Darling Marine Center

193 Clarks Cove Road

Walpole, ME 04573

 

207-563-3146

207-563-3119 (fax)

 

the logo of the Darling Marine Center

Resident faculty at the Darling Marine Center are associated with the University of Maine's School of Marine Sciences. Their research interests range from biogeochemistry, remote sensing and ocean optics to invertebrate taxonomy and ecology, deep-sea biology, phytoplankon physiology and marine archaeology. Over a dozen University of Maine researchers also use the the Center's facilities on a part-time or seasonal basis to pursue their research interests in the fields invertebrate biology, finfish and shellfish reproductive physiology, and macroalgal physiology and ecology.

Annette deCharon

Annette deCharon
Senior Marine Outreach Education Scientist

annette.decharon@maine.edu
COSEE-OS
more info

M.S. Oceanography, Oregon State University, 1988

Interests: Education, Oceanography, Marine Policy

I am particularly interested in developing innovative multimedia for teaching and learning about ocean systems. Since 1997, I have authored over 30 web-based and other multimedia publications including the award-winning "Phytopia: Discovery of the Marine Ecosystem" CD-ROM. I am currently Director of the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence - Ocean Systems (COSEE-OS). Our long-term goal is to help the COSEE Network reach rural and inland audiences. Although located on the coast of Maine, I am happy to continue my association with NASA as education lead for the upcoming Aquarius mission (2010 launch) which will measure global ocean surface salinity.

Kevin EckelbargerDr. Kevin Eckelbarger
Professor, School of Marine Sciences &
Director, Darling Marine Center

kevine@maine.edu
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Ph.D. Northeastern University, 1974

Research interests: reproductive and developmental biology of marine invertebrates; deep-sea biology

I have been conducting long-term research on the factors controlling reproductive cycles in marine invertebrates, particularly those in bathyal and deep-water habitats. Much of my work involves the use of oceanographic research ships and manned submersibles. For the past 20 years, most of this research has been conducted in the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahama Islands, and the Gulf of Maine in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Southampton (Britain) and the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. A good deal of my work focuses on the ultrastructural features of gametogenesis, especially oogenesis, and the mechanisms of yolk synthesis in the egg. Through the use of electron microscopy, I have been able to better understand how food drives egg production in deep water invertebrates that often have access to limited food supplies. Of particular interest are the factors that determine whether a deep sea species undergoes annual or continuous reproduction, often in the absence of environmental cues (light, food, temperature change) that influence the reproductive cycles of shallow water species.

Pete JumarsDr. Pete Jumars
Director & Professor, School of Marine Sciences

jumars@maine.edu
more info
my webpage

Ph.D. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1974

Research interests: Benthos, benthic oceanography, biological-physical interactions, bioacoustics

Researchers in my laboratory attempt to identify and quantify important mechanisms by which marine organisms interact with their physical and chemical environments, primarily at the level of individual organisms and primarily but not exclusively in soft-bottom benthic environments. Recent research involves mechanical interactions of burrowing organisms with mud and sand and the use of acoustics to measure activities, their geological consequences and the abundances and behaviors of animals in and near the seabed. Of long-standing interest are the determinants of the rates at which deposit feeders ingest natural sediments and the nutritional role of various dietary compounds.

Larry MayerDr. Larry Mayer
Agatha B. Darling Professor of Oceanography, School of Marine Sciences

lmayer@maine.edu
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Ph.D. Dartmouth, 1976

Research interests: marine biogeochemistry

 

We study biogeochemistry - that is, the manner in which organisms and materials (studied chemically) interact in earth surface environments. Major themes are bioavailability of nutritional and toxic materials and implications for carbon and nutrient cycling. We have studied bioavailability to bacteria, phytoplankton and benthic animals, especially as they are affected by interactions with minerals and with sunlight. We consider implications for ecological and biogeochemical cycles - looking at microscopic and organism scales to understand mechanism and at oceanic scales to get at implications for fluxes of materials. Our focus on the ocean is complemented by work in rivers and soils that provide materials brought to the ocean.

