Lectures at Eagle Hill
Lecture programs are free. They run for about an hour, including time for questions. Start times are noted in the calendar below.
They begin with a reception 45 minutes before the start of the lecture. This is a pleasant time to mingle with guests over complimentary wine. The lecture room has some café tables, each seating 4 guests.
Each lecture is followed by an optional family-style dinner in the old dining hall. This is a chance to mingle with resident guests at Eagle Hill who are participating in a seminar or workshop program. Reservations need to be made by 10AM of the program day. Dinner details and menus.
For dinner reservations ... 207-546-2821 Ext 4... joerg@eaglehill.us
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| Date/Time | Day | Title. Descriptions and bios at end of page. |
Presenter |
| 2024 Lectures — This calendar will be updated as lectures are planned. | |||
| June 5, 2024. 5PM | Wed | Seaweed Biodiversity in Maine, with an Update on an Upcoming Field Guide | Amanda Savoie |
| June 6, 2024. 5PM | Thu | Symbiosis in Lichens: an Evolutionary Love Story | Philip Bell-Doyon |
| June 13, 2024. 5PM | Thu | Using Lichens to Assess the Ecological Continuity of Forests | Steven Selva |
| June 20, 2024. 5PM | Thu | Maine Tardigrades and How they Survive Most Everything | Emma Perry |
Program descriptions.
Seaweed Biodiversity in Maine; with an update on an upcoming Field Guide
June 5, 2024
Amanda will discuss common species found along the coast of Maine, how molecular techniques can be useful for identifying difficult species, the impact of invasive species and climate change on the seaweed flora, and give a short update to the Field Guide to the Seaweeds of Maine that she is working on with the Maine Natural History Observatory.
Dr. Amanda Savoie is a research scientist and phycologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Canada, as well as Director of the Museum’s Arctic research centre. Amanda studies biodiversity and biogeography of marine macroalgae in Canada, and uses molecular and traditional techniques to investigate taxonomically difficult species of red algae. As a native of Atlantic Canada, she is most familiar with (and fond of) the amazing seaweeds of the northeast coast.
Symbiosis in Lichens: an Evolutionary Love Story
June 6, 2024
Lichens are the archetypal symbiotic organisms. They represent an extremely successful fungal lifestyle that has evolved several times in which algae, bacteria, and fungi entangle to share benefits that they couldn't reach on their own. From historical perspectives to the most recent DNA-related developments, this talk is meant to raise awareness about the fascinating and everlasting mysteries of lichenization.
Philip Bell-Doyon is a final year PhD candidate in Biology at Laval University, Québec, Canada. He works on the biological and chemical diversity associated with intact boreal forest ecosystems. Philip focuses on lichen taxonomy and symbiosis and has published several papers in scientific journals and public media.
Using Lichens to Assess the Ecological Continuity of Forests
June 13, 2024
As lichen species take up residence in a forest, each is looking for a specific microhabitat that suits its particular need for carbon and other nutrients, water, light, temperature, pH, etc. If its needs are satisfied, it becomes established and grows and reproduces. If its needs are not satisfied, it does not become established. As the forest ages, more and more of these microhabitats become available for lichen colonization and, as a result, more and more lichens find what they need and become established. This is a process that continues for generations of trees over hundreds and thousands of years. Forests with a long, uninterrupted continuity are associated with a higher diversity of species and certain lichen species are found only in older stands. It is a subset of these lichens found only in older stands that are being used as indicator species to assess the ecological continuity of forests in the Acadian Forest Ecoregion.
Dr. Steven Selva is Professor Emeritus of Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, where he has been since 1976. Since the summer of 1986, Dr. Selva has been engaged in an ongoing research project in which lichens are being used to assess the continuity of forest ecosystems in the Acadian Forest of northeastern North America. He has written numerous articles on the subject, including several on the calicioid lichens and fungi and their role as old-growth forest indicator species.
Maine Tardigrades and How they Survive Most Everything
June 20, 2024
This lecture will describe tardigrades and give a brief overview of their biology and ecology before going into depth about their cryptobiosis. How do they survive such extreme conditions as vacuum, radiation,extreme heat, cold and pH etc.? Come and find out how they do this, and how we can learn from this extreme biology.
Emma Perry currently manages the Electron Microscope Laboratory at the University of Maine, after a twenty year career as a Professor of Marine Biology. She studied the marine and limno-terrestrial tardigrades of Maine with her students for several years. Working together they have described several new species and is working to document the tardigrades of Maine.