BAR HARBOR – Acadia National Park will hold its first Acadia Science Day for the public from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, in the auditorium of The Jackson Laboratory on Route 3.

The program, which is free and open to the public, will feature presentations by university scientists and others who have conducted studies in the park.

The symposium, like past Resource Acadia seminars, is designed to give local residents an overview of the research that occurs in the national park.

Speakers will highlight eight projects within the areas of vegetation, wildlife, air and water quality, and cultural resources.

Participants will learn firsthand from scientists about current projects in the national park. Four of the presentations will discuss:

. Research that focuses broadly on effects caused by human activities, including a study on the European red ant, which is a problem throughout Mount Desert Island;

. The impact of toxins such as mercury on birds;

. An investigation of the effects of invasive plants on natural fire cycles; and,

. A study of methods for revegetating disturbed areas in the park’s campgrounds.

The four other presentations will focus on cultural and natural history research:

. An oral history project to document historical Civilian Conservation Corps activities in the area;

. The abundance and distribution of fish in the intertidal zone and estuaries of MDI;

. A comprehensive vegetation mapping project that recently finished documenting all ecological communities in the park and surrounding lands; and,

. A study of the breeding success of loons on the freshwater lakes of MDI.

The science symposium is being presented by the Schoodic Education and Research Center, one of 13 National Park Service Research Learning Centers nationwide.

All research learning centers are associated with national parks and are part of a National Park Service initiative to improve science-based management and share with the public the importance of park research.

For more information about the science symposium or to get on the mailing list for future events, call the park at (207) 288-8808.