Hakai Institute
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hakai.org
Hakai Institute
@hakai.org
Scientific research institution on the coastal margin of British Columbia, Canada | Part of the Tula Foundation
When the ocean heats up, urchin love life cools down. New Hakai-linked study shows that even modest, non-lethal warming can suppress purple sea urchin reproduction — a twist that could temporarily help kelp forests recover. But both kelp and urchins feel the heat.
🔗 tinyurl.com/2s46j5v8
November 3, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Can some sunflower stars resist disease? Hakai researchers, with DFO, are testing stars from Calvert Island for Vibrio pectenicida resistance and how warmer waters affect infection. A step toward protecting these vital marine predators!
October 27, 2025 at 6:55 PM
What did Vancouver Island’s forests look like after the last ice age?
New research from northern Vancouver Island shows forests didn’t all respond the same way as the climate warmed—each landscape told its own story.
🔗 tinyurl.com/bddr9fuw
October 17, 2025 at 5:15 PM
13 years of seaweed work around Calvert Island led to 67 brown algae species – and two new to science! Meet Protohalopteris petersonii & Petrospongium munckiae, named for Hakai founders Eric Peterson & Christina Munck.
🔗 tinyurl.com/2784tas5
October 14, 2025 at 7:15 PM
A new study in @natcomms.nature.com involving Hakai Institute researchers finds that marine heatwaves can reshape ocean food webs—slowing the transport of carbon to the deep sea and impacting the ocean’s ability to shield the Earth from climate change.
Full paper 🔗 tinyurl.com/222nk2k8
October 6, 2025 at 5:53 PM
On Calvert Island, nearly 370 diverse species of seaweed flourish where ocean currents and climate zones converge. Scientists are documenting this kaleidoscope of green, brown, and red algae using pressed specimens and DNA barcoding. Full story 🔗 tinyurl.com/e9yzacrx
October 2, 2025 at 4:58 PM
A workshop on Calvert Island brought together divers from 6 First Nations to expand scientific diving skills and kelp habitat surveys. Supported by the Hakai Institute, @wwfcanada.org, @psfca.bsky.social, ECCC, and DFO, the program is building capacity for stewardship diving on BC's coast.
September 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
A new multimethod study involving Hakai Institute researchers uses samples from 6400 BCE to 1500 CE to provide the most complete picture of parasite infections in past populations to date—revealing a major shift during the Roman and Medieval periods 🔗 tinyurl.com/9shazh42
September 19, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Archaeological research at the Tsalwadi site on Vancouver Island reveals that people were fishing and making stone tools along the Woss River up to 14,000 years ago—offering one of the earliest records of human activity on the island's coastline. 🔗 tinyurl.com/59rzrn8y
September 16, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Fieldwork on BC’s coast is giving more than technical skills to ocean scholars from the Philippines, Egypt, Kenya, and beyond. The @pogo-ocean.bsky.social program immerses the next generation in Canada's coastal ecosystems—sparking fresh passion for ocean science. 🔗 tinyurl.com/47r9zryw
September 11, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Kawok—a digital health solution developed by TulaSalud—is helping to transform maternal and child health in rural Guatemala by combining smartphones, real-time data, and frontline worker outreach. Learn more 🔗 tinyurl.com/3sk75cnd
September 3, 2025 at 4:16 PM
A new study involving Hakai Institute researchers finds that oysters shed more DNA when stressed by high CO2 levels—and that these genetic traces break down faster with more ocean acidification, showing the need to adjust how we track biodiversity in a changing ocean 🔗 tinyurl.com/yx55zwty
September 2, 2025 at 7:00 PM
A new collaborative study involving Hakai Institute researchers finds that ocean acidification and food stress are affecting the survival of juvenile chum salmon—but new tools can help detect exposure to acidification in wild salmon populations 🔗 tinyurl.com/32psmuvv
August 26, 2025 at 7:36 PM
A new paper uses eDNA tools to confirm Chipewyan Prairie First Nations observations of geological changes in Cowper Lake, Alberta following a historical landslide in the 1940s 🔗 tinyurl.com/hcek4jfc
August 21, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Check out new science and technology stories in our second Tula Quarterly of 2025—from documenting the rich biodiversity of marine algae on the coast of Calvert Island, to exploring technology that’s improving maternal and infant health in the remote mountains of Guatemala 🔗 tinyurl.com/2vyha52a
August 20, 2025 at 2:36 PM
A new paper shows worrying declines in oxygen levels in BC’s Queen Charlotte Sound. Researchers project that its deep waters will be largely hypoxic by 2050, with serious consequences for marine life and fisheries 🔗 tinyurl.com/uca57fc2
August 13, 2025 at 10:32 PM
The breakthrough study revealing Vibrio pectenicida as the strain of bacterium responsible for sea star wasting disease has generated massive international media coverage, including stories by the CBC, @nytimes.com, @washingtonpost.com, @apnews.com, @theguardian.com, and more!
August 12, 2025 at 7:21 PM
After a four-year investigation, a breakthrough study reveals the cause of sea star wasting disease (SSWD). A strain of the bacterium Vibrio pectenicida is the culprit behind the marine epidemic that has killed billions of sea stars since 2013. Read the study: 🔗https://tinyurl.com/4rcb3xpf
August 4, 2025 at 4:03 PM
A new study reveals that the Broken Group Islands off the west coast of Vancouver Island, BC, are a bright spot for shellfish populations in the northeast Pacific Ocean—demonstrating a sustainable relationship between local First Nations and shellfish over millennia. 🔗https://tinyurl.com/5psvxjsa
July 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Hakai Institute researchers monitor sea star populations for signs of wasting disease around Quadra Island. A recent low tide at Hyacinth Bay gave them the opportunity to explore the biodiversity tucked into the crevices—including juvenile sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides).
July 7, 2025 at 6:06 PM
The Hakai geospatial team recently took photographer Grant Callegari over the Klinaklini Glacier—the largest glacier in western North America and a crucial watershed that's being threatened by rapid glacial melt.
July 2, 2025 at 5:01 PM
A study just published in Geophysical Research Letters, led by Hakai Institute scientist and UNBC professor Brian Menounos, reveals that glaciers in western Canada, the US, and Switzerland lost around 12% of their ice between 2021 and 2024. Full press release: 🔗https://tinyurl.com/439yk6vf
June 27, 2025 at 4:58 PM
A recent article, originally published in Canada’s @nationalobserver.com, highlights how designating endangered sunflower sea stars under Canada's Species at Risk Act could offer a ray of hope for their survival against sea star wasting disease. 🔗 tinyurl.com/3x4kbts5
June 23, 2025 at 6:28 PM
@ubcbotany.bsky.social's @drseaweed.bsky.social has spent nearly 15 years collaborating with the Hakai Institute to survey the seaweeds of Calvert Island. Patrick was recently featured on the @ologies.bsky.social podcast to guide us through the fascinating world of algae🔗https://tinyurl.com/y4mv3t3n
June 20, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Thanks to Development Canada for highlighting the important work of TulaSalud, which has been helping to improve healthcare services for women and girls in remote communities in Guatemala for over 20 years. 🔗 tinyurl.com/yyfvxtr7
June 19, 2025 at 5:50 PM