News Archives

plastic bottles smashed for recyling (Photo Credit: Lisa Risager/flickr)

In March, the global community agreed to establish a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. To deliver on this goal, the treaty needs to cover all issues of plastics chemicals as an inseparable part of the problem.


Manta ray in the water

Scientists have identified off the coast of Ecuador a distinct population of oceanic manta rays that is more than 10 times larger than any other known subpopulation of the species.


Building on fire. Smoke in the air.

Lisa Ellsworth, served as an adviser on the film project. Ellsworth, a range ecologist, studies the long-term consequences of fire in forests and the sagebrush country of central and eastern Oregon.   


Steelhead

The number of trout in a southern Oregon stream system showed no decline one year after a fire burned almost the entire watershed, including riparian zone trees that had helped maintain optimal stream temperatures for the cold-water fish.


A tagged fin whale. Photo courtesy Ladd Irvine, Marine Mammal Institute.

Oregon State University researchers have developed a new satellite tag that allows them to better track whales’ behavior, including previously unobservable feeding events during dives.


Aleutian Tern in Kodiak, Alaska. Photo: Lisa Hupp/USFWS

U.S. populations of the seabird have crashed in the past half century. Researchers hope an upcoming series of surveys will reveal how dire the situation is—and if the bird should be considered endangered.


Susanne Brander Headshot - woman with short red hair.

Groundbreaking microplastics research is underway at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, located in Newport on the Oregon Coast. 


plastic bottles smashed for recyling (Photo Credit: Lisa Risager/flickr)

Why the U.N.’s plastic treaty must cap production and include chemicals too.


piping plovers

Susan Haig, a professor of wildlife ecology at Oregon State University, has been studying the plover for decades. She says the presence of plovers indicate the quality of a beach. If they're present, that's a good sign.


Graduation cap with coins

Five of the fifteen Oregon State University students and recent graduates that have been announced as semi-finalists for the 2022-2023 Fulbright U.S. Student Program are from Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences. 


Hydrophone deployed in a tropical reef region within the National Park of American Samoa. Credit: Tim Clark/National Park Service.

An Oregon State University research team and collaborators have developed an automated method that can accurately identify calls from a family of fishes.


A coho salmon jumps out of the water in Fall Creek, Oregon. Photo by Lynn Ketchum, Oregon State University.

A new study of the genetic profiles of wild and hatchery coho salmon demonstrates important distinctions in how the two types of fish form mating pairs.


Christopher Cousins, a PhD candidate from Oregon State University, has received a $100,000 scholarship to further his work of researching habitat refugia and turning his findings into a bilingual children’s book for Latino youth.


Fisheries managers in Oregon are increasingly identifying and grappling with threats posed by illegally introduced or invasive species overlapping with native fish populations. 


Episode Info // Teaching the Next Generation of Conservationists


A sage grouse held tucked under the arm of person wearing a dark weather resistant jacket

Chris Branam went out into the wilderness with a group of graduate students, and Andrew Olsen showed him how to trick grouse into staying put so that they could catch and tag them. Turns out he's not so bad at it.


Wetlands in Belem do Para, Brazil. Credit: Filipe Frazao/Alamy Stock Photo.

Mangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in coastal waters across the tropics and subtropics. They are most easily recognised by their tall protruding roots, which they use to anchor themselves against incoming tides.


Passengers aboard a boat in Auckland's Hauraki Gulf were treated to a rare sighting of a little-understood whale on a clear blue day earlier this week.


A new population of at least 700 blue whales has been found living between the North and South Islands of New Zealand.


Researchers listened as solitary humpback whales made a supposedly social call.

Authored by Ashley Braun 

May 14th,...


During the late 19th to the early 20th centuries, the whaling industry reduced the population of humpback whales across the globe to near extinction.


CORVALLIS, Ore. - Ecosystems that have been altered by human activities can provide suitable habitat for native birds, according to scientists in the United States and Australia.


Drought, floods and heat waves are becoming more common in western North America, and scientists expect the trend to continue. The culprit? A new study points to climate change.


John Dubuisson, documents librarian at the Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library, was awarded the 2018 National Military Fish and Wildlife Association’s Natural Resources Conservation Management Communication Award for Promoting Public...


Hiding somewhere in the sagebrush on a wide-open area were dozens of sage grouse. It was dark. So dark it seemed you can see nearly every star. 


Most of us spiff ourselves up when we're looking for love.


Sue Spector was kayaking with her husband down the pristine Braden River in western Florida when she spotted an otter.


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Does a bear leave scat in the woods? The answer is obvious but the effects on an ecosystem may not be.


Researchers who confirmed in recent years that salmon use the Earth's geomagnetic field to guide their long-distance migrations have found that the fish also use the field for a much simpler and smaller-scale migration: When the young emerge from...


An uptick in urban rats has homeowners frantically trying to figure out ways to thwart infestations.


The finding, published in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes, could change a commonly held view that hatchery-raised fish are generally expected to behave in the same manner, said Julia Unrein, who led the study as a master's...


A team of ecologists, led by William Deacy and Jonathan Armstrong of Oregon State University, investigated whether the early ripening of elderberries, caused by anomalously high spring temperatures, changed what Kodiak bears eat.


