Faculty

Sargent-Lake-News-feature credit Stephen Norton

The environmental legacy of acid rain

For Stephen Norton, lakes hold a treasure trove of precious scientific information. For the past 40 years, Norton, professor emeritus at the University of Maine, has studied lakes by evaluating sediment cores from around the world. Using the cores taken from the bottom of lakes, he is able to determine the age of the sediment […]

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Students travel to Chile for international competition, WABI reports

WABI (Channel 5) reported 10 students from across the country who are participating in an intensive research course at the University of Maine are traveling to Chile for an an international competition. The students, who have been working at UMaine’s Forest Bioproducts Research Institute, will discuss sustainable product development and biofuel generation with a panel […]

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salmon egg lab

Saving salmon, one embryo at a time

Read transcript For the past 15 years, aquacultural salmon farmers in Maine have struggled with plummeting embryo survival rates, forcing them to drastically increase the number of eggs they produce — which comes with a hefty price tag. LeeAnne Thayer, Ph.D. candidate in marine sciences at the University of Maine, is determined to find out […]

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UMaine staff cited in articles about drought

University of Maine staff members Mark Hutton, Sean Birkel and John Rebar were cited in Portland Press Herald and Bangor Daily News articles about the impact of the drought in southern Maine. The Portland Press Herald piece indicated some fruits and vegetables — including tomatoes and watermelon — are faring well during the drought, but […]

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bear statue

Pettigrew receives 2016 Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award

College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture faculty members in marine sciences, Neal R. Pettigrew, professor of oceanography, will receive the 2016 Presidential Research and Creative Achievement Award. The award will be presented at the President’s Faculty Recognition Luncheon May 14. Pettigrew is the director of UMaine’s Physical Oceanography Group, the University of Maine Ocean […]

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spruce budworm

Maine Spruce Budworm Task Force to release risk assessment, response plan

In advance of the next predicted eastern spruce budworm outbreak, officials with the University of Maine, Maine Forest Service and Maine Forest Products Council have published a risk assessment and disaster preparedness plan to keep forest landowners, government officials and the general public informed. The report includes an assessment of the last outbreak and how […]

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wood frog

Researchers study waistband for attaching radio transmitters to amphibians

In an attempt to improve how amphibians are monitored, University of Maine researchers evaluated a waistband for attaching external radio transmitters to frogs and toads. Radio telemetry provides fine-scale temporal and spatial information about an animal’s movements and habitat use; however, its use for tracking amphibians has been restricted by transmitter mass and lack of […]

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dragonfly

National Park Service video features dragonfly mercury project founded at UMaine

The National Park Service recently released an “Outside Science (inside parks)” video featuring a dragonfly mercury research project that was founded at the University of Maine. “Episode 2: Blue Skies and Dragonflies” explores a research collaboration among UMaine, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Park Service to study mercury in dragonfly larvae. The project […]

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