
Mixed signals suggest moderate Pacific salmon returns
(January 5, 2026)

Juvenile salmon experienced a mix of favorable and challenging ocean conditions off the West Coast in 2025, according to an annual analysis by NOAA Fisheries and Oregon State University researchers.

Floating solar could help meet clean-energy goals, but researchers found ecological trade-offs vary widely, showing why each reservoir may need its own environmental review.

Jim Rice is the Stranding Program Manager with the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University. KLCC’s Rachael McDonald asked him to describe what happened.


Scientists “are finding applications for drones in virtually every aspect of marine mammal research,” says Joshua Stewart, an ecologist at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute.
Oregon State research shows how grazing timing affects sagebrush wildlife
(October 21, 2025)

The sagebrush ecosystem — a vast, dry landscape that supports hundreds of wildlife species and livelihoods in the West — is shrinking and changing. Livestock grazing is the dominant land-use across much of this ecosystem.
Why do sharks keep returning to Washington's Willapa Bay?
(October 17, 2025)

The director of the lab, Dr. Taylor Chapple, said they are tracking the movements and physiology of large predators in our oceans. What they want to find out is why these sharks are in the bay.
Saving Puget Sound's puffins: Bringing these ocean ambassadors back from the brink
(September 30, 2025)


Like the elk before them, bison like to gobble aspen saplings. The lumbering bison also sometimes knock over aspen trees, Luke Painter, an ecologist at Oregon State University, told Cowboy State Daily.

Many countries say redesign, recycling and reuse can solve the problem, while others, and some major companies, say that’s not enough or do not want to see plastic production cuts. Video features OSU’s Susanne Brander.



"It [Jaws] villainized sharks and people became absolutely terrified of any species that was in the ocean," James Sulikowski, director of the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station at Oregon State University, told ABC News.

An ichthyology collection — pertaining to the study of fish — has a place on the Corvallis campus. Specimens and an online database are available for research on various species found and contributed by faculty members and students.



Kate Stafford, an oceanographer and a professor at the Marine Mammal Institute at OSU, was one of those researchers.“We came across what I would call Humpback Palooza,” Stafford said. “Just dozens of humpback whales, which was crazy.”





Jim Rivers, an associate professor of wildlife ecology, has been awarded the prestigious Bullard Fellowship from Harvard University to further his groundbreaking research on native pollinators in working forest landscapes.

Vouchers are now on sale for a new specialty Oregon license plate that researchers hope will inspire people to think differently about the sharks living just off the Oregon Coast.



A study is pointing to the issue of microplastics contamination in the food chain. Specifically, according to a study recently published in Frontiers in Toxicology, microplastics are widely present in commonly eaten Oregon seafood.
Scientists know our bodies are full of microplastics. What are they doing to us?
(December 18, 2024)

Op-ed: A stalled global plastic treaty threatens our future fertility
(December 10, 2024)

A major sticking point in negotiations remains the regulation of plastic chemicals, many of which impact our hormones and ability to reproduce.
Spearfisherman comes face to face with great white shark off Oregon Coast
(December 4, 2024)

“It’s more often than not a shark is going to see you than you are going to see the shark. I’m sure this fisherman has had a shark around them before,” said Oregon State University professor Taylor Chapple.



Meet the 2025 Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Finalists
(October 3, 2024)

Mee-ya Monneedy was announced as a Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Finalist.
Understanding Microplastics: Insights from Experts on Environmental and Human Health
(September 24, 2024)


A team of scientists from Arizona, Oregon and Rhode Island had been tracking a pregnant, porbeagle shark for hundreds of miles from New England to Bermuda when it was killed.
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“Historically they were called salmon sharks because they were seen at the river mouths up in Alaska eating salmon," Alexandra McInturf, a researcher with Oregon State University, said.


Oregon State University researchers have made the first scientific confirmation in Puget Sound of two distinct shark species, one of them critically endangered.
Hours after tagging an endangered basking shark off the coast of Ireland in April, researchers captured what they believe is the first ever video of a shark or any large marine animal being struck by a boat.
President Biden Announces Key Nominees
(July 23, 2024)

President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Lisa T. Ballance to serve as a key leader in his administration. Lisa T. Ballance is the nominee to be Chair and Member of the Marine Mammal Commission.

Researchers discover new shark species in Puget Sound
(July 12, 2024)

A team made up of researchers from Oregon State, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and NOAA are scanning the waters of South Puget Sound trying to uncover the mysteries of these newly discovered species in our waters.


Gray whales that spend their summers feeding in the shallow waters off the Pacific Northwest coast have undergone a significant decline in body length since around the year 2000, a new Oregon State University study found.


Roberto Ponce Velez, an OSU junior in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences has been named a 2024 Udall Scholar in the Environment category.

Researchers developed a machine learning algorithm known as a convolutional neural network to mine the recordings for murrelet calls.

Hatfield Marine Science Day April 13
(April 11, 2024)

Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport will host its annual science fair and open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 13.
Study shows short pesticide exposure harms fish
(March 11, 2024)

Although pesticides can rid your home of cockroaches or farm fields of unwanted insects, they also can harm fish and potentially even people, according to a new study from Oregon State University.
Experts urge federal action to keep microplastics out of drinking water
(February 27, 2024)

American drinking water has some of the highest concentrations of microscopic plastic waste of anywhere in the world, a group of environmental experts told the Senate.




Marine heat waves appear to trigger earlier reproduction, high mortality in early life stages and fewer surviving juvenile Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska, a new study from Oregon State University shows.

Oceanic Cacophony
(December 21, 2023)

The ocean is a pretty loud place, and anthropogenic noise is adding another layer to the soundscape.

































