The Darling Marine Center is the perfect place for UMaine undergrads to conduct Capstone research. Listed below are projects currently available. Check back often as projects will be added as the become available.
Students are encouraged to take advantage of the undergraduate research opportunities at the DMC. The Semester by the Sea program offers students a unique opportunity to conduct Capstone research while in residence at the DMC. Additionally, students enrolled in any of the May term and summer courses can develop projects using data collected in these field-oriented courses. Orono-based students can work with their advisors to secure funding to conduct Capstone research at the DMC thanks to the John H. & Bethel B. Dearborn Trust. More information can be found on the Capstone Support page.
All of the courses offered at the DMC during May and June offer unique opportunities for Capstone projects. Students enrolled in these courses in and need of a Capstone project are encouraged to contact the instructor.
- Life Histories & Functional Morphology of Commercially Important Marine Invertebrates of Maine, May 9-25, 2012, Dr. Kevin Eckelbarger
- Estuarine Oceanography, May 9-25, 2012, Dr. Larry Mayer
- Techniques in Shellfish Aquaculture, May 21-25, 2012, Dr. Chris Davis
- MATLAB for Marine Sciences, May 29 - June 8, 2012, Dr. Damian Brady
- Polar Marine Ecology, June 11 - July 14, 2012, Dr. Rhian Waller - NEW!
Developing an optical stethoscope to monitor lobster heart beats
The heartbeat of ectothermic animals varies with temperature, so heart rate monitoring is a useful way of evaluating responses to thermal stress. Thermal limits of ectothermic species can vary with geography, season, and body size. The commercially important American lobster spans a steep thermal gradient from southern New England to the Gulf of Maine. Mass mortality events in southern New England over the past decade have raised concern that lobsters have been increasingly subject to thermal stress during the summer. It is therefore important to understand how lobsters respond to changes in temperature and whether populations from contrasting thermal regimes respond differently. We can measure crustacean heart rates and gill ventilation rates with an optical stethoscope called a photoplethysmograph, a non-invasive technique that uses infra-red light transmitted through the crustacean shell to detect movement of organs underneath. This technology has yet to be applied to the American lobster.
In this project an Engineering Capstone student will build a photoplethysmograph and optimize its design for use with various sizes of American lobster. In a month-long summer project, the student will spend half the time working with Dr. David Morrison in the Mechanical Engineering Technology Department in Orono to design and build the electronic and mechanical components of the prototype instrument. The student will then spend the remaining time at the Darling Marine Center working with Dr. Richard Wahle of the School of Marine Sciences to test and optimize the design for use with live lobsters of a range of sizes.
Interested students who have an engineering background should contact Dr. Rick Wahle
Posted 2/21/12.
Reproduction in Deep Sea Corals
Histological analysis of coral tissue from various locations around the globe. Objectives are to look at reproductive morphology and seasonality, with most samples coming from threatened habitats and thus the goal to provide management data. Perfect for an SBS student in residence at the DMC.
Interested students should contact Dr. Rhian Waller
Posted 2/16/11.
Biogeography of Southern Ocean Seamounts
Use photographic and video transect data from seamounts in the Drake Passage to compare and quantify coral ecosystems to enhance our understanding of larval transport and biogeography of deep-sea species. Perfect for an SBS student in residence at the DMC.
Interested students should contact Dr. Rhian Waller
Posted 2/16/12.
Maine's Coastal Coral Ecosystems
(SBS 2012 or spring 2013 only - data will be collected fall 2012)
Be part of a tek diving/ROV project to explore and categorize deep-sea coral ecosystems around the Maine coastline. The goal of the project is to locate habitats close to shore in up to 200ft of water to enhance our understanding of threatened coral ecosystems close to home. Qualified students will have the opportunity to support dive, but not tek dive.
Interested students should contact Dr. Rhian Waller
Posted 2/16/12.
DeepCwind Capstone
Dr. Damian Brady, Environmental Effects Manager for DeepCwind, seeks a Capstone student to synthesize existing environmental data at the Monhegan Island test site and to use the literature to provide context for that information. Additionally, the student will be asked to construct a database of
pre-deployment environmental conditions that will facilitate pre and post deployment comparisons.
Dr. Brady is based at the Darling Marine Center.
Orono-based Capstone student must be “SKYPE-able” for project discussions.
Interested students should contact Dr. Damian Brady.
Posted 2/9/12.
Grazing Control of Phytoplankon in the Damariscotta Estuary
Grazing by microzooplankton is a primary source of control of phytoplankton biomass in the Damariscotta Estuary, yet we know very little about the temporal and spatial patterns of grazing in the Estuary or the factors that influence the magnitude of grazing control. Understanding phytoplankon dynamics is especially important in the Damariscotta Estuary because of the importance of phytoplankton to the oyster aquaculture industry. In this project the
Capstone student will measure zooplankton grazing rates using facilities in Dr. Jeff Runge's Zooplankton Laboratory at the Darling Marine
Center. Microzooplankton grazing will be estimated using the dilution method, a procedure that has been
successfully used in the zooplankton ecology class over the past five years. Effects of ocean acidification on
microzooplankton grazing will be investigated using the same method and seawater enhanced with carbon dioxide gas. The student will collect water from the Damariscotta Estuary, participate in the collection of zooplankton during routine monitoring trips, learn how to measure chlorophyll a concentrations and identify zooplankton and learn basic statistical techniques for data analysis. The student's Capstone report will contribute to a larger work that will be submitted for
publication in a research journal. There is the possibility for the student to expand the capstone project into a summer internship.
Prerequisites: undergraduate chemistry and calculus classes
Anticipated Dates: two weeks in May/June
Interested students should contact Dr. Jeff Runge to learn more about this project.
Prey availability for shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon in two Maine coastal rivers
A preliminary assessment of the prey availability for shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon in the Penobscot River and the Damariscotta River will be conducted in 2012. Understanding prey availability will yield a greater understanding of potential foraging ground for the endangered shortnose sturgeon and the threatened Atlantic sturgeon. This study will help define critical habitats that need to be protected and provide important demographic information vital to testing the hypothesis that the shortnose sturgeon populations of the Gulf of Maine are functioning as a metapopulation.
For the Damariscotta portion of the study, the capstone student will interview DMC faculty to establish baseline information about local benthic ecology of the Damariscotta. Based on interviews an appropriate sampling design will be employed. Preliminarily, a stratified random sampling design is planned for spring, summer, and fall. Sampling zones will be stratified by sturgeon presence/absence, river habitat type (e.g., channel, flats, etc.), and substrate type (e.g., rocks, mud, etc.). Random sampling of the benthos will occur in each zone to characterize prey communities inhabiting different microhabitat delineations. A PONAR grab will be used and samples will be analyzed for estuarine and marine fauna. Substrate type will also be categorized. Fauna will be removed from the benthic sample using a sieve and stored to be identified later in the laboratory. Sturgeon presence will also be monitored using acoustic telemetry. Associations between sturgeon presence, prey presence, and type of substrate will be made. Benthic grab samples will be compared temporally as well as spatially (i.e. compare seasons, up and down river, etc.). Numerical, volumetric and frequency comparisons will be made of identifiable organisms in the substrate. Substrate type will be mapped and associations between substrate and prey will be made, if present. Knowledge of the seasonal prey availability will help determine potential migration/aggregation patterns due to difference in prey presence and availability. These data are also being collected concurrently in the Kennebec by DMR personnel. Data will be compared for demographic analyses.
SMS undergraduate student Matthew Dzaugis will be working with Dr. Gayle Zydlewski on this project.