A trio of recent publications feature a host of School of Marine and Environmental Affairs affiliates, and cover a wide array of topics. This is a good snapshot of the breadth of topics and material addressed through SMEA research and coursework.

Recent graduate Tressa Arbow ’19 was on a team of authors including Affiliate Professor Eddie Allison, which addressed the lagging change toward healthy and sustainable food sources. The researchers examined the funding, research and development, and subsequent consumption trends for three products: farmed tilapia, chicken, and milk. As government subsidies for agricultural research and development following the 2008 economic crisis, private funders have stepped up to the plate, which has led to advances in some sectors of agriculture, including improvements of breeding technologies for farmed tilapia and chickens. Yet the private contributions impact select areas of the food chain and supply, and will hardly yield the large-scale overhaul that is needed to improve both public health and sustainability. The work appeared in the April 2021 edition of Nature Food.

The thesis research from SMEA alum Katie Keil ’19 under the advisement of SMEA Professor Terrie Klinger on studying ocean acidification impacts on zooplankton in both laboratory and in natural settings has been published in Frontiers in Marine Science. Using the Puget Sound as the in situ locale for the comparison with more controlled laboratory research showed real differences between what was expected based on laboratory studies and what was happening in the Puget Sound. The article suggests  “important ramifications for the design of long-term monitoring programs and interpretation and use of the data produced”.

Lastly, a team of SMEA affiliates including former postdocs Emily Jacobs-Palmer and Ramón Gallego, alumna Kelly Cribari ’19, and current student Abigail Keller ’21 worked with advisement from Professor Ryan Kelly on the paper “Environmental DNA Metabarcoding for Simultaneous Monitoring and Ecological Assessment of Many Harmful Algae”. The work stemmed from Cribari’s Masters thesis project began while she studied at SMEA. Additionally, their work was supported by the Washington Ocean Acidification Center along with funding from the WA State Department of Natural Resources, and ultimately shows potentially harmful algae occurring throughout the Salish Sea. Notably, the work demonstrated that there are likely two different species of Alexandrium, which when contained in shellfish, can cause significant illness or be fatal to those who consume the shellfish. It’s particularly important to consumers that understanding where and when these harmful algae species are likely to occur. The work was published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution’s May 17, 2021 edition.