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COMES Newsletter - Fall 2022

A Note from Christina:

It was a busy summer for COMES, as it always is – though this year we got to be out and about, which was quite a relief! Collectively there was plenty of domestic and international travel for faculty, we had over a dozen undergraduate and high school interns in labs at COMES-Newport, and both faculty and graduate student fieldwork took place throughout Oregon and the U.S. One of the summer events I always look forward to is the summer College of Agricultural Sciences Branch Experiment Station (BES) Director meeting.  This meeting takes place at one of the 14 BES locations throughout the state, giving each station the opportunity to host the other directors.  While the meeting with the BES Directors and representatives from the CAS Deans’ office is an important opportunity to check in and catch up, I always look forward to the second day.  It is at this time when the host Director provides a tour of facilities, introduces faculty, staff, and collaborators, and the rest of us learn more about the work of the host station. It is exciting to learn how each BES supports Oregon’s myriad commodities, and it’s always nice to see the Director “at home” at their station.  For a quick overview of all 14 locations, I encourage you to watch the video above produced by CAS Marketing and Communications. If you are unfamiliar with the story of how COMES came to be, or why OSU has a Marine Experiment Station in the College of Agricultural Sciences, check out our history – it's an interesting one! COMES is very proud of the diversity of disciplines represented by faculty in our coastal BES, and each of them supports our mission – to understand, utilize, and sustain marine resources and coastal ecosystems in order to benefit the citizens of Oregon, the Pacific Northwest, the Nation, and the World. We think of our newsletter as a snapshot of the work happening at COMES – read on to see what we’ve been up to!

Sincerely,

Dr. Christina A. Mireles DeWitt
Interim Director, Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station

O'Malley Contributes to Article in Journal of Heredity


In our Fall 2021 COMES Newsletter, we shared a story about Dr. Kathleen O’Malley’s contributions to a report issued by NOAA Fisheries indicating that, “Based on the best scientific and commercial data available, including the ESU configuration report, we have determined that listing the Oregon Coast and Southern Oregon and Northern California Coastal spring-run Chinook salmon populations as threatened or endangered ESUs [Evolutionarily Significant Units] is not warranted.”

One of the reports* used to inform the NOAA Fisheries decision was extended into a longer article recently published in the Journal of Heredity.  Dr. O’Malley is a co-author on this open-access paper, titled “Implications of Large-Effect Loci for Conservation: A Review and Case Study with Pacific Salmon.”

It took quite a long time for this paper to be published, and the American Genetic Association posted a couple of great blogs about why that is. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t just the pandemic.  Both are written by contributors who were deeply invested in the research and dissemination of this information, and their thoughts and insights into the process of getting from potentially controversial raw research to a finished publication that everyone could (mostly) agree on are very interesting.  You can find the posts at the following links:

“Behind the Science: Implications of Large-Effect Loci for Conservation” – written by Devon Pearse, Research Geneticist at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center

“Behind the Science: Through the Rapids with Chinook Salmon Run-timing Genetics” – written by Dr. Tasha Thompson, postdoctoral research associate at Michigan State University

 

*Ford M, Nichols K, Waples R, et al., “Reviewing and synthesizing the state of the science regarding associations between adult run timing and specific genotypes in Chinook salmon and steelhead.”

Anti-Aging Compounds from Pacific Hake?

Dr. Jung Kwon has been in the news recently discussing new research on the efficacy of gelatin derived from the skin of Pacific hake as an anti-aging compound for human skin.  According to Seafood Source News, “A recent study conducted by Oregon State University, funded by Pacific Seafood, found that gelatin in the skin of Pacific hake (also known as whiting) can prevent skin-wrinkling. The study, published in Marine Drugs, found Pacific whiting skin ‘reactivated to a certain level the collagen synthesis pathway that had been suppressed by UV radiation, prevented activation to a certain level of the collagen degradation pathway that had been accelerated by UV radiation, [and] promoted additional antioxidant activity.’”

Dr. Kwon goes on to say that, ‘“Fish skins are an abundant resource that we already know have valuable nutritional properties....But we wanted to find out what additional potential value might be found in something traditionally considered a byproduct.’”

This exciting finding was also profiled in an interview on KGW News, Portland, as well as on Science Daily, Nature World News, CosmeticsBusiness.com, and StudyFinds.com.

