Claire Enterline
Research Associate and Program Manager
Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Ph.D. Candidate, Marine Science
University of Maine
Friday, October 16, 2026, 3:10pm
Chase 105
Abstract
Nearshore marine ecosystems are changing rapidly as rising temperatures, sea-level rise, and shifts in precipitation and nutrient inputs alter the physical and biological conditions that support coastal habitats and species. Across the Gulf of Maine, these changes are contributing to the loss and transformation of intertidal and shallow habitats, such as salt marshes and eelgrass meadows, as well as changes in the distribution and habitat use of marine species.
This presentation will highlight ongoing projects examining the impacts of climate change on nearshore marine habitats and how species are using them.
To understand changes in salt marsh and eelgrass along the Maine coast, machine learning methods—including random forest and convolutional neural networks—are being used with satellite imagery and Google AlphaEarth embeddings to create annual maps of habitat extent and quantify changes over time. These annual habitat maps are then combined with environmental data using generalized additive models to identify physical thresholds, such as temperature, nutrient inputs, and sea level, associated with habitat persistence and decline.
To understand changes in marine species’ habitat use, we are examining how shifts in American lobster distribution and habitat use relate to environmental regime shifts, predator abundance, and habitat availability. High-resolution multibeam bathymetry is being used to develop regionally tuned geomorphological layers that identify biologically important seafloor features across diverse environments of the Northeast shelf. These geoform data are combined with sediment and environmental information to examine changes in lobster habitat use and survey catchability using generalized additive models and spatial distribution models.
Together, these approaches provide case studies of where nearshore habitats are changing, how species are responding to those changes, and what they mean for ecosystem dynamics and future monitoring. Integrating remote sensing, high-resolution habitat mapping, and statistical modeling provides a framework for detecting and understanding ecosystem responses to continued climate change.
Bio
Claire is a marine ecologist and program manager at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Maine. She studies climate impacts on marine ecosystems through statistical modeling and assessment of nearshore habitats and species. Her research integrates fisheries and habitat monitoring data with innovative modeling approaches to understand changing environmental conditions, habitat use, and ecosystem resilience. Her work has included characterizing the marine benthic environment of the Gulf of Maine, assessing blue carbon stocks, developing approaches for coastal habitat restoration, and evaluating climate impacts on fisheries and marine species. Claire also manages FishSCORE2030, a United Nations Ocean Decade Programme focused on advancing climate resilience in fisheries.
