Eelgrass, a species of seagrass named for its long slippery texture, is one of nature’s superheroes. It offers shade and camouflage for young fish, helps anchor shorelines, and provides food and habitat for many marine species. A University of Washington study adds one more superpower to the list of eelgrass abilities: warding off the toxin-producing algae that regularly close beaches to shellfish harvests.
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UW School of Oceanography Professor LuAnne Thompson and graduate student Hillary Scannell are conducting one of five projects from around the world to receive the Microsoft-Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) Innovation grant this month for their proposal to use artificial intelligence to better understand the planet and solve pressing environmental issues. The grants will support a range of projects, spanning the cutting-edge use of technology to monitor human-wildlife conflict in Tanzania to tracking dangerous marine heatwaves and predicting drinking water shortages in underserved communities.
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The most common organism in the oceans, and possibly on the entire planet, is a family of single-celled marine bacteria called SAR11. These drifting organisms look like tiny jelly beans and have evolved to outcompete other bacteria for scarce resources in the oceans. We now know that this group of organisms thrives despite — or perhaps because of — the ability to host viruses in their DNA.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced May 20 that it has selected the University of Washington to host NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies. The new regional consortium will include faculty and staff at the UW, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Oregon State University. Members will contribute expertise, research capacity, technological development, help train the next generation of NOAA scientists, and conduct public education and outreach.
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Marine life off the West Coast, from Mexico up through Canada, inhabit the California Current. The cool, nutrient-rich water supports life from invisible phytoplankton to the economically important salmon, rockfish and Dungeness crab to the majestic orcas. A new study led by the University of Washington finds that the animals’ ability to breathe in that water may be key to where and when they thrive.
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