CAMDEN — John Burns will lead an outdoor presentation on A Unique Partnership: The Fascinating Relationship Between the Spotted Salamander and a Green Alga, Tuesday, July 2, at 12 p.m., at Merryspring Nature Center.

Each spring, as the snow melts and the ground thaws, a remarkable event known as "Maine's Big Night" takes place around vernal pools and wetlands here in Maine and also throughout the Eastern United States. During this time, spotted salamanders emerge from their underground hibernation and migrate en masse to their breeding grounds. But they don't go it alone – their eggs are colonized by a microscopic green alga, forming a mutually beneficial relationship that is unique among animals.

Burns will explore the extraordinary nature of this partnership, which begins during Maine's Big Night and continues as the alga not only resides in the salamander egg fluid but also enters the developing salamander tissues and cells – something not known to occur in any other vertebrate animal. Burns will discuss the latest research unraveling the mysteries of how this relationship is established and maintained, and the potential implications for understanding the evolution of our own immune system.

This in-person talk is the first in the Summer Talk Series co-sponsored by Bangor Savings Bank and Camden Riverhouse Hotel. Attendance is free for members; $5 for non-members.

Merryspring is your community nature center offering walking trails, cultivated gardens, wildlife, and ecology and horticulture educational programs all year round. The park is located at the end of Conway Road, just off of Route 1 in Camden behind Hannaford Shopping Plaza. For more information on this program, please contact info@merryspring.org or call 207-236-2239.