, fishing-dependent communities. Improved understanding of these impacts could help coastal managers prioritize investments to protect water quality and mitigate the effects of coastal pollution. Using a regression model of monthly landings, we explore the impact of temporary closures on the commercial harvest of soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) in the Machias Bay region of Maine (USA). We find that economic losses are significant and depend heavily on tidal activity, and the size, frequency and timing of closures. Over the …

Promotingclimate Change Awareness And Adaptive Planning In Atlantic Fisheries Communities Using Dialogue-Based Participatory Vulnerability Analysis, Mapping, And Collaborative Systems Dynamic Modeling, Thomas Webler, Seth Tuler, Esperanza Stancioff, Elizabeth Fly

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The goals for the proposed project are twofold:

• First, the project will improve understandings of how a changing climate will affect fishing communities’ abilities to maintain marine fisheries and the local economies historically dependent upon them.

• Second, the project will investigate the role of a structured dialogue and participatory modeling process to support decision makers in fishing communities addressing consequences, vulnerabilities, and adaptive strategies in a context of climate stressors.

The American Lobster Settlement Index: An Early Warning System?, Maine Sea Grant College Program

Maine Sea Grant Publications

The harvest of American lobsters is the Gulf of Maine’s largest, most valuable, and most iconic fishery. The catch has never been higher, but how long will it last? Fishing communities in eastern Maine and southern Nova Scotia are seeing historically high landings, some five times higher than the 1980s. At the same time, the lobster fishery south of Cape Cod has all but collapsed, plagued by shell disease and stressfully warm summers. It has never been more important to monitor this vital fishery. The American Lobster Settlement Index measures the annual pulse of baby lobsters to rocky nurseries some …

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 Runge

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Test the hypothesis that a distinctly lower abundance of the planktonic copepod, Calanus finmarchicus in the Gulf of Maine follows the occurrence of very negative winter phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). In 2010, the station-based winter NAO index was -4.64, even more intense than the negative (-3.78) 1996 NAO winter index. If a two-year lagged relationship between very negative NAO winter indices and Calanus abundance in the Gulf of Maine is valid, cooler water from the Labrador Sea should replace Atlantic Temperate Slope Water in the GoM in 2012, inducing a major climatic ecosystem event on the New …

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

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The main goal of our project is to understand the patterns of diversity and biogeography in marine copepods. To achieve this goal, we developed a unique modeling framework to simulate the trade-offs between growth, development, and fecundity in marine copepods.

We developed a new approach to modeling growth and development in metazoans. We applied this approach to marine copepods, and used it to understand relationships between copepod body size and temperature, copepod biodiversity patterns, and copepod biogeography. This project also provided support for experiments to look at how copepod body size impacts the particle size spectrum.

We used our model …

Habitat Occupancy Of Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus Carolinus) Breeding In Northern New England, Usa, Luke L. Powell, Thomas P. Hodgman, Ian J. Fiske, William E. Glanz

Biology and Ecology Faculty Scholarship

The Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus), an uncommon songbird often associated with northern coniferous wetlands, has experienced a precipitous population decline since at least the early 20th century. Here, we provide the first analysis of breeding-habitat occupancy at the wetland scale and make recommendations for streamlined monitoring. We modeled occupancy and detectability as a function of site (i.e. habitat-based) and sampling (i.e. visit-specific) variables collected at 546 wetlands in northern New England, USA. Wetland occupancy (mean 6 SE ¼ 0.07 6 0.02 in randomly selected wetlands, and 0.12 6 0.02 in all wetlands surveyed) was best explained by variables …

Cnh: Collaborative Research: Direct And Indirect Coupling Of Fisheries Through Economic, Regulatory, Environmental, And Ecological Linkages, Andrew J. Pershing, Yong Chen, Jeffrey Runge

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The productivity and resilience of fisheries are subject to a multitude of dynamic and interrelated influences that arise from complex coupling of fish populations with the natural and human systems of which they are a part. With few exceptions, fisheries currently are managed independently, ignoring important natural and human linkages among them. The biological productivity, sustainability, and consequently human benefits of complex fishery systems may be substantially increased if these linkages are better understood and if this understanding is applied to management. The American lobster (Homarus americanus), Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) and Northeast multispecies groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of …

