[event]: Seattle Aquarium Nighttime Beach Walks (Alki Beach, Seattle, 12/2, 1/28)

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courtesy of on of our fabulous MB minors who volunteers as a Beach Naturalist with the Seattle Aquarium:

Seattle Aquarium
Nighttime low-tide walk at Constellation Park (South Alki) in West Seattle. Hosted by the Seattle Aquarium’s Beach Naturalists.

The Seattle Aquarium Beach Naturalists are hosting two special nighttime low tide beach walks this Winter, and I thought it might be of interest to the Marine Biology club, or you might be interested in noting it on the blog.

As low tides shift later in the day during wintertime, intertidal critters are able to be more active and rare nocturnal organisms often make special appearances. These beach walks are a super fun and unique experience!
To those interested— these events are completely free, all you need to bring is your curiosity! And, of course, very warm clothing and preferably water-tight shoes. Headlamps are very useful, but not necessary. Tons of excited and knowledgable Beach Naturalists will be on the beach to help ID creatures, and answer questions, and explore the intertidal.
Dates:
Saturday, December 2, 2017 from 8-10pm (-2.14 ft tide!)
Sunday, January 28, 2018 from 7-9pm (-1.65 ft tide)
Location:
Constellation Park/ South Alki Beach
63rd Ave SW and Beach Dr. SW

Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at UW now accepting applications (summer 2018)

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from: uwconservationscholars.org

IS PROTECTING THE NATURAL WORLD YOUR JOB? COULD IT BE?

The Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at the University of Washington is a multi-summer, undergraduate experiential learning experience that explores conservation across climate, water, food and ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. DDCSP@UW supports emerging conservation leaders to develop unique perspectives and skill sets by drawing connections between conservation, individual and community identities, biodiversity and environmental justice.

Interested in applying?

DDCSP@UW is designed for students who want to pursue their passion for biodiversity conservation, environmental justice and are at the beginning of their studies at a four-year college or university. Students from two-year colleges will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Applicants do not necessarily need to be natural science-oriented. In fact, we are looking for a broad mix of students from any and all majors with varying interests, skills and perspectives who  demonstrate a commitment to the environment, equity and are curious, creative and enthusiastic!

Apply here beginning November 15, 2017! Applications will be accepted until February 5, 2018.

Want to learn more? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions or contact us at ddcsp@uw.edu. 

[winter course] OCEAN 450: Climatic Extremes

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note that this course – if taken in winter 2018 only – will be applied to the ‘Oceanography Elective’ requirement of the Marine Biology Minor. We are expanding our normal elective list due to shortfall in biological oceanography courses this academic year.

Climatic Extremes Oceanography 450

Winter Quarter, 2017­   SLN:18580
4 credits     M, W, Th, F at 2:30 to 3:20
also offered as Honors 221D:   5 credits    SLN:15431
Room 425 Ocean ​Science Building

Class Web Page: https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1114052/files

Instructors: Paul Quay (pdquay@uw.edu): Paul Johnson (johnson@ocean.washington.edu)

Course Content:   

To better understand the key factors that control the earth’s present and future climate, this course examines episodes in the earth’s past when extreme climate conditions existed. Dramatic changes in the earth’s climate have resulted from natural variations in solar insolation, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, rates and pathways of ocean circulation, plate tectonics, and the evolution of vascular plants and, in modern times, the burning of fossil fuels. The impact of these factors on climate through interactions between the atmosphere, oceans and land will be evaluated.

The processes that produced past climate changes will be discussed primarily as a framework to evaluate modern and future climate change resulting from human activity.

The class will utilize lectures, in-class problem solving, discussion of scientific papers and weekly homeworks to learn the material on both a qualitative and quantitative level.  Students are expected to have had sufficient science-based coursework to feel comfortable solving quantitative in-class and homework problems using basic algebra and using the spreadsheet program Excel.  Honors students will work as multi-student teams on separate projects to quantify the impact of human CO2 emissions on local and regional climate change.

[winter course]: FISH 101: Water and Society

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FISH 101 can not be used for requirements of the Marine Biology minor, but students are still encouraged to take this course to explore the intersection of water, aquatic life and humans.

FISH 101: Water and Society
Timothy Walsworth
Winter 2018
MWF 9:30-10:20, plus quiz (times vary)

Freshwater is…

  • The oil of the 21st century.
  • Breeding ground for human diseases.
  • Losing biological diversity.
  • A reason to launch a war?
  • Essential for life.

[winter course]: FISH 437: Fisheries Oceanography

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FSH 437: Fisheries Oceanography can fulfill the ‘Aquatic & Fishery Sciences elective’ requirement of the Marine Biology Minor.

FISH 437: Fisheries Oceanography
Winter, 2018
MWF: 9:30-10:20 AM, FSH 213

How does the environment impact abundance and distribution of early life stage fish and macro-invertebrate species?

[Tide Bites]: Edward Sylvester Morse, 1838-1925 Part of his Legacy: a Shared Japan/U.S. Scholar Exchange Program at FHL

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This article comes from “Tide Bites”, the monthly newsletter of UW Friday Harbor Laboratories. Morse, M. Patricia (2017, November). Edward Sylvester Morse, 1838-1925
Part of his Legacy: a Shared Japan/U.S. Scholar Exchange Program at FHL. Retrieved from http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/tidebites/Vol51/index.html. [link to original article]. Start planning now to attend spring quarter at Friday Harbor Labs by contacting the Marine Biology Adviser.

Edward Sylvester Morse, 1838-1925
Part of his Legacy: a Shared Japan/U.S. Scholar Exchange Program at FHL

by M. Patricia Morse, Ph.D.
UW Professor of Biology (retired), Friday Harbor Laboratories

Edward Sylvester Morse (1838-1925) was a greatly admired scientist and educator both in the United States and Japan. In the limited time he spent in Japan (1877-1883), one of the most important things E.S. Morse did was establish the first marine laboratory in the Pacific at Enoshima in 1877. Morse engaged in active research on Brachiopods, and his correspondence with Charles Darwin (seen at the University of Tokyo’s Archeology Museum) indicated the mutual respect they had for each other. In the U.S., Harvard University welcomed Professor Louis Agassiz from Switzerland, who Morse was invited to work with and was involved in the establishment of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. In addition, Morse participated with Agassiz in teaching about – and exposing high school teachers to – natural history at the Penikese Islands off Cape Cod, which was the forerunner to the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory.

An amazing writer and illustrator, Morse left a legacy of experience by writing textbooks on zoology, making observations on a “day by day” basis in Japan, and discovering, dating and cataloging Japanese pottery. The history of Edward Sylvester Morse and his activities in Japan have received continuous loyal support: there is a Morse Society in Enoshima, and a conservationist group has preserved the site in Omori where Morse found the historic kitchen midden, as well as encouraging educational activities in the schools.

ES Morse Placard
Patricia Morse
Edward Sylvester Morse plaque in Enoshima, with added words by Trish Morse which were dedicated in 2016 while she and Billie Swalla visited the site.

The development of a new Natural History discipline in Japan and the U.S. in the late 19th century saw Morse’s new marine lab at Enoshima followed by establishment of the Misaki Marine Biological Station (MMBS) in Japan (1886), the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA (1888), and the Puget Sound Marine Station (now UW Friday Harbor Labs) in Washington (1904). The first Director of the MBL in Woods Hole was Charles O. Whitman, who E.S. Morse had named to replace himself as Professor of Zoology at Imperial University from 1880-81. Morse and Whitman had many Japanese students that they sent to various universities in the U.S. and other countries, while Japanese marine scientists were welcoming researchers from other countries to study natural history in their rich waters. A similar exchange hub developed at FHL, with a focus on marine zoology. Exchange visits among senior scientists – for example, Professors Arthur and Helen Whiteley to the laboratory of Professor Motonori Hoshi – were the beginning of an ever-widening exchange with post-doctoral students and others continuing to pursue marine studies in molecular aspects of development, particularly genomic studies.

[read the full article here]

[seminar]: Modeling the Distribution and Abundance of Ice-Associated Seals in the Arctic

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Modeling the Distribution and Abundance of Ice-Associated Seals in the Arctic

Paul B. Conn
Research Statistician
Marine Mammal Laboratory, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA, USA

Affiliate Associate Professor
School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Thursday, November 2, 2017 4:00 PM
Fishery Sciences Building, Room 102
info session for undergraduate academic programs related to marine & aquatic sciences hosted upstairs in FSH 203 from 3:00 – 4:00 pm

