Pushing the Boundaries: Investigating Physiological Limits of Invasive Species and Edna Detection Methods

Invasive species are organisms moved from one region to another by humans. Although they are not always harmful to the recipient community, their lack of evolutionary history with their new community can set the stage for destruction. In a world of increasing interconnectivity and warming waters, we expect invasive species will continue to be introduced and that their ranges will expand as more areas become suitable habitats. At this critical point in our planet’s natural history, the need to understand where invasive species can survive and how to detect them are important. Here, I begin with a review of invasive species physiology measurements using species identified as invasive through the Marine Invader Monitoring and Information Collaborative. These data points highlight inconsistencies in measurement technique as well as the importance that acclimation temperature and life stage play on thermal thresholds. Based on the noise in the data, I recommend laboratory experiments to understand the absolute maximum and minimum survivable temperatures for each species, followed by field observations of temperatures needed to grow and reproduce. Then, using a newer invader to Maine Hemigrapsus sanguineus, I measured thermal thresholds for summer and winter-acclimated crabs and found shifts in thermal thresholds as well as evidence that winter temperatures are stressful for these crabs. Lastly, to effectively detect invasive species early, I tested and designed assays for environmental DNA (eDNA) detection of 9 invasive or nuisance species in the Gulf of Maine. Using laboratory experiments and a two-year time series in a local tide pool, I found that not all of the studied invertebrate species can be detected equally. Some organisms with soft, exposed tissues shed eDNA consistently with their abundance, while organisms with exoskeletons or shells do not. This trend does not hold true for all of the studied taxa, but this premise alongside an understanding of natural history and morphology helps clarify the observed trends. Thus, eDNA techniques should not be applied equally across all taxa for management purposes without a clear understanding of the message of the signal. Overall, I made recommendations to better predict suitable habitats for invasive species, characterized thresholds for an understudied invasive species in New England, and continued building upon the challenges of detecting invertebrates with eDNA

The Freshman, vol. 4, no. 12

The Freshman was a weekly, student newsletter issued on Mondays throughout the academic year. The newsletter included calendar notices, coverage of campus social events, lectures, and athletic teams. The intent of the publication was to create unity, a sense of community, and class spirit among first year students. Social news leading into the holiday season is the focus of this edition. The Class of 1937 run of The Freshman featured original cover art by sketch artist Jack Frost (John Edward Frost, 1915-1997), who was born in Eastport, Maine. He attended the University of Maine for only a single academic year before moving to Massachusetts to work for the Boston Herald. Frost later became a columnist and illustrator for the Boston Post

Spatial reasoning in early childhood

This document is about how children develop spatial reasoning in early childhood (birth to 7 years) and how practitioners working with young children can support this. Spatial reasoning is a vital and often overlooked aspect of mathematics. So this toolkit, which is informed by extensive review of research in this areas, will support practitioners to enhance children's early mathematical learning. For the full Spatial Reasoning toolkit: https://earlymaths.org/spatial-reasoning

The Freshman, vol. 4, no. 11

The Freshman was a weekly, student newsletter issued on Mondays throughout the academic year. The newsletter included calendar notices, coverage of campus social events, lectures, and athletic teams. The intent of the publication was to create unity, a sense of community, and class spirit among first year students. The Class of 1937 run of The Freshman featured original cover art by sketch artist Jack Frost (John Edward Frost, 1915-1997), who was born in Eastport, Maine. He attended the University of Maine for only a single academic year before moving to Massachusetts to work for the Boston Herald. Frost later became a columnist and illustrator for the Boston Post

The Freshman, vol. 4, no. 9 [issue misnumbered]

The Freshman was a weekly, student newsletter issued on Mondays throughout the academic year. The newsletter included calendar notices, coverage of campus social events, lectures, and athletic teams. The intent of the publication was to create unity, a sense of community, and class spirit among first year students. National politics become a focus in this issue. The Class of 1937 run of The Freshman featured original cover art by sketch artist Jack Frost (John Edward Frost, 1915-1997), who was born in Eastport, Maine. He attended the University of Maine for only a single academic year before moving to Massachusetts to work for the Boston Herald. Frost later became a columnist and illustrator for the Boston Post

The Freshman, vol. 4, no. 8

The Freshman was a weekly, student newsletter issued on Mondays throughout the academic year. The newsletter included calendar notices, coverage of campus social events, lectures, and athletic teams. The intent of the publication was to create unity, a sense of community, and class spirit among first year students. The annual tradition of Rushing fraternities is discussed in this issue. The Class of 1937 run of The Freshman featured original cover art by sketch artist Jack Frost (John Edward Frost, 1915-1997), who was born in Eastport, Maine. He attended the University of Maine for only a single academic year before moving to Massachusetts to work for the Boston Herald. Frost later became a columnist and illustrator for the Boston Post

The Freshman, vol. 4, no. 9

The Freshman was a weekly, student newsletter issued on Mondays throughout the academic year. The newsletter included calendar notices, coverage of campus social events, lectures, and athletic teams. The intent of the publication was to create unity, a sense of community, and class spirit among first year students. Results of class elections are announced in this issue. The Class of 1937 run of The Freshman featured original cover art by sketch artist Jack Frost (John Edward Frost, 1915-1997), who was born in Eastport, Maine. He attended the University of Maine for only a single academic year before moving to Massachusetts to work for the Boston Herald. Frost later became a columnist and illustrator for the Boston Post