Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Target AudienceTarget audiences include: • The ALSI collaborative (including participating New England states and Canadian provinces). We hold annual meetings of the partners. • Stock assessment scientists at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries and OceansCanada, and participating states. • The lobster industry in Canada and the US, which we reach via presentations at the Maine Fishermen's Forum, andindustry publications (e.g., Commercial Fisheries News) • Legislators - I have given testimony at a public hearing of the Maine Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources, inpersonconversations with legislators at the federal level (Sen. King, Sen. Collins) and state legislators. • Print, broadcast and on-line media (Associated Press, Bloomberg News, National Public Radio, Maine Public, CanadianBroadcasting, China Central Television, New York Times, Boston Globe, Portland Press Herald, Bangor Daily News) Changes/Problems:Despite the obstacles introduced by the COVID 19 Pandemic, we have been able to adapt solutions to meet research objectives. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Support for training and professional development of students and technicians toward the objectives of this project were sponsored by external grants from NOAA Saltonstall Kennedy Program, NOAA National Sea Grant, Maine Department of Marine Resources, NSF EPSCoR (Maine eDNA Program), and industry donations from Ready Seafood Co., Santa Monica Seafood, and Red Lobster Restaurants. Over the life of the 5 year project,these funds supported a full time Research Associate position held by William Favita (2017-2018), and Kristyn Kleman (2019-present).Over this period the project has trained School of Marine Science graduate students, Jesica Waller (completed 2016), Noah Oppenheim (2016), Skylar Bayer (2018),Carl Huntsberger (2019), Maura Niemisto (2019), and Alex Ascher, Nicole Orminski, and Evelyn Layland (all now in progress). Each year the project has also engaged 2-3 undergraduate interns and marine science capstone studentswhose research and learninghas enefited from the use of Darling Marine Center facilities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our work has been disseminated to several important target audiences during the project: • The ALSI password-protected data portal, https://safis.accsp.org:8443/safis_prod/f?p=110:LOGIN:::::: , is our data "hub" hosted by the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program in Washington, DC., continues to serve the ALSI collaborators in theUS and Canada to upload regional data, and to produce customized data summaries and reports. • ALSI data summaries and forecasts were also disseminated to fishery scientists and managers at the participating state and federal marine resource agencies, National Marine Fisheries Service, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In-person meetings have been held with Maine's Commissioner of Marine Resources and his Bureau Director regarding the implications of our forecast which are being communicated to the Governor. • The results have been disseminted in peer review professional publications and at scientific meetings around the world. Highlights include the ASLO Ocean Sciences meeting in San Diego 2020, invited speaking engagements at an ICES workshop in Norway, a Rock lobster industry conference in New Zealand., and academic/research institutions in the US (Woods Hole Oceanographic, Insttution, University of Connecticut, University of Rhode Island, Downeast Institute). • In 2018 the PI was appointed director of the Unversity of Maine's Lobster Institute in addition to his faculty position. In this capacity he has the opportunity to reach a much greater cross section of stakeholders in the US and Canada thorugh research and outreach activities too numerous to list here. • The ALSI public access website (http://umaine.edu/wahlelab/current-projects/american-lobster-settlement-index/ ) continues to provide updates of the regional surveys and time series. The ALSI FactSheet https://umaine.edu/wahlelab/wpcontent/uploads/sites/449/2015/09/ALSI-Factsheet.pdf is available online and in hard copy for distribution at conferences, workshops and industry meetings. • Results were also communicated to the fishing industry through news outlets such as Commercial Fisheries News (July2021), presentations at the Maine Fishermen's Forum (March 2021). •After mid-March 2020 meetings were either canceled, postponed or pivoted to remote. For virtual meetings we partnered with Maine Sea Grant to co-host the Collaborative Chats webinar series, which focused on research involvingthe Maine lobster industry, during the fall of 2020, which continued on into 2021. • Below is a sampling of press releases and media coverage over the past year: November 2021 --Research Spotlight: Lobster Larval Diets with Alex Ascherhttps://umaine.edu/epscor/2021/11/12/research-spotlight-lobster-larval-diets-with-alex-ascher/ July 2021 --Improving business practices to reduce mortality in the lobster supply chainhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4T_MXMFlbU&t=46s June 2021 --Mainer's idea to put the pot in the lobster sparks new researchhttps://www.pressherald.com/2021/06/14/mainers-idea-to-put-the-pot-in-the-lobster-sparks-new-research/ May 2021 --Activity trackers for lobsters designed for fight against wastehttps://www.mdislander.com/maine-news/waterfront/activity-trackers-for-lobsters-designed-for-fight-against-waste April 2021 --https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Lx0aMSCFNRuRgzXVzvXGC7kJo5OZsSD5/view --Wahle takes multifaceted approach to studying lobster populations in the Gulf of