Research Experience for Undergraduates at the Darling Marine Center, University of Maine, 2002-2005

This award provides renewed funding for a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site that will host a total of seven students during eleven weeks of summer research. The REU program is based on the theory that mentoring and networking are the most effective methods for recruiting students into a profession and for training young researchers. Students will be working with researchers at the University of Maine\u27s Darling Marine Center, located in Walpole, ME. Students will also participate in a series of seminars and workshops exploring issues related to hypothesis formation and testing, statistics, experimental design, scientific writing and data presentation, and career options. The program recruits juniors and senior undergraduate students nationwide. These students are able to pursue research in a broad range of marine science and environmental science. They will also be encouraged to attend a regional or national meeting to present their results. The program will advance students\u27 awareness concerning important environmental issues. Students selected for participation in this program gain a significant appreciation for the scientific process and often pursue a career in a scientific field

Expansion and Renovation of the Darling Marine Center Library

This award provides partial funding for expansion and modernization of the library at The Darling Marine Center. The library currently contains more marine-related holdings than any other library in Maine, and is an important resource for researchers and students interested in the biology of the Gulf of Maine and the Maine coast. Because of current space limitations, a third of the library\u27s holdings are stored in other buildings and attic spaces. The library is not wheelchair accessible, has no significant study space, and provides only limited access to electronic databases. The proposed changes include: 1) construction of a 1,500 sq. ft. addition to the main floor of the Library, 2) the reallocation and renovation of 1,650 sq. ft. of existing space on the main floor and second floor, thus providing a total of total of 3,150 sq. ft. of additional space for library use, and 3) the purchase of computers, interactive videoconferencing hardware, and related equipment that will facilitate access to electronic information and data stored electronically. The planned increase in amount and quality of library space, and improvements in communications equipment available to library users, will significantly improve the ability of this important regional resource to serve the needs of resident and visiting faculty, students and other users

Expansion and Renovation of the Darling Marine Center Library

This award provides partial funding for expansion and modernization of the library at The Darling Marine Center. The library currently contains more marine-related holdings than any other library in Maine, and is an important resource for researchers and students interested in the biology of the Gulf of Maine and the Maine coast. Because of current space limitations, a third of the library\u27s holdings are stored in other buildings and attic spaces. The library is not wheelchair accessible, has no significant study space, and provides only limited access to electronic databases. The proposed changes include: 1) construction of a 1,500 sq. ft. addition to the main floor of the Library, 2) the reallocation and renovation of 1,650 sq. ft. of existing space on the main floor and second floor, thus providing a total of total of 3,150 sq. ft. of additional space for library use, and 3) the purchase of computers, interactive videoconferencing hardware, and related equipment that will facilitate access to electronic information and data stored electronically. The planned increase in amount and quality of library space, and improvements in communications equipment available to library users, will significantly improve the ability of this important regional resource to serve the needs of resident and visiting faculty, students and other users

The Effect of Gamete Competition on Levels of Gamete Production in a Marine Invertebrate

Previous work suggests that high population densities result in more intense male gamete competition and select for increased levels of production of these gametes. This hypothesis will be tested by examining spatial and temporal correlations between density and male gamete production levels in natural populations of a colonial ascidian. Two additional considerations which might modify the effect that male gamete competition has on levels of male gamete production will also be explored. First, natural selection can only act on the genetic portion of total phenotypic variance. Secondly, selection acts simultaneously on the entire phenotype, and so the effect of selection on male gamete production could be constrained by genetic correlations between this and other life history traits that are also subject to strong selection. Negative genetic correlations between male gamete production and allocation to other traits or structures would generate a trade off, with enhanced male gamete production offset by reductions in other traits. Alternatively, positive genetic correlations would constrain selection to operate on total allocation patterns as a single unit. These two potential constraints on evolution will be examined via a laboratory breeding experiment that will estimate the narrow sense heritability of male gamete production levels and explore possible genetic correlations between male gamete production and other life history traits. Overall, this study will contribute to our knowledge of the evolution of reproductive strategies in marine organisms by examining the selective pressures that fertilization processes can exert on gamete production patterns

