Marine Biology

School of Marine Sciences

The University of Maine’s School of Marine Sciences (SMS) is one of the nation’s largest marine research and education programs. SMS offers both graduate and undergraduate degrees; its faculty and students conduct basic and applied research on a wide variety of topics, and perform public service activities related to scientific policy for marine resource and coastal zone management. More than 50 faculty are affiliated with SMS, including full-time, part-time, and cooperating appointments. By its very nature, SMS is an interdisciplinary unit. Areas of expertise and research include physical, biological and chemical oceanography; aquaculture; marine biology; marine geology; marine resource development and policy; seafloor ecology; fish biology; fish pathology; fisheries science; seaweed biology; maritime studies; population genetics; molecular biology and toxicology; and ocean engineering.

Faculty of SMS provide leadership in research programs that encompass all the world’s oceans, with emphasis on the Gulf of Maine. Faculty are headquartered at both the Orono campus of UM and its coastal marine laboratory, the Ira C. Darling Marine Center (see Research Resources). Further information on SMS is on the web at: www.marine.maine.edu. Further information on the Darling Marine Center is on the web at: http://server.dmc.maine.edu.

The School interacts regularly with scientists at other marine research institutions within the region. Examples include Maine Maritime Academy, the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Huntsman Marine Science Center in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.

The School of Marine Sciences offers the following graduate degrees:

M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Oceanography;
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Marine Biology;
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Marine Bio-Resources (administered jointly with Food Science and Human Nutrition);
M.S. degree in Marine Policy; and
Dual M.S. degree in Marine Policy and either Oceanography or Marine Biology.

The School of Marine Sciences offers core and advanced courses in all degree areas. Most specialized courses of study in the subdisciplines of marine science are also provided by various associated departments. Financial support for graduate students is primarily in the form of research assistantships. Some teaching assistantships are available.

Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Biology

The Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Biology are designed to provide students with a broad knowledge base in marine biology in areas including, but not restricted to taxonomy/systematics, comparative morphology, evolution, genetics, physiology, cell and molecular biology, and ecology. Marine Biology is a dynamic field, and our programs are flexibly designed to accommodate new discoveries and technologies.

M.S. and Ph.D. Programs in Marine Biology are research-oriented, leading to completion of a thesis. To succeed, students will be required to learn to

formulate valid scientific questions
design appropriate experiments to answer those questions
develop the necessary technical skills to conduct the experiments
critically examine and interpret the results of the experiments.

Although some of the groundwork for this will be provided through formal course work, considerably more training will occur in less formal situations in which students work closely with one or more faculty members on focused topics. Marine Biology faculty of SMS provide expertise in an extensive range of phyletic groups of marine organisms from bacteria and viruses, through planktonic organisms, to marine algae, marine invertebrate and vertebrate animals. Their specialties encompass levels of biological organization from population biology, ecology and systematics, through physiology and biochemistry, to molecular biology.

Required/Elective Courses:

There will be a wide variety of course options that can be pursued by students in the Marine Biology program, under the direction of the student’s advisory committee. To provide continuity within the program, however, there are certain requirements for all students.

Program Requirements

To maintain maximum flexibility, the majority of courses comprising a student’s Program of Study will be determined by the student in consultation with his/her major advisor and advisory committee.

SMS 501 - Biological Oceanography Credits: 3
SMS 691 - Marine Science Seminar Credits: 1
Participation in Mini-Symposium during each year of full-time study.

One semester of graduate level statistics.

Examples of existing elective courses include

BIO 504 - Advanced Developmental Biology Credits: 3
BMB 505 - Principles of Microbial Ecology Credits: 3
INT 510 - (BSC, SMS) Marine Invertebrate Zoology Credits: 5
INT 563 - (BSC, SMS) Marine Benthic Ecology Credits: 3
SMS 514 - Ecology of Marine Sediments Credits: 4
SMS 525 - Marine Biogeochemistry Credits: 3
SMS 530 - Physiology of Fishes Credits: 3
SMS 550 - Fisheries Oceanography Credits: 3

