WALPOLE, Maine (AP) _ A scientist with the University of Maine says the size of the population of sea scallops plays an important role in their ability to reproduce.
Skylar Bayer is a scientist with the university's Darling Marine Center in Walpole. Her research about scallop reproduction was published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series this summer.
Scallops spawn by releasing sperm and eggs into the water that meet and produce new scallops. It's called ``broadcast spawning.'' Bayer says sperm and egg cells can be quickly lost in the water current before they meet. That's why proximity between scallops is important to their reproductive success.
Bayer appeared on The Colbert Report in 2013. The appearance concerned two buckets of scallop guts that went missing during a research project she was involved in.