Climate change + legacy chemicals hit Arctic ringed seals with a one-two punch: New SFU study finds that just one unusually warm year can leave seals thinner, malnourished and less able to cope with toxic contaminants – raising risks for Inuit food security and Arctic ecosystems. 🦭

Canada is losing track of its wild salmon — just when we need that knowledge most. Research from @sfubiosciences.bsky.social profs mhprice.bsky.social and @jon-moore.bsky.social finds insufficient data on nearly half of Canada's Pacific spawning populations. theconversation.com/canada-is-lo...

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! Meet two of our Canada Research Chairs, Lorena Braid and Ailene MacPherson and learn about their career journeys and advice for other women in science: sfu.ca/sfunews/stor...

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science. We celebrate the women in our department who make an impact every day. Thank you for the photos and stories. Photo descriptions: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! Grateful for the mentors, collaborators, and friends who make science stronger every day. #WomeninSTEM @rachhson.bsky.social @sfubiosciences.bsky.social @sfuscience.bsky.social

Congratulations to Ingrid van der Torre, recipient of the Fall 2025 Biological Sciences Merit Scholarship. Awarded to the Biology major with the highest academic record after six completed terms of study. A remarkable achievement💯🥳

Congratulations to our 2025 Undergraduate Research Award recipients. These Biology students are recognized for outstanding research, curiosity, and dedication, working with faculty mentors across diverse fields. We are proud of their achievements🙌🤩

✨Call for Submissions: Biology Poetry Contest! ✨ SFU Biological Sciences invites biology-inspired poems from lab, field, or research work. Submit up to 3 poems (incl. Haiku) for prizes + features. Open to BISC community. Deadline March 15. Submit to [email protected]. See attached poster for details.

New paper out today in @natrevbiodiv.nature.com by the #GlobalSharkTrends team: Bending back the curve of shark & ray biodiversity loss; Read the paper here: rdcu.be/eZ9n9 @sfu.ca @sfubiosciences.bsky.social @earth2ocean.bsky.social

📚A new study led by Michael Price, adjunct professor in SFU’s Department of Biological Sciences, finds that Canada is failing in a decades-old pledge to monitor the health of Pacific salmon. www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

The Biological Sciences Outreach and Engagement Committee is excited to announce the recipients of the 5th Annual BISC Outreach Awards! 🎉 Congratulations to Owen Kui and Sarah Johnson for their outstanding contributions to outreach and engagement. Learn more: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

We are excited to reveal the winners of our Sixth Annual Photo Contest! Thanks to everyone who submitted photos, who posed for a camera, or who helped point a camera at someone who was posing! We can’t wait to see more stunning photos next year! Visit our Kudos page: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

Wild sockeye populations are in decline, yet some continue to adapt and find new habitats. A team led by @sfubiosciences.bsky.social prof @jon-moore.bsky.social is hoping to find genetic markers that contribute to salmon resilience. www.genomebc.ca/blog/genomic...

Missed last week's Café Scientifique talk with Anaïs Remili? Learn how blubber biopsies can give us a window into the health of entire ecosystems. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz76...

Read the article in The Narwhal featuring Bob Elner, Biological Sciences Adjunct Professor, about the potential impacts of a proposed Vancouver port expansion on food sources for western sandpipers in their migration from South America to Alaska. Read more: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

BISC Professor Jonathan Moore is quoted in a story in Atmos that looks at the movement to safeguard the climate-changed habitats that will follow melting ice. Read more: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

🎉 Double Win for Gries Lab! Emmanuel Hung (PhD) and Augustus Negraeff (Undergrad) earned the President’s Prize for best oral student presentations at the Joint Entomology Meeting. 👏 Emmanuel also received the ESC Postgraduate Scholarship (PhD)! Read more: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

Biological Sciences shines at this year's Faculty of Science Awards! We're proud to celebrate three incredible winners across various categories, recognizing their outstanding contributions to research, teaching and outreach. Congrats all!!

Discover how a single blubber biopsy can be a window into an entire ecosystem and why some killer whale populations are thriving while others struggle at our next Café Scientifique, Nov 25, featuring @sfubiosciences.bsky.social @anaisremili.bsky.social: www.eventbrite.ca/e/sfu-cafe-s....

@sfubiosciences.bsky.social and environmental ecotoxicology honours student Elisha Okonta has been working in prof Tanya Brown’s Marine Mammal Ecotoxicology Lab throughout 2025, where she prepares and analyzes samples from multiple marine species.

@sfuscience.bsky.social @sfubiosciences.bsky.social

@sfuscience.bsky.social @sfubiosciences.bsky.social

Em Lim receives the Dr. Eva Voigt Graduate Award in Science for Mentoring Leadership. Congratulations, Em! www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

What are you going to do with your degree? @sfubiosciences.bsky.social student Emily Lucas didn't have forensics in mind, but found that it was a "beautiful fusion" of all the things she'd liked from her undergraduate research and co-op experiences. www.sfu.ca/science/news...

🚨 NEW PAPER 🚨 We show that during warm, low-ice years in the Canadian Arctic, ringed seals exhibit thinner blubber, depleted fatty acids, and elevated metabolic stress. We also show that high PCB and mercury levels contribute to oxidative damage in the liver.

