DMC researchers attend national ocean sciences meeting, Wiscasset Newspaper reports
Wiscasset Newspaper published a University of Maine Darling Marine Center news release about DMC scientists presenting research findings at the annual Ocean Science Meeting in Oregon. Maura Niemisto, a graduate student at the DMC working with research professor Rick Wahle, presented her research on the effects of ocean warming and acidification on the behavior, physiology and gene expression of larval lobsters. Her research quantifies how quickly larvae develop under different temperature and acidity regimes, and their coping mechanisms in response to these stressors. “Maura’s project compares the performance of lobster larvae originating from populations along New England’s steep thermal gradient, from the coastal ocean of Rhode Island to the Bay of Fundy,” Wahle said. “It addresses the impacts of climate change on Maine’s — and our nation’s — most valuable single fishery — the lobster.” Skylar Bayer spoke about developing an environmental DNA (e-DNA) procedure to detect scallop spawning events in seawater and the results of initial field trials. Bayer completed her Ph.D. research at the DMC in 2017 and is currently serving a one-year Knauss Fellowship in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in Washington, D.C.