Brian Timmer

@scuba-timmer.bsky.social

National Geographic Explorer and PhD candidate in the Baum lab researching kelp forests and climate change

Great work by @scuba-timmer.bsky.social et al, resurveying #kelp forest communities. Based on “recently discovered aerial imagery & subtidal quadrat data from 1972, we recreated historical baselines for kelps & associated benthic macroalgae in a global hotspot within the northern Salish Sea….“ 🦑🌊

Science X / Phys.org@sciencex.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Bull kelp in the northern Salish Sea appears to have collapsed decades earlier than widely recognized. Most of the loss occurred between 1972 and 1984, before the later heat waves that drew wider attention. doi.org/hb64dg

Herring spawn 2026 is just kicking off around Vancouver Island! A few Sentinel satellite photos from earlier today, around Hesquiat Harbour, Northern VI, and Hope Island. Apparently a pretty big spawn down at Salmon Beach, but just out of range of Sentinel 2 today.

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I am still actively looking for postdoc positions — please lmk if you (or your friends and colleagues) need a hardworking postdoc with field, lab, and bioinformatic skills! I am broadly interested in evolution in the ocean, conservation and population genetics, and rapid evolution.

Andy Lee, PhD@andylee.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Successfully added a few letters to my name last month!!! Truly could not have done this with our villages upon villages 🫶🏼

photo of Andy in front of his defense presentation

Last week, Dr. Katie Dobkowski generously gave our team a presentation on the role of #kelp crabs as bull kelp consumers. A few things we learned: they prefer reproductive tissue (sori) over non-reproductive, they have a wide temp tolerance and can turn bright orange if they eat sargassum!

Kelp crab clings onto a blade of bull kelpKelp crabs crawling on stipes in the kelp fores

8/ We also found significant differences in kelp standing stocks and productivity across coasts and kelp species. Although Canada’s Pacific kelp forests really stand out, even lower-productivity Atlantic and Arctic kelp beds showed some potential for deep ocean export which is promising!

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2/ Kelp forests are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They absorb carbon, support biodiversity, sustain fisheries, and bolster coastal communities. But unlike terrestrial forests or wetlands, kelps don't store carbon in soils. So how could they offer natural climate solutions?

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Currently taste testing the new kelp/blackberry sour that Herald Street Brew Works has created for the upcoming International Seaweed Symposium student/ECR night. If you haven't signed up yet I highly recommend it!

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Kelp Greenling are common here in the northeast Pacific & easy to take for granted Every now and then, one will calmly watch you on a dive, allowing some time up close and personal like this, a nice reminder that there's beauty and wonder even in wildlife you've seen a thousand times

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It's been a hell of a week, but daytime low tides are back for the summer! This is my fifth straight year doing monthly intertidal surveys on the shores of the Salish Sea, investigating changes to seaweed phenology over the last half century as part of my PhD thesis.