The Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine (RARGOM) is an association of institutions that are actively involved in research, management and stewardship activities related to the Gulf of Maine and its watershed.

RARGOM Annual Science Meeting

Thank you for your interest in the 2023 RARGOM Annual Science meeting. Click on the Annual Science Meeting link to view talk recordings from this year and past years.

Click here, or scroll down this page, for the student abstracts booklet, and for videos, from the conference.

RARGOM Annual Science Meeting
December 2nd, 2022
Virtual Conference

Welcome 9:00am
Dr. Damian Brady

Dr. Andrew Pershing of Climate Central is returning to the Gulf of Maine to discuss “Ten years after 2012, should we still be surprised by heatwaves?” December 2nd, 9:30am 

Dr. Lisa Colburn of NOAA will be discussing, “Social Change in Gulf of Maine Fishing Communities” December 2nd, 10:00am

Dr. Darren Ranco, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Coordinator of Native American Research at UMaine will be giving a keynote entitled, “Indigenous Environmental Management: Critical for the Future of the Planet” December 2nd, 10:30am

Dr. Kimberly Davies of the University of New Brunswick will be discussing, “North Atlantic right whales in uncharted waters: How a changing ocean environment disrupted the recovery of a critically endangered species.” December 2nd, 11:00am

Dr. Jeremy Collie, Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island GSO will be delivering a keynote on, “Changing productivity of Gulf of Maine fish stocks” December 2nd, 11:30am 

Lunch break, 12 – 1pm

Student Presentations

Group 1
1:00, Bailey Tausen, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, “A Longitudinal Survey of Copepod Quantity and Quality as Foraging Potential for Gulf of Maine Whales”

1:10, Camille Ross, Tandy Center for Ocean Forecasting, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME 04544, USA, “ Incorporating prey information into North Atlantic right whale density surface models used in decision support”

1:20pm, Alexandra Ouimet, School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, “Environmental Drivers on the Abundance and Reproductive Rate of Marine Cladocera in the Damariscotta Estuary”

1:30, Sarah Weisberg, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA, “An uncertainty-based approach to analyzing the resilience attributes of the Gulf of Maine food web”

1:40, Isabel A. Honda, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA, USA and MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science & Engineering, Cambridge and Woods Hole, MA, USA, “Synchrony Patterns Detected from Sparse and Unevenly Distributed Plankton Survey Data”

1:50, Brandyn M. Lucca, Stony Brook University, 239 Montauk Highway, Southampton, NY 11968, “Variability in zooplankton and fish abundance in the Wilkinson Basin from Feb 2021 to Jan 2022 as measured by a multi-frequency bottom-mounted echosounder.”

Group 2
2:00, Willow Dalehite, Princeton University, Princeton NJ, USA, “Parental investment in Black Guillemots (Cepphus grylle) on the Isles of Shoals”

2:10pm, Rowan Cirivello, URI Graduate School of Oceanography, Narragansett, 02882, USA, “Environmental Drivers of Phytoplankton Abundance and Community Size Composition During Warming Events and Marine Heatwaves in the U.S. Northeast Shelf Ecosystem”

2:20, Kyle Shehata Oliveira, School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine/Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, “Review and comparison of data sources on C. carcharias in the northwest North Atlantic”

2:30, Clayton Nyiri, School of Marine & Environmental Programs, University of New England, 11 Hills Beach RD, Biddeford Maine, 04005, “Using groundfish rods and field trials to determine if electronic bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) will deter spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias”

2:40pm, Mary Margaret Basilious, Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA, “Aging architecture in the sea versus on land: quantifying structural integrity of shell homes across five years”

Group 3
3:00, Emily Dombrowski, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29401, USA, “Using Hemolymph Chemistry to Predict and Assess Molting in Green Crabs, Carcinus maenas”

3:10, Phoebe Jekielek, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04473, “Developing eDNA as a tool for monitoring cultured and wild populations of sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) in Maine, USA”