CAS Launches External Search for Permanent COMES Director

The College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University is excited to offer a leadership opportunity at the interface of academics and coastal resource sustainability: Director of the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station (COMES). This is a full-time (1.00 FTE), 12-month position that includes administration, research, and outreach. COMES is one of two marine resource-focused experimental stations in the country with an annual operating budget of ~$6M. https://marineresearch.oregonstate.edu/comes/who-we-are/brief-history-coastal-oregon-marine-experiment-station. We are seeking a vibrant leader from academia, government, or industry who excels in collaborative problem-solving and desires to work with faculty and our many partners on a wide range of coastal and marine resource issues. Our research mission is to understand, conserve, utilize, and manage Oregon’s marine resources to enhance the economic and social value of related activities. The COMES Director reports to the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and will have a professorship and academic home in an appropriate department within the College; options include Applied Economics, Food Science and Technology, Biological and Ecological Engineering, and Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences. The position is based in Newport, Oregon, at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. The Director will supervise ~35 faculty and staff located in Newport, Astoria, and Corvallis, and mentor graduate students. We seek applicants with diverse life experiences that can help shape and guide the research, extension, outreach, operation, and external stakeholder partnerships of COMES with a strong commitment to inclusion and transdisciplinary approaches. To apply, follow this link :  https://jobs.oregonstate.edu/postings/126496

 

Growth continues in USDA-ARS Pacific Shellfish Breeding Center

COMES welcomes Dr. Bernarda Calla, molecular geneticist, as the newest member of the USDA-ARS Pacific Shellfish Breeding Center at HMSC.  Dr. Calla earned her MS and her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she worked closely with the USDA-ARS division studying soybean fungal diseases. Following her doctorate, Dr. Calla worked with USDA-ARS in Hawaii studying the genetics of invasive fruit flies. Though her background isn’t in shellfish, Dr. Calla’s  focus on genomics of a wide variety of species and how different genetic markers impact disease resistance in other species made her a great fit for this new position with USDA-ARS.

When I asked Dr. Calla what drew her to apply for the position, she indicated that she was excited to get to work with genomics of yet another group of invertebrate organisms – she’s worked with plants, fungi, and insects, so shellfish will expose her to similar work in mollusks.  Her current research involves looking at genetic mechanisms for disease resistance in oysters – specifically, resistance to oyster herpesviruses and ocean acidification (OA).  As we mentioned in our Spring 2021 and Fall 2021 newsletters, Dr. Neil Thompson (USDA-ARS) and Dr. Chris Langdon’s OSU Aquaculture lab are doing the applied work of breeding oysters. Dr. Calla’s research examines genetic material extracted from the different oyster families to assess specific mechanisms behind improved performance and resistance, trying to pinpoint what makes one family respond better to OA and disease than another.  Dr. Calla’s work helps inform decisions about which oyster families should be crossed in order to provide continued improvement.

I asked Dr. Calla why she feels that securing the future of shellfish aquaculture is important, and she reinforced a constant theme in COMES – human reliance on food from the sea is increasing, and sustainably managing those resources while increasing production will help to feed our growing population.  Dr. Calla is courtesy faculty with the OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, and she looks forward to working with graduate students in the near future.  Although Dr. Calla has lived in Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, Illinois, and Hawaii, we are glad that she has settled in with us here in Newport to share her expertise.  Welcome, Dr. Calla!

New Research Provides Possible Insights into Chinook Salmon Bycatch in the Pacific Hake Fishery

As a species of significant economic, ecosystem, and cultural significance, Chinook salmon are one of the most highly regulated fisheries in the United States. Nine (9) stocks are listed as threatened or endangered under the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA), and other stocks are facing new challenges related to climate change effects on marine and fresh water environments.  Pacific hake, also known as Pacific Whiting, is one of the largest fisheries by tonnage on the US West Coast and it also has a significant economic impact. The combined importance of Chinook and hake means that both fisheries are well monitored, and there is a great deal of historical and current data about the intersection of the two fisheries available for analysis. Dr. Michael Banks’ lab, supported by funding from CIMRS/CIMERS and in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries’ Dr. Kate Richerson (NOAA-Northwest Fisheries Science Center), and others, has recently hosted two postdoctoral scholars to assess ways of avoiding Chinook bycatch in the hake fishery.  I recently met with both Dr. Philip Shirk and Dr. Megan Sabal to discuss their different approaches to analyzing data on these fisheries, and what that might tell us about future strategies for bycatch avoidance.

