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 […]
Full title: Perceived and observed biases within scientific communities: a case study in movement ecology From the abstract: “Although the survey indicated most conference participants as bias-aware, conversations only covered a subset of biases. We discuss potential causes of bias (parachute-science, fieldwork accessibility), solutions and the need to evaluate mitigatory action effectiveness. Undertaking data-driven analysis of bias within sub-disciplines can
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
From the abstract: “We present a framework to facilitate climate change adaptation planning by identifying where highly migratory species habitats will persist (climate refugia), emerge (bright spots), disappear (dark spots), or remain unsuitable based on model analysis by 2100. When applied to eight species in the California Current System, we found that, on average, 37% of habitats are expected to
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
It’s time to highlight our favorite type of bird – seabirds! Here are some of our favorite videos about seabirds, and our latest research. š¦ 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 šļø Learn more about different
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 šOur global mean sea level has been rising as far back as the 19th century. Sea level rise impacts
Excerpt from the abstract: Here, we examined the spatial behaviour of two sympatric large carnivore species exhibiting intense intraguild competitionālions and African wild dogsāto investigate whether intraguild competition mediates large carnivore responses to human disturbance in support of the anthropogenic refuge hypothesis. We found that lions consistently avoided human-dominated areas. Similarly, we found that wild dogs generally avoided human-dominated areas,
From the abstract: Here, as part of the UNEP CMS Expert Group on Animal Culture and Social Complexity, we first evaluate key evidence for social learning and culture in baleen whales through several case studies. We then suggest key indicators by behavioural context to assist in identifying potential cases of social learning in more elusive species generating a practical guide
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 š 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
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 ā 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
Make sure to pick up the latest copy of National Geographic and read about Dr. Dee Boersma‘s work on GalĆ”pagos penguins! Reporter Rene Ebersole traveled with Dee and recent grad Caroline Cappello last summer as they checked up on the human-built GalĆ”pagos penguin nests they built in 2010. Included in the article is a sweet photo of Dee and Caroline
Written by Dr. Eric Wagner Thanks once again to generous support from Zoo Augsburg, research scientist Dr. Eric Wagner and computer specialist Pearl Wellington traveled to Punta Tombo in early March for a couple of weeks to mark the end of the breeding season. Eric and Pearl went to deploy twenty geolocating time-depth recorder (GLD) tags to female and male
Written by Dr. Jennifer Tennessen In early March, Dr. Jennifer Tennessen participated in a 3-day expert workshop on Southern Resident killer whale biology and conservation in Vancouver, British Columbia. The workshop was motivated by the increasingly dire situation facing this endangered population of orcas, which spends a large part of the year in the inland waters around Seattle and Vancouver.
Article originally published under the title “New maps show high-risk zones for whale-ship collisions ā vessel speed limits and rerouting can reduce theĀ toll” by The Conversation and republished through the Creative Commons ā Attribution/No Derivatives license. Written by Dr. Anna Nisi. Imagine you are a blue whale swimming up the California coast, as you do every spring. You are searching
