A group of UMaine researchers led by SBE professor Clarissa Henry, found that by boosting the activity of a vitamin-sensitive cell adhesion pathway, they could increase the potential to counteract the muscle degeneration and reduced mobility caused by muscular dystrophies. The researchers found that they could improve muscle structure and function in a zebrafish version […]
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Jennifer More of Deloraine, Manitoba, Canada accepted a hockey scholarship at UMaine and plays more than 14 hours of hockey a week, but she didn’t let that stop her from pursuing a biology major. More was originally a Kinesiology and Physical Education major, and switched to biology because it offered a broader curriculum, giving More […]
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Many thanks to everyone who participated in our “Name the Queen” contest. We had nearly 80 entries! And thank you to our panel of experts, Professors Frank Drummond, Dusty Dowse, and Michelle Smith, for considering all entries and thoughtfully selecting our winner. And the winner is: Phoe-bee, submitted by Jenny Shrum. Among the many other […]
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Can you imagine spending three months on a small island, two miles off shore and only going home once? That’s just what SBE student David Bridges did this summer while he was interning for the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge. David was selected with a small group of interns to live on land owned […]
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SBE professors Michelle Smith, Seanna Annis, and Frank Drummond, along with University of Georgia professor, Jennifer Kaplan, recently did a study on clicker use among adults outside of the formal classroom. Clickers are remote-like devices that electronically send student responses to a computer system, and are typically used in undergraduate level classes. The study expanded […]
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Today was the unveiling of the bee colony in Murray Hall! A reception to welcome the bees was held at 11:15am, where Director Ellie Groden unveiled the bees, Professor Frank Drummond gave a brief history of the bees, and refreshments were served. Roughly 20,000 bees took residence in the Murray’s foyer on September 20th and […]
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Murray Hall has some new residents! Please welcome our new bee colony by helping us name the queen. The queen can be identified because she is considerably larger than any of her subjects and she has a white dot painted on her. However, she is rather shy and may hide between the panels of the […]
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Interviews for the Terrestrial Paleoecology faculty position will be taking place in the next few weeks. The position is a joint appointment between the School of Biology and Ecology and the Climate Change Institute. The first interview will be on October 10th, with a teaching seminar at 10:00AM in Murray room 304, and a research […]
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New Ecology Journal Club to meet biweekly at the Bear Brew Pub for relaxed scientific banter and good humor. The club is interested in discussing science, understanding how to effectively critique articles, and how to take the best lessons away from articles. The club offers a place for PhD students to run ideas by other […]
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Insect Ecologist Frank Drummond has received $3.3 million as part of a larger $6.6 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to further his study of native bees in fruit and berry pollination. Native bees are critical for pollination in the Northeast and have been declining due to parasites, pesticides and lack of wildflower habitat. […]
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Perhaps the most beloved start-of-the-year tradition at SBE is the Schoodic Experience for first year students as an introduction to SBE coursework. This year went just as well as the last, with many students having gained skills, experience, and even peace of mind during the three days on the trip. The goals of the trip […]
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University of Maine recently donated more than 107,000 insects to the Maine State Museum in Augusta. The large and rare collection was being stored in an attic for about 10 years due to lack of money for proper storage and curation. Without proper curation the collection would soon become damaged and become useless for research. […]
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SBE Doctoral candidate, Adrienne Leppold, has just been awarded a prestigious Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation Fellowship! The Switzer Foundation, a national program, “drives positive environmental change by recognizing and fostering a diverse network of environmental leaders, and mobilizing them through the Switzer Fellowship Network”. Leppold works with Dr. Rebecca Holberton’s team conducting research on […]
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SBE graduate student Jie Chen came to the University of Maine from China in 2010 in order to further her studies while experiencing a different educational system and way of living. She started her masters program in Entomology under her advisor Dr. Andrei Alyokhin, who helped tremendously in her transition to Maine. Chen says “I […]
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High achieving undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Biology and Ecology were honored with a reception and awards ceremony on April 25th. Family and friends of the awardees gathered with faculty members to celebrate a variety of accomplishments. 2011-2012 SBE Undergraduate Award Winners SBE Academic Acheivement Award Margaret Varney SBE Academic Senior Awards […]
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SBE third-year undergraduate India Stewart will be working at the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor this summer as a Resident Assistant for the Summer Student Program. She will be working directly with 33 high school and college students from around the U.S. and the world, helping them with research and showing them around Maine including trips […]
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Mary (Henderson) Major, 84, died April 22, 2012, of complications after a stroke at her home in North Yarmouth. She was born Aug. 25, 1927, at the family home in Brooks, Ga., to Hugh Henderson and Lillian Jewel (Tarpley) Henderson. She graduated from Fayetteville High School after three years, serving as the class salutatorian. She […]
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Michael Kinnison has received the College of Natural Sciences Forestry and Agriculture Outstanding Research Award. He has developed an extraordinarily successful research program in two general areas: the causes and consequences of rapid evolution, and the conservation of freshwater fishes. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to the discipline of evolutionary biology through his […]
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Ecology and Environmental Science graduate student Tawny Virgilio was the Second Prize winner in the Gerald N. Lanier Graduate Student Forum Oral Presentation Competition. Her presentation was titled, “Maximizing the Efficiency of Monitoring for the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) in Maine by Understanding the Behavior of Cerceris fumipennis and its Application in Biosurveillance.” She […]
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The University of Maine will host on Thursday, April 12 the annual meeting of the Northeast Regional Migration Monitoring Network, a group of researchers including SBE professor Rebecca Holberton, who study the Gulf of Maine’s migrating birds, many of whom face threats from climate change, on- and off-shore wind energy projects and habitat loss. Holberton […]
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