World Penguin Day is the perfect excuse to celebrate some of the coolest birds on the planet—and we want you to be part of it! From their awkward waddles on land to their incredible swimming skills in the ocean, penguins capture hearts while also reminding us how important it is to protect our planet. Join us in celebrating by learning […]
In honor of the upcoming holiday of World Penguin Day, let’s meet the latest graduate student in the Abrahms Lab studying penguins — Meredith Honig! What inspired you to pursue graduate studies in ecology?I have always enjoyed spending time outside and been curious about the living things around me. Growing up, my interest in animals and the outdoors led me
Dr. Dee Boersma’s Video Storytelling class (BIOL 305) would like to invite everyone to the open screening of their final projects on Wednesday, June 10th from 10:30-12:20 in GWN 301. Watch student-made short films about climate change, wildlife, ecology, scientific research, and much more! The students have been working hard all quarter, creating PSAs and short documentaries to gain skills
Written by Dr. Katie Holt and Sofia Denkovski Finishing the season with a full house We had a full house when Katie Holt arrived at Punta Tombo on February 8th, but we fit everyone! For one week, Chloe, Sofia, Anna, Katie, Sonia de Berry, and Dee Boersma all stayed and worked under one roof. Katie’s arrival was just past the
Full Title: Warming temperatures increase close encounters between two top predator species via changes in spatial behaviour Animals need to adjust to changing environments to survive, and these changes can affect whole populations and ecosystems. However, it’s not well understood how climate-driven changes in behavior influence interactions between different top predators. To study this, researchers looked at large African predators,
Abbreviated abstract: Animal movements are a fundamental process affecting communities and ecosystems. Quantifying habitat selection across species and habitats is key for understanding how animals respond to environmental change. Currently, we lack comparative studies that examine how habitat selection varies across species traits and landscapes. We aim to quantify global patterns of habitat selection to help understand the fundamental drivers
Paper highlights: Social information enables organisms, from whales to bacteria, to expand their sensory capacity beyond that of a single individual. Understanding why such collective sensing evolves requires evaluating the ecological costs and benefits of using and producing social information. The value of social information for an individual consumer depends on how the resource varies in space, time, and abundance.
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
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