3:20, Caitlin Haley, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04473, “What do larval lobsters eat? Detecting various species of zooplankton in the guts of larval American lobster (Homarus americanus) using eDNA”

3:30, Bryson Torgovitsky, Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, “Impact of Ocean Acidification on the Physical Conditions of the Blue Mussel, Mytilus edulis”

3:40, Abigail Lemmon, University of New Hampshire, Department of Biological Sciences, Durham, NH 03824, “Warmer waters reduce swimming activity in postlarval American lobsters (Homarus americanus)”

3:50, Isabel Handal, University of St. Andrews,KY16 9AJ, United Kingdom, “Decreasing Barnacle Abundance in the Gulf of Maine”

We are excited to announce that Dr. Andrew Pershing of Climate Central will be returning to the Gulf of Maine: “Ten years after 2012, should we still be surprised by heatwaves?”

Dr. Lisa Colburn of NOAA and Dr. Kim Davies of the University of New Brunswick will also be addressing the RARGOM Community!

Dr. Darren Ranco, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Coordinator of Native American Research at UMaine will be giving a keynote entitled, “Indigenous Environmental Management: Critical for the Future of the Planet”

Dr. Jeremy Collie, Professor of OCeanography at the University of Rhode Island GSO will be delivering a keynote on, “Changing productivity of Gulf of Maine fish stocks”

For more information on Student Abstract Submissions and Registering (for free), see below!

The Regional Association for Research on the Gulf of Maine is accepting abstracts for the

RARGOM Annual Science Meeting

To be held on December 2nd, 2022.
We are changing things up a bit for 2022

Instead of a multiday, multi-theme session like we have had in recent years, our meeting this year will be a single day meeting with a morning session of keynote talks on “key” topics for the Gulf of Maine, and an afternoon session focused on undergraduate and graduate Gulf of Maine student research.

This call for abstracts is for students working on aspects of the Gulf of Maine
Please fill out the Abstract Submission form here and email it to:

damian.brady@maine.edu

with the SUBJECT LINE: RARGOM ASM: YOUR LAST NAME

The abstract submission form is also available at rargom.org.

The abstract submission deadline is Wednesday, November 9th

To register for this year’s event, click here.

RARGOM Annual Science Meeting
The Future of the Gulf of Maine
Wednesday through Friday, November 17-19th, 2021
Due to continuing concerns with COVID, we will conduct the meeting as a webinar.

RARGOM is excited to announce that Dr. Kristy Kroeker of UC-Santa Cruz will be discussing the present and future of species interactions in coastal to oceanic ecosystems. Dr. Betsy Reilley (Massachusetts Water Resources Authority) and Stephanie Sykes (Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance) will be discussing the impact of Covid on science monitoring and fisheries in the Gulf of Maine. Dr. Jon Hare, Director of the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center, will address the RARGOM community on the development of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine. Dr. Malin Pinsky of Rutgers University will be discussing the future of the American Lobster. Dr. David Townsend of the University of Maine will be our keynote speaker in Physical and Biological Drivers of Gulf of Maine Productivity session.

Register for the RARGOM Annual Science Meeting
November 17-19, 2021

Student registration is $10. Click the Pay Now button below. You can pay with a credit or debit card. (You do not need a PayPal account to pay: click the Pay with Debit or Credit Card button on the next screen.)

November 17th: 10am – Noon

Theme: Physical and biological drivers of Gulf of Maine Productivity

Description: What is the impact of water column stratification, precipitation, and seasonal differences in temperature on Gulf of Maine productivity?

