Happy Planksgiving: Thanksgiving is about coming together with those who are most important to us. For marine scientists, few organisms matter more than plankton. This #MicroMonday, @bigelowlab.bsky.social is celebrating these tiny powerhouses of the ocean.

🌈 Chromatic Curiosity: #BigelowLab continued celebrating BioME’s #MaineBioscienceDay with a visit to Durham Community School, where Lydia Pinard painted a vivid picture of algae and its role in our world. Thank you for introducing students to algae and sparking curiosity in science: color us proud!

#BigelowLab is happy to participate in #MaineBioscienceDay, which is taking place in middle schools across the state this week. Brigid Carr and Vishaan Nursey made a big splash South Bristol School, showing that science is anything but dry. 🔬 Learn more: https://currents.bigelow.org/?p=998

Plankton Peeps: The Continuous Plankton Recorder is one of the oldest and most geographically extensive marine monitoring programs in the world. It provides 90 years of data on the marine plankton community. Last week, four Bigelowians attended the 2025 CPR Workshop. #science #ocean #bigelowlab

Muddying the Waters: This morning, @bigelowlab.bsky.social's Sea Change Semester students learned a core science lesson: biogeochemistry fieldwork is rarely tidy. #bigelowlab #maine #eastboothbay #edgecomb #biogeochemistry #tidal #mud #mudflats #students #seachange #education #community

While we’ve long known that Bigelow Laboratory makes a difference within the great state of Maine, we’ve been missing hard data to prove it. We hired Stepwise Data Research to help us tell that story. Check it out: https://www.bigelow.org/economic #science #economic #maine #impact #ocean

#BigelowLab's Single Cell Genomics Center has long been at the forefront of advancing single-cell sequencing technology. Learn why really small microcapsules that hold one trillionth of a liter of water are making big waves: https://currents.bigelow.org/?p=964#BigelowLab Photo: Brian Thompson.

Next Thursday, head over to Footbridge Brewery for Ocean on Tap! Peter Brannen, an award-winning science journalist, will speak about the remarkable role of carbon dioxide in shaping the history of our planet and society. Join us for a great conversation! #maine #science #ocean #carbondioxide #gas

Teeny, Tiny Bubbles: Check out these micrographs of Noctiluca, bubble-like unicellular organisms sampled from the waters around Phippsburg. While their rotund appearance is festive, they are also capable of bioluminescence! Learn more: https://currents.bigelow.org/?p=956 📸: Kat Mead-von Huene.

Microscopic Monsters: Not all algae in Bigelow Laboratory’s National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA) collection are peaceful plankton. Some have a monster appetite!

Good Gourds: This week, #BigelowLab's 2025 Sea Change Semester students and program staff had a blast carving festive jack-o-lanterns and enjoying an autumn dinner around a campfire. Learn more: https://www.bigelow.org/education/seachange/#BigelowLab#maine #eastboothbay #eastbooooooothbay #halloween #pumpkins

Blue Biotech Bulletin, October 22-28 🌊: This week’s updates include #Maine #Algae Science Day hosted by #BigelowLab at GMRI, the #BlueEconomy Investment Summit at Northeastern University’s Roux Institute, and a feature in Mainebiz. Read more: https://currents.bigelow.org/?p=942#Maine#Algae#BigelowLab#BlueEconomy#bluebiotech #ocean

The vast, dark expanses of the ocean hold no shortage of spine-tingling life forms and environments. This #MicroMonday, enjoy a scream-inducing close-up of a zooplankton that our Sea Change Semester students collected during a nighttime net tow. 🎃 FMI: https://currents.bigelow.org/?p=876#MicroMonday#ocean

This autumn, #BigelowLab launched a new digital web channel called Currents. Feast your eyes on photo galleries and videos, and stay up to date with blue biotech bulletins, news on community projects, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of our research. Explore Currents today: www.bigelow.org/currents

Stay up to speed with #BigelowLab's support of ocean-related innovation in our Blue Biotech Bulletin. This week’s updates include the release of a regional ecosystem assessment and roadmap, theAlgal Biomass Summit, and the Maine Blue Carbon Network Annual Symposium. FMI: https://ow.ly/9Hw450Xgkwu

Maine has the resources, workforce, and people to become a national leader in the emerging blue biotech industry. 🌊 🧪 #BigelowLab in partnership with Ocean House Consulting and Hatch Blue, is launching a major initiative to help make that happen. FMI: https://currents.bigelow.org/?p=864#BigelowLab

Green with Antennae: Last week, #BigelowLab Director of Education Aislyn Keyes and several hundred energetic zooplankton attended the Green Jobs Fair in Dover-Foxcroft. FMI: https://currents.bigelow.org/?p=850#BigelowLab #maine #piscataquis #education #jobs #careers #zooplankton #education #community

New Bigelow Merch Dropping Like Leaves: Fall is here, and so is #BigelowLab’s merch restock! 🍁 Stock up, stay cozy, and show your support for ocean science! Enjoy 10% off your order with the discount code FALL10 at checkout, now through October 31. Shop now: store.bigelow.org/discount/FAL...

