Western Maine Audubon to host talk on climate stresses to gulf Oct. 11

FARMINGTON — Western Maine Audubon plans to host a free talk, “Rising Seas and Warming Waters: Climate Stresses to Gulf of Maine Marine Species,” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, in the Thomas Auditorium of Preble Hall at 246 Main St., on the campus of the University of Maine at Farmington.

It will be given by by Dr. Hannah Baranes and Ph.D. candidate Andrew Allyn. A recording of the talk will be made available online at western.maineaudubon.org within a few weeks.

The Gulf of Maine has one of the most biologically productive marine ecosystems in the world. It is also warming faster than 96% of the world’s oceans and experiencing rates of sea level rise higher than the global average, according to a news release from Audubon board member Will Jones.

These changes place numerous stresses on Gulf of Maine marine species, particularly colonial nesting seabirds that use Maine’s coastal islands for nesting habitats and rely on marine resources to feed themselves and their young. Baranes and Allyn invite people to their presentation to learn more about expected climate-driven changes in the Gulf of Maine and the potential impacts of these changes on marine species.

Baranes joined the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in 2022 as a post-doctoral researcher in the Climate Center. Her work at the institute uses statistical techniques to estimate flood hazards in areas where there are multiple drivers of flooding, such as sea level rise, tides, storm surge and river flow.

Allyn is a quantitative research associate at the institute and a doctorate candidate at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Since joining the institute in 2017, his work has focused on building species’ distribution models to understand where marine species are now and where they might go in the future under different climate change scenarios.

For more information, contact Jones at 207-491-2443 or twilljo@gmail.com.