Monterey, CA
This November three students from the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs presented their research at the Western Society of Naturalists conference, in Monterey, CA. The annual meeting brings together students, academics, and professionals focusing on ecology, evolution, and natural history along the West Coast of the United States.
Taylor Hughes (she/her/hers, SMEA ‘25) presented a research project she conducted this summer at Friday Harbor Laboratories investigating how temperature affects the microscopic life stages of bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana. 

SMEA professor Patrick Christie and SMEA graduate students were featured in a UW College of the Environment article, titled SMEA students support Indigenous voices in video storytelling project. The article describes a collaboration between SMEA, the Jackson School of International Studies (JSIS) and Chief Leschi Schools (CLS) that resulted in transformative storytelling videos about the Salish Sea and Indigenous culture centered on student voices. 

SMEA graduate student Samantha Friborg celebrated with her team as the Husky women’s cross country team qualified for Nationals at the Regional Championships last week.
Washington, the women’s Pac-12 Champions, qualified for the 17th year in a row, placing 17th at the NCAA Championships last season. This season, the team ranked as high as 8th in the USTFCCCA (US Track and Field and Cross County Coaches Association) Coaches Poll. 

Because all living things leave genetic traces in their environments, samples of water, soil, or air are vast storehouses of biological information in the form of environmental DNA (eDNA). SMEA professor Ryan Kelly has worked for more than a decade to make this potential goldmine of information useful for environmental management, making it possible to measure and monitor biodiversity at unprecedented resolution and scale. 

Location for all talks:On campus: Fishery Science Building (FSH), 1122 NE Boat Street, room 203Zoom:  NOTE: you will need to type in the password to enter the seminarVideo link: https://washington.zoom.us/j/92079340874Meeting ID: 920 7934 0874Passcode: seminarAudio-only option: +1 206 337 9723 US (Seattle)Meeting ID: 920 7934 0874

Thursday, October 12, 12-1 pm
Melissa Parks (she/her), Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Washington – School of Marine and Environmental Affairs and NOAA – Alaska Fisheries Science Center
Talk title: Exploring the Influence of Multispecies Interactions on Small Farmers’ Perceptions of and Responses to Climate Change in Oregon
Bio: Melissa Parks is an applied anthropologist researching human interactions with the environment and food systems in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. 

Congrats to SMEA’s 2023 Knauss fellows!
Devon Lombard-Henley

Diana Perry

Leslie Nguyen

To read the SeaGrant announcement: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/2024-knauss-finalists-announcement/ 

Seattle Times: Native nations on front lines of climate change share knowledge and find support at intensive camps
Tribes suffer some of the most severe impacts of climate change in the U.S. but often have the fewest resources to respond. This inspiring story shows how tribes are working together to make a difference.  SMEA student Michael Buck is prominent in pictures and video.  

Former SMEA students Caroline Potter, Luke Hiserman, Gregory Papp, Harshitha Viswanathan, and Leah Huff co-authored a recent publication in Frontiers in Education: “Student-led documentation of COVID-era education: A study of graduate programs on the human dimensions of oceans.
 
First and foremost, we would like to sincerely thank those students who participated in the study and we appreciate your insight about your graduate school experiences during COVID-19. 

SMEA graduate James Lee (’21) and accompanying authors recently published an article in the Marine Molecular Biology and Ecology section of Frontiers in Marine Science. The article is titled, “Characterizing host-pathogen interactions between Zostera marina and Labyrinthula zosterae.”
Meadows of eelgrass (Zostera marina) are crucial to coastal ecosystems but have been declining rapidly due to global warming and other anthropogenic stressors. 

 
On June 28, 2023, Dean Tolstoy and Director Dolšak hosted Admiral Linda Fagan, Commandant of the U. S. Coast Guard and SMEA alumna (MMA ’00). For reference, Admiral Fagan is the 27th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), overseeing operations of more than 50,000 members and a fleet of 259 cutters, 200 aircraft, and 1,600 boats. Admiral Fagan was in Seattle to preside over the change of command ceremony for Healy, an active icebreaker homeported in Seattle.