Front Page Featured Items Archive | Puget Sound Institute

July 6, 2026

A person wearing a Tyvek suit and orange vest standing on a beach next to two full garbage bags. Water, land, and blue sky in the distance

Around the Sound: Scientists hold workshop to discuss threat of avian influenza

By Eric Wagner A few weeks ago, biologists with the Australian Antarctic Program published a study on bioRxiv, a preprint service that allows scientists to share their work before it has been peer-reviewed. The study was titled, “Mass mortality of southern elephant seals during multi-species outbreak of HPAI H5N1 on sub-Antarctic Heard Island.” In it, the […]

Blog Post

June 26, 2026

Waterfront view of Puget Sound with snow-capped Olympic Mountains in distance and residential shoreline in foreground

How Puget Sound became a proving ground for environmental social science

Environmental social science is the study of how people and ecosystems shape each other. Often seen as useful but rarely as essential, it has long played a supporting role in ecosystem recovery. A new introduction to a special issue of Coastal Management, written by Sara Jo Breslow and thirteen co-authors, argues that this position is […]

Research

June 23, 2026

Juvenile salmon are released from a net into a tank.

June 30 roundtable explores hatchery effects on trait variation in Pacific salmon

The Salish Sea Science Roundtable online speaker series continues on Tuesday, June 30 from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Enhancement of Pacific salmon stocks through the use of hatchery production is one approach to support vulnerable stocks and harvest. Integrated hatcheries support these goals by adding artificial spawning habitat to natural habitats, which produces elevated egg-to-release survival […]

Events

May 15, 2026

A collage of images from the Seabirds Live! event

Seabirds, science, and a packed house

Thanks to all who attended Seabirds Live! on May 13th at the University of Washington Tacoma. We are grateful to Eric Wagner, Peter Hodum, and Jeff Rice for such a memorable evening — and to our sponsors: University of Washington Tacoma, University of Puget Sound, University of Washington Press, and King’s Books in Tacoma. The event featured […]

Events

May 6, 2026

Collage of photos showing students at Friday Harbor Labs.

Summer internships immerse students in marine science research at Friday Harbor Labs

Researchers from all over the world come together at the University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories to ask and study questions about marine science and engineering. This summer, two UW Tacoma undergraduates will join them as part of a full immersion research experience that offers one-to-one guidance from marine scientists. The internship

Blog Post

March 24, 2026

Seabirds Live! A conversation with author Eric Wagner on May 13

What can one of the world’s largest gatherings of rhinoceros auklets tell us about the health of the Salish Sea? Get the inside scoop on the remote and often enigmatic seabirds of Protection and Destruction Islands. Author Eric Wagner will be on stage with seabird biologist Peter Hodum for a live conversation on May 13 […]

Events

March 23, 2026

Puget Sound shoreline viewed from Chambers Creek WWTP site, with freight train passing in foreground.

Out of sight, back to the Sound

Tucked along the shoreline of Commencement Bay, the Chambers Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant is one of dozens of wastewater treatment plants that discharge directly into Puget Sound. It serves more than 320,000 people — roughly a third of Pierce County’s population — in an area that includes Tacoma, Lakewood, University Place, and surrounding communities, processing […]

Blog Post

March 17, 2026

A pod of orcas swimming in Puget Sound with the Seattle skyline in the background.

Nature assessment describes both peril and promise, as humans relate to the natural world

The past, present and future of natural conditions in the United States are described in a new report, which has traveled a bumpy road to its current draft form, now out for public review and comment. “The Nature Record,” originally titled the “National Nature Assessment,” was launched in 2022 as a government project — the […]

Blog Post

March 16, 2026

Seabirds as Sentinels book cover showing the title and two rhinoceros auklets.

Seabirds as Sentinels: Auklets, Puffins, Shearwaters, and the View from Destruction Island

Our staff writer Eric Wagner’s new book, Seabirds as Sentinels, is out this month and features writing inspired by some of his reporting for our magazine, Salish Sea Currents. The book, published by the University of Washington Press, follows a team of scientists who have spent more than a decade studying the remote seabirds of […]

Research

February 19, 2026

Six container ships are anchored close to each other in the Salish Sea.

March 10 roundtable digs into the impacts of commercial anchoring in British Columbia

The Salish Sea Science Roundtable online speaker series continues on Tuesday, March 10 from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Anchoring of commercial vessels can have a range of social, cultural, ecological, and physical impacts in coastal marine systems. Using a combination of spatial data, field observations, and vessel activity records, Dr. Fiona Francis (Fisheries and Oceans Canada; […]

Events

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