Convener: Dr. Damian C. Brady, University of Maine

Keynote: Dr. David Townsend, University of Maine

10:00 – 10:30    Keynote: Dr. David Townsend, University of Maine: ​​Importance of Water Mass Fluxes to the Gulf of Maine

10:30 – 10:45    Daniel L. Codiga, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority: Massachusetts Bay long-term trends: Temperature, stratification, oxygen, and wind and river flow events

10:45–11:00    Zhengchen (John) Zang, WHOI: Assessing interannual variability of spring phytoplankton bloom and its drivers in the Gulf of Maine using self-organizing map

11:00–11:15    Barney Balch, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences: How is the Gulf of Maine changing? Twenty years of results from the Gulf of Maine North Atlantic Time Series, GNATS, between 1998-2018

November 17th: 1:30 – 3:30pm

Theme: Observing in the Gulf of Maine

Description: What are we looking at in the Gulf of Maine and what are we seeing, from social systems to plankton to temperature to sea level change.

Conveners: Jake Kritzer and Jackie Motyka, (Northeast Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems)

Keynote: Dr. Jeffrey Runge, University of Maine

1:30 – 1:35    Welcome and Introductions

1:35 – 1:45    Keynote: Dr. Jeffrey Runge, University of Maine: Shifting Biodiversity and Effects on Ecosystem Services in the Gulf of Maine: The Role of Calanus finmarchicus

1:45 – 1:50    Q&A

Panel: Meteorological & Physical Observing

1:50 – 1:55    John Cannon, National Weather Service: NWS Gray Use of NERACOOS Data, Products and Services

1:55 – 2:00    Lydia Pinard, University of New England: A Warming Gulf: What the Change in Heat Content of the Gulf of Maine Can Teach Us About Climate Change

2:00 – 2:05    Catherine Liberti, University of Maine: Biogeochemical and Physical Controls on Carbonate Cycling in a Northern Temperate Estuary

2:05 – 2:10    Doug Vandermark, University of New Hampshire: Origins of Intense 2017-18 Winter Mixing in the Eastern Gulf of Maine Investigated Using a Regional Data-Assimilative Model

2:10 – 2:15    Chris Hunt, University of New Hampshire: Surface Water Ocean Acidification Observations

2:15 – 2:25    Panel Q&A

Panel: Biological Observing I: Plankton & Benthos

2:20 – 2:25    Michael Brosnahan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: HABON-NE, a Prototype Node for a National HAB Sensor Network

2:25 – 2:30    Johnathan Evanilla, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences: Alexandrium catenella and Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) Dynamics in Coastal Maine

2:30 – 2:35    Melina Giakoumis, The Graduate Center at the City University of New York: Evidence of Distributional Shifts and Decline of North Atlantic Asterias Sea Stars

2:35 – 2:40    Peter Auster, Mystic Aquarium and University of Connecticut: Seafloor Habitats in the Gulf of Maine Region: A Missing Component in Our Observation Menu

2:40 – 2:50    Panel Q&A

Panel: Biological Observing II: Macrofauna

2:50 – 2:55    Jerelle Jesse, Gulf of Maine Research Institute: Understanding Climate Impacts on Community Structure in the Gulf of Maine

2:55 – 3:00    Heather Major, University of New Brunswick: Seabird Monitoring at Machias Seal Island, Trends Observed between 1995 – 2021

3:00 – 3:05    Tammy Silva, NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary: Exploring the Use of Seabirds as Dynamic Ocean Management Tools to Mitigate Entanglement Risk to Large Whales

3:05 – 3:10    Lisa Sette, Center for Coastal Studies: Green Algal Coats on the Pelage of Gray Seals (Halichoerus grypus atlantica) at Haul-outs in Southeastern Massachusetts, USA

3:10 – 3:20    Panel Q&A

Epilogue

3:20 – 3:25    Ethan Meyer, NERACOOS: Scientific Contributions of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System in the Northeast

3:25 – 3:30    Closing remarks

November 18th: 10am – Noon

Theme: Species interactions in oceanic and coastal ecosystems

Description: What are the species interactions of importance and interest to Gulf of Maine habitats, including those in the pelagic, benthic, and intertidal zones?

