• November 6: “Fire Management in New England Forests”– Rick Vollick
• November 13: “An Ecological Observatory in a Climate of Change: Bear Brook at 20 Years”– Ivan Fernandez
• November 20: “Forest Management and Ecosystem Carbon Cycling”– Mike Lavigne

• November 6: “The Spatial and Temporal Scales of Adaptive Divergence in the Ocean: Do Fishery Harvests Cause Evolutionary Changes?”–David Conover, Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC)/SUNY
• November 13: “A 20-yr Perspective of Groundfish, Area Closures, and Lobsters in the Gulf of Maine”–Jon Grabowski, Research Scientist, Gulf of Marine Research Institute (GMRI).
• November 20: ” What’s Fishy in Gulf of Maine Salt Marshes? Overview of Research on Fish Ecology in Marsh-Estuarine Ecosystems at the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve”–Michele Dionne, Wells NERR.
• December 4: “Models of North Atlantic Right Whale Habitat”–Dan Pendleton, Research Assistant, UM/GMRI Cornell.
• December 11: TBA

• November 6 (Friday): “The Spatial and Temporal Scales of Adaptive Divergence in the Ocean: Do Fishery Harvests Cause Evolutionary Changes?”–David Conover, Marine Sciences Research Center, SUNY Stony Brook– 11:00 a.m. in 354 Aubert Hall.
• November 9: “Conservation Planning for Sustainable Biodiversity in the 21st Century: New Tools from The Nature Conservancy”– Joshua Royte, Conservation Planner for The Nature Conservancy in Maine.
• November 16: “The Ecology and Conservation of the Eastern Spadefoot Toad at Cape Cod National Seashore”– Brad Timm, Department of Natural Resources Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
• November 23: “TBA”–Catherine Schmitt, Maine Sea Grant.
• November 30: “Amphibians, Disease, and Multiple Stressors in NortheasternNorth America”–Megan Gahl, Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, Saint John.
• December 11 (Friday): “Meeting the Challenge of Turning Research-Based Information into Societal Action: Accumulating Evidence—Old and New”– Jack Kartez, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, 3:10 p.m. 102 Murray Hall.

SEAmester

Ocean Classroom Foundation (OCF) and the University of Maine will collaborate to offer a Spring 2010 semester at sea experience for students aboard a 19th century-style schooner.

Known as SEAmester, the program is managed by the Ocean Classroom Foundation, a leader in experiential education at sea.  UMaine has approved the curriculum through its Division of Lifelong Learning and will grant credits to students who successfully complete the courses.

SEAmester will feature a four-course, 12-credit science and humanities curriculum integrated with the journey and ports of call throughout the Eastern Seaboard, Caribbean Islands and Central America.  Students will also stand watches and assume increasing responsibilities in sailing the traditionally rigged schooner, acquiring skills and confidence along the way.

UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences (SMS), one of the top programs of its kind in the U.S., is involved in developing the program.  Marine science studies on the SEAmester voyage will include lab work in oceanography and marine biology, species surveys, environmental impact studies and marine weather observations. Other coursework will feature maritime history, literature, geocultural studies and creative writing.  Students will also benefit from leadership training, cultural immersion and a service project in the Dominican Republic.

“We are excited by the synergy between the SMS and SEAmester curricula. Students within the University of Maine system, and from other colleges around the country, will have an opportunity to expand their knowledge beyond the classroom”, says William Ellis, associate director of UMaine’s School of Marine Science. “Any student who is interested in exploring the natural world, who is excited by physical or mental challenges, or who is looking to take their education to the next level, should look seriously at the SEAmester program.”

According to Peter Neill, executive director of Ocean Classroom Foundation, the sea demands decisiveness, independence, cooperation, and communication.

“At sea, leadership is developed through working side by side with a knowledgeable captain and crew, learning through observation and
emulation, and then being accountable for their successful application,” Neill says. “Lessons are unforgettable when taught from within in a self-reliant community, in a dynamic natural environment.”

SEAmester was first offered by Ocean Classroom in 1997, originally accredited by Long Island University and later by the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. An alternative to the traditional college academic semester abroad it is next available to qualified college students in spring 2010. SEAmester may be of particular interest to students majoring in any aspect of marine science, environmental or ecological studies, oceanography, geocultural studies, history, or literature.

The Ocean Classroom Foundation is a non-profit educational organization with a mission to build the next generation of ocean stewards through education under sail. Accredited and non-traditional programs vary from days, to weeks, to semester long voyages for high school and college students; custom programs for middle and high schools, youth and community organizations; and continuing education for humanities and science teachers. Programs are offered aboard three USCG certified schooners: Harvey Gamage, Westward, and Spirit of Massachusetts; sailing along the Atlantic seaboard from the Canadian Maritimes to the Caribbean.

Ocean Classroom Foundation is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization whose programs are offered without regard to race, gender, religion, or national origin. For more information, visit www.oceanclassroom.org.

The BEACONS (Biosafety for EnvironmentAl COntaminants using Novel Sensors) project aims to develop strategies for isolating and detecting algal toxins that are causing major health issues for humans in some coastal areas. The project has received more than $1 million in joint funding from the Science Foundation Ireland ($382,883), Invest Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning ($352,166), and the National Science Foundation ($370,490). UMaine will receive about one-third of this funding for its portion of the project.