Graduate Faculty

David W. Townsend, Ph.D. (Maine, 1981), Professor and Director, School of Marine Sciences. Area: Biological Oceanography of Shelf Seas. (Oceanography, Marine Biology)

James Acheson, Ph.D. (Rochester, 1970), Professor. Area: Cultural Anthropology. (Marine Policy)

Emmanuel Boss, Ph.D. (Washington, 1996), Associate Professor. Area: Particle Dynamics, Optical Oceanography. (Oceanography)

Susan Brawley, Ph.D. (California, 1978), Professor. Area: Algal Physiology, Development and Ecology. (Marine Biology, Oceanography)

Fei Chai, Ph.D. (Duke University, 1995), Associate Professor. Area: Ecosystem Modeling; Tropical Oceanography. (Oceanography)

Yong Chen, Ph.D. (Toronto, 1995), Associate Professor. Area: Fisheries Population Dynamics and fisheries stock assessment and management. (Marine Biology, Marine Policy)

Laurie Connell, Ph.D. (North Carolina, 1988), Research Assistant Professor. Area: Molecular Ecology. (Marine Biology)

Kevin Eckelbarger, Ph.D. (Northeastern, 1974), Professor. Area: Invertebrate Biology. Director, Darling Marine Center. (Marine Biology)

Ione Hunt von Herbing, Ph.D. (Dalhousie, 1994), Associate Professor. Area: Biological/Physical Interactions; Ichthyoplankton Transport. (Marine Biology, Aquaculture, Oceanography)

Peter A. Jumars, Ph.D. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1974), Professor. Area: Benthic Biological Oceanography, Organism-Environment Interactions at the Level of Individuals, Deposit Feeding. (Oceanography, Marine Biology)

Lee Karp-Boss, Ph.D. (Washington, 1998), Research Assistant Professor. Area: Biological Oceanography. (Oceanography)

Joseph Kelley, Ph.D. (Lehigh, 1980), Professor. Area: Coastal Geology, Coastal Zone Management. (Oceanography, Marine Policy)

Gary M. King, Ph.D. (Georgia, 1978), Professor. Area: Microbiology, Microbial Biogeochemistry. (Oceanography, Marine Biology)

Linda J. Kling, Ph.D. (Maryland, 1980), Associate Professor. Area: Fish Aquaculture, Fish Nutrition and Feeding. (Aquaculture)

Irv Kornfield, Ph.D. (Stony Brook, 1974), Professor. Area: Population Biology, Ecology and Systematics. (Marine Biology, Oceanography, Aquaculture)

Sara Lindsay, Ph.D. (South Carolina, 1994), Assistant Research Professor. Area: Sensory Biology and Ecology of Marine Invertebrates, Benthic Ecology. (Marine Biology, Oceanography)

Lawrence M. Mayer, Ph.D. (Dartmouth, 1976), Professor. Area: Marine Biogeochemistry. (Oceanography)

James D. McCleave, Ph.D. (Montana State, 1967), Professor. Area: Migratory and Transport Mechanisms of Fishes, Fisheries Oceanography, Eel Biology. (Oceanography, Marine Biology)

Mary Jane Perry, Ph.D. (Scripps Institution of Oceanography/California, San Diego, 1974), Professor. Area: Phytoplankton Physiology, Primary Productivity, Bio-optics. (Oceanography, Marine Biology)

Neal R. Pettigrew, Ph.D. (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/M.I.T., 1981), Associate Professor. Area: Near-shore, Estuarine and Continental Shelf Circulation. (Oceanography)

Paul Rawson, Ph.D. (South Carolina, 1996), Associate Professor. Area: Quantitative Genetics, Evolutionary Biology. (Marine Biology, Aquaculture)

Warren Riess, Ph.D. (New Hampshire, 1987), Associate Research Professor. Area: History; Underwater Archeology. (Marine Policy)

Malcolm Shick, Ph.D. (Texas, 1974), Professor. Area: Marine Invertebrate Physiology. (Marine Biology)

Bruce Sidell, Ph.D. (Illinois, 1975), Professor. Area: Biochemistry and Physiology of Fishes. (Marine Biology, Aquaculture)

