Every year our field workers observe juvenile penguins returning to shore for their first molt. In honor of this momentous time in a penguin’s life, we are bringing to you Fat Penguins Week! In late austral summer and early austral fall, Magellanic penguins undergo their annual catastrophic molt. For approximately 19 days, juvenile and adult penguins avoid the water and […]
Fat Penguin Week 2026 All week we’ve reviewed the candidates. One penguin stood out… mostly because it’s round. The winner of our first annual Fat Penguins Week is Tractor!! Thank you to everyone who took part in our Fat Penguins Week. We hope you enjoy participating as much as we had fun preparing it 🐧 We’d also like to thank
While we are known for our penguin research, there is another marine sentinel that the Center holds dear: whales. In fact, Dr. Sue Moore recently received the Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Marine Mammalogy, recognizing her outstanding career and lasting contributions to marine mammal science! It’s safe to say we know a thing or two
Dr. Sue E. Moore is the 2026 recipient of the Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Marine Mammalogy, recognizing her outstanding career and lasting contributions to marine mammal science. The Society for Marine Mammalogy established the Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of the Society’s founding President Dr. Kenneth S. Norris. The award recognizes
Dr. Briana Abrahms had the privilege to give a keynote speech at the International Parliamentary Roundtable on Human-Wildlife Coexistence (HWC) in Gaborone, Botswana on January 19, 2026. The roundtable included parliamentarians from Botswana, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Romania, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and Zambia. Her presentation provided a global overview of how and why climate change is increasing
Next up in our Meet CES series is Kyra McClelland! Kyra is the newest graduate student in the Abrahms Lab. Read on to learn more about Kyra’s inspiration to become a marine biologist and a very memorable field work moment! How are you liking Seattle and the UW campus?I really love Seattle, and the UW campus is beautiful. I am
Written on January 20, 2026 by Chloe Rabinowitz; edited by Kalyna Durbak Our field work crew has been here for a while! Sofia Denkovski, Anna Testorf, and Chloe Rabinowitz arrived in Punta Tombo on January 6th, followed by Dr. Dee Boersma on the 12th. We have been getting well acquainted with all our active research nests and have been progressing
We hope that most people are aware that penguins exist (we hope!), but are you aware of each penguin species’ IUCN Red List status? Established in 1964, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant
Written by Meredith Honig and Bryn Carter The austral spring field season at Punta Tombo in 2025 wrapped up on a high note as chicks continued to grow and more juveniles and non-breeding adults started showing up in larger numbers on the beaches. This would be the first time the juveniles and non-breeding adults were back from being at sea
The Abrahms Lab has a new PhD student – Kyra McClelland! Kyra will be researching climate impacts and population-level adaptability on whooping cranes (Grus americana). Here’s a bit more about the Center’s newest member: Kyra is broadly interested in the intersection of animal behavior, habitat use, movement, and anthropogenic impacts. She is particularly interested in the dynamics between sociality in
As the year-end approaches, we would like to thank all the donors who have responded to our efforts to raise $3 million to fund critical research. Your contributions to the Center for Ecosystem Sentinel Research Fund will support our travel to Punta Tombo, all of the equipment and tags we use at Punta Tombo, and allow us to continue our
Be sure to check out Eric Wagner’s newest essay for The Last Word On Nothing called Saint Rock! Featured photo credit: Eric Wagner
Written by Dr. Eric Wagner Starting the season – stake survey and tag hunting In late October, Dr. Eric Wagner and Abrahms graduate student Meredith Honig traveled to Argentina to start the 2025-2026 field season. After getting a provisional permit from the provincial authorities, they arrived at Punta Tombo on October 29. They then spent the next two days completing
Join Dr. Dee Boersma, Dr. Sue Moore, and Dr. Nigella Hillgarth on a cruise to Baffin Island! This will be an expedition from Greenland to the Canadian Arctic and into the Northwest Passages, from September 1 – 18, 2026. Sail in the same waters as Roald Amundsen and his crew of six during their 1903-06 successful navigation of the Northwest
