UM student lauded for algae presentation

Sarah Hall, a marine biology major at the University of Maine’s School of Marine Science, was named a co-winner of the President’s Award for the best undergraduate research presentation earlier this month at the 47th annual Northeast Algal Society meeting at the University of New Hampshire.

Hall of Waterville will graduate in May. She shared the top prize with a student from the University of New Brunswick.

Hall presented her senior capstone research project titled “The Flora of the Rocky Intertidal Zone in Acadia National Park, Maine.” Included in her presentation were results about the use of DNA bar-coding for the identification of algal crusts, as well as a sample page from a guide to the common marine algae of the park that should be available to visitors later this year.

Joseph Stachelek, another UM marine biology major, also made a presentation at the NEAS meeting regarding different elements of the same research project.

The NEAS is a regional organization dedicated to furthering algae research and education in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada.