An international group of scientists has laid out an ambitious global conservation plan for parasites. A related paper led by the University of Washington found that responses of parasites to environmental change are likely to be complex, and that a changing world probably will see both outbreaks of some parasites and a total loss of other parasite species.

Melina Wettstein, an undergraduate at the University of Washington, is pursuing a double major in marine biology and math. After she graduates, Melina plans to pursue a career as a researcher—something she has already made strides toward by publishing her research in the College of the Environment’s undergraduate journal, FieldNotes. She is also an exuberant artist, expressing her creativity through a love of painting and drawing. 

In their most recent book, Sarah Converse (unit leader, USGS Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and UW associate professor in Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and Environmental and Forest Sciences) and her co-editors explore how managers can use a structured decision making approach to aid in solving natural resource problems.

The UW Center for Latino Health has recognized 32 UW Latinx faculty for scholarly achievements, including Jacqueline Padilla-Gamiño, assistant professor at the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and instructor for Marine Biology, who has been honored for the second year in a row. This annual event honors the scholarly achievements of Latina and Latino faculty across the three campuses of the University of Washington.

In times of extreme duress, a shining beacon of hope can come from communities working together to support one another. The University of Washington Medical Center, in preparation for an influx of patients in the coming weeks, recently put out a call for medical supplies. Researchers from around the College of the Environment answered that call, realizing that much of what the Medical Center needed were common items found in research labs, and quickly mobilized to collect donations and drop them off at UW Surplus.

The next time you eat sashimi, nigiri or other forms of raw fish, consider doing a quick check for worms. A new study led by the University of Washington finds dramatic increases in the abundance of a worm that can be transmitted to humans who eat raw or undercooked seafood. Its 283-fold increase in abundance since the 1970s could have implications for the health of humans and marine mammals, which both can inadvertently eat the worm.

Any old fish can swim. But what fish can walk, scoot, clamber over rocks, change color or pattern and even fight? That would be the frogfish. The latest book by Ted Pietsch, UW professor emeritus of aquatic and fishery sciences, explores the lives and habits of these unusual marine shorefishes. “Frogfishes: Biodiversity, Zoogeography, and Behavioral Ecology” was published in March by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Meet Delaney Lawson who spent a quarter on the Caribbean island of South Caicos as part of a study abroad experience with the School for Field Studies.

 
Katie Hearther is a double major in both Marine Biology and Oceanography here at the University of Washington as well as a minor in Arctic Studies. She sat down with us to discuss her trajectory as a student, internship opportunities, and advice for prospective and current students interested in the marine sciences.
Why Marine Biology and what drew you to the marine science programs here at the University of Washington?