PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

SFU and UBC researchers receive $1.25 million to study cumulative effects on B.C. salmon

SFU and UBC researchers receive $1.25 million to study cumulative effects on B.C. salmon
2023-12-15
(Press-News.org) Salmon researchers from British Columbia are embarking on a three-year study to understand and help mitigate the cumulative threats affecting the vulnerable species in the province’s watersheds.

The Watershed Futures Initiative, which includes researchers from Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia and University of Montana, has received $1.25 million from the federal and provincial governments – through the joint British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund – to tackle the combined impacts of logging, mining, urban development, agriculture, climate change and other factors on salmon.
 
While the devastating effect of these risks are studied in isolation, there is an urgent need to improve both the science and management of cumulative effects in B.C. to prevent a “death by a thousand cuts,” according to project lead Jonathan Moore.
 
“Many salmon populations are struggling. We are asking a lot of our salmon ecosystems – from logging to water withdrawals to development to climate change,” says SFU biological sciences professor Moore. “It is a large and multi-pronged problem, and we are hoping that this initiative can help contribute to positive steps forward.”
 
The initiative will address high-priority knowledge gaps. Researchers will explore ongoing changes in salmon watersheds using remote sensing, synthesize scientific information to inform benchmarks and management targets, help identify potential paths forward, and connect groups working to improve the climate resilience of B.C.'s salmon watersheds.
 
“The effective stewardship of salmon ecosystems entails integrating the best science on cumulative effects with priority management actions and good governance to ensure actions are implemented in a timely and cost-effective manner,” says project co-lead Tara Martin, a professor of forest and conservation sciences at UBC.
 
In addition to research and recommending policies, building social networks and sharing promising success stories is a key objective of the initiative. This will be achieved through several events that bring together a diverse group of leaders, managers, technicians, and scientists to learn from each other.
 
“Salmon are of critical importance and they are suffering,” says Robert Chamberlin, chair of the First Nations Wild Salmon Alliance and a member of the expert advisory panel guiding the project. “Watershed Futures Initiative is tackling the wicked problem of cumulative effects and doing so in a good way.”
 
In addition to the government funding announced this week, a contribution from the Sitka Foundation is also helping support this work.
 
See www.watershedfuturesinitiative.com for more information and to subscribe to its monthly newsletter for updates.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
SFU and UBC researchers receive $1.25 million to study cumulative effects on B.C. salmon

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in menstrual products including tampons, pads, and liners 

2023-12-15
The average menstruator will use over 11,000 tampons or sanitary pads in their lifetime. Vaginal and vulvar tissue that touch pads and tampons is highly permeable. Through this permeable tissue chemicals are absorbed without being metabolized, which makes endocrine-disrupting chemicals potentially dangerous when found in menstrual products. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals can interfere with human hormones and cause medical issues, including gynecological conditions such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids.  Joanna Marroquin, a Mason PhD in Public Health student, and Associate ...

Five researchers named Argonne Distinguished Fellows for 2023

2023-12-15
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has named five highly accomplished scientists as Argonne Distinguished Fellows in 2023. They are Glenn Decker, Paul Fenter, Robert Fischetti, Sven Leyffer and Valentine Novosad. The honor recognizes scientists who have not only achieved international esteem but who have also demonstrated exceptional achievements in science or engineering relevant to Argonne’s core missions. They are leaders of major, complex, high-priority projects or programs that have an impact on the future of the Laboratory. Only a small ...

Study shows exposure to household chemicals can lower odds of getting pregnant

Study shows exposure to household chemicals can lower odds of getting pregnant
2023-12-15
Exposure to phthalates, a group of plasticizing and solvent chemicals found in many household products, was linked to a lower probability of getting pregnant, but not to pregnancy loss, according to research by a University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental and reproductive epidemiologist. The study, published this week in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, also noted an association between preconception exposure to phthalates and changes in women’s reproductive hormones, as well as increased inflammation and oxidative stress.   “Phthalates ...

