Fishing communities can survive ― and even thrive ― as fish abundance and market prices shift if they can catch a variety of species and nimbly move from one fishery to the next. These findings, published Jan. 16 in Nature Communications, draw upon 34 years of data collected in more than 100 fishing communities in Alaska that depend on fishing for livelihoods, cultural traditions and daily subsistence.
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It has long been suspected that humans and the urban areas we create are having an important — and surprisingly current and ongoing — effect on evolution, which may have significant implications for the sustainability of global ecosystems. A new multi-institution study led by the University of Washington that examines 1,600 global instances of phenotypic change — alterations to species’ observable traits such as size, development or behavior — shows more clearly than ever that urbanization is affecting the genetic makeup of species that are crucial to ecosystem health and success.
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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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Suburban development is causing some songbirds to divorce and leave their nests, causing a lapse in reproduction, according to a new University of Washington study.
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Yesler Swamp, part of the Union Bay Natural Area along Lake Washington that is managed by UW Botanic Gardens, has a newly completed, fully accessible boardwalk trail that loops throughout the wetland, offering opportunities for birdwatching, exercise and a chance to experience nature in the heart of the city. Restoration work on the 6-acre swamp began more than 15 years ago as part of a UW capstone course taught by Kern Ewing, a professor in environmental and forest sciences.
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