Current Research Blogs
Anna's Blog
Anna Gilboard, undergraduate student
1 January 2026
Hi everyone!
Happy Holidays! Most of the time I spent on my research this last month was spent examining the patterns I’ve found in my harbor seal pup stranding dataset and thinking about what they might mean in a broader context, as well as how I want to approach analyzing them.
This month was when the seasonal trends really clicked for me. Seeing how quiet the winter months are compared to the huge spike in July and August is helping me apply my biology knowledge of harbor seal pupping and weaning into context. I also spent time revisiting the year-to-year changes in strandings, especially the peak around 2018–2019 and the noticeable drop starting in 2022. Those trends have turned into some of my biggest questions heading into the winter quarter.
Outside of my data analysis, December was a nice mix of wrapping up finals work and being home with my family. I love being home in New Mexico for the holidays. I have eaten so much red and green chile!
As the year wraps up, I feel like my project finally has a strong foundation. Going into the winter quarter, I’m excited to start building on that with spatial analysis and a deeper look at how human activity might connect to these stranding patterns.
Happy New Year,
Anna
Dawson's Blog
Dawson Little, graduate student
1 January 2026
Hi y'all,
December was a month of consolidation, planning, and a much needed pause as the project shifted fully into a lab and writing focused phase. Most of my time was spent finishing the remaining scat processing, double checking sample inventories, and making sure everything is fully prepared for the final stages of molecular work between Western and the reservation. With field collections complete, it has been really satisfying to see the project move from sample accumulation into analysis and synthesis.On the molecular side, I continued coordinating workflows between the MMEL lab on campus and our molecular workspace on the Reservation. Final extractions are being lined up, and I've been working closely with our collaborator at WIldEcoHealth to confirm metabarcoding timelines and marker strategies so everything is in place to finish the remaining lab work in January. A lot of this month was behind the scenes preparation, but it feels like all the molecular pieces are finally aligned for a strong push early in the new year.
December was also a major writing month. I spent a significant amount of time drafting and restructuring sections of my thesis, particularly the introduction, background, and methods with the goal of clearly framing the ecological role of river otters in estuarine systems and their interactions with invasive European green crab. Beginning to share early drafts with my committee and get feedback will be extremely helpful for refining the overall narrative and setting clear expectations as I transition toward full thesis completion. My goal is to finish writing by the end of Spring quarter, and December was an important step toward that timeline.
One of the highlights of the month was being able to travel home to southern Appalachia for the holidays. After a very busy year of field work, lab setup, and logistics, the time away was a well needed reset and a meaningful opportunity to spend time with my family, whom I don't get to see very often. Stepping away from the project briefly helped bring some perspective and renewed energy heading into the final phases of the work.
While field work slowed with winter weather, I also continued reviewing and organizing camera footage collected earlier in the season. Reconnecting with these data alongside the diet work has been a good reminder of how much ecological context the cameras provide, and how those observations help ground the molecular results in real animal behavior. Below I've included a snapshot of an otter using a latrine in the Wa'atch River.
Overall, December felt quieter but deeply important. It was a month to organize, reflect, and recharge, while laying the groundwork for a focused finish in thew year. I am heading into January feeling rested, organized, and ready to wrap up the remaining lab work and move fully into analysis and writing.
Best,
Dawson
River otter using latrine at night. Photo by D. Little.
Chloe's Blog
Chloe Bentley, undergraduate student
1 January 2026
Hey everyone! Happy Holidays!
December has been eventful! Washington had some major flooding, and our creek was heavily impacted. I went to look at Whatcom Creek one evening during the rain, and the water was rushing into the waterway. I spotted a seal at the bottom of the high rapids; I didn't expect to see one in waters like that! The water itself was very murky and full of trash that had been carried up the creek and out into the bay. Luckily, things have since calmed in Bellingham, and I am wishing the best for those who were directly impacted by the floods.
Siena and I are taking this month/winter break to go through our data and separate whale strandings vs. sightings. We were going to plot with ArcGIS over break, but unfortunately my computer that could run it broke. It is unexpected, but we are able to use Westerns computers, so all is good and Siena and I can plot the strandings once we get back from break!
This quarter we had several labs members' graduate; we will miss them and wish them the best of luck! After my finals, I flew home to Missouri to celebrate the holidays, and I am looking forward to focus on family and my research the rest of the break.
See you all in the New Year!
Seals and Salmon,
Chloe
Zoe's Blog
Zoe Hosford, graduate student
1 January 2026
Happy New Year! December felt like a true transition month. The quarter wrapped up, campus quieted down, and everything shifted from full-speed fall mode into something slower and more reflective. It was a month of closing out a really full quarter and then stepping away long enough to actually catch my breath.
Teaching came to an end for the term, and finishing BIO 101 labs felt really rewarding. Seeing how much more confident students were by the end of the quarter made all the long lab days worth it. Wrapping up the course also gave me a chance to reflect on how much I have learned as a TA this fall, especially around communication, patience, and finding ways to support students through the harder parts of the quarter.
On the research side, December was very thesis-focused. I spent a lot of time writing and revising, tightening up figures, and making sure the story of my analyses is coming through clearly. There were still plenty of hours spent in R checking models and outputs, but the emphasis has shifted more toward synthesis and interpretation rather than exploration. It feels good to be at a point where the pieces are starting to fit together, even if the process still feels slow at times.
