Hakai Institute

The new TQ is here! Do killer whales & dolphins really hunt together? How are health workers healing distrust in rural Guatemala? What is BC doing about massive projected aquaculture losses due to ocean acidification & hypoxia? Check out the stories: tula.org/tula-quarterly

What did the Columbia Icefield look like over a century ago? With our new 3D projection table, visitors can step back to 1919 to see the historic ice extent and watch how climate change has altered the landscape. storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/d122...

New video highlighting the work from the Climate Ready B.C. Seafood Program 🎥 A look back at this $2M initiative supporting work across B.C. to better understand and respond to ocean acidification + hypoxia 🌊 Watch here: youtu.be/EeSmh0e4_BE #OceanAcidification #Hypoxia #BCOAHActionPlan #BC

The Sentinels Alliance is in the spotlight at UBC this week, the first to be featured in their new Partners for Purpose series on partnerships driving real-world change. Hakai is a proud partner of Sentinels, which continues to be a model for the power of collaborative science. tinyurl.com/4m5chsyx

Seagrass meadows are critical for climate mitigation and biodiversity—but protecting them starts with knowing what to measure. A new BioScience paper coauthored by Hakai's Margot Hessing-Lewis outlines global priorities for monitoring sea. Full paper🔗 tinyurl.com/mpbe7byw

Now entering its sixth year, a research partnership between the Mamalilikulla First Nation Guardians has documented centuries-old red tree corals, glass sponges, basket stars, and endangered sunflower sea stars in the Gwa̲xdlala/Nala̲xdlala Marine Refuge: tula.org/tula-quarter...

In March 2026, Tula will host Climate Ready BC Seafood (CRBS) partners at a forum in Nanaimo, bringing policymakers, researchers, and champions of ocean and climate resilience together to chart next steps. Learn more here: www.oceanacidification.ca/bc-oah-forum...

New research led by Dalhousie, with help from Hakai, reveals that killer whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins may be cooperatively foraging off northern Vancouver Island. Using drones and underwater tags, researchers captured whales following dolphins on deep dives. Paper: tinyurl.com/yu3r4b3c

Calvert Island became an underwater classroom this fall as stewardship divers from six First Nations trained at the Hakai Institute. Participants sharpened species ID and scientific diving skills to boost kelp monitoring along B.C.’s coast. Full story: tinyurl.com/52d82v4f

Pod alert: UBC's Chris Harley and Colleen Kellogg of the Hakai Institute discuss ways to conceive of different levels of biodiversity, the features of False Creek, how False Creek could become a Living lab, and the 2022 BioBlitz. Check it out: falsecreekfriends.org/podcast#ep-5

Chris Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia, is working with the Hakai Institute on laboratory tests to look at the effects of ocean acidification on several species, notes a new feature article in Business in Vancouver. Read more here:

Bull kelp can stretch 30+ meters, but it starts as tiny life stages vulnerable to warming seas and acidification. Hakai researchers are testing where those vulnerabilities—and pockets of resilience—lie to help guide future restoration.

Students from Bella Coola took on Calvert Island—paddling, learning marine biology, and completing a 24-hour solo on wild beaches alongside Hakai staff and Coastal Guardians. A big step toward future coastal stewardship. Read more here: tinyurl.com/52xfxv54

HIRING: Hospitality Support – Calvert Island This seasonal role (spring–fall) supports kitchen service, housekeeping, guest services, and day-to-day operations that keeps the Calvert Island Ecological Observatory running smoothly. Job Description & Application: ca.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=f...

Parasitic barnacles that turn hermit crabs into near-zombies? New UBC/Hakai research that surveyed 4,200 crabs at 65 sites shows these parasites are widespread across B.C., vulnerable to heat waves, and may be multiple cryptic species. Read more 🔗 tinyurl.com/4tfb5fjj

In Nunatsiavut, Labrador, changing rivers and shorter winters are reshaping how Inuit communities connect to the land. The Nunatsiavut Rivers Project—supported by Hakai—braids Inuit knowledge with geospatial science to map these shifts. Read more: tinyurl.com/4fxu87zx

When the ocean heats up, urchin love life cools down. New Hakai-linked study shows that even modest, non-lethal warming can suppress purple sea urchin reproduction — a twist that could temporarily help kelp forests recover. But both kelp and urchins feel the heat. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2s46j5v8

Can some sunflower stars resist disease? Hakai researchers, with DFO, are testing stars from Calvert Island for Vibrio pectenicida resistance and how warmer waters affect infection. A step toward protecting these vital marine predators!