The E2O team making waves (and measuring fins) in Hamburg! Great to see @sfubiosciences.bsky.social in action! @sfuscience.bsky.social

🦆🌍 SFU Biology celebrates #WMBD2025! This year’s theme—Shared Spaces—calls for bird-friendly cities. Our research on urban bird ecology and habitat use supports this global effort. 📸 Photos show how birds share space with our campus. 🔗 www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

SFU Biology Assistant Professors, Jane Fowler & Chelsea Little co-launch initiative to conserve and steward ecosystems in B.C.Coast Mountains. Their work supports sustainable planning in B.C.’s Coast Mountains. 🔗 www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

Today I presented my MSc research at the "Cumulative Effects in Northern Ecosystems" symposium, and during the panel shared my thoughts on collaboration between academia and industry. So thankful to have been invited to participate and get to know some really cool people! #TWS2025

The Little Ecology Group at @sfuscience.bsky.social is hiring a PhD student to conduct aquatic biodiversity research in alpine streams! 🏔️💧🔬👩‍🔬 This is an awesome opportunity to join a supportive research group in a beautiful part of the world! littleecologygroup.ca/join-us/

SFU Biology Photo Contest is back! Full details in the posters! ✅ Open to to current members of the Dept 📅 Deadline: Nov 5, 2025 📧 Submit up to 3 photos* to [email protected] *related to your work, courses or research in biology. Photo can only win in one category.

🌳 Why are more trees falling — even without storms? SFU Biological Sciences Professor Jim Mattsson is quoted in this story by the Canadian Press on how heat and drought are silently weakening forests. Read more on our News page: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

Read this article in UVic News about the partnership between UVic, Simon Fraser University, and BC Parks using iNaturalist to upload geo-tagged photos of species observed in the environment. Read more on our News page: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

NEW PAPER! A Safe Operating Space for Salmon Watersheds Under Rapid Climate Change - Fish and Fisheries - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

🚨 SFU Biology – Event Alert! 🚨 The Outreach & Engagement Committee has released the 2025–2026 calendar! From contests to celebration days, there’s lots to look forward to. 📅 Don’t miss out—check the schedule: www.sfu.ca/biology/abou...

🎉 Shoutout to the Ruff Penguins! 🐧 Our Biology Terry Fox Run team raised $2,790 for cancer research on Sept 18 — thanks to our amazing students, faculty & staff! You can still donate 👉 run.terryfox.ca/team/ruffpenguins Visit our Kudos page: sfu.ca/biology/news-events/kudos/2025-ruff-penguins.html

It's National Postdoc Appreciation Week! 🎉 We’re celebrating our amazing postdocs, including Jungsoo Park (Fowler Lab), featured in SFU News for his work in microbial ecology. Learn more: www.sfu.ca/biology/peop...

Hope everyone’s fall semester is going well! Here are the upcoming workshops and events happening at Sci-Space through September and some of October🍁🍂

New @genomebc.bsky.social-funded research from @sfubiosciences.bsky.social and the BC Blueberry Council has identified a new virus that is affecting BC blueberry farms. vancouver.citynews.ca/video/2025/0...

🎉 2025 BISC Welcome Party We kicked off the new academic year with food, games, and the opening of the Mesozoic Garden 🌿 - a stunning new space celebrating prehistoric plant life. Thanks to everyone who made it such a fun and welcoming event! Read more on our Kudos page: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

When an unknown new disease began to show up in BC blueberry fields BC Blueberry Council research director Eric Gerbrandt teamed up with @sfubiosciences.bsky.social plant geneticist Jim Mattsson to understand why standard testing sometimes fails to identify viruses in sick plants.

New SFU research led by PhD candidate Marta Ulaski shows that without coordinated oversight, salmon conservation will continue to fall through the cracks. Read more on our News page: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

Prolonged heat and drought conditions can cause stress and disease in trees, and the signs are often difficult to spot. @sfubiosciences.bsky.social prof Jim Mattsson explains: www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-...

👏Congratulations to Marta Ulaski for receiving the J. Frances Allen Scholarship Award from the American Fisheries Society for her impactful research on global change and fisheries.🌊🐟 Read more on our Kudos page: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

"I learned a lot about what it takes to undertake fieldwork over long periods of time away from home and the importance of working in a team and getting along with your team members, as you spend 24 hours a day with them." Learn about undergraduate research at SFU Science: ow.ly/2iQw50WIy28

He visited a dozen different estuaries across Vancouver Island and BC's central coast, sampling fish species and collecting environmental data. "My favourite aspect of this work was being able to visit these remote areas that you would normally never see, many of which are only accessible by boat."

SFU environmental science applied biology student Carter Tsui completed a USRA project with @salmonscience.bsky.social, assisting the Estuary Resilience Project with field and lab work researching the potential effects of climate change on estuaries, and their impact on organisms.

A recent study led by Julie Charbonneau warns that angler catch rates may give a false sense of security for steelhead populations in B.C. Read more on our News page: www.sfu.ca/biology/news... 📷Photo by Jonathan Moore

🫐SFU Biological Sciences is scaling up indoor berry production research with $5M grant from the Weston Family Foundation. Professor Jim Mattsson and his team is advancing sustainable, year-round blueberry, raspberry & blackberry production. Read more on our New page: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

Mesozoic Garden Update🌱🌼 95% of the plants have been put in the ground and as the temperatures drop in the fall, the remaining 5% will be planted. These include a Moss display in a pot, on a boulder and on a log and some Sword Ferns to fill out the empty spaces.