The program leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Marine Bio-Resources is a cooperative offering of the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, the School of Marine Sciences, and the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. The graduate program in Marine Bio-Resources is designed to train professionals for a career in aquaculture and aquatic-related industries or for further academic training. The M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are intended to have a strong basis in the biological and/or physical sciences with an opportunity to emphasize one of the following specific areas: aquatic animal health, physiology, reproduction, nutrition, aquaculture production, or food science and technology. Other study areas not currently listed, such as aquaculture/fisheries engineering, can also be developed.
The Program Faculty come from multiple disciplinary areas including engineering, pathology, physiology, nutrition, seafood processing and population and habitat modeling. Faculty work with a variety of aquatic species including, but not limited to: cod, haddock, halibut, salmon, char, trout, oysters, clams, mussels, sea urchins, sea horses, abalone and lobsters.
Consideration for admission to the program will be given to applicants holding a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution or the equivalent in one of the general areas of biology, animal science, food science, nutrition or engineering. Admission to the Ph.D. program requires a master’s degree or equivalent in a science-related discipline with prior research experience. Applicants are expected to have at least a 3.0 grade-point average. Scores from the Graduate Record Examination aptitude test (GRE) will be evaluated along with undergraduate transcripts and references from persons knowledgeable of the student’s academic potential and work ethic. Applications will be considered by a three-member Program Committee representing each of the participating units. Upon acceptance by the Program Committee, the applicant’s file will be circulated among interested faculty. Admission into the program will rest on obtaining a suitable faculty advisor.
Upon admission, a program of study is planned by the student in consultation with the student’s advisory committee. Courses are selected from the graduate offerings of all University of Maine Departments. The interests, background courses, and future needs of the student will be considered in course selection. The student will participate in a research project developed in consultation with the advisory committee.
Extensive analytical facilities and associated research support are available on the Orono campus and associated facilities across the state. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the Marine Bio-Resource Program, student research efforts commonly involve facilities and faculty members of several departments.
The Aquaculture Research Center (ARC) is located on the Orono campus and houses numerous temperature-controlled recirculating saltwater systems from 150 gallons to 4000 gallons. Culture systems are available that are suitable for a variety of shellfish and finfish species and a live food production laboratory is available for the production of rotifers and brine shrimp. Dry lab space contains numerous microscopes including some equipped for computerized image analysis. The Center also houses a 120X8X4 ft wave tank. The wave tank is used to conduct scale model tests.
The Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR) is located on a 24-acre site in Franklin and has 610 feet of tidal marine frontage on Taunton Bay. It is a commercial scale aquaculture facility managed by the University of Maine, and its facilities comprise both seawater and freshwater aquaculture systems. Some of the objectives of CCAR are to develop integrated aquaculture techniques, to serve as a business incubator, to produce finfish juveniles for commercial grow-out, to develop sustainable aquaculture techniques, and to train staff and students in aquaculture techniques. The Center houses a salmonid egg incubation facility, pilot scale recirculation systems for marine finfish, a marine finfish nursery, a marine broodstock facility, and several large grow-out systems. The systems currently hold halibut, cod, seaworms, sea urchins, and the red alga Porphyra.
The Darling Marine Center (DMC), located on the coast of Maine in Walpole, houses a number of state of the art facilities for the culture of a variety of shellfish species including mussels, scallops, whelks, oysters, razor clams and quahogs. The facilities at DMC include a shellfish hatchery, broodstock conditioning room and a temperature controlled room.

Graduate Faculty

Robert C. Bayer, Ph.D. (Michigan State), Professor. The Lobster Institute, Animal and Veterinary Sciences. Lobster fisheries and aquaculture nutrition, management and physiology.

Brian F. Beal, Ph.D. (University of Maine), Professor. University of Maine at Machias. Shellfish aquaculture and estuarine biology.

Timothy J. Bowden, Ph.D. (University of Aberdeen, UK), Assistant Professor of Aquaculture, Animal and Veterinary Sciences. Aquatic animal health, environmental impacts on animals, seasonality and circadian impacts.

Damian C. Brady, Ph.D. (University of Delaware), Assistant Research Professor, School of Marine Sciences. Spatial and temporal dynamics of water quality and organism behavior.

Ian R. Bricknell, Ph.D. (University of Lancaster, UK), Professor. School of Marine Sciences. Aquatic animal health, especially parasites such as sealice

Rodney F. Bushway, Ph.D. (Texas A & M University), Professor. Food Science and Human Nutrition Fate and impact of agrichemicals in marine and estuarine environments.

William R. Congleton, Ph.D. (Kentucky), Associate Professor. Animal and Veterinary Science. GIS, GPS numerical modeling of the nearshore environment and animal breeding.

Laurie Connell, Ph.D. (University of North Carolina), Research Professor, School of Marine Sciences, Marine algae, shellfish toxins and shellfish health.

Heather Hamlin, Ph.D. (University of Maine). Assistant Professor. School of Marine Sciences Reproductive biology and endocrinology of aquacultured animals.

Lewis (Brian) Perkins, Ph.D. (University of Maine), Laboratory Director and Assistant Research Professor. Food Science and Human Nutrition. Analytical method development for bioactive compounds, naturally occurring toxins and pesticide residues in food and environmental matrices.

Denise I. Skonberg, Ph.D. (University of Washington), Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator. Food Science and Human Nutrition. Quality evaluation of aquatic foods, seafood by-product utilization, and aquaculture feed development.

Gayle Zydlewski, Ph.D. (University of Maine), Research Associate Professor, School of Marine Sciences. Enviromental impact on behavior, population dynamics and physiology

Joseph Zydlewski, Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts), Assistant Unit Leader-Fisheries U.S. Geological Survey-Biological Resources Division Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit,  Ecology & Environmental Science. Migratory behavior, ecology and physiology of fishes.