Stay up to speed with #BigelowLab's support of ocean-related innovation in our regular Blue Biotech Bulletin feature. Updates include the BioME annual conference, a visit from the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators, and a convening . Read more: https://currents.bigelow.org/?p=828

On Thursday, October 16, venture over to Footbridge Brewery in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, for the next talk in the Ocean on Tap series! 🏞️ Haley Bezos, founder and director of Hearty Roots, will discuss mindful environmental stewardship and the benefits of outdoor education. #maine #ocean #bigelowlab

Happy International Coccolithophore Day! 🎉 Today, #BigelowLab is proud to celebrate these mighty single-celled marine phytoplankton that build calcium plate shells, produce oxygen, and capture atmospheric carbon. #CoccolithophoreDay #science #ocean #maine

#Maine researchers and entrepreneurs are unlocking the potential of marine resources to develop new foods, medicines, materials, and climate-friendly products. Stay up to speed with #BigelowLab's regular #BlueBiotech Bulletin, available on Currents: https://currents.bigelow.org/?p=804#Maine#BigelowLab#BlueBiotech#ocean #jobs

Given that they are among the largest animals on the planet, it may seem puzzling that one of the North Atlantic right whale’s key prey species is the tiny Calanus finmarchicus. Learn how #BigelowLab is forecasting with Calanus: https://currents.bigelow.org/?p=801#BigelowLab📸: Cameron Thompson #ocean #whales

Measuring Time in Nanno Seconds: Transferring Nannochloropsis into a carboy of saltwater media takes some time. But Research Technician Lydia Pinard’s timelapse video makes the process look speedy! #algae #microalgae #bluebiotech #bigelowlab

Aw, Shucks: #BigelowLab hosted a table at the #Pemaquid Oyster Festival last weekend, proving once and for all that these tasty shellfish pair splendidly with a side of science (in addition to the usual cocktail sauce and mignonette, of course!). FMI: currents.bigelow.org?p=792 #oyster #maine

Bridging International Waters: This past summer, #BigelowLab was pleased to welcome Dr. Preston Akenga to our community for a few months. Akenga, from Kisii University in Kenya, joined the lab as a fellow in the #BioGeoSCAPES program. FMI: currents.bigelow.org?p=777 #science #ocean

Investing in Discovery: If you’re curious about the evolving U.S. science landscape, please join #BigelowLab President and CEO Deborah Bronk for a presentation at the Portsmouth Music Hall on Tuesday, October 14. FMI: www.themusichall.org/events/bigel... #ocean #science #nh #newhampshire #usa

Happy Friday! 🐬🐋🐟 Join us in jumping for joy just like this pod of dolphins, whale, and swordfish spotted in the Gulf of Maine by #BigelowLab team members during a research cruise aboard the R/V Bowditch last week. 📸: K. Johnston, K. Nutt, and M. Vilarello.

This month, 11 students from across the country arrived at #BigelowLab for the 2025 Sea Change Semester. This 14-week experience includes mentorship, research cruises, and ocean science coursework. Welcome to the Bigelow community! FMI: www.bigelow.org/seachange #education #maine

Environmental DNA has proven valuable for accurately, rapidly, and inexpensively detecting new species and answering important coastal management questions. Read about what #BigelowLab researchers discovered in the sediments below a commercial kelp farm: currents.bigelow.org?p=756 #ocean #science

Happy National Postdoc Appreciation Week! 🎉 #BigelowLab proudly celebrates these essential researchers who help advance novel and exciting #science. Learn how #postdoc Alaina Weinheimer partnered with an intern to discover dark ocean viruses: currents.bigelow.org?p=738 #npaw #ocean

Learning How to Cope-pod: During a tour of #BigelowLab, Advancement Officer Kim Nutt snapped PhD student Zach Wagner introducing visitors to Calanus, a tiny animal with a big impact here in the Gulf of Maine. Zach is presenting tonight at Footbridge Brewery: join us at 6 p.m.! #maine #ocean

Following the Fare: The North Atlantic right #whale is among the world's biggest animals. It's also one of its most endangered. Models of their distribution across vast territories are essential. 🐋 Learn about a new study led by #BigelowLab scientists: currents.bigelow.org?p=732 #ocean #science

Little Big Lies Under the Surface: Think #plankton are solely food sources? Think again! This Thursday, we invite you to take a seat at Footbridge Brewery for the next #OceanOnTap where we'll dispel fibs about #plankton and the big impact they have on our lives. #bigelowlab #ocean #science #maine

This #MicroMonday, check out this algae from the genus Pseudo-nitzschia. It might not appear threatening, but some species of this diatom have a secret that packs a punch. Learn how #BigelowLab researchers are quantifying its impact on marine food webs: currents.bigelow.org?p=724 📸: Peter Countway.

