Tequila Ruiz
Amor Ruiz Leotaud
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Owns Valentina Ruiz Leotaud, Sea Around Us Communications Officer
Julia the Avocado Tree
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2nd floor, next to the fish bowl, table 213.9
Looked after by Elsa Camins, Research Assistant, Project Seahorse
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IOF faculty selected as authors for the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report
Two faculty members from the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF), one of whom also holds a joint appointment at UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA), are the only UBC scholars selected as authors for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Seventh Assessment Report (AR7).
Dr. William Cheung, professor and director of the IOF, has been selected as a Coordinating Lead Author for the North America chapter in Working Group II, which focuses on impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability.
Dr. Rashid Sumaila, University Killam Professor in the IOF and SPPGA, has been selected as a Lead Author for the chapter on Sustainable development and mitigation under Working Group III, which addresses mitigation of climate change.
Dr. Cheung has participated in the authorship of IPCC’s Assessment Reports in the past: on the Sixth Synthesis Report (AR6); the AR5 – Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability (AR5-WG2) report; and as Coordinating Lead Author of the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). He was also Lead Author of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment and Coordinating Lead Author of the Methodological Assessment Report on Scenarios and Models of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
Dr. Sumaila has participated in drafting IPBES reports, such as the Visions for nature and nature’s contributions to people for the 21st century report from 2017’s IPBES visioning workshop, as well as 2015’s The IPBES Conceptual Framework—connecting nature and people. He also participated in 2015’s UNESCO-IPBES Scenarios Workshop, “Global Biodiversity Outlook OceanCanada Partnership Marine Scenario Analysis”. In addition, he is currently the Coordinating Lead Author for the Medium and Large Scale Fishing Chapter of the World Ocean Assessment Report 3.
Tags: honours, IPBES, IPCC, Publications, Rashid Sumaila, UBC, William Cheung
Pekoe Smith
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Owns Rebecca Smith, Senior Finance Specialist
Beaker, Blue, Grumps, Lemoncello, Leo, and Snowflake Smith
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Owned by Rebecca Smith, Senior Finance Specialist
Project Seahorse wins 2025 President’s Fishery Conservation Award
Congratulation to the Project Seahorse team who have won the 2025 President’s Fishery Conservation Award from the American Fisheries Society. This award is presented to an individual or entity for singular accomplishments or long-term contributions that advance aquatic resource conservation at a regional or local level.
Dr. Sarah Foster accepts the AFS’s President’s Fishery Conservation Award on August 11, 2025. Photo: Dr Steven Cooke
Photo: Sara Cannon
Dr. Sarah Foster was on hand at the 2025 AFS Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas to receive the award on the Project Seahorse Team’s behalf.
New mega RNA virus may hold the key to mass oyster die-offs
Scientists have discovered a previously unknown virus in farmed Pacific oysters during a mass die-off in B.C., Canada.
A gaping oyster. Credit Kristi Miller-Saunders
“We’ve recently seen annual mass die-offs in B.C. and elsewhere of Pacific oysters, the most widely farmed shellfish worldwide,” said first author Dr. Kevin Zhong, research associate in the UBC department of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences (EOAS). “Often, we don’t know the cause.”
Pacific oysters are the primary shellfish species grown in B.C. with an estimated value of $16 million in 2023. While mass die-offs have been attributed to various factors including viruses, bacteria, and warming water temperatures, in many cases, there’s no definitive cause.
The researchers collected 33 oysters from two farms in B.C. during a mass die-off in 2020, as well as 26 wild oysters from 10 nearby sites. RNA analysis revealed the presence of a previously unknown virus, Pacific Oyster Nidovirus 1 (PONV1), in 20 of the dead and dying farmed oysters – but not in healthy wild oysters, suggesting a link between the virus and mortality.
Investigating the oyster virus. Credit: Amy M. Chan
Clues from genomes
The virus has one of the largest RNA genomes on record and is only the second nidovirus found in bivalves. Nidoviruses are found in a wide range of animals, including humans; for example, SARS-CoV-2, a nidovirus, causes COVID-19.
“The extraordinarily large genome of this virus makes it particularly fascinating as it pushes the known boundaries of how big RNA virus genomes can get,” said Dr. Zhong. “A larger genome may allow the virus to encode more genes or protein domains, potentially expanding or enhancing its ability to interact with hosts. This discovery offers a rare window into the possible evolutionary mechanisms that enable genome expansion in RNA viruses.”
Global genetic databases revealed 15 closely related viruses in Pacific oysters in Europe and Asia, suggesting they are globally widespread. However, these cases showed no associated mortality.
Farmed oysters with PONV1 Credit Amy M. Chan
Care when shipping spat
B.C. oyster farmers, like growers elsewhere, often import oyster seed and juvenile oysters, or spat, from domestic and international hatcheries. “The discovery of the virus is a reminder that growers should use an abundance of caution when moving oyster spat internationally and nationally, as we still know very little about what causes disease in oysters,” said Dr. Suttle. “New pathogens may be introduced when spat are imported. Ultimately, developing rapid tests for detecting potential pathogens is essential for safely importing oyster seed, and identifying the causes of disease and mortality.”
The scientists emphasize the need for further research to understand the link between the virus and mortality in Pacific oysters and stress the need for ongoing monitoring of oyster populations. “This research is not a cause for alarm,” said Dr. Suttle. “Rather, this is a meaningful step forward in advancing our understanding of oyster health and supporting the long-term sustainability of shellfish aquaculture.”
