Warmer water and reduced river flows in the United States and Europe in recent years have led to reduced production, or temporary shutdown, of several thermoelectric power plants.  A study by European and University of Washington scientists published today in Nature Climate Change projects that in the next 50 years warmer water and lower flows will lead to more such power disruptions.  

Not having enough Chinook salmon to eat stresses out southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest more than having boatloads of whale watchers nearby, according to hormone levels of whales summering in the Salish Sea.  Read more about this study here, which was published today in PLoS ONE. 

Check out this video and poster where UW graduate students explore the theme of ocean change from a multidisciplinary perspective, fulfilling one of the key goals of University of Washington’s IGERT Program on Ocean Change (IPOC). By helping students examine changes in the ocean from an interdisciplinary perspective, IPOC enables them to handle the complex problems an uncertain future for the oceans will present. 

Ray Hilborn – Professor, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences – recently authored a book entitled “Overfishing: what everyone needs to know”.  In it, he explores questions like What is overfishing?, How do we estimate the abundance of animals in the ocean?, and How will climate affect fish populations? to name a few.  Check out the recent New York Times book review of it here. 

A report released earlier this week by the 13-member Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force – which includes UW scientists Tim Essington (School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences) and Dee Boersma (Biology) – details the importance of forage fish to commercially valuable fish species and other’s dependent upon them as a food source.  Check out the report’s executive summary, or read about it in the Washington Post.