About 12 inches of rain fell in parts of southern Maine and seacoast New Hampshire between the 12th and 16th of May, and the sudden flow of fresh water into normally salty estuarine and marine waters will impact fish and shellfish in the region.

In today's Maine Sunday Telegram, reporter John Richardson details some of the flooding's potential effects on animals. One of his key sources is Wells Reserve research director Dr. Michele Dionne.

Michele told John that fish that had already laid eggs in estuaries — which serve as "nurseries" for many seagoing species — would be unlikely to do well after such an extreme shift in salinity.

The article also reported another key point from Michele: Rainwater washes pollutants off of roads, parking lots, and lawns and carries them into estuarine and marine systems, where they can cause harm that may be difficult to detect and trace.