News Focus Channel: Hidden - Maine

Study shows how mussels handle microplastic fiber pollution

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences — Tue, 04 Dec 2018 13:05:15 EST

New research shows that mussels readily take in microplastic pollution fibers from the ocean but quickly flush most of them out again, according to a study by researchers from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. The findings were published in December's Marine Pollution Bulletin.

Biodiversity Research Institute Announces Critical Findings From 5-Year Restore the Call Loon Research Study

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Tue, 05 Jun 2018 14:05:26 EST

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) announces results of its five-year loon study Restore the Call: a male loon chick that was translocated in 2015 from the Adirondack Park Region of New York to the Assawompsett Pond Complex (APC) in southeastern Massachusetts has returned to the APC lake from which it fledged. The identification of this loon (through color bands) marks the first confirmed account of an adult loon returning to the lake to which it was translocated, captive-reared, and then fledged.

BRI Publishes Chapter in Elsevier's Encyclopedia of the Anthropociene

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 13:05:33 EST

The chapter, The Effects of Methylmercury on Wildlife: A Comprehensive Review and Approach for Interpretation, authored by BRI Executive Director and Chief Scientist, David Evers, was recently published in Elsevier's Encyclopedia of the Antrhopocene, 1st Edition.

The First Conference of Parties to the Minamata Convention

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 09:00:21 EST

BRI attended the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP1), which took place from September 24-29, 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland. The theme of the Conference was "Make Mercury History."

Update on Restore the Call: Loon Conservation Project

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 09:00:58 EST

An update on the Restore the Call including the release of eight loon chicks onto lakes in southeastern Massachusetts.

BRI Announces Findings of Common Loon Translocation Study

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Mon, 21 Aug 2017 09:00:58 EST

Portland, ME--Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) has confirmed today that the translocation of loon chicks from Maine to Massachusetts has resulted in at least one loon returning to its release lake. In its fifth year of a five-year initiative funded by the Ricketts Conservation Foundation, Restore the Call is the largest Common Loon conservation study ever conducted. Research efforts have focused in three key U.S. breeding population areas from the western mountains to the Atlantic seaboard.

BRI Reports Status of Common Loon Translocation Study

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 09:00:57 EST

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) announces that translocation of loon chicks from Maine to Massachusetts is being carried out this week. During the fifth breeding season of its Restore the Call project, BRI presents a progress report of the largest Common Loon conservation study ever conducted. Funded in 2013 by the Ricketts Conservation Foundation, Restore the Call is a five-year science-based initiative to strengthen and restore loon populations within their existing and former range. Research efforts have focused in three key U.S. breeding population centers from the western mountains to the Atlantic seaboard.

Researchers from Biodiversity Research Institute to Present at the 2017 International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 14:05:41 EST

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) will participate in several capacities at the International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP), to be held at the Rhode Island Convention Center July 16-21, 2017. The ICMGP is committed to better understanding and effectively managing mercury releases and emissions to decrease human and wildlife exposure. This biennial conference brings together a diversity of participants from around the globe. The theme of this year's conference is Integrating Mercury Research and Policy in a Changing World. BRI wildlife research biologists will present current mercury research in presentations and poster sessions. BRI will also host an exhibit booth (#30) in the Exhibit Hall throughout the Conference.

BRI Reports Status of Common Loon Species in Wyoming

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Wed, 17 May 2017 09:00:31 EST

Biodiversity Research Institute will hold its annual meeting of the Wyoming Loon Working Group in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on May 24. Collaborators from state and federal agencies, nongovernmental research and conservation groups, and local universities will meet to discuss the status of Common Loons in the state. These meetings are an integral part of Wyoming's conservation efforts regarding loons.

New Study Reveals Elevated Levels of Mercury in Women of Child Bearing Age in Pacific Island Countries

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 09:00:01 EST

A new study, supported by the Minamata Convention's Interim Secretariat hosted by UN Environment, reveals that women of childbearing age living in four Pacific Island countries have elevated levels of mercury in their bodies.

Scientists Find Evidence of Alaskan Ecosystem Health in Harlequin Ducks

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 10:15:26 EST

A new study led by researchers from Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) shows that Harlequin Ducks in coastal areas of Alaska's Kodiak and Unalaska islands are exposed to environmental sources of mercury and that mercury concentrations in their blood are associated with their local food source, mainly blue mussels.

Wildlife Researchers Study Impact of Wind Energy, Mercury, Oil Spills and Other Human Cultural Developments on Wildlife

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Tue, 29 Nov 2016 10:00:35 EST

BRI's mission is to conduct scientific investigations into human impacts on the environment to better understand ecological health through the lens of animals.

Biodiversity Research Institute Announces Research Results: Comprehensive Study Finds Widespread Mercury Contamination Across Western North America

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 11:00:01 EST

An international team led by the U.S. Geological Survey and co-organized by Biodiversity Research Institute, recently documented widespread mercury contamination in air, soil, sediment, plants, fish, and wildlife at various levels across Western North America.

Biodiversity Research Institute Announces Publication of New Scientific Paper on Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Global Mercury Treaty

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 10:05:10 EST

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), announces the publication of the scientific paper Evaluating the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention on Mercury: Principles and recommendations for next steps, published by the journal Science of the Total Environment (now available online).

Eight Researchers From Biodiversity Research Institute to Present at the 2016 North American Ornithological Conference

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 11:05:40 EST

Biodiversity Research Institute will participate at the 2016 North American Ornithological Conference, in Washington, D.C., August 16-20. BRI biologists will present current avian research in presentations and poster sessions. BRI's executive director, David Evers, Ph.D., will participate in a symposium on birds as indicators of ecosystem health and environmental change.

BRI Reports Status of Common Loon Translocation Study

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 09:00:17 EST

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) presents a mid-point progress report of the largest Common Loon conservation study ever conducted. Funded in 2013 by the Ricketts Conservation Foundation, Restore the Call is a five-year science-based initiative to strengthen and restore loon populations within their existing and former range. Research efforts are focusing in three key U.S. breeding population centers from the western mountains to the Atlantic seaboard.

Biodiversity Research Institute Assists the United Nations with the New Global Mercury Treaty

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 07:05:28 EST

Biodiversity Research Institute, working as an executing agency for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, is now conducting Minamata Initial Assessment (MIA) activities in Cabo Verde, Chad, Guatemala, Nepal, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sri Lanka. MIAs are designed to assist countries in developing strategies to ratify and ultimately implement the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Biodiversity Research Institute Responds to New Wildlife Health Concern

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 09:00:00 EST

In response to news of the first confirmed mortality of a Common Loon due to avian malaria in the Northeast, Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) has initiated a crowd funding campaign to investigate the scope of the finding.

BRI Announces the Results of Its Mid-Atlantic Baseline Studies Project to Assess the Distribution and Abundance of Wildlife Along the Eastern Seaboard

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 08:55:00 EST

Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) and collaborators announce the results of a three-year, multi-state project that fills significant ecological data gaps on bird, marine mammal, and sea turtle distributions and movements.

Tufts University School of Medicine and Maine Medical Center Celebrate Third Class of "Maine Track MD" Students

Tufts University — Fri, 20 Mar 2015 15:05:00 EST

This year's Match Day at Tufts celebrated the third cohort of students in the "Maine Track MD" program. A partnership between Tufts University School of Medicine and Maine Medical Center, the Maine Track MD program trains students interested in practicing medicine in underserved urban and rural communities where the shortage of physicians is acute.