Collaborative Research: Globec Pan-Regional Synthesis: End-To-End Energy Budgets In Us-Globec Regions, Andrew C. Thomas

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The research addresses the overarching question: are marine food webs leading to fisheries controlled from the top-down, the bottom up, or a combination of the two? To address this question we will (1) compare end-to-end energy budgets of the 4 US-GLOBEC study regions in the context of top-down v. bottom-up forcing, (2) assess the skills of the regional models in capturing basic material fluxes, (3) extract diagnostics from the regional models that will be used to evaluate the effects of climate change and fishing pressure across GLOBEC regions and (4) develop quantitative methods to compare the diagnostics. The major successes …

Fisheries Management In A Changing Climate: Lessons From The 2012 Ocean Heat Wave In The Northwest Atlantic., Katherine E. Mills, Andrew Pershing, Curtis J. Brown, Yong Chen, Fu-Sung Chiang, Daniel S. Holland, Sigrid Lehuta, Janet A. Nye, Jenny C. Sun, Andrew C. Thomas, Richard A. Wahle

Publications

No abstract provided.

Bayesian Analysis Of Data On Nest Success For Marsh Birds, Sean Hardy

Honors College

Bayesian methods are an increasingly popular form of statistical analysis which uses informative prior distributions to help calculate posterior distributions of models that represent different hypotheses. Frequentist methods are contrasting methods that are used more commonly and more well known, but have come under recent criticism. I examined data gathered by Ellen Robertson, who used information theoretic methods for a Masters’ Thesis in Ecology and Environmental Science at the University of Maine to analyze the daily survival probabilities of marsh birds with a Bayesian perspective in order to get a sense of the Bayesian analysis. Results were as expected; when …

Home Ranges Of Rusty Blackbirds Breeding In Wetlands: How Much Would Buffers From Timber Harvest Protect Habitat?, Luke L. Powell, Thomas P. Hodgman, William E. Glanz

Biology and Ecology Faculty Scholarship

We calculated the home ranges and core areas of 13 adult Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) in Maine to determine (1) the area requirements of breeding adults, (2) whether area requirements of the sexes and of colonial and noncolonial individuals differ, and (3) the proportion of the home range and core area that would be protected by a buffer of no logging of 50–100 m around occupied wetlands. Mean home ranges (37.5 ± 12.6 ha) and core areas (11.1 ± 2.8 ha) were large in comparison to those of other breeding icterids, and adults often foraged in multiple unconnected wetlands. Rusty …

Nest-Site Selection And Nest Survival Of The Rusty Blackbird: Does Timber Management Adjacent To Wetlands Create Ecological Traps?, Luke L. Powell, Thomas P. Hodgman, William E. Glanz, James D. Osenton, Caleb M. Fisher

Biology and Ecology Faculty Scholarship

Animals are subject to ecological traps when anthropogenic changes create habitat that appears suitable but when selected results in decreased fitness. The Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) breeds in boreal wetlands and has declined by 85–95% over the last half century. We studied nest-site selection and daily nest survival rate (DSR) of 43 Rusty Blackbird nests in northern New England and evaluated whether regenerating logged areas adjacent to wetlands created ecological traps. Although nesting adults avoided high-canopied forests and selected areas with dense balsam fir (Abies balasmea) 1 to 3 m high, those characteristics were not associated …

An Evaluation Of An Avian Diversity Model, Tansy Lynn Wagner

Honors College

Diversity exists at all temporal and spatial scales but has been studied largely at the community level because of the limited availability of regional or nation-wide data. In the U.S. both the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and the Breeding Bird Census (BBC) provide large-scale observations of avian populations over periods of decades and offer a potential source of information. A large-scale model of avian diversity based on the BBS has been developed by O'Connor et. al.(1996). The BBC serves as a source for independently obtained species richness estimates used to evaluate the ability of the model to generate corresponding predictions. …

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix F: Terrestrial Ecosystem Analysis (Supplement 2), University Of Maine At Orono, Maine, Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, United States Army Engineer Division, New England Division

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The overall study area encompassed the St. John River and its major tributaries; including the Little and Big Black Rivers (and their tributaries); and all lands extending 3.2 km (2 mi) beyond the maximum elevation of thv predicted impoundment of the Dickey Dam (1,560 km ). Research was concentra-ted in a portion of this area roughly bounded on the north by Chimenticook Stream, on the east by the St. John River, on the west by the United States-Canadian border, and on the south by a line drawn east-west through Seven Islands (Figure 1.0-1). Intensive marten studies were restricted to townships …

