Congratulations to SMEA postdoc Jimmy O’Donnell for leading his new paper “Spatial distribution of environmental DNA in a nearshore marine habitat” to publication! Additional authors include SMEA Assistant Professor Ryan Kelly, SMEA alumna Natalie Lowell, and collaborators Jameal Samhouri, Ole Shelton, and Greg Williams. The paper shows that environmental DNA in the nearshore marine environment (in this case Carkeek Park in north Seattle) does not travel very far at all, such that eDNA samples show a very local snapshot of marine biodiversity. 

SMEA Professor Nives Dolšak and UW Professor Aseem Prakash recently authored an article featured on The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage titled “Yes, consumers can change public policies — sometimes. Here are the challenges.” The article discusses how consumer movements can succeed in changing corporate policies, but political consumerism faces challenges and has a harder time changing public policy. To read the full article, click here. 

Join SMEA as we welcome Ussif Rashid Sumaila, who will speak about “Effective high seas management is necessary for the sustainability of the global ocean” Thursday, March 2, 2:30-3:20 in Fishery Sciences (FSH) 102.
Dr. Sumaila is Professor and Director of the Fisheries Economics Research Unit at the University of British Columbia. He received his Ph.D. from Bergen University, Norway, and holds a B.Sc. 

SMEA Alum Barbara Clabots recently authored a report for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) titled, “Gender and biodiversity: Analysis of women and gender equality considerations in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).” The report examines how women and gender equality considerations are included in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), the principal mechanisms for implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the national level. 

Why did you decide to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
Upon graduating with a biology degree, I spent five years working in the field of environmental education, predominantly in marine environments. My work exposed me to issues that stretched outside the bounds of pure science, and piqued my interest in marine management and policy. I chose to study marine affairs to deepen my understanding of the relationship between humans and marine environments to learn how we can become better stewards of our oceans. 

SMEA Professor Patrick Christie recently attended an international workshop in Kiel, Germany hosted by Future Earth to highlight the importance of human dimensions ocean science and links to policy making. The “Workshop on the Development of an Integrative Ocean Research Network (Future Earth Oceans Knowledge-Action Network)” assembled around 100 representatives from several existing academic and practitioner communities dealing with ocean sustainability. 

SMEA Professor Nives Dolsak and UW Professor Aseem Prakash recently wrote a piece for The Conversation offering a way to reduce carbon consumption while improving the economy. Their suggestion; consumption-based policies, not conventional regulation. These policies are designed to discourage the consumption of carbon-intensive products and services. Read more in their article “Here’s a better way to regulate carbon – and change the tired environment-versus-economy debate“. 

Join SMEA, the Center for One Health Research and the Center for Health and the Global Environment as we welcome Chris Golden, Associate Director, Planetary Health Alliance, who will speak on the topic of;
“Impacts on food security and human nutrition from global wildlife and fishery declines”
WHEN: Friday, February 3rd, 2:30-3:30 PM
WHERE: Health Science Building, D-209
ABSTRACT
One of my greatest fears is that the major strides that the public health community has made over the past 50 years will be derailed by mass-scale ecosystem degradation and anthropogenic environmental change. 

Why did you decide to pursue a Master of Marine Affairs?
I received my undergraduate degree in policy and planning from a similar environmental interdisciplinary program, but not focused on the marine environment. I believed that a MMA would help fill my knowledge gaps on key marine issues, while providing me the flexibility to build a thesis built on primary research. 

Congratulations to SMEA Assistant Professor Ryan Kelly, Research Associate Jimmy O’Donnell and second year graduate student Jimmy Kralj on their latest publication in Frontiers in Marine Science titled: “Genetic and Manual Survey Methods Yield Different and Complementary Views of an Ecosystem.” The article published on January 9 compared results of environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys and traditional methods of measuring biodiversity and concludes that in order to confidently interpret eDNA results in the context of existing ecological study, it is necessary to compare the results of eDNA with those of more established methods of ecological sampling.