School of Marine Sciences / Darling Marine Center

Over the last six years, the University of Maine has made an unprecedented investment in its marine laboratory, the Darling Marine Center to benefit both University faculty and visiting researchers and their students. Facility improvements include many new laboratory and offices spaces, more research instrumentation, and basic support facilities such as a dining hall and new classrooms. The inauguration of a Visiting Investigation Program in 1991, the expansion of educational offerings, and the growth of a large undergraduate internship program, have resulted in a population explosion that shows no sign of abating. To set priorities for improvements, the University has involved visiting investigators and visiting out-of-state colleges in facility planning. Based on their recommendation, housing has been targeted as the greatest facility weakness. The Center\u27s housing is primitive, overcrowed, and woefully inadequate and this deficiency is restricting the growth of both educational and research programs that impact a growing community of visiting faculty and students. The University\u27s Department of Environmental Health & Safety has issued unfavorable reports on the status of much of the Center\u27s housing, mostly due to inadequate fire protection and ADA- access. Most housing is of cottage construction and is restricted to summer use. Some housing lacks both heat and running water. In order to temporarily meet housing demand, every available space has been converted to bunk space throughout 11 separate building. Due to the age and condition of many of these structures, modernization would be largely cost prohibitive. While the Center now has beds for 60 people during the warm weathers months, year-round housing will currently accommodate only 18 students. The Center\u27s growing educational and Visiting Investigator programs are being severely hindered by this housing shortage, resulting in schedule juggling and restrictions on the number of individual s and visiting college classes that can work on site at any given time. In addition, the dining hall, built in 1992, was designed to feed 35 people at a time but now must accommodate twice that number. 20-room dormitory to house visiting faculty and students year round will be constructed. Two previous FSML facility improvements awards to the University have been responsible for stimulating the number of visiting investigators to the Darling Center and making their visits more productive. In addition, the awards have helped immeasurably to encourage additional investments by the University and by local, citizens who support the Center through their private donations

FSML: Construction of Visiting Investigator/Classroom Building at Darling Marine Center

Since 1991, the University of Maine has made significant financial investments in its marine laboratory, the Darling Marine Center to equally benefit both University personnel and visiting colleges and researchers. During 1997-99 alone, the University supported improvements including a student dormitory/dining hall. New flowing seawater facilities (construction to begin spring 2000), a new 42\u27 coastal research vessel (under construction), and more classroom microscopes and computers (delivered and in use) have also been supported. All of these improvements directly benefit visitors and they reflect a stated policy of encouraging increased use of the facilities by visiting investigators and outside colleges. Extensive marketing and word-of-mouth testimonials by visitors have resulted in a dramatic increase in visitor use of the facilities. While the Center strongly encourages visiting scientists and colleges to make use of its facilities, the growing popularity of visitor programs has resulted in a serious shortage of lab and classroom space. Educational and research opportunities for visitors are being restricted by a lack of adequate teaching and research space. The increasing demand for lab and classroom space exceeds current capacity and the facility is now unable to accommodate all potential visitors during some periods of the year. Based on several years of experience serving visitor needs, it has been learned that it is most efficient to provide flexible, multi-user space that can serve both educational and research needs. Therefore, the University will construct a 1290 sq. ft. Visiting Investigator/Classroom addition to a new Marine Culture Laboratory scheduled to be built in spring 2000. This facility will create more space for visiting scientists, it will allow out-of-state colleges to bring more students to the center, and it will make it possible for more than one visiting college to conduct courses simultaneously

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships at the Darling Marine Center

This award provides funding to initiate a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at the University of Maine\u27s Darling Marine Center. The two-year pilot program will sponsor six to eight undergraduate students in an eleven-week internship that includes seminars and a research project. Mentors chosen by the students will help the students formulate and conduct a research project. Students will receive instruction in scientific methodology and related skills that are common to all fields of science (hypothesis formulation and testing, elementary statistics, experimental and sampling design, scientific writing, and data presentation). They will also participate in a seminar focused on careers in marine science and will present results of their research at the end of the program. The program is open to all U.S. citizens and permanent residents attending any college or university. Applications from women and under-represented minorities are particularly encouraged. Matching funds from the University of Maine are also included in this proposal

