Environmental degradation disproportionally affects racially, socially, and economically marginalized people; in the Salish Sea and world-wide.1 I became more aware of this during my study abroad experience in South Africa, only to later realize it was occurring in my own backyard.

This piece is by Sara Doyle, who was a remote intern with the SeaDoc Society during the COVID19 pandemic evaluating the relationship between the environment and marginalized communities.

In 2012, scientists discovered a dead harbor porpoise with a fungal disease that had not been previously documented in marine mammals in the Salish Sea. Over the next eight years, 20 more marine mammals were diagnosed with that same disease: mucormycosis.

Mucormycosis is caused by a group of fungi called Mucorales, things commonly found in organic matter. People, terrestrial animals and marine mammals are all routinely exposed with little to no effects so long as they have no underlying health issues that weaken the immune system. However, once it takes hold, this disease spreads quickly and has a very high mortality rate.

As a playful prescription for troubled times, Dr. Joe “Fish Geek” Gaydos and Bob “Attenborough” Friel present a lighthearted take on SeaDoc’s citizen science partnership with the Reef Educational Foundation in our latest episode: The Natural History of the Fish Geek.