For Us, It’s Always Ocean Day: This #FlashbackFriday, we’re jumping back exactly one month to relive Ocean Day at the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library! 🌊 Bigelowians Vishaan Nursey and Lydia Pinard helmed the lab’s table and hosted interactive plankton races! 📸: Lydia Pinard.

“We’ve worked closely with Colby College for 15 years to introduce students to cutting-edge research in the marine and environmental sciences,” said Deborah Bronk, president and CEO of #bigelowlab. Please join us in celebrating this major investment in science! FMI: news.colby.edu/story/colby-...

Scientists know broadly how the process of horizontal, or lateral, gene transfer works and that it can be an essential force of evolution, especially for single-celled organisms. But they haven't had the tools to quantify the process — until now. FMI: www.bigelow.org/news/article... #science #genes

Harmful algae blooms that produce the potent neurotoxin domoic acid can have devastating impacts on marine animals. A team from #BigelowLab just published research in @dao-ir.bsky.social showing how DA is accumulating in wild sea stars. FMI: www.bigelow.org/news/article... #ocean #science #maine

Join #BigelowLab and Maine Coast Fishermen's Association for a Blue Drinks networking event at Robinson’s Wharf on Thursday, September 11 at 5 p.m. No registration required! For more information, email [email protected]. #maine #southport #blueeconomy #ocean #networking

Bigelow Laboratory knows that the right equipment can make all the difference. After all, it’s pretty tricky to catch a copepod using a lobster trap! 🦞 To connect local youth with back-to-school gear, Bigelowians took part in the Set for Success event in Boothbay on Wednesday.

Thank you to the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture team for visiting #BigelowLab during their retreat in midcoast Maine last weekend! SRS José Fernández Robledo snapped this great group shot in the Harold Alfond Center for Ocean Education and Innovation and gave a campus tour.

While many families are gearing up for children to head back to school soon, nine Maine educators recently wrapped up some learning of their own during the BLOOM Educators program at #BigelowLab. FMI: www.bigelow.org/education/pr... #ocean #maine 📸: David Fields, Aislyn Keyes, and Nicole Poulton.

Deep Sea Dialogue: Last month, diplomats, advocates, lawyers, and ambassadors from the @deepstewardship.bsky.social gathered in Kingston, Jamaica for the second part of the 30th session of the International Seabed Authority. Read more: www.bigelow.org/news/article... #bigelowlab #ocean #science

On August 19, 2024, an accidental release of approximately 1,450 gallons of PFAS-based firefighting foam concentrate mixed with water occurred in Hangar 4 on the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. Post spill, #BigelowLab researchers regularly monitor PFAS in Casco Bay. #ocean #maine #pfas #science

Storytelling and the Sea: This month, #BigelowLab Senior Research Scientist Nichole Price participated in the National Geographic Society Storytellers Workshop, hosted by Builders Vision in Chicago. 🌊 Photo credit: www.dietzstudio.com #ocean #science #kelp #blueplanet #ngs #natgeo

Last month, more than 20 stakeholders came to Bigelow Laboratory’s campus for a workshop that kicked off a 90-day innovation "sprint" that will result in a report laying out the priorities to establish Maine as a blue biotech hub. FMI: www.bigelow.org/news... #ocean #oceanscience

Catch the Mega Wave: This Thursday, please join us for the next talk in the Ocean on Tap series at Footbridge Brewery! 🌊 Leah Campbell, Bigelow Laboratory’s lead science writer, will crash the myths of ocean mega waves. #bigelowlab #oceanscience #tsunami #roguewaves #ocean

Carapace Conundrum 🦞: Warming waters helped drive a catastrophic collapse of the Southern New England lobster fishery in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Adult lobsters failed to reproduce. Baby lobsters failed to thrive. And a new disease ran rampant.

Basking in the Glow: On Tuesday, #BigelowLab researchers aboard the R/V Bowditch encountered one of the world’s biggest species of fish right here in the Gulf of Maine: a basking shark! 🦈 The team was conducting a monthly survey about 40 miles offshore for a wind energy monitoring program.