Mainehttps://umaine.edu/research/2021/04/05/wahle-takes-multifaceted-approach-to-studying-lobster-populations-in-the-gulf-of-maine/ March 2021 --P.E.I. researcher collaborates across borders to learn how climate change will impact lobsterhttps://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/local/pei-researcher-collaborates-across-borders-to-learn-how-climate-change-will-impact-lobster-560322/ February 2021--Baby lobsters may be adaptable to changes in Gulf of Maine, study showshttps://www.pressherald.com/2021/01/28/study-shows-baby-lobsters-may-be-adaptable-to-changes-in-gulf-of-maine/ --Reckoning with Climate Change in the Gulf of Mainehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFYPFN1lnPM January 2021 --Scientists Have Designed an Activity Trackerfor Lobstershttps://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/scientists-have-designed-an-activity-tracker-for-lobsters/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 - Integrating lobster settlement indicators into stock assessment as a predictive tool: Overthe duration of the project (Oct 1, 2016- Sep 30, 2021), we have put the ALSI based forecast to its most rigorous test to date as appears in the publication by Oppenheim et al. 2019. Since then we have continuedto assess the skill of earlier models and update them by region. In addition, we haveadvancedour understanding of lobster age-size relationshipsin thermally contrasting regions (Huntsberger et al. 2020). A second manuscript on age-size relationshiops inJonah crab is in revision. These publications and reports are of great interest to theASMFC lobster technical committee and are beingintegrate into the American lobster stock assessment. Objective 2 - Expand ALSI monitoring into deep water and offshore: In 2016 the PI secured 2 years (2016 and 2017) of support from Maine Sea Grant to evaluate deepwater lobster settlement across important coast-wise and depth-wise thermal gradients in the Gulf of Maine. That work has now been extended for 4 more years (2018-2021)with support from fishing industry collaborators, Ready Seafood Company of Maine, Santa Monica Seafood Co. of California, and Red Lobster in 2021.Ready Seafood and Red Lobster haveindicatedintent to continue to support the monitoring effort in 2022. This research provides important information not available from our shallow water, diver-based, sampling on how settlement patterns respond to changes in the thermal regime with a warming ocean. In the last year, the PI secured support from the National Sea Grant American Lobster Inititative, through a subaward with the Univeristy of Rhode Island, which begandeployments of settlement collectors off Rhode Island in 2021. Objective 3 - Evaluate the predictive power of Jonah crab settlement data: Former graduate student, CarlHuntsberger, submitted his thesis on the application of new age determination techniques with Jonah crab for publication. Healso provide his finding to the ASMFC Jonah crab stock assessment committee who are using them in the assessment of this data-poor fishery. Having a better handle on age at size in these crabs will give a better foundation from which to develop and evaluate settlement-based forecasting tools for this species. The manuscript has been submitted for publication. To date we have only seen a weak relationship between crab settlement and subsequent recruitment to the fishery. We suspect this is related to high and variable post-settlement mortality that confounds the expected relationship to fishery recruitment.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Niemisto, M., F. Clark, S. Greenwood, D. Fields, R. Wahle. 2021. American lobster postlarvae alter gene regulation in response to ocean warming and acidification. Ecology & Evolution https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7083.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Wahle, R., K. Kleman, A. Goode. 2021. ALSI Update 2020. https://umaine.edu/wahlelab/wp-content/uploads/sites/449/2021/06/ALSI-Update-6.17.2021-_-FINAL.pdf
|
Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Target AudienceTarget audiences include • The ALSI collaborative (including participating New England states and Canadian provinces). We hold annual meetings of the partners. • Stock assessment scientists at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries and OceansCanada, and participating states. • The lobster industry in Canada and the US, which we reach via presentations at the Maine Fishermen's Forum, and industry publications (e.g., Commercial Fisheries News) • Legislators - I have given testimony at a public hearing of the Maine Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources, in-personconversations with legislators at the federal level (Sen. King, Sen. Collins) and state legislators. • Print, broadcast and on-line media (Associated Press, Bloomberg News, National Public Radio, Maine Public, CanadianBroadcasting, China Central Television, New York Times, Boston Globe, Portland Press Herald, Bangor Daily News) Changes/Problems:Restrictions on research related to the COVID19 pandemic have limited our ability to conduct research and attend meetings. Nonetheless, to our knowledge, all ALSI related sampling will be conducted in 2020. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Support for training and professional development of students and technicians toward the objectives of this project were sponsored by external grants from NOAA Saltonstall Kennedy Program, NOAA National Sea Grant, Maine Department of Marine Resources, NSF EPSCoR (Maine eDNA Program), and industry donations from Ready Seafood Co. and Santa Monica Seafood. During the reporting period, these funds supported a full time Research Associate position held by Kristyn Holmes. The project engaged School of Marine Science graduate students, Alex Ascher, Nicole Orminski, and Evelyn Layland, and undergraduates, Jessica Capista and Tahnee Buckalew, who benefited from the use of Darling Marine Center facilities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our work has been disseminated to several important target audiences during the project: The ALSI password-protected data portal, https://safis.accsp.org:8443/safis_prod/f?p=110:LOGIN:::::: , is our data "hub" hosted by the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program in Washington, DC., continues to serve the ALSI collaborators in theUS and Canada to upload regional data, and to produce customized data summaries and reports. ALSI data summaries and forecasts were also disseminated to fishery scientists and managers at the participating state and federal marine resource agencies, National Marine Fisheries Service, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and Fisheriesand Oceans Canada. In-person meetings have been held with Maine's Commissioner of Marine Resources and his BureauDirector regarding the implications of our forecast which are being communicated to the Governor. The ALSI public access website (http://umaine.edu/wahlelab/current-projects/american-lobster-settlement-index/ ) continues to provide updates of the regional surveys and time series. The ALSI FactSheet https://umaine.edu/wahlelab/wp-content/uploads/sites/449/2015/09/ALSI-Factsheet.pdf is available online and in hard copy for distribution at conferences, workshops and industry meetings. The PI delivered a keynote address at an ICES Shellfish workshop in Tromso, Norway in Nov. 2019. The PI published a book chapter on global lobster fisheries in a new volume of a series on the Natural History of the Crustacea published by Oxford Univ. Press (cited under project products). Results were also communicated to the fishing industry through news outlets such as Commercial Fisheries News (June 2020),presentations at the Maine Fishermen's Forum (March 2020). Since Sep 2019 the PI has served on the Science and Technology Subcommittee of the Maine Climate Council, which published its 370 p report on the impact of climate change on Maine in Sep 2020 (cited under project Products) . He co-authored the chapter on Marine Ecosystems. Below is a sampling of press releases and media coverage over the past year: August 2020 -- The Last Lobster Supper? www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2020/08/17/future-of-lobster-industry/ -- Reckoning with Climate Change in the Gulf of Maine. Video documentary produced by Univ. New England: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFYPFN1lnPM . (In Feb 2021 Awarded Best Environmental Short Film in theEnvironmental Film and Screenplay Festival in Los Angeles. https://environmentalfestival.com/2021/02/17/highlights-videos-february-2021-environmental-film-festival/ ) -- For New England lobstermen, resilience in 'a season of uncertainty'www.csmonitor.com/Business/2020/0813/For-New-England-lobstermen-resilience-in-a-season-of-uncertainty October 2019 -- Scientists predict Maine's lobster boom will end within 5 years www.pressherald.com/2019/10/24/scientists-predict-lobster-boom-will-end-within-5-years/ -- New studies attribute warming waters, local differences in oceanography to rise and fall of American lobster populations in the Gulf of Maine umaine.edu/news/blog/2019/10/24/new-studies-attribute-warming-waters-local-differences-in-oceanography-to-rise-and-fall-of-american-lobster-populations-in-the-gulf-of-maine/?utm_source=News+alert+%E2%80%94+9%2F20%2F19&utm_campaign=ecd1b3dda2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_24_12_31&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f5ee912092-ecd1b3dda2-220203945 September 2019 -- Numerous UMaine and UMM experts tapped for Maine Climate Council, a subcommittee and working groups umaine.edu/earthclimate/2019/09/23/numerous-umaine-and-umm-experts-tapped-for-maine-climate-council-a-subcommittee-and-working-groups/ --What rising temperatures in the Gulf of Maine mean for the state's lobster industry www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-rising-water-temperatures-could-end-maines-lobster-boom -- Huntsberger earns master's degree for research exploring growth, aging of Jonah crabs dmc.umaine.edu/2019/09/16/huntsberger-earns-masters-degree-for-research-exploring-growth-aging-of-jonah-crabs/ -- Maine Sea Grant, UMaine advance $2M initiative aimed at increasing resilience in the lobster fishery umaine.edu/news/blog/2019/09/12/maine-sea-grant-umaine-advance-2m-initiative-aimed-at-increasing-resilience-in-the-lobster-fishery/?utm_source=News+alert+--+8%2F3%2F18&utm_campaign=9bccc515e8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_09_13_02_36&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f5ee912092-9bccc515e8-220203945 -- Researchers use DNA in seawater to monitor scallop reproduction umaine.edu/news/blog/2019/08/23/researchers-use-dna-in-seawater-to-monitor-scallop-reproduction/?utm_source=News+alert+%E2%80%94+8/3/18&utm_campaign=6311aeb9b6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_08_30_12_53&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f5ee912092-6311aeb9b6-220203945 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We continue to address the project objectives as planned. Recent funding from the National Science Foundation EPSCoR (Maine eDNA Program), and National Sea Grant have given us the opportunity to break new ground in our understanding of the extent to which larval lobster survival may be controled by the availability of planktonic foods. The COVID19 pandemic has placed some limitations on what we can accomplish in the field and laboratory, however, so there is some uncertainty about the coming year.