* - students

Mary Jane PerryDr. Mary Jane Perry
Professor, School of Marine Sciences

perrymj@maine.edu
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Phytoplankton & Optics Lab

Ph.D. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1974

Research interests: biological oceanography and biological optics

 

My long-term goal is to understand the mechanisms responsible for the variability in phytoplankton biomass, primary production, and species composition. Though I started my oceanographic career by studying the role of nutrients in controlling phytoplankton biomass and production in the subtropical Central North Pacific, my current focus is on the interaction of phytoplankton and light in the ocean. I started this phase of my career with a study of the photoadaptive changes in the absorption cross section of photosystem I in marine phytoplankton. My present research interests include primary production (at the level of the single cell and as well as the entire phytoplankton assemblage); photosynthetic physiology as well as phytoplankton physiology in general; biological optics; and ocean observations using in-situ optics and remote sensing. I have participated in a number of cruises in both the north Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Warren RiessDr. Warren Riess
Research Associate Professor, School of Marine Sciences
Research Associate Professor, Department of History

riess@maine.edu
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Penobscot Expedition 1779

Ph.D. University of New Hampshire, 1987

Research interests: maritime history and archeology

My general area of interest is the Atlantic community during the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries, especially North America and the Caribbean. My research interests focus on the history and archaeology of the early American merchant trade and navy. Within these spheres I use a combined approach of economic, military, political, social, and technical history. Major areas of current research are the archaeological sites of two eighteenth-century merchant ships: the Nottingham Galley off Boon Island, Maine and the Ronson ship in Manhattan. My archaeological expertise is in the design and construction of early vessels and electronic search and survey.
Riess, W.C., "Penobscot Expedition" and "Ronson Ship," British Museum Encyclopedia of Maritime and Underwater Archaeology, ed. J. Delgado, Yale University Press, 1997.
Riess, W.C. The Angel Gabriel: The Elusive English Galleon. Maine: 1797 House, 2001.

Bob Steneck

Dr. Bob Steneck
Professor, School of Marine Sciences
Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation

steneck@maine.edu
Full CV
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Ph.D. Johns Hopkins University, 1982

Research interests: ecology, evolutionary biology, fisheries oceanography, plant-herbivore interactions

I study ecological processes in the benthic marine realm. My experiments focus on the food webs, structure and dominant organisms of coastal marine communities. My "laboratory" is the subtidal zone in which I use SCUBA diving, underwater video systems, manned submersibles and operated vehicles as research tools to study the Gulf of Maine and Caribbean. My current major research projects focus on the ecology of the settling corals, the impact of large predatory and herbivorous fishes on benthic marine communities and plant-herbivore interactions from both the botanical and zoological perspectives. In the Gulf of Maine, my work focuses on applying ecosystem based management to fisheries. In the Caribbean I'm studying how herbivory affects the recruitment of corals and the resilience of coral reef ecosystems.

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Les WatlingDr. Les Watling
Professor Emeritus, School of Marine Sciences
Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation

watling@maine.edu
more info
Watling Lab Webpage

Ph.D. Delaware, 1974

Research interests: benthic ecology, taxonomy

Dr. Watling's research interests span two disparate topics: crustacean taxonomy and phylogeny and benthic oceanography. His crustacean interests center on amphipods and cumaceans, but he has studied a variety of other groups, including spelaeogriphaceans and syncarids. These two groups are southern hemisphere phylogenetic relicts about which little is known. Dr Watling's benthic interests are focused on impacts of humans on benthic environments, with an emphasis on organic enrichment and habitat disruption. Topics investigated in the last few years include the impact of salmon net-pen aquaculture on benthic environments, and the effects of fishing activities on benthic habitats and its consequences for benthic community structure.