Historic Data Sets

Marine Algae and Coastal Vegetation

Rand and Redfield (1894) listed 125 species of marine algae from Mount Desert Island and adjacent waters. Denise van Hemert (1966) listed the distribution of 79 species of marine algae, including species lists for several locations on Mount Desert Island, Schoodic Peninsula, and islands in Frenchman Bay. Johnson and Skutch (1928) studied subtidal and intertidal vegetation at Otter Cliffs in the 1920s.

Climate and air quality:

Weather data have been collected daily on or near Mount Desert Island by the National Weather Service since 1893.Measurements include temperature (maximum, minimum, and current), precipitation (duration and amounts), snowfall, snowpack conditions, and notes on state of the weather (cloud, rain, fog, etc.). Wind direction and speed are included for some years. The weather station was first located on downtown Bar Harbor and operated there until roughly 1968, then it moved to the Acadia National Park Visitor Center in Hulls Cove from 1968 to 1981. In 1982 it was moved to and remains at McFarland Hill near Park Headquarters.

Lakes, streams, and hydrology:

Fuller and Cooper (1946) provided early information on hydrology. Greene et al (1992) include waterbody-specific details on lake and stream chemistry pre-1990s in Appendix 7-1. Lake specific data can be found at Lakes of Maine, which includes links to data collected by Maine DEP and the Lake Stewards of Maine. The National Water Quality Monitoring Council has an online search tool allowing access to data from USGS, EPA, NPS, and other agencies, including those from many lakes and streams in Acadia National Park.

Freshwater protists:

W. Byers Unger (1941) reported on his detailed work on protozoans in Hamilton Pond. B. W. McCashland (1956) noted 122 species of freshwater protozoans in three phyla present in 25 lakes on Mount Desert Island.

Vascular plants:

Rand and Redfield (1894) conducted a complete floristic inventory on Mount Desert Island, a culmination of 15 seasons of field work involving many botanists. Davis (1961) studied the spruce-fir forests of the coast of Maine from 1958-1960, including 6 stands in Acadia National Park. He included a description, synthesis of data collected, and qualitative observations for each stand as well as quantitative tree data. Wise (1970) conducted a 2-year (1968-1969) field inventory of Isle au Haut’s flora and notes 724 plant species on the island.

Marine invertebrates:

The Champlain Society surveyed marine invertebrates of Somes Sound in 1880. William Procter conducted a complete and detailed survey of marine invertebrates in marine waters adjacent to Mount Desert Island in the 1926-1932. He noted over 500 species in 13 phyla. The collections from his survey are stored in Acadia National Park’s collections. The specimen nomenclature was updated by Mittelhauser and Kelly (2007).

Birds:

Tyson and Bond (1941) summarized bird sightings on Mount Desert Island from 1916-1941. Bond (1958, 1971, 1975) annotated a list of breeding birds on Mount Desert Island. Drury (1973, 1974) summarized historical records of New England breeding seabirds.

Mammals:

Richardson (1971, 1972, 1973, 1977) conducted aerial inventories of harbor and gray seals in the Acadia National Park region of the coast.

Last updated: March 30, 2022

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Bar Harbor, ME 04609

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