Using data collected through NOAA’s At-Sea Hake Observer Program (ASHOP) between 2002 and 2021, Dr. Shirk based his project in predictive statistical modeling.  Although Dr. Shirk is “not a fish person,” he has extensive experience with spatiotemporal modeling in animal species and was a natural fit to take on this project.  As part of his research, Dr. Shirk worked closely with Dr. Lorenzo Ciannelli (OSU College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences) and his lab, which continue to advance fisheries oceanography models. Using three different types of spatiotemporal models, Dr. Shirk looked at whether it was possible to accurately predict when and where Chinook salmon were caught as bycatch in the hake fishery. These patterns were then extrapolated into the future, and Dr. Shirk indicated that nonlinear and ensemble models averaged out the errors and “worked surprisingly well.”  In his forthcoming paper on the topic, Dr. Shirk indicated that, as with all modeling, the further you look into the future, the less accurate the models are – there is a point at which variables shift and it’s not possible to predict entirely what those changes will be. However, in the short- and medium-term, these models can fairly accurately predict areas that hake fishers can avoid in order to successfully to limit Chinook bycatch.

I asked Dr. Shirk what he hoped would be a next step in this research, and he indicated that he hoped that the genetics of the Chinook stocks would be factored into future projects.  His project looked at the Chinook fishery as a whole – it didn’t break the fishery into specific stocks. While some Chinook stocks are relatively robust, it would be helpful to have the additional stock data incorporated in order to actively avoid areas frequented by the 9 stocks that are ESA listed.

Dr. Megan Sabal, another postdoctoral scholar working with Dr. Banks,  Dr. Taal Levi (OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences), Dr. Richerson, and Dr. Paul Moran (NOAA, NWFSC) has developed a complementary research project to Dr. Shirk’s. However, Dr. Sabal used an inference rather than a predictive approach.  Dr. Sabal began with a question – based on what she knows about how Chinook behave in the ocean, and what she knows about the hake fishery, what ecological and environmental phenomena might cause these fisheries to overlap along depth in the water column?

Dr. Sabal identified two behaviors which may explain why Chinook bycatch is sometimes more prevalent.  Pacific hake are generally a deep-water fish, while Chinook are found relatively high in the water column near the surface of the ocean.  If Chinook use behaviors to swim deeper, they may encounter more hake and hake fishers. Chinook engage in diel vertical migration, which means they spend their days on the surface where there is light to feed and navigate, but at night they move deeper to avoid predators. Seasonal conditions and climate-related changes often cause sea surface temperatures to rise, and Chinook have a fairly narrow temperature comfort zone.  When the temperature rises above 12°C, Chinook will go deeper in the water column looking for thermal refugia, or water of a temperature in which they are more comfortable. If Chinook are diving down, this could potentially cause them to intermingle at a depth where trawl fishers have set their nets for a hake haul. The result could be increased Chinook bycatch.

Dr. Shirk’s and Dr. Sabal’s results both indicate that one of the times that Chinook bycatch is highest is during night fishing, because Chinook are moving deeper at night. Trawl fishers can set the depth of their nets as they fish, so it’s possible that if they have a good idea of where both species are in the water column and they don’t overlap, they can set the nets at a depth where they catch the hake and not the Chinook.

Dr. Sabal went on to look at a subset of the total data collected between 2008-2015, which included genetic data on the Chinook. This allowed her to consider behavioral differences between Chinook stocks, such as whether seeking thermal refugia was common among all stocks or more prevalent in some than others. What she found is that there is generally less thermal refugia seeking behavior in Northern Chinook stocks – this indicates that attributing location in the water column based on sea surface temperature may not work as well as an indicator of overlap with Northern stocks.  Southern stocks may also be more susceptible to bycatch under climate change or marine heat waves.

Although there is a clear seasonal component in the complete raw data collected between 2002-2021 indicating that levels of Chinook bycatch in the hake fishery are higher when the sea surface temperature is warmer, the subset containing genetic data allows researchers to drill down and isolate that assumption by specific stock.

Given this new understanding from Dr. Shirk’s and Dr. Sabal’s strong efforts, ongoing research interests include figuring out how to combine predictive, inferential, and social modeling approaches so that we might better resolve how these complex Chinook and hake fishery interactions may change under different climate scenarios.

For the Love of Cod

If you’ve ordered fish and chips recently in a West Coast restaurant, chances are good you’ve enjoyed some Pacific cod as a result.  Found from the Bering Sea south along the Pacific coast, “Pacific cod is the second largest commercial groundfish catch off Alaska and virtually all of the United States.” NOAA Fisheries-Pacific Cod. These massive catches are economically vital: “In 2019, commercial harvest of Pacific cod totaled more than 463.9 million pounds, and was worth more than $118.7 million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database.” So, when the Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod fishery was closed in 2020 due to an approximate 75% decline in abundance resulting from the 2014-2016 and 2019 North Pacific Marine Heatwaves, it was clear that research was needed to determine exactly what was happening.

