Pelagic Ecosystems Lab wins BC Conservation & Biodiversity Award
The award will fund a project to provide high resolution zooplankton biodiversity data by integrating eDNA, and the Zooscan imaging system, to establish a biodiversity benchmark for the wider BC coast.
Killer whales breathe just once between dives, study confirms
A new study has confirmed a long-held assumption: that orcas take just one breath between dives.
Marine sharks and rays ‘use’ urea to delay reproduction
Researchers found that high urea concentrations common in cartilaginous fish, particularly oviparous marine species, allow them to mature and begin to reproduce at a larger fraction of their maximal size.
What could be impacting the food source of Southern Resident killer whales?
There are currently 74 Southern Resident killer whales, and this population is listed as endangered in both Canada and the U.S. The species relies on Pacific salmon (Chinook and coho) for food, however these salmon populations have been decreasing for decades.
Exploring hypothetical transfer of harmful fisheries subsidies to support low-income fishers
Not only a cheap and accessible food source, fish is also a source of income for low-income fishers working in fisheries. However, relying on fish is becoming a risky gamble.
Citizen scientists contribute vital information about 35 seahorse species: their geographic ranges, habitats, and pregnancy seasonality
Thanks to diligent observers, seahorses, those enigmatic and charismatic fish, are not only being discovered in new habitats and expanded geographic ranges, they are also being found at new ocean depths. While their capacity for male pregnancy has long fascinated people, new information on sex ratio and pregnancy seasonality has been discovered by, well, you. […]
Dr. Marie Auger-Méthé receives UBC’s Charles A. McDowell Award for Excellence in Research
This award recognizes demonstrated excellence in pure or applied scientific research by a young faculty member.
Shark-bitten orcas in the Northeastern Pacific could be a new population of killer whale
UBC researchers believe a group of killer whales observed hunting marine mammals including sperm whales, as well as a sea turtle, in the open ocean off California and Oregon could be a new population.
Unilateral efforts to combat illegal fishing may spur piracy in certain regions
Certain policies and policing measures taken by countries to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing drive local actors to engage in piracy, new Sea Around Us research has found.
Microplastics may be accumulating at a high rate in endangered Galápagos penguins’ food web
The model predictions showed a rapid increase in microplastic accumulation and contamination across the penguins’ prey organisms resulting in Galápagos penguin displaying the highest level of microplastics per biomass, followed by barracuda, anchovy, sardine, herring, and salema and predatory zooplankton.