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 - Integrating lobster settlement indicators into stock assessment as a predictive tool: During the reporting period (Oct 1, 2019 - Sep 30, 2020), in addition to adding another year of monitoring to the database, the most relevant contribution to this objective was the advancement of our understanding of age-size relationships of lobster in thermally contrasting regions. Former graduate student Carl Huntsburger took the lead on submitting two papers for publication, both on age determination methods: The first submission, on the American lobster, has been accepted for publication; the second, on the Jonah crab is in review. The method as applied to lobster is of great interest to the ASMFC lobster technical committee to integrate into the new American lobster stock assessment to be made public later this year. This information is valuable because there are no clear age indicators in crustaceans, and knowing a lobsters age helps us understand their population dynamics. Finally, in Nov 2019, the PI delivered a key note talk on this topic at an ICES Crustacean fisheries conference in Norway. Objective 2 - Expand ALSI monitoring into deep water and offshore: In 2016 the PI secured 2 years (2016 and 2017) of support from Maine Sea Grant to evaluate deepwater lobster settlement across important coast-wise and depth-wise thermalgradients in the Gulf of Maine. That work has now been extended for 3more years 2018-2020 with support from fishing industrycollaborators, Ready Seafood Company of Maine, and Santa Monica Seafood Co. of California. Ready Seafood has indicated its intent to continue to support the monitoring effort in 2021. This research provides important information not available from ou shallow water, diver-based, sampling on how settlement patterns respond to changes in the thermal regime with a warming ocean. Also, during the period, the PI secured support from the National Sea Grant American Lobster Inititative, through a subaward with the Univeristy of Rhode Island to begin deployments of settlement collectors off Rhode Island in 2021. Objective 3 - Evaluate the predictive power of Jonah crab settlement data: Former graduate student, CarlHuntsberger, submitted his thesis on the application of new age determination techniques with Jonah crab for publication. It is in review. He has also been consulting with the ASMFC Jonah crab stock assessment committee about this. Having a better handle on age at size in these crabs will give a better foundation from which to develop and evaluate settlement-based forecasting tools for this species.
Publications
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Wahle, R.A., A. Linnane, A. Harrington. 2020. Chapter 3: Lobster Fisheries. In: M. Thiel and G. Lovrich (eds), The natural history of the Crustacea. Vol. 9. Fisheries and Aquaculture. Oxford University Press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Huntsberger, C.J., Kilada, R., Ambrose, W.G., Wahle, R.A. 2020. Age-at-size relationships of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) from three contrasting thermal regimes using gastric mill band counts as a direct aging technique. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2020-0018
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Niemisto, M., D.M. Fields, K.F. Clark, J. Waller, S.J. Greenwood, R.A. Wahle. 2020 American lobster postlarvae alter gene regulation in response to ocean warming and acidification. Ecology and Evolution.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Huntsberger, C.J., Kilada, R., Ambrose, W.G., Wahle, R.A. in review. Comparing independent approaches to estimate age at size of the Jonah (Cancer borealis): Corroborating gastric mill band counts as a direct aging method. ICEJ Journal of Marine Science.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Wahle, R., K. Klemen 2020. ALSI Update 2019. https://umaine.edu/wahlelab/wp-content/uploads/sites/449/2020/07/ALSI-Update-2019-FINAL-8.pdf
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Maine Climate Council Science and Technology Subcommittee (MCC STS). 2020. Scientific Assessment of Climate Change and Its Effects in Maine. A Report by the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee (STS) of the Maine Climate Council (MCC). Augusta, Maine. 370 pp. https://www.maine.gov/future/sites/maine.gov.future/files/inline-files/GOPIF_STS_REPORT_092320.pdf
|
Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences include • The ALSI collaborative (including participating New England states and Canadian provinces). We hold annual meetings of the partners. • Stock assessment scientists at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and participating states. • The lobster industry in Canada and the US, which we reach via presentations at the Maine Fishermen's Forum, and industry publications (e.g., Commercial Fisheries News) • Legislators - I have given testimony at a public hearing of the Maine Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources, in-person conversations with legislators at the federal level (Sen. King, Sen. Collins) and state legislators. • Print, broadcast and on-line media (Associated Press, Bloomberg News, National Public Radio, Maine Public, Canadian Broadcasting, China Central Television, New York Times, Boston Globe, Portland Press Herald, Bangor Daily News) Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Support for training and professional development of students and technicians toward the objectives of this project were sponsored by external grants, such as NOAA, Maine Sea Grant, and Maine Department of Marine Resources, and