Biological sciences and natural resource conservation are cornerstones for The University of Maine with many programs covering various aspects of these disciplines. Because of this breadth, Conservation Biology-the applied science of maintaining the earth’s biological diversity-is an interdepartmental activity at The University of Maine. There are about thirty faculty members in five units (Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, School of Forest Resources, School of Marine Sciences, and School of Economics) who constitute a conservation biology interest group. The University funds Conservation Biology activities specifically with an interdepartmental Conservation Biology Seminar Series, with monies for travel to Conservation Biology conferences, and with an endowed chair, the Libra Professorship of Conservation Biology. The forest, wetland, freshwater, and marine ecosystems of Maine offer a diverse biota near campus for conservation biology research.

Degrees

Graduate students studying Conservation Biology at The University of Maine can earn any one of the following degrees depending on their specific interests:

Doctor of Philosophy

Biological Sciences, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Forest Resources, Marine Biology, Oceanography, Plant Sciences, Wildlife Ecology, Zoology

Master of Science

Resource Economics and Policy, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Entomology, Forestry, Marine Biology, Marine Policy, Oceanography, Botany and Plant Pathology, Plant, Soil and Environmental Sciences, Resource Utilization, Wildlife Ecology, Zoology

Other Master Degree Options

Master of Forestry, Master of Wildlife Conservation

Courses in Conservation Biology

A wide variety of courses related to Conservation Biology are available. A small sample would include: Advanced Conservation Biology, Tropical Deforestation, Coral Reefs, Evolutionary Biology of Plants, Community Ecology, Population Biology, Evaluation of Wildlife Habitats, Tropical Field Ecology, and Modeling Sustainability.

Application

To inquire about specific opportunities and the availability of graduate assistantships, contact any of the faculty members listed below whose interests are close to yours. For general information about Conservation Biology at The University of Maine, write to Malcolm Hunter, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, Nutting Hall, preferably by e-mail (mhunter@maine.edu)

Graduate Faculty

Andrei Alyokhin, Ph.d. (University of Massachusetts, 1999), School of Biology and Ecology. Invasion biology, non-target effects of biological control.

Kathleen P. Bell, Ph.D. (University of Maryland, 1997), School of Economics. Land management, land-use change; environmental economics, geographic information systems, spatial econometrics

Erik Blomberg, Ph.D. (University of Nevada, Reno, 2012), Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology.  Animal demographics, population dynamics,  and habitat relationships.  Ecology and conservation of birds and bats.

Susan H. Brawley, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley, 1978), School of Marine Sciences. Ecosystem structure and function in estuaries and rocky intertidal zones.

Aram Calhoun, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 1996), Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, wetland ecology and conservation with a special interest in wetland functions in the landscape.

Stephen M. Coghlan Jr., Ph.D. (SUNY-ESF 2004), Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology. Aquatic ecology, applied fisheries ecology, land-use effects, biotic interactions, bioenergetics.

Christopher S. Cronan, Ph.D. (Dartmouth College, 1978), School of Biology and Ecology. Biogeochemistry and plant ecology, resource sustainability in forest ecosystems, effects of air pollution and global change on natural resources.

Shawn Fraver, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 2004), Forest ecology, dendrochronology, forest carbon dynamics.
 

Allison M. Gardner, PhD (University of Illinois, 2016). School of Biology and Ecology. Disease ecology, vector-borne disease, medical entomology, landscape change, climate change, socio-ecological systems.

Jacquelyn L. Gill, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin, 2012). School of Biology & Ecology, Climate Change Institute. Paleoecology, biogeography, community ecology, vegetation dynamics, herbivory, extinction, climate change.

Hamish S. Greig, Ph.D. (University of Canterbury, 2008). School of Biology & Ecology. Community ecology, environmental gradients, global change, food webs, aquatic ecology, freshwater invertebrates.

Daniel J. Harrison, Ph.D. (University of Maine, 1986), Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology. Wildlife habitat relationships, interactions among forest management practices and wildlife populations, predator ecology.

David D. Hart (University of California, Davis, 1979) School of Biology and Ecology, Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research. Stream ecology, watershed science and management, restoration ecology, adaptive management.

Rebecca L. Holberton, Ph.D. (State University of New York at Albany, 1991), School of Biology and Ecology. Endocrinology, ecology, and behavior of birds, ecophysiology of migrating birds; biology of Arctic - and temperate breeding birds; conservation biology.

Malcolm L. Hunter, Jr., D. Phil. (Oxford University, 1978), Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology. Conservation biology, forest wildlife management, landscape ecology, international conservation.

 

Pauline Kamath, Ph.D. (University of California - Berkeley, 2011), School of Food and Agriculture. Wildlife disease ecology and evolution, epidemiology, One Health, molecular ecology, conservation genetics.  

Michael T. Kinnison, Ph.D. (University of Washington, 1999), School of Biology and Ecology. Fish ecology, contemporary evolution, conservation genetics.

Jessica Leahy (University of Minnesota, 2005), School of Forest Resources. Social psychological aspects of natural resources management, environmental attitudes and behavior, information effects.

Heather M. Leslie, PhD (Oregon State University, 2004), School of Marine Sciences. Marine ecology, coupled social-ecological systems; ecosystem-based management; conservation planning.

Danielle Levesque, Ph.d. (University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2014), School of Biology and Ecology. Evolutionary and ecological physiology, and energetics of mammals (and the occasional bird) in relation to climate.
 

Anne Lichtenwalner, DVM Ph.D. (Oregon State University DVM 1989; University of Idaho, 1995), School of Food and Agriculture, infectious diseases at the wildlife/livestock interface, with emphasis on environmental and anthropogenic effects on health (One Health and the Environment).

Cynthia S. Loftin, Ph.D. (University of Florida, 1998), Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit/Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology. Wetlands, landscape, and systems ecology; GIS applications.

Brian J. McGill, Ph.D. (University of Arizona 2003) School of Bology & Ecology, Sustainability Solutions Inititiave. Large-scale ecology. Species ranges, climate change, measuring biodiversity, spatial ecology, community structure.

Alessio Mortelliti, Ph.D. (University of Rome “La Sapienza”, 2008), Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology. Conservation biology, effects of land-use change on vertebrates, mammalogy, quantitative modelling, wildlife surveys & monitoring.

Brian Olsen, Ph.D. (Virginia Tech., 2007). Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology. Avian ecology, behavior, demography, mating systems, and life history evolution.

Amber M. Roth, Ph.D. (Michigan Technological University, 2012), Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology and School of Forest Resources. Forest wildlife ecology, habitat management, and conservation with a focus on migratory birds.

Frederick A. Servello, Ph.D. (Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State University, 1985), Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology. Vertebrate nutrition and physiology, habitat relationships of birds and mammals.

Carly Sponarski, Ph.D. (Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2010), Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology.  Human dimensions of wildlife and fisheries conservation, social and conservation psychology, human cognition modeling, quantitative social science methods, risk perception and management decision-making processes.

Robert Steneck, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University, 1982), School of Marine Sciences. Marine benthic ecology, fisheries management.

Tim M. Waring, Ph.D. (University of California, Davis, 2010), School of Economics. Experimental approaches to human culture and cooperation as determinants of conservation behavior.

Joseph Zydlewski, Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1998), Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit/Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology. Physiology, behavior and ecology of migrating fish, impacts of invasive fish species, ecological responses to habitat fragmentation.