Rate My Professor Brian Beal

Brian Beal, Professor of Marine Ecology in the Marine Sciences faculty at the University of Maine at Machias, has dedicated over four decades to advancing marine research and education in eastern Maine. He began his career at UMM in 1985 as an Environmental Education Project Assistant, progressing to Environmental Resources Coordinator in 1986, Assistant Professor from 1989 to 1997, Associate Professor from 1998 to 2002, and full Professor since 2002. Since 2011, he has directed UMM’s Marine Science Field Station at Black Duck Cove, and serves as Director of Research at the affiliated Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research and Education. Beal's academic credentials include a B.S. in Biology from UMM (1979), M.S. in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1983), and Ph.D. in Marine Bio-Resources from the University of Maine at Orono (1994). As a marine benthic ecologist, his research centers on the ecology, population biology, resource management, and mariculture of commercially vital shellfish species, including soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria), northern quahogs (Mercenaria mercenaria), sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus), blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica), Arctic surf clams (Mactromeris polynyma), green sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis), and American lobsters (Homarus americanus).

Beal pioneered practical advancements by helping establish Maine’s first fisherman-sponsored lobster hatchery in Cutler (1986) and the Beals Island Regional Shellfish Hatchery (1987), which developed into the Downeast Institute. His extensive field experiments address growth, survival, predation by green crabs, and predator-prey dynamics to support sustainable fisheries. Select publications include "Adding value to live, commercial size soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria L.) in Maine, USA: Results from repeated, small-scale, field impoundment trials" (Aquaculture, 2002), "Spatial variability in recruitment of an infaunal bivalve: experimental effects of predator exclusion on the softshell clam (Mya arenaria L.) along three tidal estuaries in southern Maine, USA" (Journal of Shellfish Research, 2018), "Interactive effects of shell hash and predator exclusion of 0-year class recruits of two infaunal intertidal bivalve species in Maine, USA" (Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2020), and "Comparative field trials to examine the efficacy of a traditional management tool ± brushing ± to enhance local densities of 0-y class recruits in the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria L. fishery in Maine, USA" (Journal of Shellfish Research, 2020). Among his honors are the Switzer Foundation Environmental Fellowship (1992-1993), Fulbright Scholarship at the National University of Ireland, Galway (2000-2001), UMM Teacher of the Year (2000), Distinguished Alumnus (2001), Trustee Professor (2004-2005), inaugural Bourne-Chew Award from the National Shellfisheries Association (2015), and inclusion in Maine Magazine's "50 Mainers We Admire and Inspire" (2019). Beal chairs the board of the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, serves on committees including the Maine Climate Council's Scientific and Technical Subcommittee, and teaches courses such as Oceanography, Marine Biology, Marine Ecology, and statistics, enhancing local economic and educational opportunities.