What did Vancouver Island’s forests look like after the last ice age? New research from northern Vancouver Island shows forests didn’t all respond the same way as the climate warmed—each landscape told its own story. 🔗 tinyurl.com/bddr9fuw

13 years of seaweed work around Calvert Island led to 67 brown algae species – and two new to science! Meet Protohalopteris petersonii & Petrospongium munckiae, named for Hakai founders Eric Peterson & Christina Munck. 🔗 tinyurl.com/2784tas5

A new study in @natcomms.nature.com involving Hakai Institute researchers finds that marine heatwaves can reshape ocean food webs—slowing the transport of carbon to the deep sea and impacting the ocean’s ability to shield the Earth from climate change. Full paper 🔗 tinyurl.com/222nk2k8

On Calvert Island, nearly 370 diverse species of seaweed flourish where ocean currents and climate zones converge. Scientists are documenting this kaleidoscope of green, brown, and red algae using pressed specimens and DNA barcoding. Full story 🔗 tinyurl.com/e9yzacrx

After 12 years of scientific dead ends searching for a cause of #seastar wasting disease, “it’s just shocking that we took that long to find Vibrio pectenicida,” said Dr. Alyssa Gehman. @rhizalyssa.bsky.social @hakai.org undark.org/2025/09/29/s... via @undark.org

A workshop on Calvert Island brought together divers from 6 First Nations to expand scientific diving skills and kelp habitat surveys. Supported by the Hakai Institute, @wwfcanada.org, @psfca.bsky.social, ECCC, and DFO, the program is building capacity for stewardship diving on BC's coast.

A new multimethod study involving Hakai Institute researchers uses samples from 6400 BCE to 1500 CE to provide the most complete picture of parasite infections in past populations to date—revealing a major shift during the Roman and Medieval periods 🔗 tinyurl.com/9shazh42

Strengthening Indigenous stewardship from the seafloor up! Last week, guardians from six coastal B.C. Nations joined a 5-day diving workshop at Calvert Island to build kelp survey + ID skills. Hosted by @hakai.org with support from WWF-Canada, @psfca.bsky.social, DFO & ECCC.

Two covers for papers published on the same day www.pnas.org/toc/pnas/122... & www.nature.com/natecolevol/.... Proud of the team, especially #MelaniePrentice & @kevinzhong2006.bsky.social with @ubcbiodiversity.bsky.social, @eoas.ubc.ca, @ubcoceans.bsky.social, @hakai.org and @science.ubc.ca

Archaeological research at the Tsalwadi site on Vancouver Island reveals that people were fishing and making stone tools along the Woss River up to 14,000 years ago—offering one of the earliest records of human activity on the island's coastline. 🔗 tinyurl.com/59rzrn8y

Fieldwork on BC’s coast is giving more than technical skills to ocean scholars from the Philippines, Egypt, Kenya, and beyond. The @pogo-ocean.bsky.social program immerses the next generation in Canada's coastal ecosystems—sparking fresh passion for ocean science. 🔗 tinyurl.com/47r9zryw

Join us at the @imarest.bsky.social webinar on: "Unlocking Ocean Secrets: Marine Mammal Monitoring Through eDNA" 22 Sept 2025 - 4pm UK time Matt Lemay, from the OBON project "HI-BON" (led by @hakai.org) will be one of the speakers. More info and sign up at: www.imarest.org/events/event...

Worrying drop in #ocean #oxygen documented off #BC coast. The study, conducted by the @hakai.org measured oxygen levels in Queen Charlotte Sound to the southern tip of Haida Gwaii. | Globalnews.ca globalnews.ca/news/1139322...