Enter Dr. Jessica Miller’s Marine and Anadromous Fisheries Ecology lab in COMES, with funding from the North Pacific Research Board.  Dr. Miller, postdoctoral scholar Dr. Zoe Almeida, Ph.D. student Hillary Thalmann, and lab techs Rebecca Forney and Taylor Brooks are using a variety of approaches to analyze the impacts of marine heatwaves on Pacific cod.  Although it is likely that these heatwaves impacted these fish at all life stages, observational data indicated that early life stages may be most impacted. Dr. Miller’s lab has collaborated with Dr. Ben Laurel from NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center, who has been collecting juvenile Pacific cod off Kodiak Island, Alaska since 2006. Dr. Almeida has been using ear stones (otoliths) from Dr. Laurel’s juvenile collection to look at the ways that the heatwaves have affected hatch timing and early growth rates. Her research indicates that both of these life history characteristics are different now than they were before the heat waves, but more research is needed to determine exactly what caused these changes (e.g., prey availability, different parentage, changed timing of reproduction by adults, or other responses to temperature).

Hillary Thalmann is contributing research on prey types consumed by juveniles both before and during the heatwaves.  While it is unclear whether these changes are due to differences in prey availability or physiological differences in Pacific cod, Ms. Thalmann’s analysis of juvenile Pacific cod stomach contents indicated that there was a shift in foraging patterns during the heatwaves. Pacific cod consumed larger prey items during heatwaves, including polychaete worms and mysid shrimps.  Prior to the marine heatwaves, juveniles had favored smaller prey such as calanoid copepods.

To gain more understanding of the type and quality of prey that juvenile Pacific cod off Kodiak Island are eating in their nursery habitats, Ms. Thalmann spent time during the summers of 2021 and 2022 working with JoEllen Lottsfeldt at Kodiak Coastal Environmental on Kodiak Island, Alaska.   Ms. Thalmann and Ms. Lottsfeldt collected a variety of common zooplankton prey species. These samples were then analyzed using stable isotope analysis to determine patterns related to Pacific cod foraging behavior and food sources. Analysis of samples collected after the most recent marine heatwaves provides valuable data that can be compared to future samples, allowing the researchers to learn more about shifts in type and food quality over time and to consider possible causes for these changes.

Some of the patterns that Dr. Almeida and Ms. Thalmann have observed in growth, hatch timing, and feeding may be explained by changes to Pacific cod metabolism during these marine heatwaves.  Higher temperatures often lead to higher metabolic rates for fishes, and this can mean that fish need to consume more, higher quality prey in order to maintain their normal patterns in growth and development.  However, metabolic rate in the field is notoriously difficult to measure. Ms. Thalmann and Dr. Almeida, along with Dr. Laurel and Mary Beth Rew Hicks at the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, are examining stable carbon isotopes in Pacific cod otoliths to determine if they can track changes in metabolic rate. Otoliths can serve as an environmental record for fish, and if stable isotopes within otoliths can effectively trace metabolic rate, there is potential to further evaluate the impacts of marine heatwaves on wild Pacific cod populations.

In order to provide even more data concerning environmental shifts and the effects that they have on Pacific cod, Dr. Miller’s lab will be starting a new project in January 2023 using zooarchaeological Pacific cod otoliths from the Gulf of Alaska that are up to 4000 years old.  These fish lived in environmental and temperature conditions beyond what Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska have more recently experienced.  Using a combination of stable isotopes and other elements extracted from the otoliths, researchers hope to determine what kinds of temperatures ancient Pacific cod experienced and the effect that temperatures had on metabolic rates. Pairing that information with annual growth rates indicated by the annually deposited rings in the otoliths will provide critical information that can be compared with data collected from samples during the most recent marine heat waves.  Doing so may tell researchers whether Pacific cod have experienced similar conditions in the past, and could assist with predicting how Pacific cod will respond to future climatic conditions.

Written by Zoe Almeida, Hillary Thalmann, and Alison Storms

New Research into Elasmobranch Interactions with Electromagnetic Fields

As we mentioned in the Spring 2022 newsletter, Michael Banks’ lab recently contributed to research about the magnetic sense found in salmon, and how possible magnetite crystals in receptor cells in their noses could explain this.  Dr. Kyle Newton, research associate in Dr. Taylor Chapple’s Big Fish Lab, is also looking into the ways in which elasmobranchs interact with and are guided by electromagnetic fields.

