"> UPDATE, Oct. 11, 2024 Although the newest calf in L pod has not yet been declared missing or deceased by the Center for Whale Research, it is hard to imagine a good outcome from the description by CWR’s field biologist Mark Malleson, who observed K and L pods on Oct. 5 at Swiftsure Bank near […]
September 20, 2024
"> Publish or perish the thought: Orcas, seals, and a curious scientist
In 2022, more than three million scientific papers were published in about thirty thousand journals. This represented something like a 9% increase over the year before, and a 47% increase since 2016. “Academic publishing has a problem,” wrote Mark A. Hanson, the biologist at the University of Exeter who compiled these figures. “The last few […]
September 19, 2024
"> Film exploring collaborative approach to natural resource conflict to debut October 17
From the University of Washington Tacoma’s Puget Sound institute and TVW comes the film “Finding Common Ground: Collaborative Leadership in Washington State.” Intense conflicts over natural resources — from fish to timber wars — often grab the headlines, but what happens after the dust settles? How do you overcome divisions and move forward with fair and […]
September 16, 2024
"> Modeling climate resilience in coastal communities
Puget Sound Institute research scientist Caitlin Magel is Co-PI on a collaboration with Washington Sea Grant to support the Willapa-Grays Harbor Estuary Collaborative (WGHEC). The project receives $599,533 over 3 years (2024-2027) with funding from NOAA’s Climate and Fisheries Adaptation (CAFA) program. Magel will co-develop a qualitative network model to support scenario planning, management strategies, and adaptation pathways […]
September 6, 2024
"> October 1 roundtable will explore how genomics are being used to predict Chinook Salmon responses to climate change
Co-hosted with Fisheries & Oceans Canada The Salish Sea Science Roundtable speaker series continues on Tuesday, October 1 from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Climate change is considered a leading threat to the future sustainability of salmon populations. Salmon can respond to short term climate events using behavioral or physiological means, but long term adaptation to warming […]
August 14, 2024
"> Gauging threats to kelp and eelgrass
The Puget Sound Institute and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are leading a spatially explicit risk assessment of the current and future threats to eelgrass and floating kelp habitats in Puget Sound. The findings can be used to evaluate the distribution of burdens associated with habitat risk and inform management actions. As part […]
July 31, 2024
"> Photo essay: Rebirth of an estuary
More than 90 percent of Puget Sound’s tidal wetlands have been lost to development. These rare estuaries, where tidal flows mix with outputs from local rivers, are critical to the early life stages of Chinook and other salmon. A restoration project near Port Susan Bay at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River is bringing back […]
July 16, 2024
"> September 3 roundtable will share sea level rise resiliency tools
The Salish Sea Science Roundtable speaker series continues on Tuesday, September 3 from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Washington Sea Grant works collaboratively with local communities and agency partners to assess and address coastal hazards. WSG staff Ian Miller and Sydney Fishman will share several examples of WSG’s sea level rise resiliency work. Highlighted projects will include […]
July 5, 2024
"> Southern resident orca numbers decline during census year; Bigg’s orcas continue to expand
Although the official census report won’t be submitted for a couple months, at least two southern resident killer whales have died over the past year, with one of them being a little more than a month old. This unnamed, deceased baby, designated J60, was the only new birth reported among the endangered orca population in […]
June 28, 2024
"> All killer whales will remain one species — for now, according to marine mammal committee
A formal proposal to designate resident and Bigg’s killer whales as separate species has been rejected by a committee widely recognized as the authority in naming new marine mammal species. The proposal for new orca species, put forth by a team of geneticists and marine mammal biologists, was based on the distinct genetic, physical and […]