After the quarter ended, I headed back to Maine to spend the holidays with my family. Being home was a much-needed reset. Returning to familiar places, winter air, and quieter days made it easier to step back from work and recharge. That time away helped me come back feeling more grounded and ready to move into the next phase of the project. As I sit in the airport, waiting for my delayed flight back to the West Coast to board, writing this blog post and catching up on the things I have managed to escape the last two weeks, I am feeling ready to dive back in. The break was exactly what I needed, and I’m heading into the new year with a clearer head and a fresh sense of momentum.
December was a reminder that slowing down can be just as important as pushing forward. As the year comes to a close, I am feeling grateful, a little tired, and excited to head into the new year with renewed focus.
Till next time,
Zoe
Ellie's Blog
Ellie Taylor, undergraduate student
1 January 2026
Hi everyone, and Happy 2026!
I hope you all had the chance to relax, spend time with family, and enjoy the holiday season. After the quarter wrapped up, I headed east with hopes of squeezing in some skiing but unfortunately didn't find much snow. After my unsuccessful ski trip, I made my way to California to spend the holidays at home with my family, which was a much-needed and very welcome reset.
The final two weeks of fall quarter were especially productive in the lab. With the help of some wonderful lab members, I was able to complete DNA extractions from over 100 river otter scat samples for our sex-based diet study. Processing this many samples was a big milestone for the project and represents a major step toward generating usable data. Now that these extractions are complete, the next phase will involve using RT-qPCR to determine the sex of each individual otter from the extracted DNA.
I’m really excited about the progress we’ve made so far and what’s coming next. I’m looking forward to getting back to Bellingham and jumping back into the lab to continue moving the project forward in the new year.
Cheers,
Ellie
Camryn's Blog
Camryn Sumrok, undergraduate student
1 January 2026
Greetings all,
What a wonderful December it has been! This month began with studying for and taking final exams, which went well. Wrapping up fall quarter was bittersweet as it was my final fall at WWU before I graduate in the spring. I am ecstatic to begin winter quarter as I am taking incredible classes to fulfill the marine emphasis part of my environmental science degree. I am specifically looking forward to my salmon class that is accompanied by a practicum. I received new waders for Christmas specifically for this course and am excited to research and learn more about these incredible fish!
The smolt project is still in the works! We are continuing data input and outline work this winter and preparing for the second round of smolt in the spring. There is lots of planning and preparation to do this month, including data checking, data sheet editing, discussions of leadership, training/newcomers discussions, and general scheduling. Historically, winter is a pretty dry quarter in terms of seal activity, but I am hopeful that we may see a few individuals in the creek this upcoming month.
The holidays were wonderful and I am grateful to have been able to spend Christmas with my family. 2026 is going to be a great fresh start and I wish everyone a happy new year! My word for 2026 is going to be proud! I am proud of myself for finishing college and for beginning a new chapter of my life.
I recently started reading the book "A Year With Seals" by Alix Morris and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of these amazing creatures! I added a poem below found in the book!
Oh! hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us,
And black are the waters that sparkled so green.
The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us
At rest in the hollows that rustle between.
Where billow meets billow, then soft be thy pillow,
Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease!
The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee,
Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas!
Rudyard Kipling, "Seal Lullaby,"
From "The White Seal"
Have an amazing January! Until next time!
Seals and Salmon,
Camryn
Mallory's Blog
Mallory Stonier, undergraduate student
1 January 2026
Hello all,
I hope everyone has had a seal-tastic year! In December, I finished my courses and a few last observations of the quarter. It was bittersweet to see our graduates go, but I know they are off to do important things. I will be missing the substantial number of seals and sea lions we have been able to see during the Salmon Runs but am hoping to focus on getting busy work to prepare for the smolt releases and observations in the Spring, which I am always looking forward to. The task list includes data analysis of past releases using R, updating our data recording sheets, training, and protocol, and outlining our goals for the 2026 release. Luckily, it’s the best time for goal setting! I’m looking forward to putting in hours on my computer and getting ready for another year of smolt observations, only now being more experienced and prepared. I’m excited for a new quarter of courses and to get back into learning from helping with Vic’s project and volunteering with the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, which are both things I look forward to each week. And of course, hopefully, seeing a seal here and there at the creek.
In the meantime, I have been enjoying time with my family in Vancouver, Washington, and appreciating this much-needed break. In reflecting upon the year, I’m proud of all that I've been able to learn and do this year since being given the opportunity to work on the Smolt project and hope to continue to build on my knowledge when winter quarter begins.
Best wishes and Happy New Year,
Mallory
Siena's Blog
Siena Gorohoff, undergraduate student
1 December 2025
Hello again! It feels like it's been a while since the last blog even though it's really only been a month. December has been pretty crazy, I spent my last couple weeks of the quarter split between studying for finals, going on some of the last few observations at the creek, and setting up plans for working through data over break. Right after classes ended, we had historic flooding all over Washington and lots of rivers reached record breaking highs. I wasn’t around to see it in person since I had already driven back to Seattle, but pictures and videos which are now on our labs Instagram account show Whatcom Creek was higher than I've ever seen it in my time in Bellingham. I’m really interested to see how the creek has changed with the flooding, and I hope that everyone still in Bellingham and across the state has had a safe past month during all the flooding.
Over break I’ve also been able to make some pretty good progress on sorting through data for the stranding project. Even during break and surrounded by family, I’ve been able to carve out little pockets of quiet to work through the massive amount of stranding report data we have for the project. I have a few locations I'm excited to look at closer once we are back from break. I’m definitely not ready for winter break to be over in only a week, it has been so nice to relax and focus on the project while I have no school work on top of it, but i do feel like we have a really strong base to keep building upon and all the work that has been done over this break will make it much easier to work starting next quarter.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
Siena