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix K: Fish & Wildlife Mitigation Plan & Impacts (Revised), New England Division, United States Army Engineer Division

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The proposed plan is comprised of three major segments: terrestrial, fisheries and endangered species. Each segment is essentially a self-contained unit. All costs for the three segments including land acquisition, operation and maintenance and capital equipment, are to be charged to the project and allocated to the project purposes of hydroelectric generation and flood control.

Federal Water Pollution Control Act Section "404" Evaluation For Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes, New England Division, United States Army Engineer Division, United States Army Corps Of Engineers

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The purpose of this report is to relate various aspects of the proposed Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Hydroelectric Project to appropriate considerations defined by Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972.

Fish And Wildlife Mitigation Report : Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project, Maine, New England Division, Corps Of Engineers, U. S. Army Engineer Division

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The Dickey Lincoln School Lakes Project is a proposed multipurpose project located on the upper reaches of the St. John River in Aroostook County, Maine. Development would consist of two dams with associated reservoirs and hydroelectric generating facilities, five dikes and transmission lines. A more detailed description of the proposed project and its associated impacts is contained within the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed project.

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix G: Recreation Resources (Revised June 1978), U.S. Army, Corps Of Engineers, New England Division, Northern Maine Regional Planning Commission, Land Use Consultants, Inc.

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The purpose of this report is to evaluate and describe the existing recreational use and resources of the project area and the encompassing study area and to project the future use of those resources both with and without the Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project. The primary impact area of the proposed project (project area) includes the St. John River watershed upstream of the proposed damsites to the confluence of Nine-mile Brook. The area is bounded by the watershed divide with the Allagash River on the east and the Canadian Border on the west. Major tributaries of the St. John affected by …

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix J: Coordination With Other Agencies & Public Involvement (Supplement), New England Division, United States Army Corps Of Engineers

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

This agency will be particularly concerned about any impact which this project might have on any existing, proposed or known units of the National Park System, or any known historic, natural or environmental education sites which are currently part of , or eligible for, the National Landmark Program. This report is a planning aid for the proposed Dickey-Lincoln Dams and Reservoirs project in Maine. A number of endangered, rare, or unique animal species are known or suspected to occur in the project area.

Revised Draft Impact Statement Issued For Dickey-Lincoln, New England Division, United States Army Corps Of Engineers

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The revised draft combines data previously published in two separate impact statements prepared by the Corps relating to the dams, reservoirs and Power Plants and by the U. S. Department of Energy for transmission facilities to link the St. John River development to the New England power grid.

Draft Environmental Impact Statement : Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Transmission Project, United States Department Of Energy

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

This draft environmental impact statement (EIS) will describe the environmental impacts of transmission plans of the Department of Energy (DOE) for the proposed Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project. Electric power produced by the project is to be integrated into the New England electric system if the project is constructed.

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Transmission Studies Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix I: Visual-Recreation Resources Impact Study, United States Department Of Energy

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

The U.S. Departments of the Interior and Energy have conducted system planning, location, and environmental studies for the transmission facilities required for the Dickey-Lincoln School Hydroelectric Project. These studies of many alternate routes have resulted in identification of a proposed transmission line route, and an environmental impact statement as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. This report, one of several covering various topical areas, is published as an appendix to that statement.

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project Environmental Impact Statement: Appendix E: Aquatic Ecosystem And Fisheries Studies, Christoipher J. Schmitt, James R. Beltz, Normandeau Associates, Inc., New England Division, United States Army Engineer Division

Dickey-Lincoln School Lakes Project

Throughout this report, the following naming conventions will be used: the study area is the region of the Saint John River from Fort Kent to Ninemile Bridge and the drainage areas of all Saint John tributaries between Lincoln School and Ninemile Bridge within the United States, excluding the Allagash River drainage; the Dickey Lake Area is that region which would be inundated by the proposed Dickey Dam and the drainage areas of all rivers and streams (excluding the Saint John River) flowing into that proposed reservoir; the Lincoln School Reservoir area is that region which would be inundated by the …