School of Biology and Ecology

University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator and bee specialist, Frank Drummond, was interviewed for an article in the Bangor Daily News about Maine’s recovering honey and bumblebee populations. Drummond discussed research he is doing in Jonesboro to determine how bees used to pollinate blueberry fields are affected by different pesticides.

Two PhD Fellowships (covering a stipend, tuition, and health insurance) are available beginning either September 2011 or January 2012. The PhD candidates have the opportunity to study native bee conservation from a landscape perspective or to assess the economic value of native bees in Maine’s native crop, wild blueberry. The grant supporting this research is […]

Michelle Goody, a 2007 graduate of the School of Biology and Ecology, and current graduate student from Clarrissa Henry’s Lab, received the College of Natural Sciences Forestry and Agriculture Graduate Research Excellence Award. In addition, Goody won Outstanding Platform Presentation at the 2nd North Atlantic Zebrafish Research Symposium in Halifx, Nova Scotia, Canada. Goody is […]

Sara Bushmann, a PhD candidate studying with Dr. Frank Drummond, has won a coveted National Institute of Food and Agriculture PhD Fellowship. This fellowship will provide a stipend and research expenses for the final two years of her project. “The purpose of my project is to determine the relative economic values of wild bee pollinators […]

School of Biology and Ecology faculty were honored with a number of awards at the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture awards ceremony. Seanna Annis, whose research focuses on the diseases affecting Maine’s wild blueberries, received the 2011 NSFA Agriculture Award. Andre Alyokhin, who researches potato insect pest management and ecology of invasive insect […]

High acheiving undergraduate and graduate students in the School of Biology and Ecology were honored with a reception and awards ceremony on April 20th. Family and friends of the awardees gathered with faculty members to celebrate a variety of accomplishments. 2010-2011 SBE Undergraduate Award Winners SBE Academic Acheivement Award Kristopher Cooper SBE Academic Senior Awards […]

Congratulations to Jasmine Saros, Associate Professor of Paleoecology and Biological Sciences at UMaine! Her work on developing an Arctic Ecology research program has earned her the 2011 Summer Faculty Research Award. Recipients are selected based on recommendations by the Faculty Research Funds Committee.  The Faculty Research Funds Program is part of a broader investment strategy […]

University of Maine zoology Professor Mary S. Tyler has won the 2011 Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Prize from the Society of Developmental Biology. Tyler’s research in developmental biology includes the area of genetic controls and tissue interactions during embryonic development, which she examines using experimental and histological techniques. She works with digital video in the […]

Kevin Simon is part of a research team at U. Maine that was recently awarded a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation.  The team includes faculty from 4 different academic units on campus:  Ivan Fernandez (PSE, lead PI), Kevin Simon (SBE), Jean MacRae (CIE), Stom Ohno (PSE), and Steve Norton (ERS).  They, along […]

The Gulf of Maine serves as a major songbird migration route for birds making the journey from Canada to South America to escape our long, cold winter season. Rebecca Holberton, Associate Professor of Biology at UMaine, and UMaine Graduate Student Adrienne Leppold have been working in recent years on a research project in association with […]

Former SBE graduate student and botanist Michael Burgess has recently moved to Chestnut Hill to take a position at the Morris Arboretum. Burgess, who just recently received his doctorate from the University of Maine, is excited by the opportunity to work at the arboretum. As well as working on the Pennsylvania Flora Project website, Burgess […]

It’s spring again, and that means UMaine has gone to the birds! As migratory species return to Maine for the summer, changes in these species’ habits may be going unnoticed. Rebecca Holberton, associate professor of biological sciences and wild migratory bird expert, has made herself available to discuss some of these trends and other interesting […]

Are there opportunities awaiting you once you graduate from UMaine? Of course! Beth Choate, a former graduate student in the School of Biology and Ecology, is now doing research for the USDA- Agricultural Research Service in South Dakota. Her current research is focused on the relationship between lady beetles and wheat aphids. Though Beth certainly […]

Congratulations to Chris Tonra, recent recipient of the highly competitive Smithsonian Institute Pre-doctoral Fellowship! Chis is a doctoral student advised by Dr. Rebecca Holberton at the University of Maine. Chris will use the fellowship to spend his final doctoral year working with Dr. Peter Marra at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and National Zoo, analyzing […]