University of Maine Research Reinvestment Fund and industry donations from Ready Seafood Co. and Santa Monica Seafood. During the reporting period, these funds supported a full time Research Associate position held by Kristyn Holmes. The project engaged School of Marine Science graduate students, Maura Niemisto, Carl Huntsberger, Alex Ascher, Nicole Orminski, and undergraduates, Jessica Capista and Tahnee Buckalew, who benefited from the use of Darling Marine Center facilities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our work has been disseminated to several important target audiences during the project: The ALSI password-protected data portal, https://safis.accsp.org:8443/safis_prod/f?p=110:LOGIN:::::: is our data "hub"hosted by the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program in Washington, DC., continues to serve the ALSI collaborators in the US and Canada to upload regional data, and to produce customized data summaries and reports. ALSI data summaries and forecasts were also disseminated to State and Federal Fishery Managers at the participating state marine resource agencies, National Marine Fisheries Service, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In-person meetings have been held with Maine's Commissioner of Marine Resources and his Bureau Director regarding the implications of our forecast which are being communicated to the Governor. The ALSI public access website (http://umaine.edu/wahlelab/current-projects/american-lobster-settlement-index/ ) continues to provide updates of the regional surveys and time series. The ALSI FactSheet https://umaine.edu/wahlelab/wp-content/uploads/sites/449/2015/09/ALSI-Factsheet.pdf is available on line and in hard copy for distribution at conferences, workshops and industry meetings. Results are also communicated to the fishing industry through news outlets such as Commercial Fisheries News (June 2018), presentations at the Maine Fishermen's Forum (March 2018). The PI was also invited to give keynote addresses at the Trans-Tasman Rock Lobster Conference in Queenstown, New Zealand, in Aug 2019, and at an ICES Shellfish workshop in Tromso, Norway in Nov. 2019. Below is a sampling of press releases and media coverage over the past year: https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2019/05/31/from-coast-to-coast-companies-team-up-to-fund-umaine-lobster-research/?utm_source=News+alert+--+8/3/18&utm_campaign=9bbc5d877a-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_05_31_05_42&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f5ee912092-9bbc5d877a-220203945 https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/06/30/us/ap-us-baby-lobsters.html https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-lobster-shell-disease-1.5214807 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z2_ejD5TxI&t=37s https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/455415-changing-climate-boosts-maine-lobster-industry-for-now https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2019/09/12/maine-sea-grant-umaine-advance-2m-initiative-aimed-at-increasing-resilience-in-the-lobster-fishery/?utm_source=News+alert+--+8%2F3%2F18&utm_campaign=9bccc515e8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_09_13_02_36&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f5ee912092-9bccc515e8-220203945 https://dmc.umaine.edu/2019/09/16/huntsberger-earns-masters-degree-for-research-exploring-growth-aging-of-jonah-crabs/ https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2019/10/24/new-studies-attribute-warming-waters-local-differences-in-oceanography-to-rise-and-fall-of-american-lobster-populations-in-the-gulf-of-maine/?utm_source=News+alert+--+9%2F20%2F19&utm_campaign=ecd1b3dda2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_24_12_31&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f5ee912092-ecd1b3dda2-220203945 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We continue to address the project objectives as planned. Recent funding from the National Science Foundation and National Sea Grant are giving us the opportunity to break new ground in our understanding of the extent to which larval lobster survival may be controled by the availability of planktonic foods.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 - Integrating lobster settlement indicators into stock assessment as a predictive tool: During the reporting period we published two relatively high impact papers (Oppenheim et al. 2019 and Goode et al. 2019) that demonstrate the predictive power of the ALSI data for time trends in the lobster fishery from Rhode Island to the Bay of Fundy . We also submitted two technical reports to Maine Department of Marine Resources (Wahle et al. 2019, and Morin and Wahle 2019) that describe approaches to defining lobster age at size under differing temperature regimes. This is valuable because there are no clear age indicators in crustaceans, and knowing a lobsters age helps us understand population dynamics. Finally, during the year we delivered two presentations on these methods to the ASMFC lobster stock assessment technical committee. Objective 2 - Expand ALSI monitoring into deep water and offshore: In 2016 the PI secured 2 years (2016 and 2017) of support from Maine Sea Grant to evaluate deepwater lobster settlement across important coast-wise and depth-wise thermal gradients in the Gulf of Maine. That work was extended for 2 more years 2018, 2019 with support from fishing industry collaborators, Ready Seafood Company, Maine, and Santa Monica Seafood Co., California. Ready Seafood has indicated its intent to continue to support the monitoring effort in 2020. This research provides important information not available from our shallow water, diver-based, sampling on how settlement patterns respond to changes in the thermal regime with a warming ocean. Objective 3 - Evaluate the predictive power of Jonah crab settlement data: In August 2019 graduate student, Carl Huntsberger, defended his Masters thesis on the application of age determination tools in Jonah crabs. This gives us a better foundation from which to develop and evaluate settlement-based forecasting tools for this species. Carl is preparing his thesis for publication.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Bayer,SR, Countway,PD, Wahle,RA. 2019. Developing an eDNA toolkit to quantify broadcast spawning events of the sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus: moving beyond fertilization assays. Marine Ecology Progress Series 621: 127141. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12991
