Returning for another successful year on Saturday 17 May, the UW Aquatic Sciences Open House had more than 1,000 attendees, with children of all ages plus their families. Organized by Students Explore Aquatic Sciences (SEAS), the event showcases the breadth of aquatic science taking place at the University of Washington and in the Puget Sound region with partner organizations.

During low tide at Padilla Bay on a bright day in early May, you could find a class of UW undergraduates exploring the largest contiguous seagrass ecosystem in the lower 48. Why? To collect data to assess the habitat value of seagrass.

Congratulations to the four recipients of the SAFS Faculty Merit Award, awarded to outstanding scholars and members of the SAFS community: Emma Meyer (BS), Liz Allyn (MS), Amelia DuVall (PhD), and Kristin Privitera-Johnson (PhD).

In a time of increasing calls for Washington judges to adjudicate water conflicts that reflect the State’s growth and development, two members of the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences attended the Judicial Education Workshop on Water Resource Science, held on March 28, 2025, at Washington State University (WSU). Angela Dillon, a PhD student at SAFS, gave the judges an overview of the importance of water for the environment and fish, with an emphasis on salmon and the Electron Dam on the Puyallup River, while SAFS Professor, Mark Scheuerell, gave a tour of Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River, held on March 29. 

Bleaching. This complicated and foreboding term now lurks around every conversation about coral reefs. Impacted heavily by climate change and associated warming oceans, coral reefs experience bleaching when the algae that live in their tissues and contribute vitally to their growth are expelled, causing the corals to lose their color, and possibly their lives. Callum Backstrom, SAFS PhD student and one of UW’s 2025 Husky 100, is studying the resilience of certain corals to bleaching.

We’re excited to announce a new undergraduate degree in the School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences (SAFS): Bachelor of Science in Aquatic Conservation and Ecology (ACE). Coming to UW in Autumn 2025.

The Aquatic Conservation and Ecology (ACE) degree is about the ecology of aquatic organisms, the rivers, lakes, and oceans in which they live, and how we conserve them for the benefit of people and the planet. This degree integrates the disciplines of ecology, evolution, and quantitative sciences and applies these principles to contemporary conservation and natural resource management issues.

The UW Aquatic Sciences Open House is back on Saturday 17 May, offering a free and family-friendly day of hands-on learning to celebrate science and research that relates to water. Visitors can step on board a research boat used for local science, and experience real working science labs here at the university. We also have hands-on activities led by current UW students, staff, postdocs, and faculty across the College of the Environment and by organizations from the greater Seattle area.

New research led by UW Medicine, and involving Jacqueline Padilla-Gamiño from SAFS, has revealed that certain protein particles distinguish resilient corals from those that succumb to bleaching, offering new molecular tools for reef conservation and climate resilience.

Climate change threatens the health of polar bears across the Arctic. A study published in Conservation Physiology on March 5, introduces a new approach to measuring the health of polar bear populations, drawing inspiration from a well-known concept in human medicine: allostatic load. The lead author of the study is SAFS PhD student, Sarah Teman, working with UW Professor, Kristin Laidre, and scientists from USGS and Fish and Wildlife Health Consulting.

Microplastics are everywhere. From the clothes you wear to the food you eat, to even your toothbrush, microplastics are difficult to avoid. And these tiny pieces of plastic have big consequences for both humans and the wider environment. UW Daily speaks to Jacqueline Padilla-Gamiño about her research into microplastics and marine organisms such as corals and anemones.