Mercury in Dragonflies

Megan Hess
The Dragonfly Mercury Project (DMP) engages citizen scientists in monitoring mercury contamination in National Parks across the US. The scientist team at the University of Maine, US Geological survey, and National Park Service (NPS) enlist park staff or community partners, who lead teams of citizen scientists in the collection of dragonfly larvae.
Picture
An array of dragonfly naiads.
Dragonflies are analyzed for mercury, a global pollutant that affects resources the NPS is charged with protecting. The results provide individual parks and NPS data regarding the distribution of mercury at broad spatial scales.

​Our goals for citizen scientist engagement are to: (1) provide an opportunity for biodiversity discovery; (2) connect people to parks; and (3) provide a vehicle for education and outreach regarding mercury.
Picture
Megan sampling with a dipnet at one of her study sites.

Subsidy Exchange between Forests and Streams

My project will be looking at the effects of riparian zone width and forest harvests on subsidy exchange between forests and forested streams streams. I am especially interested in whether harvest practices influence the feeding of brook trout on aquatic invertebrates versus terrestrial invertebrate prey entering the stream. I will also look at the reliance of terrestrial organisms on emerging aquatic invertebrates as well as other nutrient exchanges between the two adjacent ecosystems.

Maine has a strong tie to natural resources and recreation in these areas. One major sector of outdoor recreation is fishing and in particular fishing for brook trout. The data collected from this study can hopefully be used in management of Maine's waterways and brook trout in watersheds subject to logging and various forest activities.

Mitchell Paisker