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Wahle, R., Linnane, A., & Harrington, A. In press. Chapter 4: Lobster Fisheries. In M. Thiel and G. Lovrich (eds). The natural history of the Crustacea. (Vol. 5). New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Oppenheim, N. G., R. A. Wahle, D. C. Brady, A. G. Goode, and A. J. Pershing. 2019. The cresting wave: larval settlement and ocean temperatures predict change in the American lobster harvest. Ecological Applications 29(8):e02006. 10.1002/eap.2006
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Goode AG, Brady DC, Steneck RS, Wahle RA. The brighter side of climate change: How local oceanography amplified a lobster boom in the Gulf of Maine. Global Change Biolology. 2019;00:112. https ://doi.org/10.1111/
gcb.14778
- Type:
Other
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Wahle, RA, Huntsberger, CJ, Kilada, R, Ambrose, WG. 2019. Evaluating and modeling age-at-length relationships using a new age determination technique for the American lobster (Homarus americanus). Final Project Report Submitted to Maine Department of Marine Resources. Feb 25, 2019.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Morin, A., Wahle, RA. 2019. Re-analysis of spatiotemporal effects of temperature on the size of young-of-year American lobsters (Homarus americanus). ALSI Project Report Submitted to Maine Department of Marine Resources. Dec. 28, 2019
- Type:
Other
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Wahle, RA, Bouchard, D. 2019. Testing the efficacy of a novel bait for the American lobster (Homarus americanus): Phase I and II Final Project Report Submitted to Omega Protein, Inc. Dec. 29, 2019
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Huntsberger, C. 2019. COMPARING INDEPENDENT APPROACHES TO ESTIMATE AGE AT SIZE OF THE JONAH CRAB (CANCER BOREALIS): CORROBORATING GASTRIC MILL BAND COUNTS AS A DIRECT AGING METHOD. Masters thesis. Marine Biology. University of Maine, School of Marine Sciences.
- Type:
Theses/Dissertations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Niemisto, M.K. 2019. RESPONSE OF EARLY LIFE STAGE HOMARUS AMERICANUS TO OCEAN WARMING AND ACIDIFICATION: AN INTERPOPULATION COMPARISON. Masters thesis. Marine Biology. University of Maine, School of Marine Sciences.
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Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience: Target audiences include • The ALSI partnership (including participating New England states and Canadian provinces). We hold annual meetings of the partners. • Stock assessment scientists at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, NOAA Fisheries, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and participating states. • The lobster industry in Canada and the US, which we reach via presentations at the Maine Fishermen's Forum, and industry publications (e.g., Commercial Fisheries News) • Legislators - I have given testimony at public hearing of the Maine Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources, in- person conversations with legislators at federal (Sen. King, Sen. Colins) and state levels (Rep. Devin, others). • Print, broadcast and on-line media (Associated Press, Bloomberg News, National Public Radio, Maine Public, Canadian Broadcasting, China Central Television, New York Times, Boston Globe, Portland Press Herald, Bangor Daily News) Changes/Problems:No signficant changes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Support for training and professional development of students and technicians toward the objectives of this project came entirely from outside sources, such as NOAA, Maine Sea Grant, and Maine Department of Marine Resources, and University of Maine Research Reinvestment Fund. During the reporting period these funds supported a full time Research Associate position held by William Favitta. The project engaged School of Marine Science graduate students, Maura Niemisto, Carl Huntsberger, and Alex Ascher., and undergraduates, David Gauld, Allison Morin and Rachael Klose who benefited from the use of Darling Marine Center facilities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our work has been disseminated to several important target audiences during the project: The ALSI password-protected data portal, https://safis.accsp.org:8443/safis_prod/f?p=110:LOGIN:::::: is our data "hub"hosted by the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program in Washington, DC., continues to serve the ALSI collaborators in the US and Canada to upload regional data, and to produce customized data summaries and reports. ALSI data summaries and forecasts were also disseminated to State and Federal Fishery Managers at the participating state marine resource agencies, National Marine Fisheries Service, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In-person meetings have been held with Maine's Commissioner of Marine