The University of Maine is awarded a grant to carry out strategic planning for the Darling Marine Center (the Center), located in mid-coast Maine. The Center is in transition with recent major shifts in the composition of resident faculty members, funding sources and leadership. The goal is to develop a decadal vision for the Center with concrete implementation plans for the first five years. It will be inclusive of the broad groups of present and potential future users, with the goal of enhanced research, training and educational uses of the Center. Planning activities will include internal discussion among faculty members resident at local university campuses, an in-depth review and analysis by a Committee of Visitors, local stakeholder workshops, and visits to other marine labs. Data management policies, fee structure, and marketing strategies for the Center will be evaluated. A report, with actionable and prioritized items, will be produced based on information gathered during the strategic planning activities.
The Center enables access for visiting and resident researchers to a wide diversity of microenvironments along the estuary and to the open Gulf of Maine waters through its capable vessel, the R/V Ira C. The research carried out at the laboratory by visiting and resident researchers addresses a broad range of topics, spanning ecological studies of coastal marine ecosystems, the physiology and reproductive and developmental biology of key species, and the interactions among species including humans. Planktonic studies include time-series measurements of plankton and their responses to a changing climate. The proposed planning activity, with its review of research programs and infrastructure, will enhance the Center's capacity for research.
Many of the species studied at the Center are of high economic value (e.g., lobster and aquacultured bivalves) and of direct relevance to Maine's economy. The impact of humans on the ecology of the Gulf of Maine has a direct feedback to the social fabric of Maine's coastal communities. The Center currently educates and trains students from K through graduate school through its various formal and informal programs. The COSEE-OS program provides professional training opportunities and webinars that reach far beyond the State of Maine. A goal of the proposed planning process is to expand our educational and training activities and establish new links to institutions serving underrepresented minorities in New England. The Center is an ideal classroom for the next generation of students and a microcosm for determining how we can best use Earth's resources sustainably in the future. For more information about the Center, please visit the website at www.dmc.maine.edu.
