Arctic sea ice loss impacts beluga whale migration

A beluga whale surfaces for air.

The annual migration of some beluga whales in Alaska is altered by sea ice changes in the Arctic, while other belugas do not appear to be affected. A new study led by the University of Washington finds that as Arctic sea ice takes longer to freeze up each fall due to climate change, one population of belugas mirrors that timing and delays its migration south by up to one month. 

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Eelgrass in Puget Sound is stable overall, but some local beaches suffering

Eelgrass beds in Puget Sound provide valuable habitat for crabs, young salmon, herring and a plethora of other species.

Eelgrass, a marine plant crucial to the success of migrating juvenile salmon and spawning Pacific herring, is stable and flourishing in Puget Sound — despite a doubling of the region’s human population and significant shoreline development over the past several decades. That finding surprised scientists who study eelgrass, which sprouts in the brackish waters close to shore and provides shelter and breeding habitat for fish and invertebrates. 

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Moth invasions, human well-being and more

Every other week we share the latest peer-reviewed publications coming from the College of the Environment. Over the past two weeks, nine new articles co-authored by members of the College were added to the Web of Science database. They include articles about moth invasions, human well-being, and more. Read on!

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Takeaways from UW Environment’s recent grad student science communication workshop

Increasing the science communication skills of faculty, staff and students is a priority at the College of the Environment — that is, equipping our scientists to talk about their work with a variety of non-academic audiences. In recent years, we’ve worked to build out our science communication capacity by giving faculty and researchers more opportunities to hone their skills through one-on-one coaching, interview preparation, half-day workshops and more. 

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