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The ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ cohort, which wrapped up the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ Coastal Studies Semester this week, joined undergraduates from Bigelow's  on December 13 to share their research findings. Sea Change students come from different colleges and universities in Maine and around the United States. 

Traditionally, at the end of the fall semester, students in both of these Maine-based, marine-focused, and research-heavy academic programs come together for a day-long symposium, said Holly Parker, director of the Schiller Coastal Studies Center.

“It allows our students to expand their growing network of peer researchers,” she said. “They build an amazingly strong cohort within our program, but then they bring their research on the road to share with others—which is an important part of research.”

This year, the schools represented by Sea Change students included Colby College, University of New England, Southern Maine Community College, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, University of Kansas, Wesleyan University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

2024 ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø±¬ÍøÕ¾ Coastal Studies Semester Projects:

• Cameron Edgar ’26 and Henry Penfold ’26: “Geographic Range and Thermal Performance of an Undescribed Sea Anemone.”
• Emma Mazlish ’26: “Exploring seasonal variation across phytoplankton size classes in Harpswell Sound, Maine, using high performance liquid chromatography.”
• Reuben Siegel ’27: “Thunderdome: blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) may reduce green crab (Carcinus maenas) populations in Maine”
• Layla Silva ’26: “Predation of Carcinus maenas on Biofouling Organisms in Harpswell Sound, Maine.”
• Ruxin Dai ’26: “Blue mussel defense against crabby predators Callinectes sapidus & Carcinus maenas.”
• Luke Robinson ’26: “Shedding light on eelgrass: Photosynthetic strategies of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in dynamic environments.”
• Dylan Petrillo ’26: “Kelp is on the way: Assessing integrated multi-trophic aquaculture in an acidified ocean model.”

The Coastal Studies Semester is based at the Schiller Coastal Studies Center and takes place each fall. Students dive into an immersive experience that includes marine and coastal studies field work, lab work, community outreach, and independent research focused on the changing environments in the Gulf of Maine. The semester also includes a humanities course that enables students to connect with their coastal environment through a different lens. 

This year's group of students, Parker said, “were endlessly curious about everything—whether it was their poetry class, field work, or talking with community members.” 

Below are some outtakes from the past semester, provided by Holly Parker.