UM, gulf research institute to share ecosystem scientist

ORONO – The University of Maine and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute announced recently the hiring of marine ecosystem modeler Dr. Andrew Pershing. The appointment was made possible by a unique partnership between the university and institute, bringing much needed expertise in marine ecosystem modeling to support fishery management in the Gulf of Maine region. Currently a Cornell University faculty member, Pershing will begin work in Maine this summer.

Pershing will join the faculty at UMaine, as assistant research professor of oceanography in the university’s school of marine sciences, which is based in Orono and has a statewide teaching, research and outreach presence. He will be stationed at the institute’s research lab on Portland’s working waterfront, as part of a unique partnership between the two institutions.

Prof. David Townsend, director of UMaine’s School of Marine Sciences, envisions the partnership as a critical first step in extending UMaine’s marine graduate programs statewide.

“The UMaine-GMRI partnership will further expand the expertise that our graduate students can draw upon as they study various aspects of the Gulf of Maine with scientists at the Portland lab,” Townsend said. “Dr. Pershing brings significant expertise and experience to the University of Maine and the state.”

“It is a major coup for the entire Gulf of Maine region that Dr. Pershing has chosen to bring his expertise in ecosystem modeling to bear on managing our marine resources,” said Don Perkins, Gulf of Maine Research Institute president. “The University of Maine’s support and partnership made it feasible to aspire to attract an accomplished marine scientist with enormous potential to Maine.”

Pershing, who received a doctoral degree in ecology from Cornell in 2001, is a leader in the use of computing technology to model and visualize how the ocean environment influences fish and mammal populations over time and to predict potential future population changes.

With funding from NOAA and NASA, Pershing is currently leading a project to use plankton abundance models to forecast possible feeding areas of the endangered right whale. He is working with the Cornell Theory Center to develop computational tools to synthesize multiple data sources and deliver information in a timely manner to right whale researchers and managers.

Pershing will complement expertise that exists on UMaine’s faculty and within the institute’s expanding team of marine scientists, who have expertise in fishery ecology, oceanography, fish behavior, gear design and resource economics.

Pershing becomes the sixth member of the institute research team, eventually expected to consist of 10 scientists by the end of this year. He is the first of two UMaine appointments who will be stationed in Portland.

“Large changes in the abundance of fish, sudden shifts in the migration of whales, and changes in weather are some of the major changes scientists, fishermen and New Englanders in general have experienced over the last few years,” Pershing said. “I look forward to using my expertise to work with GMRI, UMaine and others to address problems that are important to the broader Gulf of Maine community.”

Pershing, who will teach UMaine courses and advise graduate students, will join with institute scientists to research the dynamics of marine ecosystems, with an emphasis on Gulf of Maine fisheries issues.