Conveners: Dr. Jennifer Seavey (Shoals Marine Laboratory – UNH/Cornell) and Dr. Douglas  Rasher (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences)

Keynote: Dr. Kristy Kroeker (University of California – Santa Cruz)

10:00 – 10:05    Welcome & Introductions, Jennifer Seavey (Shoals Marine Laboratory)

10:05 – 10:30    Keynote: Dr. Kristy Kroeker, UC–Santa Cruz: Ecological leverage points: Insights from ocean global change biology

10:30 – 10:45    Samantha Linhardt, Univ. of Connecticut: Predation interacts with recruitment to shape effects of an intertidal foundation species at multiple scales

10:45 – 11:00    Dr. Dana Morton, Colby College: How does species loss affect the GOM rocky intertidal food web and ecosystem function?

11:00 – 11:15    Dr. Jarrett Byrnes, Univ. of Massachusetts – Boston: Changes in subtidal Gulf of Maine food webs in a shifting climate

11:15 – 11:30    Dr. Jennifer Dijkstra, Univ. of New Hampshire: Shrinking forests: The effect of regime shifts in dominant macroalgae on Gulf of Maine food webs

11:30 – 11:59    Panel Discussion: Kroeker, Linhardt, Morton, Byrnes, and Dijkstra

November 18th: 1:30 – 3:30pm

Theme: Pandemic impacts on the Gulf of Maine 

Description: How has the pandemic changed the way we do business from the business of fishing and aquaculture to the business of science and monitoring?

Conveners: Carolina Bastidas, MIT Sea Grant, and Theresa Torrent, Maine Coastal Program/Dept of Marine Resources

Keynotes: Dr. Betsy Reilley, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority; and Stephanie Sykes, Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance

1:30 – 1:35    Welcome & Introductions

1:35 – 2:00     Keynotes: Betsy Reilley: Pandemic impacts on Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s monitoring programs; and Stephanie Sykes: Direct seafood sales and creative markets in response to pandemic impacts

2:00 – 2:15    Carla Gunther, Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries: Pandemic impacts to fishing practices, marketing, and coastal communities in eastern Maine

2:15 – 2:30    Harriet Booth, Woods Hole Sea Grant: Responding to COVID-19 impacts on the MA aquaculture and shellfishing Industry: shucked oyster market development and support for municipal shellfish propagation programs

2:30 – 2:40    Questions/Quick Break

2:45 – 2:55    Amanda Moeser, Lanes Island Shellfish: The direct and indirect effects of a global pandemic on U.S. fishers and seafood workers

2:55 – 3:05    Easton White, University of Vermont: Alternative data sources for understanding the effects of shock events on seafood in the Gulf of Maine 

3:05 – 3:30    Panel Discussion: Dana Morse, Ben Martens and Sebastian Belle: How fishing and aquaculture operators adjusted during the pandemic

November 19th: 10am – Noon, followed by a poster session Noon –1pm

Theme: American lobster in a changing Gulf: causes and consequences of environmental change

Description: How does the American lobster respond to a changing Gulf of Maine ecosystem, and what are the biological, social, and economic impacts of this change on the resilience of the fishery?

Convener: Dr. Amalia Harrington, Maine Sea Grant and the American Lobster Research Program

Keynote: Dr. Malin Pinsky, Rutgers University

10:00 – 10:05    Dr. Amalia Harrington, Welcome & Introductions

10:05 – 10:20    Keynote – Dr. Malin Pinsky, Rutgers University:  Fishing and planning for species on the move

10:20 – 10:40    Andrew Goode (University of Maine), Joshua Carloni (NH F&G), & Dr. Burton Shank (NOAA): A combined presentation on the consequences of climate-driven shifts in phenology for American lobsters: links between lobster biology, zooplankton dynamics, and oceanographic processes in the Gulf of Maine

10:40 – 10:55    Alex Ascher (University of Maine), Emily Patrick (University of Maine), & Molly Spencer (USM): A combined presentation on larval lobster feeding rates, prey preferences, and potential food limitation mediated by a changing North Atlantic food-web

