Jackie Rolleri
'06
Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Portland, ME
January 2006
During the month
of January I interned with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) in
Portland, Maine. The mission of
GMRI, a neutral, strategic marine research and education institution, is to
convene public interest to resolve aquatic resource conflicts, research the
Gulf of Maine watershed, and educate Maine residents and visitors about Maine’s
fresh and saltwater resources. There are currently several lines of research being explored by GMRI
relating to herring acoustics, shrimp fishery, lobster diet, fishing gear, and
cod-tagging.
The
scientist I worked under, Jonathon Grabowski Ph.D., is a research scientist and
benthic ecologist. I worked
side-by-side with his research technician Julien Gaudette, sorting through core
samples taken this past summer from Casco Bay. The samples were collected as part of the Assessment of
nursery habitat within Casco Bay project. The goal of this study is to investigate sea grass and mud bottom
habitats in Casco Bay using cores, larval traps, and trawls. The data will be used for an
ecological/economic evaluation of habitats for fisheries productivity. About 20 million tons of crude oil are
imported into Casco Bay annually, so this information could prove very useful
incase of an oil spill.
Although the task
of transferring samples and sorting organisms was a bit tedious and boring, I
think the overall experience was beneficial. I confirmed the thought that I do not want to become a
research biologist and prefer field over lab work. Both Jonathon and Julien were fun to work with and are
definitely good connections to have for the future. I do not plan on going to graduate school right after Colby,
but if I decide to apply to schools later on, I think the internship will help
add to my credentials.
Since GMRI is a
new and upcoming organization, they are trying to establish a summer internship
program.
I was only the second
intern they have had but they would like to eventually have more funding for
interns.
I told Jonathon Grabowski
to contact career services at Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin to setup an
e-recruiting profile, but if any other students are interested in a summer
internship, they should contact GMRI.
The facilities are beautiful and located directly on the waterfront in
the Oldport section of Portland.
All of the staff and faculty I met while interning were very friendly
and dedicated to the missions set forth by GMRI.
