BLUE HILL — Robert Steneck, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Maine, will present “Booms, Busts and Sliding Baselines in Maine’s Fragile Coastal Ecosystems” on Thursday, March 29, at 7 p.m. at the Marine Environmental Research Institute in Blue Hill.

Steneck will talk about how the decline of big predator fish and subsequent rise of prey species has led to an ecological imbalance in the Gulf of Maine that may one day become a true environmental crisis.

His presentation is part of MERI’s 2007 Ocean Environment Lecture Series.

According to Steneck, Maine leads New England in the total value of its marine resources, but over 70 percent of that value comes from one species, the American lobster.

The Gulf of Maine was once dominated by large predatory groundfish such as Atlantic cod. However, overharvesting of cod and other groundfish has led to a population explosion of lobsters, crabs, sea urchins and other prey species.

Steneck says this shift in species dominancy has been accelerating in recent decades. Such instability is difficult to manage and may be a bellwether for changes to come in other more diverse ecosystems under similar fishing pressure.

In Steneck’s opinion, resource managers must find a way to restore the natural balance of the region’s predator and prey species in order to avoid a potential crisis.

Steneck has been a professor of marine sciences at the University of Maine since 1996. He also serves as a research collaborator at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C.

His studies focus on ecological processes in the benthic environment, specifically the “food webs, structure and dominant organisms of coastal marine communities.”

At 6 p.m., a reception and art opening will be held in the MERI Ocean Art Gallery featuring paintings by Elizabeth Sawyer of Blue Hill and Michie O’Day of Stonington and photographs by Marty Harris of Blue Hill.

All works on exhibit are for sale, and a portion of the proceeds will go toward MERI research and education programs.

For information on the lecture or MERI programs, call 374-2135, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit meriresearch.org online.