The SeaDoc Board is instrumental to our mission here in the Salish Sea. Scott, Barb, and Jeff bring unique expertise, passion, and dedication to our team and we’re so excited to have them! View the whole board here and learn more about Scott, Barb and Jeff below.
Drones can be powerful tools in gathering important health data about wildlife, including marine species like the Salish Sea’s endangered killer whales. Scientists have already established the benefits of collecting breath samples to monitor orca health, but we wanted to scientifically understand if it is less invasive than previous sampling methods–namely the use of a long pole with a petri dish extended from a nearby boat toward the whale’s blowhole.
A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal, Marine Mammal Science, led by SeaDoc Society Research Assistant Catherine Lo, answered that question by analyzing more than 1,000 drone-collected killer whale breath samples.
This summer, our brilliant Scientific Advisory Committee gathered in Seattle to assess and ultimately determine funding for five new critical research projects here in the Salish Sea. You can read about those here.
Our Science Advisors are a vital part of our mission, and we’re excited to introduce two exciting new additions. They are Caitlin Magel of Puget Sound Institute and Phil Bloch of Confluence Environmental Company. We asked them a few questions so you can get to know them a bit better.
Welcome Caitlin and Phil!
We're excited to announce that SeaDoc Society will fund five new scientific research projects aimed at improving the longterm health of the Salish Sea. Each project was carefully reviewed and selected by our Scientific Advisory Committee and funded through your donations from people like you.
We look forward to sharing more about each of these as fieldwork ramps up, but here is a brief look at the newly funded projects:
We’re excited to introduce you to two newest members of the SeaDoc Society’s Scientific Advisory Board—a crucial part of our work here in the Salish Sea. Before we properly introduce Sunny Jardine and Nicholas Georgiadis, let’s say farewell to three outgoing Science Advisors that have lent SeaDoc their expertise for a combined 50 years! Huge thanks from our whole team!
By Bob Friel
There’s a world of difference between West Africa and the Salish Sea, between the steamy equatorial jungle habitat of pygmy hippos and zebra duikers, and the Pacific Northwest’s temperate rainforests and chilly waters aswim with salmon and orcas. But Dr. Ken Currens, SeaDoc’s newest addition to our team of Science Advisors, has called both places home.
Ken Snow
Growing up amid Liberia’s remarkable biodiversity sparked Ken’s interest in conservation, an awareness that became a calling after moving to Oregon and earning his PhD in fisheries. Since coming to the shores of the Salish Sea in 1995, Ken has worked for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC), which is the natural resource management organization of Washington State’s 20 treaty tribes. Currently he serves as manager of the NWIFC's Conservation Planning Program.
Ken’s scientific specialties include phylogeography, a field combining genetic and spatial study that’s proved critical to Salish Sea salmon conservation and Endangered Species Act listings by determining which Evolutionary Significant Units (ESUs - a.k.a. stocks) are reproductively isolated by watersheds and seasonal runs. When he's not working, Ken takes full advantage of the region’s outdoor attractions and is an active mountain climber, skier, and fisherman.
Much of Ken’s scientific work has been precisely aligned with SeaDoc’s mandate to do great science and get it in the hands of managers and policy makers so they can make well-informed decisions. In addition to working for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Ken has also worked as Science Director for the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP) and has served on multiple endangered species recovery teams, science panels, and scientific journal editorial boards. He joins our team of advisors that have been chosen from the top scientists on both sides of the border to ensure our work has the greatest reach and effect possible on the welfare of the Salish Sea.
And SeaDoc’s scientific advisory board doesn’t just exist as degree-plastered window dressing! We count on all of these highly accomplished scientists to help us prioritize our research and review grant proposals from researchers seeking funding that we provide, with your support, through the SeaDoc Society Competitive Grants program.
Ken’s scientific background and expertise brings a valued new voice and a wealth of experience. “I’m thrilled,” says Ken, “to be working with one of the most effective small nonprofits supporting Salish Sea science and restoration.”
Please help us welcome him aboard the SeaDoc all-star science team!