Resources and his Bureau Director regarding the implications of our forecast which are being communicated to the Governor. The ALSI public access website (http://umaine.edu/wahlelab/current-projects/american-lobster-settlement-index/ ) continues to provide updates of the regional surveys and time series. The ALSI FactSheet https://umaine.edu/wahlelab/wp-content/uploads/sites/449/2015/09/ALSI-Factsheet.pdf is available on line and in hard copy for distribution at conferences, workshops and industry meetings. Results are also communicated to the fishing industry through news outlets such as Commercial Fisheries News (June 2018), presentations at the Maine Fishermen's Forum (March 2018). Recent media coverage: https://www.pressherald.com/2018/01/22/lobster-boom-over-as-population-starts-to-decline/ https://www.pressherald.com/2018/03/05/lobster-dealer-funds-extended-research-on-habitat-question-whats-happening-to-the-babies/ http://www.mainepublic.org/post/new-research-shows-strong-correlation-between-baby-lobster-decline-possible-food-source https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-03-23/maine-s-booming-lobster-industry-starts-feeling-some-heat http://www.mainepublic.org/post/baby-lobsters-deep-water-maine-could-be-good-sign#stream/0 https://www.365yg.com/i6610556496407167495#mid=50044041847 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-11-07/even-lobsters-can-t-escape-trump-s-trade-war What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue to address project objectives as planned.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Accomplishments are summarized for the reporting period by objective for the entire project: Objective 1: Integrating ALSI with Stock Assessment: With support from UMaine Research Reinvestment Fund, the ALSI data base continues to be integrated with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Lobster stock assessment. Collaborator, Dr. Burton Shank continues to lead the ASMFC lobster technical committee effort to merge ALSI data with the current Lobster Stock Assessment Model. This is being done in preparation for the new Lobster Stock Assessment Report slated for 2019-2020. We also published several ALSI related publications (see above) related to the causes and implications of variability in lobster larval settlement. In addition, a manuscript was submitted in April 2018 to the journal Ecological Applications describing the predictive model that has grown out of the ALSI time series. The ms was favorably reviewed and is now in revision. Objective 2: In 2016 the PI secured 2 years (2016 and 2017) of support from Maine Sea Grant to evaluate deepwater settlement across important coast-wise and depth-wise thermal gradients in the Gulf of Maine. That work has been extended for 2 more years 2018, 2019 with support from fishing industry collaborators, Ready Seafood Company, Portland, ME. The effort is providing important information on how settlement patterns respond to changes in the thermal regime with a warming ocean. Objective 3: In 2017, graduate student, Carl Huntsberger, continues work at the Darling Marine Center on a key aspect of developing a predictive tool for Jonah recruitment and landings: evaluating the age-size relationship. He is using the ALSI data base in a length-frequency analysis to identify age classes, while undertaking concurrent growth studies.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Bayer, S.R.*, Wahle, R.A., Brady, D.C., Jumars, P.A., Stokesbury, K.D.E., & Carey, J.D. 2018. Fertilization dynamics in scallop aggregations: reconciling model predictions with field measurements. Ecosphere 9(8):e02359; doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2359
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Wahle, R. 2018. Session Summaries for the 11th International Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management. Bulletin Marine Science 94:1235-1258; doi.org/10.5343/bms.2018.0024.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Carloni, J.*, Wahle, R., Geoghegan, P., & Bjorkstedt, E. 2018. Bridging the spawner-recruit disconnect: Trends in American lobster recruitment linked to the pelagic food web. Bulletin Marine Science 94:719-735; doi.org/10.5343/bms.2017.1150
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Wahle, R., & Lavalli, K. 2018. Preface to the proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Lobster Biology and Management. Bulletin Marine Science 94: 461-466; doi.org/10.5343/bms.2018.0036.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Jaini, M.*, Wahle, R., Thomas, A., & Weatherbee, R. 2018. Oceanographic correlates of lobster settlement in the Gulf of Maine and southern New England shelf. Bulletin Marine Science 94: 737-751; doi.org/10.5343/bms.2017.1141
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Li, B.*, Cao, J.*, Guan, L.*, Mazur, M.*, Chen, Y., & Wahle, R. 2018. Estimating spatial nonstationary environmental effects on the distribution of species: A case study from American lobster in the Gulf of Maine. ICES Journal of Marine Science 75:14731482, doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsy024
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Le Bris, A., Mills, K., Wahle, R., Chen, Y., Alexander, M., Allyn, A., Pershing, A. 2018. Climate vulnerability and resilience in the most valuable North American fishery. Proc. National Academy of Sciences 115: 1831-1836 doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1711122115
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Harrington, A., Brady, D., & Wahle, R. 2018. Spatiotemporal effects of temperature on the size of young-of-year American lobsters (Homarus americanus). Technical report submitted to Maine Department of Marine Resources.