Living Marine Invertebrates: An Interactive CD-ROM

Invertebrates comprise 95% of all animal life on the Earth and dominate the world\u27s oceans so some knowledge of their biology and ecology is fundamental to a student\u27s understanding of the planet\u27s ecosystems. Invertebrates are covered in many university-level courses ranging from traditional invertebrate zoology classes to those emphasizing general introductory biology, marine biology, oceanography, and biodiversity, to name a few. Invertebrates are represented by a dizzying array of body forms and morphological variations as well as complex feeding, locomotory, and other behaviors that are difficult to describe and illustrate. Virtually all textbooks represent invertebrates with line drawings and photographs in an encyclopedic manner that provide students with little or no sense of their position and/or behavior in natural habitats. No multimedia products are available on the market today that provide students with a means to observe most invertebrate groups, their respective body plans and behaviors. This project is developing a prototype interactive CD-ROM containing digital videotape sequences of selected living marine invertebrates with an emphasis on the body plans and locomotory and feeding behavior of two major groups. We are building on several years of experience in videotaping living invertebrates under both natural and simulated field conditions and have access to a multitude of marine habitats and state-of-the-art culture facilities for conducting the project. The prototype is being tested by visiting undergraduate students from 30 universities that use our teaching and research facilities. Additional testing of the prototype will occur at a national meeting of invertebrate zoologists

Reproductive Biology of the Deep-Sea Polychaete Gorgoniapolynoe Caeciliae (Polynoidae), a Commensal Species Associated with Octocorals

Some aspects of the reproductive biology of the polychaete Gorgoniapolynoe caeciliae have been described for the first time. Gorgoniapolynoe caeciliae is a deep-sea commensal species associated with Candidella imbricala, all octocoral that populates the New England Seamount chain. Gorgoniapolynoe caeciliae is a dioccious species with an equal sex ratio and fertile segments throughout most of the adult body. The gonads of both sexes are associated with genital blood vessels emerging from the posterior surface of most intersegmental septa. In the female, oogenesis is intraovarian with oocytes being retained within the ovary until vitellogenesis is completed. The largest female examined contained over 3000 eggs with a maximum diameter of 80-90 mu m. In the male, the testes are repeated in numerous segments and consist of small clusters of spermatogonia, spermatocytes and early spermatids associated with the walls of the genital blood vessels. Early spermatids are shed into the coelom where they complete differentiation into mature ect-aquasperm with a spherical head (4 mu m), a small cap-like acrosome, and a short mid-piece with four mitochondria. Indirect evidence suggests that this species is an annual breeder that releases its gametes into seawater and produces a planktotrophic larva following fertilization. The reproductive biology of G. caeciliae is consistent with that of most other polynoids including many shallow water species suggesting that phylogenetic history strongly shapes its biology

Parental exposure to elevated pCO2 influences the reproductive success of copepods

Substantial variations are reported for egg production and hatching rates of copepods exposed to elevated carbon dioxide concentrations (pCO2). One possible explanation, as found in other marine taxa, is that prior parental exposure to elevated pCO2 (and/or decreased pH) affects reproductive performance. Previous studies have adopted two distinct approaches, either (1) expose male and female copepoda to the test pCO2/pH scenarios, or (2) solely expose egg-laying females to the tests. Although the former approach is more realistic, the majority of studies have used the latter approach. Here, we investigated the variation in egg production and hatching success of Acartia tonsa between these two experimental designs, across five different pCO2 concentrations (385–6000 µatm pCO2). In addition, to determine the effect of pCO2 on the hatching success with no prior parental exposure, eggs produced and fertilized under ambient conditions were also exposed to these pCO2 scenarios. Significant variations were found between experimental designs, with approach (1) resulting in higher impacts; here >20% difference was seen in hatching success between experiments at 1000 µatm pCO2 scenarios (2100 year scenario), and >85% at 6000 µatm pCO2. This study highlights the potential to misrepresent the reproductive response of a species to elevated pCO2 dependent on parental exposure