All Posts By

Kristina Cammen

Nov 14
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A month of presentations

By | Presentation

This past month has been a wonderful whirlwind of work-related travel, to and from Canada (twice!) and roundabout Maine.  I kicked off the month with a trip to the University of New Brunswick in St. John to give an invited seminar to the Biology Department. The following week, I ferried across the Bay of Fundy to the Society for Marine Mammalogy biennial conference held this year in Halifax.  Finally, earlier this week I gave a seminar at Maine Maritime Academy.

These varied opportunities provided a great avenue to share our research with diverse audiences – from students to faculty, and from stakeholders to managers – in diverse formats – from a 4 minute speed-talk to 1-hr seminars.  I was particularly excited to speak about cross-border marine mammal issues in both Canada and the US, and I enjoyed meeting many new people as well as catching up with old friends and colleagues.  Thank you to Scott Pavey, Jessica Muhlin, and SMM for hosting my visits!

Cammen KM (2017) Molecular perspectives on conservation success: a tale of two seals in the Northwest Atlantic. Maine Maritime Academy Marine Sciences Seminar Series, Castine, ME.

Cammen KM, Vincze S, Heller S, McLeod B, Wood S, Bowen WD, Hammill MO, Puryear WB, Runstadler JR, Wenzel F, Kinnison M, Frasier TF (2017) Genetic diversity from pre-bottleneck to recovery in sympatric pinnipeds in the Northwest Atlantic. 22nd Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Halifax, NS.

Cammen KM (2017) Genomic perspectives on protected species recovery: a case of two pinnipeds in the Northwest Atlantic. University of New Brunswick Department of Biological Sciences Seminar Series, St. John, NB.

Sep 18
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Marine mammals class explores Frenchman Bay

By | Teaching


This past weekend, 19 undergraduate students from the University of Maine and Dr. Kristina Cammen traveled aboard the Schoodic Ferry from Bar Harbor to Winter Harbor to check out the Schoodic Center whale museum. On the way, (amidst the fog) they spotted harbor porpoise and gray seal, several sea birds, and interesting upwelling patterns. The students also had the opportunity to talk with a professional marine mammal observer, and learn about internship opportunities to do the same aboard the scientific data-collecting ferry next summer.  Thank you Kaitlyn Mullen and Frenchman Bay Research Boating for a great day on the water!

Aug 31
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Seeking graduate student in marine mammal transcriptomics

By | Career Opportunities

The Cammen Lab is seeking a graduate student interested in applying transcriptomic techniques to research questions related to marine mammal health. Example projects may include studying the cetacean stress response to noise exposure or immunogenomics of gray and harbor seals. In our lab we encourage students to explore interdisciplinary, collaborative research opportunities, including participation in lab work, field work, and bioinformatic training. Graduate students will have the opportunity to engage with colleagues in the School of Marine Sciences and Ecology & Environmental Sciences Program, as well as the new interdisciplinary Center for One Health and the Environment at the University of Maine.

Prospective students must hold a Bachelor’s degree in biology, ecology, evolution, genetics, bioinformatics, or a related field. Preferred candidates will have a Masters degree or equivalent experience, and prior experience with molecular analyses. Interested students with prior experience in non-model species genomics are highly encouraged to contact me.

Prospective students are strongly encouraged to apply for external funding, such as NSF graduate research fellowships, and I am happy to help support these funding applications, following initial conversations regarding your research interests and fit for our lab.

Interested qualified applicants are encouraged to email a cover letter and CV/resume to Kristina Cammen (kristina.cammen@maine.edu).

Jul 18
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Seal genomics at the Gordon Conference

By | Presentation, Research

Kristina presented her findings on the impacts of historical bottleneck, recent recovery, and geographic expansion in gray and harbor seals* at the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Ecological and Evolutionary Genomics in Biddeford, Maine.  GRC’s are scientific meetings with an explicit focus on cutting-edge research and promoting scientific discussion.  This year’s meeting spanned the spectrum from model to non-model system, and from theoretical to empirical.  It left me feeling inspired and excited to apply new sequencing technologies and analytical pipelines to marine mammal species in an effort to better understand their ecology and evolution.

*Stay tuned for new publications that summarize this work soon!

Jul 06
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New publication: Cost of tolerance

By | Publication, Research

In collaboration with new marine physiology professor, Nishad Jayasundara, and collaborators at Duke University, we’ve published our findings on the cost of evolving tolerance to anthropogenic pollutants in the Atlantic killifish.  These fish represent a “natural experiment” in which to study the evolution of toxin resistance; they have evolved the ability to survive exposure to high levels of PAHs, making it possible to inhabit Superfund sites in the Elizabeth River, Virginia.  In this system, our new paper explores the hypothesis that the evolution of resistance to one stressor makes organisms more susceptible to other stressors.  For more information, check out our paper here.

May 02
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Honors thesis defense – congratulations Amanda!

By | Student News

Congratulations to Amanda Shuman, who successfully defended her Honors thesis entitled The Potential Impact of Climate Change on Blue Whale Migration in the Eastern Pacific. Amanda, who was co-advised by Drs. Kristina Cammen and Fei Chai, focused on three main topics for her literature review-based thesis: current blue whale migration patterns, current conditions of blue whale calving and foraging grounds, and climate change projections for those key areas. Through her synthesis of the current literature on these topics, she concludes that the foraging grounds (in particular local krill abundance) are likely to be more dramatically impacted by climate change than the calving grounds, and accordingly blue whales will likely have to extend their current migration route to find sufficient prey in the warming subpolar waters.

This fall, Amanda will begin a Masters program in Environmental Science at the University of New Haven.  We wish her luck in her next steps!