Robert S. Steneck, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins, 1982), Professor. Area: Benthic Marine Ecology, Lobsters, and Plant-Herbivore Interactions. (Oceanography, Marine Policy, and Marine Biology)

Andrew Thomas, Ph.D. (British Columbia, 1988), Professor. Area: Plankton Biology, Biological/Physical Interactions, Satellite Oceanography. (Oceanography, Marine Biology)

Robert L. Vadas, Ph.D. (Washington, 1968), Professor. Area: Marine Ecology, Algal Ecology. (Marine Biology, Aquaculture)

Rebecca Van Beneden, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins, 1983), Professor. Area: Marine Molecular Biology and Environmental Toxicology. (Marine Biology)

Les Watling, Ph.D. (Delaware, 1974), Professor. Area: Benthic Ecology. (Oceanography, Marine Biology, Aquaculture)

Mark Wells, Ph.D. (Maine, 1989), Associate Professor. Area: Metal-Plankton Interactions. (Oceanography)

James Wilson, Ph.D. (Wisconsin, 1971), Professor. Area: Economics and Fisheries Management. (Marine Policy, Aquaculture)

Huijie Xue, Ph.D. (Princeton University, 1991), Associate Professor. Area: Numerical Modeling of Coastal and Oceanic Circulation. (Oceanography)

Cooperating Faculty

Daniel F. Belknap, Ph.D. (Delaware, 1979), Professor. Area: Marine Geology, Sedimentology. Chair, Department of Earth Sciences. (Oceanography)

William Ellis, Ph.D. (Rhode Island, 1992), Assistant Professor. Area: Marine and Atmospheric Chemistry. (Oceanography)

James Gilbert, Ph.D. (Idaho, 1974), Professor. Area: Large Mammal Population Dynamics, Assessment and Modeling. (Marine Biology)

Terry Haines, Ph.D. (Michigan State, 1971), Professor. Area: Environmental Contaminants and Fishes. (Marine Biology)

Carol Kim, Ph.D. (Cornell, 1992), Associate Professor. Area: Zebrafish as a Model for Disease and Immune Function. (Marine Biology)

Michael Kinnison, Ph.D. (University of Washington, 1999), Assistant Professor. Area: Fish Ecology and Evolutionary Conservation Genetics. (Marine Biology)

Greg Mayer, Ph.D. (University of Kentucky, 2001), Assistant Professor. Area: Molecular Toxicology. (Marine Biology)

Laurie Osher, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley, 1997), Assistant Professor. Area: Biogeochemistry (Marine Biology)

Mary Rumpho, Ph.D. (Washington State, 1982), Professor. Area: Mollusc/Algal Chloroplast Symbioses. (Marine Biology)

John Singer, Ph.D. (Georgia, 1983), Professor. Area: Marine Microbiology. Chair, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Molecular Biology. (Aquaculture, Marine Biology)

Ralph Townsend, Ph.D. (Wisconsin-Madison, 1983), Professor. Area: Fisheries Management and Fisheries Economics. (Marine Policy)

Seth Tyler, Ph.D. (North Carolina, 1975), Professor. Area: Invertebrate Biology. (Marine Biology)

Gregory Zelinski, Ph.D. (Massachusetts, 1987), Research Associate Professor. Area: Climatology/Paleoclimatology Meteorology. (Oceanography)

Associate Faculty

Brian Beal, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 1994), Assistant Professor. Benthic Ecology, Marine Biology. University of Maine at Machias

Lawrence Jacobson, Ph.D. (University of Minnesota, 1986), Associate Professor. Fisheries Population Dynamics, Assessment Modeling and Management. National Marine Fisheries Service, Woods, Hole, Massachusetts

Richard Langton, Ph.D. (University of Wales, 1975), Associate Professor. Fish Relationships and Fishing Effects on Habitat, Stock Enhancement. Buccoo Reef Trust

Phil Yund, Ph.D. (Yale, 1987), Research Associate Professor. Area: Evolutionary Ecology and Fertilization Biology. (Marine Biology), University of New England