Of course, they don’t have hands. But scientists used motion-sensing tags to show that most blue whales roll to the right as they feed – except when swimming upward.


Marine mammal populations have been rebounding along the West Coast in recent decades, and apparently they're eating a lot to celebrate.


Animals can be left-handed or right-handed just like humans, including the largest ones that have ever lived. But they can also be ambidextrous.


The impact of creatures that drifted to the Oregon Coast after the 2011 tsunami will be the topic at the latest Science on Tap presentation, set for Wednesday, Nov. 29, at Newport’s Rogue Brewery.


Seal and sea lion populations along rebounded during the past 40 years, and the protected animals are snacking on millions of Chinook salmon throughout the West each year, potentially eating into any progress from conservation projects.


The cost of the nearly $1 billion Savannah harbor deepening project is measured not only in money, but also in wildlife. And it’s getting steeper.


More than 30 times this year, the federal government has received reports of whales tangled in fishing gear along the West Coast. Sometimes the whales manage to wriggle free.


When commercial fishermen spool out long lines in pursuit of sablefish— better known to consumers as black cod—seabirds looking for an easy meal dive to steal the bait off the series of hooks.


Fishermen and researchers are working together to zero in on ways to keep West Coast fisheries from threatening endangered seabirds.


Grizzly bears have stopped eating salmon in favour of elderberries after being forced to make a choice due to climate change. Warming temperatures meant that the berries are ripening...


For the past two decades, scientists have documented a gradual lowering of the frequency of blue whale calls and they haven't been sure why – or even whether the phenomenon is intentional.


New research suggests that a rise in tick-borne diseases could be linked to a shortage of mouse predators like foxes and martens.


Seabed mining could send the blue whale population out of the South Taranaki Bight, says a marine mammal expert.


The video of a baby gray whale swimming alongside the beach goers at Laguna Beach, Orange County, California, on Tuesday, has gone viral after it was posted by a local photographer.


Professor Jim Rivers of Wildlife Ecology at Oregon State University discusses his long-term study of the elusive and threatened marbeled murrelet.


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There’s good news for the West’s imperiled greater sage grouse. New research suggests the bird has a better chance of survival when juniper trees are removed from its habitat.

Oregon State University wants to know more about the animal patterns of sheep to help determine ways to stop the spread of disease.

Looking to improve your overall life satisfaction? Try regularly hiking in a forest or otherwise engaging with the natural environment.

Some of Jonny Armstrong's camera trap masterpieces are featured here - plus many more candid wildlife photos!

Now, scientists off the coast of New Zealand have captured drone footage of a particularly voracious “bluey” tucking into a hearty lunch.

A team of researchers is trying to determine what impact grazing might have on native bees.

Dr Ari Friedlaender, from Oregon State University, is tagging whales to get a picture of what a day in the life of a whale is like – helping them to understand feeding patterns, social lives...

Clint Epps, a wildlife biologist at Oregon State University, told BBC News manmade barriers have stopped many animals, not just humans, from crossing the border.

If you've ever wanted to get a glimpse into the life of a whale, now is your chance.

It would be nice to say, “Hang a birdhouse and they will come,” but attracting wild birds to nest in your yard isn’t quite so easy.

Peter Konstantinidis removes the cover from a big wooden cabinet and pulls out a drawer to reveal the treasures nestled inside...

New Zealand's Maui dolphin, the world's smallest, is headed to extinction after a half-century of lethal encounters with fishermen's nets.

Fisheries managers have been predicting a slightly below-average run of spring Chinook salmon on the Columbia River this year but a newly published suggests that it may be worse.

Chances are you’ve heard the Pacific chorus frogs’ call before. Its classic “rib-bit” is featured in basically any movie that needs frog noise.

LIFE@OSU and the Center for Teaching and Learning are introducing a new semi-monthly series highlighting the stories of successful teaching on campus.

The study suggests that black powder projectiles scattering fewer lead fragments in wild-killed game, presenting on consumption a reduced risk of secondary lead poisoning.

Antarctic scientist Ari Friedlaender believes in the power of storytelling to effect change.

Although sperm whales have not been driven to the brink of extinction as have some other whales, a new study has found a remarkable lack of diversity in the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA...

At Oregon State University, Professor Scott Baker is adding the information collected by the Snotbot to a catalog of 3,000 whales that he and his team have been studying for 35 years.

Sounds from the deep mystify scienctists

Just kidding — the giant sea mammals are helping scientists to collect vital data

If you wanted to create a new Oregon license plate background before the start of 2016, your task was deceptively simple: convince the Legislature to pass a bill to make the DMV create the plate.

Hunters may minimize lead exposure to wildlife, especially such scavengers as golden eagles that feed on carrion, through choosing proper types of ammunition, a new study noted.

A system that could galvanize whale research gathers more data about the deep-sea behemoths, over a longer period of time, than any previous device.

On this River to River segment, host Ben Kieffer interviews scientist and ecologist Ari Friedlaender, who has been working in Antarctica for about 20 years.

A new study found that traditional bullets for muzzleloading rifles and black powder rifle cartridges fragment less upon impact and may leave far fewer lead fragments in game...

Russian submarines? Black-ops helicopters? Vigilante sheepdogs? Cannibal snakes? Weird theories abound for the causes of the baffling case.