Andrew Pershing,
Director and Captain
Andy is currently an Assistant Professor in the
University of Maine's School of Marine Sciences
and a Research Scientist at the
Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
His research aims to understand how physical conditions
in the atmosphere and ocean
influence the distribution and abundance of animals in the ocean.
His work has focused mainly on how zooplankton populations
in the Gulf of Maine change from year-to-year
and how these changes relate to climate
and how they influence fish and whales.
In addition to his interests in climate, copepods, and whales,
Andy is interested in how computers can be used to study the ocean.
Nick Record,
First Mate
Nick is a Research Associate in the
University of Maine's School of Marine Sciences.
He is responsible for keeping the lab computers well behaved.
Research interests include: computational ecology, sea surface photogrammetry, and science education.
More details on Nick's research interests can be found on his
website.
Dan Pendleton,
Ph.D. Candidate, Cornell University
The overarching question addressed by Dan's research is:
How can point observations of animals be used to estimate
the geographic range of the species?
This question becomes particularly challenging when applied to a
highly mobile, migratory and endangered species, such as
the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis).
Dan pairs the time and location of right whale presence records with near realtime environmental data to estimate potential geographic range of these animals. Dan is generally interested in developing and applying field and computational methods to estimate the range of endangered species. He has a strong interest in applying these techniques in Earth's polar regions. Details can be found at his
website.
Peter Stetson,
Chief Harpooner
Peter is a M.Sc. candidate at the University of Maine School of Marine Sciences and is working with Dr. Pershing in the EMLab in Portland.
Peter's research interests include the coupling of the physical and biological systems in the ocean, using mathematics to answer ecological questions, and applying novel technologies to marine problems.
Currently, Peter is surfing internal waves with the Kraken and watching how euphausiids (krill) respond to the waves as they pass offshore banks.
Often, before work, Peter can be found surfing (surface waves), experiencing the Gulf of Maine firsthand.
Other interests include: photography, teaching, and rock climbing.
Frederic Maps,
Stowaway
Frederic studied during his Ph.D. the interactions between the zooplankton and its physical environment in "le golfe du St-Laurent". His current project is part of an NSF funded GLOBEC pan-regional synthesis entitled "Life histories of species in the genus Calanus in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans and responses to climate forcing". He really tried hard to do it all by himself, but finally was asked to use, more specifically, individual-based numerical models to study the control of the diapause by the lipid metabolism in Calanus finmarchicus. Essential to allow this species to thrive in its highly seasonal environment, the diapause phase of its life cycle could be criticaly sensitive to changing climate in the Gulf of Maine.
This work is done with Prof. Jeffrey Runge and Prof. Andy Pershing in the Ecosystem Modeling Lab at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
Kraken,
Horrible Monster
Kraken is a multi-headed abomination made up of 8 Mac Mini computers, an Apple Xserve, and various cables and attachements. When Kraken is feeling happy, it purrs along, churning out numerologic insights into the functioning of the ocean. When Kraken is angry, it reaches out with its tentacles and frustrates overly ambitious modelers.
Stubb,
Second Mate
Stubb is a member of an ecosystem model located in the lab.
He is also a crayfish. He chronicles his experiences in a
blog.
