Natural Sciences

• Students in the Department of Natural Sciences have many opportunities to conduct research in a variety of fields. Students may choose to develop their own research project with the guidance of a faculty member, or they may be invited by a faculty member to become part of a research team working on an established project. The following are some of the UMF science majors who were engaged in research during the 2007-2008 academic year and summer, the title of their research project/internship, and the faculty member or agency associated with the project:
• Fall 2007 - Spring 2008
• Aline Potvin - Ecology of a globally rare damselfly (UMF - Dr Ron Butler)
• Katelyn Michaud - Hybrid characterization of invasive aquatic plants (UMF - Dr Dan Buckley / Dr Jean Doty)
• Chris Stevens - Concordance of adult and larval damselfly distributions (UMF - Dr Ron Butler)
• Monica Hall - Evolution of the Shirley-Blanchard pluton (UMF - Dr. Dave Gibson)
• Laura Lalemond - Origins of rare pitch-pine ridgetop communities ( UMF - Dr Drew Barton)
• Chris Pillsbury - Concordance of adult and larval damselfly distributions (UMF - Dr Ron Butler)
• Allison Giguere - Concordance of adult and larval damselfly distributions (UMF - Dr Ron Butler)
• Alli Giguere - Sustainable campus coalition internship (UMF - Dr Drew Barton)
• Molly Vespa - Sustainable campus coalition internship (UMF - Dr Drew Barton)
• Dale Menard - Sustainable campus coalition internship (UMF - Dr Drew Barton)
• Ben Engel - Sustainable campus coalition internships (UMF - Dr Drew Barton)
• John Zwetsloot - Sustainable campus coalition internship (UMF - Dr Drew Barton)
• Tyler Leclair - Sustainable campus coalition internship (UMF - Dr Drew Barton)
• Summer 2008
• Chris Stevens - Avian ecology research (Rocky Mtn Biological Laboratory)
• Chris Durkin - Biomedical research (Mt Desert Island Biological Lab)
• Mike Camacho - Lake bathymetry & invasive aquatic plant distributions (UMF - Dr Dan Buckley)
• Megan Devine - Lake bathymetry & invasive aquatic plant distributions (UMF - Dr Dan Buckley)
• Addie Harris - Lake bathymetry & invasive aquatic plant distributions (UMF - Dr Dan Buckley)
• Tom Fawke - Origins of rare pitch-pine ridgetop communities ( UMF - Dr Drew Barton)

Fall 2008

• Chris Stevens - Concordance of adult and larval damselfly distributions (UMF - Dr Ron Butler)
• Addie Harris - Concordance of adult and larval damselfly distributions (UMF - Dr Ron Butler)
• Chris Stevens - Damselfly fluctuating asymmetry research (UMF - Dr Ron Butler)

Other examples of recent student internships or student-faculty research projects include:

• Studies of fluctuating asymmetries in damselflies - Damselfly Ecology Research
• Damselfly assemblage research on fishless ponds
• Status and distribution of a globally rare damselfly
• Studies on neuromuscular control in the claws of lobsters and crayfish
• Research on gastropod growth and shell morphometry
• Distribution and mapping of invasive aquatic plants
• Distribution and ecology of woody invasive plants
• Research on the feeding ecology of gulls in Maine
• Measuring water quality under the ice in Wilson Lake
• Studies of the chick growth patterns in fledgling Black Guillemots on Great Duck Island
• Gravel bar dredging and downstream sedimentation in the Sandy River
• Analysis of benthic invertebrate community composition above and below gravel bar dredging in the Sandy River.
• GIS mapping of Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Resort
• GIS mapping of Wilson Lake watershed
• Relationship of social status to risk taking in Black-capped Chickadees
• Spatial aspects of dominance in Black-capped Chickadees
• Total synthesis of antibiotic patulin
• Lake water quality monitoring in Maine
• Organic reactions with organotitanium compounds
• Colonial seabird nesting ecology on the “Ducks”, two islands in the Gulf of Maine
• Breeding ecology of Leach’s Storm-petrel in the Gulf of Maine
• A solid phase extraction scheme for the voltammetric determination of trace amounts of mercury in water
• Environmental internship with Waste Management Inc. - sanitary landfill
• Laboratory internships with Farmington Municipal Waste Treatment Plant and Carrabasset Valley Waste Treatment Plants
• Physical therapy internship with Farmington Memorial Hospital.
• Studies on soil and compost chemistry and microbiology at Woods End Laboratory
• Optometry internships with local optometrists.
• Internships with Maine Department of Environmental Protection
• Internships with the Department of Marine Resources
• Internships with Maine Office of GIS
• Internships with the Soil and Water Conservation Agency
• Whale behavioral ecology internship with the Cetacean Research Unit