Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
@bigelowlab.bsky.social
120 followers 37 following 110 posts
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences is a leader in microbial oceanography with research spanning from our home in Maine to the Arctic to the deep ocean crust. Learn more at bigelow.org.
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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 #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 📸: 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-...
Colby College Receives the Largest Gift in its History
Funding will create a solutions-oriented science and technology model in the liberal arts while enhancing the science ecosystem across the state of Maine
news.colby.edu
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
Bigelow Laboratory Senior Research Scientist Nicole Poulton (left) and Senior Research Associate Brian Thompson (right) at work in the Single Cell Genomics Center.
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.