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Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences reached during the reporting period include: 1. Stock assessment and fisheries scientists at state and federal agences that manage the American lobster fishery, including National Marine Fisheries Service and the members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Department of Fisheries and Ocean Canada. 2. Members of the fishing industry, including leaders of harvesters Association (e.g. Maine Lobstermens Assn, MA Lobtermens Assn), Dealers and Processors. 3. Academic and NGO Scientists at UMaine, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, UNH, UMass Dartmouth, URI, UNB, Univ Prince Edward Is., Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst., Virginia Inst. Marine Sci., Changes/Problems:No substantial changes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The UMaine RRF project and Maine Sea Grant project and Maine Sea Grant support provides salary for a full time Research Associate, William Fattiva, primarly working on objectives 1 and 2. The NOAA OA project is supporting Marine Science Masters student, Maura Niemisto, for a 2 year Research Assistantship for work relevant to objective 1. The Maine DMR grant, coupled with internal School of Marine Sciences funds, is supporting Marine Science Masters student, Carl Huntsberger on a Research Assistantship. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The PI co-chaired the 11th International Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management, June 4-9, 2017, in Portland, ME. He, his collaborators and students presented 7 oral and 2 poster presentations. All presentations related to ALSI in some way. Two manuscripts are in review for publication in the Bulletin of Marine Sciences which is featuring a special issue with the conference proceedings in early 2018. The conference received a great deal of press: See http://www.11thicwl.com/press-coverage-of-the-11th-icwl.html Print news: Boston Globe, Portland Press Herald, Portland Press Herald (4 articles), MaineBiz (2 articles), Portland Press Herald, Maine Public, Commerical Fisheries News Television: Fox23 WPFO, WSCH6 Portland, WLBZ2, WABI TV5, Boston Fox 25 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue the projects initiated in 2016 under the listed objectives.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the reporting period we have worked with our collaborators to make progress on all three objectives to different degrees. Objective 1: We secured a UMaine Reinvestment Fund grant to work with NMFS stock assessment scientist Dr. Burton Shank to integrate the ALSI indices into the currentAmerican lobtster Stock Assessment model used by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commision to manange the resource. Shank presented a progress report on that effort in June 2017 at the 11th International Conference and Workshop on Lobsters. We have also continued to refine our ALSI-based landings forecast models. A submission of a paper for publication is planned for early 2018. We have also secured support from NOAA's Ocean Acidification program and the Northeast Sea Grant Consortium for a collaboration with Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and the University of Prince Edward Island to evaluate the effect of elevated temperature and CO2 on lobster larvae. Objective 2: In late 2016 with support from Maine Sea Grant we initiated a collaboration with Maine fishermen to investigate lobster larval settlement in the eastern and western Gulf of Maine across signficant thermal gradients. The purpose is to gain a better understanding of the role of temperature in determing depth-wise patterns of settlement. This will also serve to determine whether long term monitoring of settlement in deep water can be justified. Objective 3: Before we can use Jonah crab settlement indices as a predictive tool, it is important to understand the size-age relationship. This will enable us to track the fate of year classes through time with greater accuracy. With continuing support from Maine Department of Marine Resources for work on lobster age determination, we have begun to evaluate Jonah crab growth rates and explore new age determination methods. This has become a masters thesis project for a UMaine graduate student working in the PI's lab.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Heather L. Hunt, Richard A. Wahle, John Tremblay, Michel Comeau, Angelica Silva & Remy Rochette (2017): Spatial patterns of richness and abundance of benthic decapod crustaceans and fishes in the North-west Atlantic as measured by cobble-filled bio-collectors, Marine Biology Research, DOI: 10.1080/17451000.2017.1296161
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Waller, J.D., R.A. Wahle, H. McVeigh, D.M. Fields. 2016. Linking rising pCO2 and temperature to the larval development and physiology of the American lobster (Homarus americanus). ICES Journal of Marine Science (2016), doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsw154
- Type:
Book Chapters
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Wahle, R.A., A. Linnane, A. Harrington. In review. Lobster Fisheries. In: M. Thiel and G. Lovrich, The natural history of the Crustacea. Vol. 5. Fisheries and Aquaculture. Oxford University Press.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Jaini, M.*, R.A. Wahle, A. Thomas. In review. Oceanographic correlates of lobster settlement in the Gulf of Maine and southern New England shelf. Bull. Mar. Sci.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Carloni, J., R.A. Wahle. In review. The great disconnect: Is the decoupling of lobster egg production and larval settlement mediated from the bottom up? Bull. Mar. Sci.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
https://umaine.edu/wahlelab/american-lobster-settlement-index-alsi/american-lobster-settlement-index/
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
https://safis.accsp.org:8443/safis_prod/f?p=110:LOGIN::::::
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