2025 Research Roundup
We’ve published a lot this year! Here’s a round up of what we wrote in 2025:
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Field updates: Argentina, October-November 2025
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
Expedition Cruise to Baffin Island: September 1-18, 2026
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
Field updates: Botswana, August-October 2025
Written by Dr. Kasim Rafiq and graduate student Marie-Pier Poulin of the Abrahms LabAll research and photographs are done in compliance with IACUC-approved protocols, and have been permitted through the appropriate permits. Over the past few months, we have been busy collecting data on African carnivores at Dog Camp, the Botswana-based bush camp of our long-term collaborators Wild Entrust’s Botswana
Dr. Sue Moore and Dr. Jennifer Tennessen attend One Ocean Week Seattle
Dr. Sue Moore and Dr. Jennifer Tennessen attended One Ocean Week Seattle. This event is a region-wide, international gathering of ocean leaders, innovators, researchers, startups, policymakers, artists, educators, and communities to accelerate solutions for a sustainable, inclusive maritime future. Dr. Moore was a panelist on the “Coast to Coast Collaboration in Research” session held onboard the Statsraad Lehmkuh Tallship. She
Dr. Dee Boersma signs AAAS’s Book of Members
On October 11, 2025 Dr. Dee Boersma finally signed the AAAS’s Book of Members during the 2025 induction ceremony. Congratulations Dee! Dee was officially inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2021. Dee couldn’t make the 2021 induction ceremony due to COVID, and field work trips kept her from attending a ceremony after 2021.
Field Updates: Galápagos, Summer 2025
Dr. Dee Boersma, Dr. Sue Moore, and Dr. Caroline Cappello were in the Galápagos from July 25 – August 3 to survey the penguins on the islands. They were able to measure 36 of them—16 more than last year! Measuring penguins is an essential part of our project, which is maintaining continuity with our decades-long dataset on the species. Dr. Boersma began studying
Field updates: Botswana, June – July 2025
Post written by Marie-Pier Poulin Graduate student Marie-Pier Poulin scans for animal tracking collars in the Okavango Delta. Photo credit: Leigh West In mid-June, PhD candidate Leigh West, postdoctoral researcher Dr. Kasim Rafiq, and graduate student Marie-Pier Poulin arrived at Dog Camp, the Botswana-based bush camp of our long-term collaborators Wild Entrust’s Botswana Predator Conservation. Over the past month, we
Meet Dr. Katie Holt
Welcome to the next installment of Meet CES, where we get to meet the people behind the Center for Ecosystem Sentinels. Next up is Dr. Katie Holt, who just earned her PhD at the University of Washington! Katie’s been with the Boersma Lab since October 2015, when she was hired to replace Caroline Cappello as Lab Coordinator. She started graduate
Dr. Wagner’s latest essay featured in Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Dr. Wagner‘s newest essay, Coming into the colony, was published in the Encyclopedia of Puget Sound on July 17 2025. Here’s a snippet of the introduction: Gulls are perhaps our most familiar seabird. Pick a seashore or even an occasional landfill, and you are likely to see at least a few. But casual sightings don’t always paint a true picture
Dr. Jennifer Tennessen collaborator in report about Southern Resident Killer Whales
The report Strengthening recovery actions for southern resident killer whales was born out of the SRKW workshop Dr. Tennessen attended last spring. The recommendations in the report were developed by a panel of killer whale, salmon, and conservation scientists. The three main recommendations include: They also list 12 key research gaps that will guide effective conservation action. The full report
World Seabird Day 2025
It’s time to highlight our favorite type of bird – seabirds! Here are some of our favorite videos about seabirds, and our latest research. 🦅 Seabirds need our help! Donate to SANCCOB today and help protect seabirds, especially the quickly declining African penguin: https://sanccob.co.za/ Student: Samantha-Lynn MartinesQuarter: Spring 2023 Not all seabirds are the same 🏖️ Learn more about different
World Ocean Day 2025
World Ocean Day 2025 is year two in a multi-year action theme: Catalyzing Action for Our Ocean & Climate. Many students from Dee’s Video Storytelling class have been inspired by the ocean and featured them in their videos. Favorite ocean-themed videos 🌊Our global mean sea level has been rising as far back as the 19th century. Sea level rise impacts
Happy World Penguin Day!
In honor of our favorite type of bird, we’ve released some of our favorite videos from Dee’s Spring 2025 Video Storytelling class! Be sure to browse our Youtube channel for even more penguin goodness 🙂 World Penguin Day is April 25. What better way to celebrate by visiting your local zoo, like the Humboldt penguin exhibit at the Woodland Park
Biology Open House 2025
The UW Department of Biology is hosting a day of science and you’re invited! Families and science enthusiasts of all ages are welcome. Our department is a large, collaborative, and integrative department – meaning our research and teaching spans from cellular and molecular biology to global climate change to paleontology to plant biology. UW Biology is among the largest undergraduate