Marine science major Kayla Smith is recipient of NEERS Stubby Rankin Prize

Kayla Smith ’13, a marine science major, was the recipient of the Stubby Rankin Prize for Best Undergraduate Student Presentation for her coauthored talk which she presented at the spring meeting of the New England Estuarine Research Society; NEERS, held April 12-14, 2012 at the John Carver Inn in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Her presentation was titled “Evaluating the Saco Bay Estuary system as a nursery ground for commercially valuable and ecologically important fish species” in which she highlighted her ongoing research assessing the early life history characteristics and significant species richness of the larval, post-larval, and juvenile fish assemblages inhabiting the Saco River estuary ecosystem.

James Sulikowski, Ph.D., associate professor in marine science, is her faculty advisor for the project. This study is also a component of the Saco River Estuary Project, designed to better understand and protect the Saco River Estuary and is funded by grants from the NSF (National Science Foundation) through Maine EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research).

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.