Environment

A space-based wildlife tracking system that could revolutionize the study of animal migrations and behavior is set to get back online with SpaceX's recent launch. Briana Abrahms, associate professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Hummingbirds often seem gentle from a distance. A closer look tells a different story. Life in the forest pushes each bird to compete, react fast, and make sharp choices. Alejandro Rico Guevara, associate professor of biology at the UW and curator of birds at the UW Burke Museum, is quoted.

Ten years ago the world met in France to agree to the landmark Paris Agreement a global commitment signed by almost 300 nations to ward off catastrophic climate change. Adrian Raftery, professor emeritus of statistics and of sociology, is quoted.

The spotted ratfish is a deep-ocean cartilaginous fish, part of the Chimaera genus that diverged from sharks about400 million years ago.Theyre commonly caughtaccidentallyby fishers in the Puget Sound. Karly Cohen, a postdoctoral researcher at the UW's Friday Harbor Labs, is quoted.

In the wake of One Ocean Week Seattle, participating University of Washington researchers share highlights, connecting the weeks events to ongoing efforts to understand and protect marine ecosystems and coastal communities.

A decade ago, nearly every country in the world adopted the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the rise in global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius by 2100. Adrian Raftery, professor emeritus of statistics and of sociology, is interviewed.

Although cicadas are known to sing in unison, a new study shows the striking behavior of cicadas interacting with each other when a few cicadas sing, the others join. Saumya Gupta, a postdoctoral researcher of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Scientists studied how ratfishes, also known as chimaeras or ghost sharks, ended up with one of evolutions most bizarre appendages. Research by Karly Cohen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washingtons Friday Harbor Labs, is mentioned.

Its been seven years since Pacific Seafood stopped trying to grow oysters on a particular mudflat on the Washington coast. Two years since the Washington Department of Natural Resources last experimented with killing the shrimp infesting it by compacting the sediment with an amphibious, tracked vehicle known as the Marshmaster. Jennifer Ruesink, professor of biology at the UW, has been monitoring the ground ever since. But the latest round of funding for the project will be drying up at the end of the month, and this trip will be her last. Haleh Mawson, research scientist in biology at the UW, is also mentioned.

What was the Permian Period like? What creatures thrived there before the period came to an abrupt end? Thanks to efforts by an international research team, 17 years of fossils collected in Africa may help us paint a better picture of this time period before the Great Dying event altered life on our planet. Christian Sidor, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Burke Museum and professor of biology, is quoted.

Derek Sheffield, ’90, ’99, a poet and English teacher, was appointed Washington State’s Poet Laureate in April by Governor Bob Ferguson. A passionate naturalist known for co-editing the best-selling “Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry” with Elizabeth Bradfield, ’94, and CMarie Fuhrman, Sheffield is “always packing” binoculars and hand lens and birds by ear—often in the woods near his home in Leavenworth. He has butterflied alongside Robert Michael Pyle, ’69, ’73, the lepidopterist, and once exchanged letters with Pulitzer-winning biologist E.O. Wilson.

Putting aerosols in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight could prevent the shutdown of key ocean currents, but only if it is done soon, a computer model suggests. Stephen Gardiner, professor of philosophy at the UW, is quoted.

Video shows a wayward penguin swimming and diving among beachgoers along Brazils most iconic shoreline. It might be following fish, a penguin expert says. P. Dee Boersma, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Once an eight-mile network of caves with an entrance in the lower part of Paradise Glacier, the Paradise ice caves were the most-visited tourist spot for decades before glacial melting caused large chunks of ice to begin to fall from the ceiling, endangering visitors and pushing officials to close access. Now, the caves are gone. Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, affiliate professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

The College of Arts & Sciences is home to many distinguished researchers, faculty, and students. Their work and contributions have been featured in media outside of the UW and across the country. Take a look at some ArtSci features from this past Spring Quarter. From AI to nature's poets, ArtSci in the Media has something for everyone!