10:55 – 11:10    Jesica Waller, Maine DMR: Decreasing size at maturity in female lobsters from coastal Maine waters over recent decades

11:10 – 11:25    Dr. Katherine Mills, GMRI: Assessing climate resilience in Maine’s lobster fishery

11:25 – 11:40    Dr. Theresa Burnham, University of Maine: Building sentinel indicators of socioeconomic resilience in the American lobster fishery

11:40 – 11:45    Dr. Eric Annis, Hood College: Assessing the broad-scale distribution and abundance of lobster larvae and their potential food sources throughout the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank

11:45 – 11:50    Kathleen Reardon, Maine DMR: Tracking lobster settlement signal through pre recruit monitoring surveys

11:50 – 11:55    Dr. Heather Koopman, University of North Carolina Wilmington: Thermal preferences and movement patterns of female lobsters in a changing world – a scientific partnership with the fishery

11:55 – 12:00    Dr. Katherine Maltby, GMRI: Social resilience in the Southern New England lobster fishery

12:00 – 12:10    Questions for speed talks

12:10 – 12:15    Break and Zoom transition

12:15 – 13:00    Poster session breakouts

• • Jaeheon Kim, University of Maine: Understanding spatial dynamics of landings in the inshore Maine lobster fishery
  • Krystal Boley, University of Maine: Sublethal effects of low-dose exposure to Imidacloprid on the American lobster
  • Evelyn Layland, University of Maine: Ontogeny of pursuit, handling, and ingestion of planktonic prey by larval American lobster Homarus americanus
  • Kristin Dinning, University of New Brunswick: Changes in juvenile American lobster density and habitat use over 30 years in Maces Bay, Bay of Fundy
  • Eric Annis, Hood College: American lobster larvae exhibit ontogenetic shifts in thermal tolerance and an overall greater tolerance to thermal stress when reared in the wild vs. the laboratory

• Jacob Calvitti, University of North Carolina Wilmington: Declining maternal size and changes to embryo quality in the American lobster (Homarus americanus) over a decade

• Kristyn Kleman, University of Maine: Science-industry collaboration builds trust while opening new windows on climate-related American lobster range shifts in the Gulf of Maine

November 19th: 1:30 – 3:30pm

Theme: Wind energy development in the Gulf of Maine

Description: What are the potential science and society impacts if wind energy comes to the Gulf of Maine? What might happen to fisheries, communities, or monitoring and how might we adapt?

Convener: Dr. Libby Jewett, NOAA

Keynote: Jon Hare, NOAA NEFSC

1:30 – 2:00    Keynote: Jon Hare, NOAA NEFSC: Offshore wind, fisheries, and wildlife – science to support coexistence

2:00 – 2:10    Carl Wilson, Maine Department of Marine Resources: ME DMR perspectives on research needs for Offshore Wind development in the Gulf of Maine

2:10 – 2:20    Wing Goodale, Biodiversity Research Institute/Wildlife WG State of Maine: How the Wildlife Working Group is contributing to the ME Offshore Wind Roadmap process and some research gaps identified so far

2:20 – 2:30      Anne Hawkins, RODA: Fishing industry perspectives on research needs for improving OSW planning and minimizing impacts

2:30 – 2:40     Emily Shumchenia, The Regional Wildlife Science Entity (RWSE): Supporting research and monitoring of wildlife and offshore wind on the US east coast

2:40 – 2:50    Discussion/Questions

2:50 – 3:00    Orla O’brien, NEAQ: Repatriation of a historical North Atlantic right whale habitat during an era of rapid climate change 

3:00 – 3:10    Julia Stepanuk, Stony Brook: Assessing the use of subseasonal forecasts as a management tool for predicting highly mobile species in wind energy regions

3:10 – 3:20    Everett Rzeszowski, University of Maine: Commercial Trapping Survey around Monhegan turbine: Methods and Motivations

3:20 – 3:30    Discussion/Questions