Research partners in the project include UMaine Associate Research Professor Laurie Connell of the School of Marine Sciences and engineering Professor Rosemary Smith, along with Richard O’Kennedy of Dublin City University, Ireland, Gregory Doucette of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, South Carolina, and Christopher Elliott of Queens University Belfast, N. Ireland.

“I’m thrilled to be a member of this international team, tackling an environmental problem of mutual concern,” says Smith.

The BEACONS project aims to develop novel strategies for the isolation and detection of algae from both seawater (Alexandrium) and freshwater (Microcystis) and their associated toxins, that are of significant concern as environmental and food contaminants. In Maine, the alga Alexandrium is commonly called red tide and is responsible for extensive closures of shellfish harvests.

Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) caused by consumption of shellfish that have fed on the toxic alga Alexandrium remains a major health concern throughout North American coastal areas. As , andincreasing numbers of people live in immediate proximity to the ocean, the risk of exposure to this natural hazard also grows. Microcystis contains toxins that are increasingly found reservoirs and lakes used for drinking water

The consortium of partners, assembled as a result of the U.S.-Ireland Partnership initiative, has complementary expertise in sample handling, marine and fresh water environmental research, assay development – using antibodies, peptide nucleic acids and receptors/channels, microfluidics, sensor assay generation and associated applications.

The project is specifically designed to strategically exploit this combined expertise to tackle major algal toxin problems that are common to the U.S. and Ireland. A highly innovative sample collection/concentration system and a sensor-based prototype system, with industrial input from Precision Photonics Corporation, a U.S. company, will be developed.

Regular meetings and exchanges of staff and students between the partner institutions are planned that will foster training, education and outreach.

A $1.82 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) enables a unique and innovative new initiative being called the “Knowledge Transfer Alliance” to create a statewide network among researchers, faculty and students at UMaine and at other University of Maine System campuses, plus private, public and semi-public enterprises to work with stressed businesses.

The effort organizes a broad coalition of experts with a wide range of business, manufacturing and innovation skills to coordinate efforts to assist struggling businesses, specifically those that have suffered in the last year from natural disasters ranging from flooding to fire, and compounded by the economic impact of being temporarily out of business. The UMaine project team leaders are Hugh Stevens, director of School of Economics Office of Special Projects, George Criner, director of the School of Economics and John Mahon, dean of the College of Business, Public Policy and Health.

Key areas to benefit from the collaborative will be Eastern, Western and Northern Maine, areas particularly stressed by events beyond their control in the last year.

In addition to the School of Economics and College of Business, Public Policy and Health, other principal units participating at UMaine include the College of Engineering and Cooperative Extension, which are pledging expertise to help businesses. Assistance will be offered in an array of formats, including programs at economic and business-development conferences and workshops, online programming and on-site firm visits.  The UMaine team is beginning a phase to network with existing development groups and efforts to maximize coordination and combined impact, Stevens and Criner say.

Maine’s U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, whose home town of Millinocket generated the idea for the program by approaching the School of Economics through Michaud’s office, says the innovative and collaborative approach “will strengthen employers throughout the region and help retain and create jobs.”

“The recession and recent natural disasters have caused tremendous economic hardship for families and businesses in our state,” Michaud says in a prepared statement. “Federal disaster assistance is a critical tool that helps our communities rebuild. But many of the existing programs lack the technical assistance that is really what many of these communities and businesses need. The Knowledge Transfer Alliance will help Maine businesses respond when disasters strike and help build a system of support during economic downturns.”

Maine’s U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins add in a joint statement that businesses selected to participate in the alliance “will benefit significantly from this EDA funding as they work to improve their business models, helping to improve the overall economy.”

Stevens notes that stressed businesses often do not have the time or resources to step back and view the bigger picture and plan strategically because they may be operating at or near crises stage. Criner says bringing university and affiliated expertise to Maine businesses and manufacturers makes sense.

Team leaders also like the “give back” feature of the program, in which participating businesses will be given the opportunity to assist other businesses at some point in the future, Criner says.

“We hope to build a cohort of program graduates so we can all work together to help turn Maine’s economy around,” he says.

• October 23: “Remote Sensing”– Rich Hallet
• October 30: “Applications of Linear Programming in Forest Management”– Evelyn Richards

• October 5: “Salmon in the Great Lakes Tributaries”–Ahsley Moerke, Lake Superior State University.
• October 19: “Legal Protection of Biodiversity in Stormwater-ImpactedUrban Streams”– David Owen, University of Maine School of Law.
• October 26: “TBA”– Ken Elowe, Director of Resource Management, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

In addition to faculty from the School of Marine Sciences at UMaine, the collaborative involves Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Rutgers University, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) created the alliance, which may eventually involve more than 200 ocean scientists, including faculty members from UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences.

CINAR engages both NOAA and academic scientists in cutting-edge research important for making informed decisions about sustainable and beneficial management of the northwestern Atlantic shelf ecosystem.

More details are in a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution news release here.