Katherine Barrett
The Bellagio of the natural world: glacial fountains
Glaciers are sentinels of global change, yet there is still much to be learned about how glaciers melt, and in turn, how melting glaciers interact with the surrounding water. Read on to find out how scientists are working to understand how glacial meltwater forms fountains that change the surrounding water. Katherine BarrettKate is a 4th […]
Is Noise Pollution Causing Marine Mammals to Starve?
Noise surrounds our daily lives, and the oceans are no exception. Sonar is used by the Navy and oil industry, and the waves travel under the ocean’s surface. How does sonar impact marine mammals? Read on to find out how scientists are studying the consequences of sonar testing on the swimming behavior of dolphins and […]
Lessons from inland saline lakes: linkages between “extreme” systems and the ocean
What connections do inland salt lakes have with the ocean? Both are salty, and we can learn many important lessons from salt lakes, which can help protect marine resources. Read on to find out about Great Salt Lake in Utah, a lake with a global reach. Katherine BarrettKate is a 4th year PhD candidate in […]
Destruction in your backyard: why we need to keep industry accountable (Guest post by Meaghan Efford)
This is a guest post by Meaghan Efford. Meaghan is an archaeologist and historical ecologist looking at how Burrard Inlet has changed over the past 250 years. She is a PhD student at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia, working in collaboration with Tsleil-Waututh Nation. Katherine BarrettKate is […]
SURFO Special: Scouting out marine plastics on the shores of Guam
Plethora of plastic pollution! Every year, large amounts of plastic are being deposited into our oceans as a direct result of human activities. It is up to us to understand what drive marine plastic with the hope to reduce waste in our waters. Katherine BarrettKate is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences […]
SURFO Special: The Pettaquamscutt River Estuary (AKA Narrow River): A Body of Water with Unique Characteristics and Unknown Circulation Patterns
Estuaries are unique bodies of water with a mixture of fresh and salt-water that operate much differently when compared to the ocean or fresh bodies of water. In an estuary with two ponds and abnormally deep regions, understanding the circulation patterns is critical to understanding the estuary as a whole. In this study we work […]
What’s up, doc? How scientists are developing health charts for fish populations
Have you ever thought about how scientists may measure the health of marine fish? Just as we have our health assessed with a variety of measures, so do fish, but some ways of measuring fish health are very costly. Read on to find out how scientists are measuring health of fish using cost-effective methods. Katherine […]
The lament of sediment: pesticide pollution hurts coastal biodiversity
Although seemingly far removed from the coasts, urban industries, agriculture, and daily human activities contribute pollution that can wind up stuck in the sediments of popular beaches and lagoons. Read on to find out how a recent study measured different kinds of pollutants in the sediment communities of a Mediterranean lagoon, and why long-term monitoring […]
Prey variety is key to coexistence of octopuses and sea stars
At family gatherings, relatives often compete for that last bite of turkey or crescent roll. How do predators living in the same habitat get the resources they need? Do they compete for the same resources, or do they use resources in different ways? Read on to find out how Storero and colleagues investigated predator diets […]
Protecting marine ecosystems by tracking top predators
What do canaries have in common with polar bears, sea turtles, and sea birds? Read on to find out how these marine animals we love and want to protect are receiving attention for their potential to protect marine ecosystems. Katherine BarrettKate is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences Department at the University […]
Atmospheric traffic jams halt nutrient flow to ocean phytoplankton
It is known that climate change is influencing our oceans in many direct ways, but what about changes in atmospheric wind patterns? Winds drive ocean currents, and these currents carry nutrients to support marine food webs. But what happens when the winds are at a stand-still? Read on to find out if the answer is […]
Happy clams eat varied diets: seasonal changes in food resources for coastal critters
Between land and sea, coastal ecosystems receive seasonal varieties of food sources that impact organisms at the bottom of the food web, such as mussels. Read on to learn how scientists use stable isotopes analysis to identify what organisms eat, and why this is important for understanding coastal food webs. Katherine BarrettKate is a 4th […]
How does salinity impact fish grazing in seagrass meadows?
Seagrass meadows are widely recognized as one of the most productive and diverse marine ecosystems, as they provide a bounty of plants that support fish and invertebrates. However, scientists are still working out how changes in environmental factors, such as salinity, as well as organism interactions, such as fish grazing on seagrass leaves, impact these […]
Great Salt Lake: a place migratory birds call home
Is Great Salt Lake America’s Dead Sea? Quite the contrary, as this inland sea is very much alive! Read on to learn about how this ecosystem is critical to the survival of many charismatic birds, including American White Pelicans. Katherine BarrettKate is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences Department at the University […]
Hydrothermal vents spew out tasty morsels for local marine consumers
Hydrothermal vents are not only cool structures where magma meets the sea; they offer a previously unappreciated food source for marine organisms. Read on to find out how Chang et al. 2018 uncovered the role of vents in marine food webs. Katherine BarrettKate is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences Department at […]
If the benthos could talk: the value of long-term biodiversity monitoring
The tiny critters that burrow, swim, and graze in the benthic (bottom) habitats of marine ecosystems are often monitored over long time periods so that researchers can measure changes in biodiversity over time. Read on to find out how researchers used long-term benthic data from Narragansett Bay to link human activities with changes in biodiversity. […]
Monitoring the benthos by listening to photosynthesis
Even though the benthos is a largely unseen energy base for marine food webs, scientists are listening to benthic habitats as a novel way to monitor ecosystem health. Read on to learn about how acoustics can capture sounds produced by benthic algae. Katherine BarrettKate is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences Department […]
Navigating historical passages of marine invasive species
Invasive species are a persistent threat to marine ecosystems. In this post, authors explore the historical context of marine invasive species and point toward the need for the public to be engaged in preventing the spread of invasive species. Katherine BarrettKate is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences Department at the University […]
Microbialites are the unseen power house for marine and inland sea ecosystems
Ever hear someone say, “Just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it’s not there?” Well, microscopic bacteria and algae are hard to see, but they play an important role in marine ecosystems, and in some cases, many different types of bacteria and algae grow together and produce large reef-like structures. Read on to find […]
Hope in isolation: four small islands are defying current threats to ocean health
Would you believe me if I told you that the oceans still possessed pristine, unimpacted habitats? In an age where we are learning more and more about how multiple stresses-from climate change to increasing pollution-are hurting our oceans, one recent study has shed light on the remarkable healthy ecosystem of a group of small islands […]
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