Skip to content
Rick Wahle

Richard A. Wahle

Senior Research Scientist
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
P.O. Box 475
180 McKown Point Road
West Boothbay Harbor, ME   04575-0475
U.S.A.
Phone: 207 633 9600
Fax: 207 633 9641

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Research Interests

Lobster Recruitment Ecology
This research aims to develop a better understanding of the influence of the ocean environment on changes in populations of the American lobster, Homarus americanus. The work investigates processes operating both before and after larval settlement. A central component of the research is a New England-wide long-term time series of lobster larval settlement, largely supported by respective state agencies and the lobster industry. Ecological research on pre- and post-settlement processes influencing lobster population dynamics has been variously supported since 1987 by NSF and three NOAA programs: Sea Grant, National Undersea Research Center, and NESDIS. In addition, we have launched a new initiative to improve tools to understand the population dynamics and movements of older lobsters that have emerged from nurseries. This work, supported by Maine Sea Grant and the Island Institute, aims to develop trap-based mark-recapture methods that move beyond the collection of data on individual growth and movement as is gathered from traditional tagging studies to more comprehensive population-level information on abundance, gains and losses.
Deep Sea Red Crab Ecology
The deep sea red crab, Chaceon quinquedens, is a developing fishery in New England's continental slope waters. Despite the potential growth of this industry, no population survey has been conducted in nearly thirty years. With support from NOAA's Northeast Consortium, Saltonstall-Kennedy and Sea Grant programs, this harvestor-scientist collaboration aims to gather basic demographic data on red crabs using deep water camera and trawl surveys. This research will allow us to come to a better understanding of the ecology of the red crab, and to provide fisheries managers and the red crab industry with the information necessary to develop an informed management plan. Red Crab Photo Gallery
Sea Urchin Reproductive Ecology
With support from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, this research evaluates the conflicting effects of changes in population density on reproduction in the green sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. As free-spawners urchins have higher fertilization rates at high population densities. Conversely, crowding can adversely affect gonad production through food limitation. It has now become ever more important to evaluate these trade-offs because the sea urchin has been rapidly depleted in the past decade by harvesting for the Japanese market. There is justified concern that as populations are thinned, reproduction of these free spawners will be dramatically diminished.

Selected Publications