NRL’s Debra Rolison elected 2023 National Academy of Inventors Fellow

NRL’s Debra Rolison elected 2023 National Academy of Inventors Fellow
2023-12-15
WASHINGTON  –  Debra Rolison, Ph.D., of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been named Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), for having demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating and facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, and welfare of society.   Rolison has been at the lab for over 43 years and heads the Advanced Electrochemical Materials section. The recognition by the NAI is attributed to the efforts made by her team’s inventions related to a new form factor for zinc anodes in rechargeable ...

North America’s first people may have arrived by sea ice highway

2023-12-15
SAN FRANCISCO — One of the hottest debates in archeology is how and when humans first arrived in North America. Archaeologists have traditionally argued that people walked through an ice-free corridor that briefly opened between ice sheets an estimated 13,000 years ago.   But a growing number of archeological and genetic finds — including human footprints in New Mexico dated to around 23,000 years old — suggests that people made their way onto the continent much earlier. These early Americans likely traveled along the Pacific coastline from Beringia, the land bridge between Asia and North America ...

Xinfeng Gao named 2024 AIAA Associate Fellow

Xinfeng Gao named 2024 AIAA Associate Fellow
2023-12-15
We are pleased to announce that the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a preeminent aerospace professional society, has selected professor Xinfeng Gao to be a member of the class of 2024 AIAA associate fellows. Only one member of the Institute for every 150 members is selected as an associate fellow each year by the review committee. “This recognition illustrates the impact of our outstanding faculty. Aerospace engineering at UVA continues on a great trajectory and professor Gao is a big part of that,” said Richard W. Kent, professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Pioneering ...

Substance-abuse stigma impedes treatment in various ways, scientists say

2023-12-15
Addiction is one of society’s most misunderstood and rebuked health conditions. That stigma discourages many people from seeking treatment for substance dependence, according to a new report published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.  Research on stigma toward people with substance use disorder (SUD) is relatively sparse, the report adds. “Characterizing the nature and etiology of SUD stigma is critical for developing tailored and effective interventions ...

Ultrafast lasers map electrons 'going ballistic' in graphene, with implications for next-gen electronic devices

Ultrafast lasers map electrons going ballistic in graphene, with implications for next-gen electronic devices
2023-12-15
LAWRENCE — Research appearing in ACS Nano, a premier journal on nanoscience and nanotechnology, reveals the ballistic movement of electrons in graphene in real time. The observations, made at the University of Kansas’ Ultrafast Laser Lab, could lead to breakthroughs in governing electrons in semiconductors, fundamental components in most information and energy technology. “Generally, electron movement is interrupted by collisions with other particles in solids,” said lead author Ryan Scott, ...

Revolutionizing forestry: 'CountShoots' unveils advanced UAV and AI techniques for precise slash pine shoot counting

Revolutionizing forestry: CountShoots unveils advanced UAV and AI techniques for precise slash pine shoot counting
2023-12-15
In southern China, the genetically improved slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plays a crucial role in timber and resin production, with new shoot density being a key growth trait. Current manual counting methods are inefficient and inaccurate. Emerging technologies such as UAV-based RGB imaging and deep learning (DL) offer promising solutions. However, DL methods face challenges in global feature capture, necessitating additional mechanisms. Innovations like the Vision Transformer and its derivatives (e.g., TransCrowd, CCTrans) show potential in plant trait counting, offering simplified and more effective approaches for large-scale and accurate ...

UMSOM researchers discover first ever link between hemoglobin-like protein and normal heart development

UMSOM researchers discover first ever link between hemoglobin-like protein and normal heart development
2023-12-15
BALTIMORE, December 14, 2023– In a landmark study led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine, researchers discovered for the first time that a certain kind of protein similar to hemoglobin, called cytoglobin, plays an important role in the development of the heart. Specifically, it affects the correct left-right pattern of the heart and other asymmetric organs. The findings, published today in the journal Nature Communications, could eventually lead to the development of new therapeutic interventions to alter the processes that lead ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] SFU and UBC researchers receive $1.25 million to study cumulative effects on B.C. salmon