Melissa May, Ph.D.

Session Chair, Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Annual Meeting

2021

Northern Arizona University

B.S.

Zoology

2004

University of San Diego

M.S.

Marine Science

2008

University of Maine

Ph.D.

Marine Biology

2017

Fat and happy? The interactive effects of food, thermal history, and sirtuins on mussel thermal sensitivity

Invited Seminar  Biology department, California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo, CA)

Marine mussels as a model for studying the effects of global climate change

Invited Seminar  Biology department, California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo, CA)

Student-led retreats for graduate student cohesion and career success.

2016

After several years in the nonacademic working world, we were back in school, ready to learn and socialize with other burgeoning marine scientists. Within our first couple of weeks in the University of Maine’s (UMaine’s) School of Marine Science (SMS) graduate program, we eagerly attended the new graduate student orientation. Program requirements were reviewed, as well as expectations and funding, but the one thing that excited the faculty and the new students most was the Graduate Student Symposium. With promise of revelry, sharing research, department-provided refreshments, a bonfire, and a stay-over at the University’s Darling Marine Center, the symposium was touted as the social and academic event of the year. The entire department, which is usually spread out over the Orono campus and three other locations across the state of Maine, is together for one and a half productive and fun-filled days. The kicker: we had to wait until the end of the academic year, two whole semesters, for this joyous occasion.

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NMR Profiling of Metabolites in Larval and Juvenile Blue Mussels (Mytilus edulis) under Ambient and Low Salinity Conditions

2017

Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) are ecologically and economically important marine invertebrates whose populations are at risk from climate change-associated variation in their environment, such as decreased coastal salinity. Blue mussels are osmoconfomers and use components of the metabolome (free amino acids) to help maintain osmotic balance and cellular function during low salinity exposure. However, little is known about the capacity of blue mussels during the planktonic larval stages to regulate metabolites during osmotic stress. Metabolite studies in species such as blue mussels can help improve our understanding of the species' physiology, as well as their capacity to respond to environmental stress.

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Sirtuin-dependent recovery from aerial heat shock: The effects of food ration, thermal history, and sirtuin inhibition on clearance rates and valve gape activity of the California mussel [...]

2021

Intertidal mussels regularly experience seasonal fluctuations in food availability and heat stress over the course of a tidal cycle, yet little is known about the biochemical mechanisms linking food ration and thermal tolerance, despite evidence that food enhances stress tolerance at the organismal level. We hypothesized that sirtuins (food-dependent protein regulators of cellular homeostasis), which may regulate the cellular stress response of mytilids during heat stress, also affect organismal performance during recovery from heat stress. As part of a broader study, we investigated the effects of acclimation food ration, acclimation emersion (air) temperature, and sirtuin inhibitors on the feeding behavior of the California mussel, Mytilus californianus, during recovery from acute aerial heat shock.

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