Abstract: Negative trends in seasonal Arctic sea-ice extent have prompted concern for the viability of ice-associated marine mammals.  For instance, bearded, ribbon, spotted, and ringed seals all depend on sea ice for molting, pupping, and rest; concerns about declining habitat have played prominently in recent listing decisions under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.  To better understand the distribution and abundance of these species, NOAA scientists, in cooperation with Russian counterparts, have recently conducted wide ranging aerial surveys in the Bering, Chukchi, and Okhotsk Seas.  These surveys use infrared technology to detect heat signatures of seals basking on ice, and coordinated digital photographs to provide information on species identity.  Counts from these surveys provide information on distribution and abundance, provided that information on the detection process is taken into account (e.g. species misclassification, detection probability of the sensors, corrections for animals that are in the water).  In this talk, I summarize recent research in estimation of abundance and distribution of ice-associated seals using these, and other (e.g. satellite tagging), data.  Importantly, statistical modeling must take into account the spatial shifts in distributions that occur when surveys are conducted over long periods.

Bio: Paul holds a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Grinnell College, a Master’s degree in biomathematics from North Carolina State University, and a PhD in wildlife biology from Colorado

Sustainability Game Jam (11/11-12)

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Passionate about the environment? Like games and want to try making one? The Sustainability Game Jam Nov 11-12 is for you!

What’s a game jam? It’s a weekend event where participants design a game around a theme – this jam will focus on creating games (using any format) that educate, inform, and promote sustainability. Participants can be assigned to a team or create and register their own team. All backgrounds and skill levels are welcome at this free event! Our vision is an accessible event that allows people to work together, have fun, and be creative while helping the planet and ourselves.

And thanks to sponsors, we can provide food for registered participants and prizes ($250,$150,$50+People’s Choice) for top game designs. Check out the website for this and other event information, including “How It Works”, schedule, judging/awards, and registration.

This event is not limited to the UW community, so feel free to also share broadly or forward to others that might be interested! We’ve attached a flyer and a short URL for sharing on social media: tinyurl.com/ydgvtvda

Lauren Kuehne and Will Chen

*For more information about this project (funded by the UW Campus Sustainability Fund) you can check out the CSF project information page https://csf.uw.edu/project/709. Or you can contact lkuehne@uw.edu with any questions about this project or survey.

Marine and Aquatic Sciences Info Session

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You are invited to:

Autumn 2017 Marine/Aquatic Science Programs Info Session

3:00 – 4:00 pm
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Fishery Sciences (FSH) Room 203

Join the academic advisers for Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, Oceanography and Marine Biology for an informational session about courses, majors and minors related to marine and aquatic science. This includes the study of life in all aquatic environments, ocean engineering, conservation of marine resources, and impacts of global climate change. Light refreshments will be provided.

Stay after the info session for the weekly guest speaker at the School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences. The guest speaker this week NOAA Marine Mammal Lab Research Statistician Paul Conn talking about using aerial surveys to track populations of ‘ice-associated seals’ in the Arctic.

SAFS weekly guest speaker
4:00 – 5:00 pm
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Fishery Sciences (FSH) Room 102 (Auditorium)

RSVP at: tinyurl.com/uwmarsci2017

[seminar]: Monitoring population changes in aquatic ecosystems: a Marine Renewable Energy example

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John Horne

Monitoring population changes in aquatic ecosystems: a Marine Renewable Energy example

John Horne
Professor, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences
University of Washington, WA, USA

Thursday, October 26, 2017 4:00 PM
Fishery Sciences Building, Room 102
no open advising this week; e-mail marbiol@uw.edu to schedule an appointment

Abstract: Establishing procedures to identify, characterize, and forecast biological change is an ongoing challenge for both regulators and developers of marine renewable energy (MRE) projects and environmental monitoring in general. Currently, there are no standard procedures, technologies, sample variables, analytic techniques, or reporting requirements for wave or tidal environmental monitoring plans in North America or Europe. There is a need to assess baseline conditions and to monitor operations to detect when indicator values exceed regulatory thresholds. I will present an approach that integrates survey design; quantifies thresholds of change; defines, detects, models, and forecasts change in monitored variables; and uses software for real-time, operational monitoring of a domain. For the MRE industry, a standard monitoring approach will expedite project licensing, improve detection of environmental impacts, and enable comparison of conditions among MRE sites. The approach is applicable to any monitoring program that uses biological or physical indicator data.

Bio: John Horne’s research efforts investigate how distributions and interactions of aquatic animals influence ecosystem function and resource management. Current projects range from the Southern Ocean, to the Oregon coast, Gulf of Alaska, and the Chukchi Sea. Exposure to the Marine Renewable Energy community stimulated work on developing tools and techniques for environmental monitoring.