Despite being banned for decades, PCBs, DDT and other pollutants are still circulating in marine ecosystems, and accumulating in the bodies of Arctic seals and the communities that rely on them, leading to negative health effects: https://ow.ly/H4vz50ZbotX 🧪🌎 #MarineEcology SFU Biological Sciences

Congratulations to Aaron Dhanda, PhD alumnus from Julian Guttman's Lab, whose photo "The mitotic meridian" is a finalist in the 2026 NSERC Science Exposed Photo Contest! Take a moment and follow the link to vote for Aaron's photo!: ow.ly/q5KM50Zbo1Z

Latest infographic from yours truly 🤍

The BC Parks Living Lab Program pairs scientists with provincial parks to study climate change and conservation. @sfubiosciences.bsky.social prof Chelsea Little spoke with @cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social about the work she and her colleagues are doing in Garibaldi Park: www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... 🧪

New research from @sfubiosciences.bsky.social professor Tanya Brown has found more than 200 contaminants in water and juvenile Chinook salmon in the Lower Fraser River estuary, including industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals and personal care products. www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stor... 🧪 #ecotox #yvr

A recent SFU-led study found dozens of chemical contaminants in Fraser River Chinook salmon. @sfubiosciences.bsky.social professor Tanya Brown explains that this is not just an issue for salmon, but could also affect #BC's Southern Resident Orcas: globalnews.ca/video/118588... 🧪 #ecotox

It’s World Bee Day! If you are concerned about pollinator declines, there’s something you can do: plant flowers. Professor Elizabeth Elle of Biological Sciences at SFU is studying backyard biodiversity, and in a study of just nine gardens in 2025 documented 130 species of pollinators!

Fascination of Plants Day 2026🌱🍀 Ferns reproduce using spores instead of seeds! You can spot them if you flip a leaf over. Those tiny brown clusters are sporangia (arrow), little capsules packed with spores. Image and text by Miranda Meents

May is the middle of the spring migration for many species, and many are passing through Vancouver right now! Learn about birding and how you can contribute to science at an upcoming panel including @sfubiosciences.bsky.social prof @johnreynolds.bsky.social: stanleyparkecology.ca/event/your-o...

This recent collaboration between @sfuphysics.bsky.social and @sfubiosciences.bsky.social researchers is a great example of how interdisciplinary collaborations can lead to new insights and useful tools for understanding the natural world. 🧪⚛️ #bio

Pleased to announce that five science students have made it to the SFU 3MT finals. Congratulations to: * Stella Lin, BISC * Nima Tehrani, MBB * Jeremy Chiu, MATH * Grace Johnson, PHYS * Jonas A. Eschenfelder, EASC Cheer them on in person or via livestream at on April 9: shorturl.at/whIwA

Congratulations to SFU Biological Sciences professor Miranda Meents who has received a 2025 SFU Excellence in Teaching Award for her innovative teaching and leadership within the teaching community. www.sfu.ca/science/news...

On Friday April 10 the Biology Department gathered to celebrate a Botanical Drawing Showcase featuring the work of the students in BISC 337-Plant Biology. Congratulations to everyone for their amazing work! See more on our Kudos page: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

UN World Water Day celebrates water and inspires action to tackle the global water crisis. A focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. Thank you to Stella Lin and Joyce Wong in the Fowler lab, for the images below!

Sixth Annual Biology World Poetry Day Contest It is our great pleasure to announce the winners of the sixth annual Biological Sciences Poetry Contest. Find out the winners and read the poems here: www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

Stella Lin (Fowler-lab) won First Place and People's Choice in the 2026 Faculty of Science 3MT Competition for "Characterization of psychrophilic microbial communities in small-scale decentralized anaerobic digestion for sanitation in the remote arctic"! Congrats, Stella! www.sfu.ca/biology/news...

@sfubiosciences.bsky.social major Jocelyn Heywood completed a USRA term and Honours project in Côté Lab, investigating densities and distributions of the invasive marine snail Batillaria attramentaria, identify hotspots and other information that can guide effective management strategies.

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...