WALPOLE — Michelle Staudinger, associate professor of fisheries science, is leading a new study at the University of Maine to find out whether lobsters are being consumed by a long-known fish predator, cunner, in a new way. 

These small, vibrant fish, often associated with rocky habitats, are native to the Gulf of Maine. They are known to eat young lobster in the benthic stage, as well as small clams and snails.

Increasingly, the Maine Department of Marine Resources and commercial lobstermen are finding cunner caught in their traps. Staudinger said the lobstermen have shared photos of cunner with lobster eggs in their mouths and are concerned it’s impacting the fishery. 

The National Geographic Society awarded Staudinger with one of 20 grants to study keystone species in the U.S., in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Selected projects, including Staudinger’s lobster research, are receiving funding, equipment and other support to advance innovative solutions to contemporary conservation challenges.

Lobster and cunner have coexisted for a long time, but this would be a new behavior and new dynamic within the rocky substrate where they reside.

Cunners are unique in that they have tiny teeth throughout their jawline, which helps them capture food from rocky surfaces. They use their teeth to crush shells and other food, making it hard to recover evidence. Because of this, Staudinger said her research team will be studying the contents of cunners’ stomachs using environmental DNA. 

While shifts in community composition, distribution and timing of occurrence are all well known ecological responses to environmental change, Staudinger said researchers have a poor understanding of how these responses affect predator-prey and competitive interactions among species.

“We don't know if this behavior has been happening and gone unnoticed or if there is an environmental factor causing it to happen now,” she said. “We would like to gather evidence to determine how widespread it is happening, and the best way to do that is to work with the fishermen who are on the water every day and see them in their traps.”

If fishermen or other stakeholders find cunner with lobster eggs in their mouths, the Staudinger Lab is asking they use the provided QR code to share photos and information or send photos to 508-348-9039 or cunner.maine@gmail.com with the date the fish was captured and its location. More information is available on the lab’s website.

UMaine News recently spoke with Staudinger about what to expect from this upcoming research. Read the full Q&A online.

As Maine’s only public research university and a Carnegie R1 top-tier research institution, the University of Maine advances learning and discovery through excellence and innovation. Founded in 1865 in Orono, UMaine is the state’s land, sea and space grant university with a regional campus at the University of Maine at Machias. Our students come from all over the world and work with faculty conducting fieldwork around the globe — from the North Atlantic to the Antarctic. Located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation with UMaine Machias located in the homeland of the Passamaquoddy Nation, UMaine’s statewide mission is to foster an environment that creates tomorrow’s leaders. As the state’s flagship institution, UMaine offers nearly 200 degree programs through which students can earn bachelor’s, master’s, professional master’s and doctoral degrees as well as graduate certificates. For more information about UMaine and UMaine Machias, visit umaine.edu/about/quick-facts/ and machias.edu/about-umm/umm-facts/.