Kawok—a digital health solution developed by TulaSalud—is helping to transform maternal and child health in rural Guatemala by combining smartphones, real-time data, and frontline worker outreach. Learn more 🔗 tinyurl.com/3sk75cnd

A new study involving Hakai Institute researchers finds that oysters shed more DNA when stressed by high CO2 levels—and that these genetic traces break down faster with more ocean acidification, showing the need to adjust how we track biodiversity in a changing ocean 🔗 tinyurl.com/yx55zwty

"The specter of low-oxygen ‘dead zones’ is surfacing along BCs Central Coast, threatening the region’s rich marine ecosystems and fisheries,” writes @rochelle.bsky.social in @nationalobserver.com, exploring new research by a group of scientists including Hakai oceanographers🔗 tinyurl.com/3bebmnre

A new collaborative study involving Hakai Institute researchers finds that ocean acidification and food stress are affecting the survival of juvenile chum salmon—but new tools can help detect exposure to acidification in wild salmon populations 🔗 tinyurl.com/32psmuvv

A new paper uses eDNA tools to confirm Chipewyan Prairie First Nations observations of geological changes in Cowper Lake, Alberta following a historical landslide in the 1940s 🔗 tinyurl.com/hcek4jfc

ONC’s subsea cameras spotted the critically endangered sunflower #SeaStar at Hartley Bay & Campbell River in 2024/25 🎥 New research in @nature.com identified a bacterial strain as the culprit behind the disease that decimated the species for over a decade. go.nature.com/3JmLaTF @hakai.org

Check out new science and technology stories in our second Tula Quarterly of 2025—from documenting the rich biodiversity of marine algae on the coast of Calvert Island, to exploring technology that’s improving maternal and infant health in the remote mountains of Guatemala 🔗 tinyurl.com/2vyha52a

A new paper shows worrying declines in oxygen levels in BC’s Queen Charlotte Sound. Researchers project that its deep waters will be largely hypoxic by 2050, with serious consequences for marine life and fisheries 🔗 tinyurl.com/uca57fc2

The breakthrough study revealing Vibrio pectenicida as the strain of bacterium responsible for sea star wasting disease has generated massive international media coverage, including stories by the CBC, @nytimes.com, @washingtonpost.com, @apnews.com, @theguardian.com, and more!

This was a fascinating story to write, about an exciting advance in discovering the culprit behind sea start wasting disease, as well as an intriguing look at how the scientific progress moved forward even during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. @hakai.org www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

The #seastar wasting disease begins with lesions and ultimately kills sea stars - by the billions - by “melting” their tissues, reducing them to goo. oceans.ubc.ca/2025/08/04/d... @rhizalyssa.bsky.social @hakai.org @science.ubc.ca

After a decade of carnage, we finally know what’s devastating sea stars along North America’s west coast. For the most in-depth coverage of this breakthrough finding, don't miss this piece by @craigwelch.bsky.social in @biographic.bsky.social 🔗 tinyurl.com/2bmjdjex

For @biographic.bsky.social, writer @craigwelch.bsky.social followed @hakai.org scientist @rhizalyssa.bsky.social's quest to unveil the the killer that decimated populations of sea stars off the West Coast. It took a few years but the lab's hard work paid off: www.biographic.com/unmasking-th...

Congratulations @rhizalyssa.bsky.social and @hakai.org for this valuable, groundbreaking work in coastal disease #Ecology. Clearly, we shld be checking w Alyssa for all things #Seastar. :) Check out the press … www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e270ff4... #SeastarWasting #NorthPacific

A team of scientists led by Dr. @rhizalyssa.bsky.social, a marine ecologist at @hakai.org Institute & adjunct faculty @ubcoceans.bsky.social, conducted experiments over 4 years to find the culprit, which was “hiding in plain sight,” Dr. Gehman said. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/s... via @nytimes.com

After a four-year investigation, a breakthrough study reveals the cause of sea star wasting disease (SSWD). A strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida is the culprit behind the marine epidemic that has killed billions of sea stars since 2013. Read the study: 🔗https://tinyurl.com/4rcb3xpf

Thank you @hakai.org for hosting me for a talk this week! I had a great time presenting in a yurt, having rewarding chats about carbonate chemistry and habitat viability thresholds, picking huckleberries, and working with an insanely gorgeous view 😍