Tags: British Columbia, climate change, Curtis Suttle, faculty, oyster farms, oysters, Pacific Ocean, Research, UBC EOAS, viruses
‘Disease detectives’ discover cause of sea star wasting disease that wiped out billions of sea stars
Researchers have identified the cause of the wasting disease that has killed billions of sea stars from Mexico to Alaska since 2013: a strain of the Vibrio pectenicida bacteria.
Researcher Alyssa Gehman from the Hakai Institute counts and measures sunflower sea stars
in Burke Channel on the Central Coast of British Columbia.
Photo courtesy of Bennett Whitnell/Hakai Institute
The strain, named FHCF-3, is detailed in a new paper published today in Nature Ecology & Evolution by scientists from UBC, the Hakai Institute and the University of Washington.
“Wasting disease is considered the largest ever marine epidemic in the wild, but the definitive cause has remained elusive – until now. Now that we’ve identified the disease-causing agent, we can start looking at how to mitigate the impacts of this epidemic,” said first author Dr. Melanie Prentice, a research associate at UBC’s department of earth, ocean and atmospheric sciences (EOAS) and the Hakai Institute.
The Vibrio genus of bacteria has infected coral and shellfish as well as humans—Vibrio cholerae is the pathogen that causes cholera.
With other Vibrio species known to proliferate in warm water, the race is on to understand the link between the disease and warming ocean temperatures due to climate change, Dr. Prentice added. “We see the disease occurring earlier and more rapidly in warmer waters. Sea stars may already be impacted by climate change, so introducing a pathogen that does well in the same circumstances could be a double whammy for some species.”
A sunflower sea star is reduced to goo on British Columbia’s Calvert Island in 2015.
SSWD has killed billions of sea stars — representing over 20 different species from Alaska to Mexico –
since 2013.
Photo courtesy of Grant Callegari/Hakai Institute
Over four years, the international research team investigated sunflower sea stars, which have lost over 90 per cent of their population due to wasting disease. The team compared healthy sea stars with those exposed to the disease through contaminated water, infected tissue or coelomic fluid—sea star “blood.”
“When we looked at the coelomic fluid of exposed and healthy sea stars, there was just one thing different: Vibrio,” said senior author Dr. Alyssa Gehman, an adjunct professor at UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries and a marine disease ecologist at the Hakai Institute. “We all had chills. We thought, ‘That’s it. We have it. That’s what causes wasting.’”
All three methods succeeded in transmitting the disease, with more than 90 per cent of healthy sea stars dying within a week of showing symptoms.
Amy M. Chan, a marine microbiologist at the Aquatic Microbiology and Virology Lab at the University of British Columbia, compares bacteria cultures from a sick versus a healthy sea star. The culture from the sick sea star (closest plate) contains Vibrio pectenicida.
Photo courtesy of Toby Hall/Hakai Institute
Co-author Amy M. Chan, research scientist at the EOAS marine microbiology and virology laboratory, created pure cultures of V. pectenicida strains including FHCF-3 from the coelomic fluid of sick sea stars. When these FHCF-3 cultures were injected into healthy sea stars, they all died within a few days of showing symptoms, confirming this strain was the cause of the disease.
“Using DNA sequencing, we saw there was a huge signal of a particular bacteria. This was our prime suspect to isolate. When I did, I saw basically only one kind of bacteria growing on the plates and thought, ‘This has got to be it’.”
The loss of billions of sunflower sea stars—a natural predator of sea urchins—has driven widespread, lasting effects on marine ecosystems. “Without sunflower stars, sea urchin populations have increased, devouring the kelp forests that provide habitat for thousands of marine creatures. These forests also contribute millions of dollars through fisheries and tourism, sequester carbon dioxide, protect coastlines and are culturally significant for coastal First Nations,” said Dr. Prentice.
Researchers and project partners hope the discovery will help guide management and recovery efforts for sea stars and impacted ecosystems.
“This finding opens up exciting avenues to expand the network of researchers able to develop solutions for recovery of the species,” said Jono Wilson, the director of ocean science for The Nature Conservancy’s California chapter, which helped support the research. “We are actively pursuing studies looking at genetic associations with disease resistance, captive breeding and experimental introduction of captively-raised stars back into the wild to understand the most effective strategies and locations to reintroduce sunflower sea stars into the wild.”
Tags: Alyssa Gehman, Hakai Institute, marine diseases, Pacific Ocean, sea stars, sea urchins, UBC EOAS
Dr. Colette Wabnitz named a Falling Walls Foundation’s Women’s Impact Award winner
Colette Wabnitz
Dr. Wabnitz is an interdisciplinary marine scientist whose research focuses on understanding how socio-ecological systems respond to change, and in co-creating strategies to optimize resilience that are equitable and sustainable, with a particular focus on developing economies in the Global South. She collaborates with local communities, governments and organizations to co-develop practical, inclusive policy tools to make fisheries and food systems more equitable and sustainable.
Her project focuses on gender equity in fisheries, and highlights women in global fisheries; co-creating fact sheets, policy analyses and workshops to advance gender equity and ocean justice.
The three winners have been invited to present their projects to an international audience during the Female Science Talents International Fall Gathering and the Falling Walls Award Ceremony taking place on November 9, 2025 in Berlin, Germany.
Tags: awards, Colette Wabnitz, honours, IOF Research Associates