@sfubiosciences.bsky.social and environmental sciences major Caio Conradt completed an undergraduate research term with professor David Green studying the impact of human activity on the ecology and life history of spotted towhees. 🧵 🧪🌏

After taking some time off due to forest fire evacuations, @sfubiosciences.bsky.social professor Isabelle Côté and the Fraser Riverkeeper team are passing through Metro Vancouver on their way to Richmond this Friday! Follow along with their journey: fraserriverkeeper.ca/expedition2026 🧪🌏

SFU Faculty of Science@sfuscience.bsky.social · last mo.

@sfubiosciences.bsky.social prof Isabelle Côté and the Fraser Riverkeeper team swam through Prince George yesterday, now heading south toward Quenesl. The group aims to raise awareness and funds for conservation by swimming the length of the Fraser: www.princegeorgecitizen.com/local-news/f... 🌎

Congratulations to @sfubiosciences.bsky.social prof Tanya Brown, @sfuphysics.bsky.social profs @quantumdan.bsky.social and Thomas Jennewein, chemistry prof Daniel Leznoff and earth sciences prof Xinyue Xu on receiving support through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund!

Simon Fraser University@sfu.ca · last mo.

SFU faculty are conducting diverse, world-class research that contributes to social, economic and environmental well-being of communities in B.C., Canada and across the globe. 12 researchers from SFU share more than $1.86 million in CFI funding, announced today.

August 19 is World Orangutan Day. @sfubiosciences.bsky.social PhD candidate spoke with @cbcstephenquinn.bsky.social this morning about orangutans and working with legendary primatologist Biruté Galdikas. 🌏 www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

@sfubiosciences.bsky.social prof Isabelle Côté and the Fraser Riverkeeper team swam through Prince George yesterday, now heading south toward Quenesl. The group aims to raise awareness and funds for conservation by swimming the length of the Fraser: www.princegeorgecitizen.com/local-news/f... 🌎

Fraser River Challenge team swims into Prince George

They're swimming the length of the waterway to raise awareness of rivershed issues

princegeorgecitizen.com

@sfubiosciences.bsky.social professor Isabelle Côté is embarking on a new adventure, starting today! Over the next 30 days she will swim 1,375 km from the Fraser River headwaters to the Pacific Ocean with Fraser Riverkeeper to raise awareness about watershed conservation. fraserriverkeeper.ca 🧪🌎

Deep sea mining poses many risks to ecosystems beyond the locations being mined. @sfubiosciences.bsky.social professor Nick Dulvy comments: 🧪🌎

Nick Dulvy@nickdulvy.bsky.social · 2mo ago

They Survived the Asteroid. Deep-Sea Mining May Kill Them via @thetyee.ca thetyee.ca/News/2026/08... See associated paper: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

What can we learn about ageing from butterflies? @sfubiosciences.bsky.social professor Arne Mooers and colleague Jayme Lewthwaite investigate.

The Conversation Canada@ca.theconversation.com · 2mo ago

Some tropical butterflies live surprisingly long lives. Is it their high-protein diet?

A fascinating @radiolab.bsky.social episode on baby sharks featuring @sfubiosciences.bsky.social professor @nickdulvy.bsky.social: radiolab.org/podcast/baby... (do do do do do) 🧪🌏

Baby Shark

There’s a lot more to baby sharks than that song you can’t get out of your head.

radiolab.org

SFU Biology postdoctoral researcher Anaïs Remili @anaisremili.bsky.social was recently featured in The News International, where she discussed the vital role whale falls play in sustaining deep-sea ecosystems. Learn more: www.sfu.ca/biology/news... 📸 Photo credit: Jared Towers - DFO MML 001

Some of our key findings: • Only 6 threatened sharks and rays have more than 10% of their range protected by no-take MPAs. • Only 24% of threatened sharks and 18% of threatened rays have over 1% of their species range covered by no-take MPAs @sfubiosciences.bsky.social @earth2ocean.bsky.social

We also built a free Shark & Ray MPA Explorer so researchers, managers, and conservationists can explore species-level MPA coverage for all 1,158 species. If you're interested in sharks and rays, take a look! tinyurl.com/SharkRayMPAExplorer @sfubiosciences.bsky.social @society4conbio.bsky.social

Pioneering primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas has left behind a legacy of conservation and advocacy for orangutans, and a new generation of conservationists, including @sfubiosciences.bsky.social PhD candidate Ruth Linsky: nowtoronto.com/news/why-the... 🌏

Inside the push to save Canada's closest living relatives | NOW Toronto

A Canadian researcher dedicated decades of her life to studying orangutans and promoting conservation efforts.

nowtoronto.com

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

Human-made chemicals are harming seals at the molecular level

New research shows seals are being affected by chemical pollution in the Arctic food web and rapid climate-driven warming that is transforming their sea ice habitat.

ow.ly

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 🤍

Whale Scientists@whalescientists.bsky.social · 4mo ago

✨ NEW KILLER WHALE RESEARCH ✨ Type D killer whales were only officially described in 2011, and until now we’ve had almost no idea how many exist, where they go, or how they live. A new 21-year study is the first to tackle those questions, and the answers are surprising.

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

Young Fraser River Chinook salmon swimming in chemical soup, SFU study finds

Juvenile Chinook salmon in the Lower Fraser River estuary are feeding and growing in a slurry of contaminants from pharmaceuticals, personal care products to industrial chemicals, according to a new S...

sfu.ca

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

SFU study finds chemical pollutants in Fraser River Chinook salmon | Watch News Videos Online

Watch SFU study finds chemical pollutants in Fraser River Chinook salmon Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

globalnews.ca

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

Simon Fraser University@sfu.ca · 5mo ago

What happens when the elegant logic of physics meets the messy reality of biology? Interdisciplinary research has provided new and more effective models to understand how biological communities disperse: @sfuscience.bsky.social @davidasivak.bsky.social @eric-w-jones.bsky.social

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

SFU Faculty of Graduate Studies@sfugradstudies.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Meet SFU’s 2026 3MT Finalists! Watch grad students share their research in 3 minutes with one slide. Join April 9, 5:30–7:30 PM at SFU Surrey or online. Free and open to all. RSVP for your spot and livestream link: https://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...

Sixth Annual Biology World Poetry Day Contest

sfu.ca

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.