Dr. Newton was recently interviewed in American Scientist for an article about renowned researcher Adrianus “Ad” Kalmijn, who was the first to prove that sharks and rays can sense electromagnetic fields.  Five decades later, researchers are picking up Kalmijn’s research and starting to look for more information.  Some researchers are looking for physiological characteristics of sharks and rays that explain this phenomenon, while others are investigating the ways in which increasing anthropomorphic electromagnetic fields within the ocean may impact the behavior of these important species. 

Dr. Newton’s research is focused on assessing impacts on behavior. Quoted in American Scientist, Dr. Newton states, “’We really don’t know what, if anything, all these EMF’s [electromagnetic fields] in the water will do....Is this going to change their behavior or migrations, like beachfront resort light distracts sea turtle hatchlings? Make them forage where there’s no food, or avoid areas where there is food? Will the EMFs mask the signal of prey? We can’t even sense these fields, which means we can do all kinds of things to the environment without understanding the possible impacts.’”

Dr. Newton was also featured on The Whole Tooth podcast, where he and a fellow researcher from another university discuss the ways in which marine animals navigate the ocean.  Dr. Newton talks about the research he will be doing with Longnose and Big skates in order to begin assessing the impacts that magnetic “noise” given off by underwater cables used for renewable energy projects may have on ocean animals. This project is funded by a grant from Oregon Sea Grant secured by Dr. Sarah Henkel (Oregon State University Department of Integrative Biology), Dr. Chapple, and Dr. Newton. Dr. Newton partnered with Coos Bay fisher Richard Shore from F/V Lady Kathy to acquire some of the Big skates he’s working with – they were unintentionally caught while he was fishing for Black cod. Listen to the recording for more information about this exciting project!

News from the Brander Lab

Dr. Susanne Brander and her work have been featured in a number of media articles recently, highlighting the variety of projects in which she is involved.  In an article titled “The search for the source of plastic pollution,” Grist provided a fantastic overview of the work being done in Dr. Brander’s lab. Several projects were profiled, including work being done by graduate students Olivia Boisen, Sara Hutton, and visiting scholar Felix Biefel, as well as by laboratory technician Emily Pedersen.  Dr. Brander’s role in the founding of the Pacific Northwest Consortium on Plastics is also discussed. 

Dr. Brander worked with state regulators in California on the first program in the nation to test drinking water for microplastics, and to examine the implications if they are found.  In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Dr. Brander states, “There’s always been this hesitation to do something when we don’t know exactly what the negative effect is, but here we have a chance to act early...I think California is taking the right approach: Let’s look into it a little more and see if this is an issue.”

Following the important steps taken by the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) toward a global treaty to address plastic pollution earlier in the year, Dr. Brander contributed to a letter in Science magazine, articles on Phys.org and SouthAfricaToday.net, and an Op-Ed on Environmental Health News.com about the importance of capping plastic production and curbing the use of chemicals related to the process of making plastics.  She was also interviewed by Cheri Brubaker on “Hotline” on KNPT-AM on March 28, 2022 – you can listen to that interview on the Oregon Coast Daily News website.

Finally, Dr. Brander is quoted in both the Ohio Capital Journal and NC Policy Watch regarding the lack of regulation on most chemicals used in plastic production, and the fact that chemicals and micro- and nanoplastics migrate from place to place in bodies of water.  This makes them both hard to control and hard to quantify.  

Boatloads of Outreach in the Big Fish Lab

Dr. Taylor Chapple’s Big Fish Lab has been out and about a lot lately, sharing their love of all things shark with Oregonians.  Back in July, 6 members of the Big Fish Lab traveled from Newport to Portland for OMSI After Dark.  Postdoctoral Scholar Dr. Alexandra McInturf, graduate students Jess Schulte and Josh Bowman, and summer interns Maddie English, Katie Guerrero, and Braden Vigil packed cars with Big Fish Lab media, dissection tools, and a cooler containing a Sevengill shark specimen to educate and entertain the Portland crowd.  Dr. McInturf also gave a presentation on sharks in coastal Oregon waters, which was very well attended with ~150 guests. Josh Bowman led the dissection while the other representatives of the Big Fish Lab assisted and explained the process.  A sizable crowd very much enjoyed visiting with the Big Fish Lab and watching the dissection.

Dr. McInturf returned to OMSI to present at Science Pub on October 4 for a presentation about sharks in West Coast waters.  In addition, the Big Fish Lab (including Research Associate Kyle Newton and intern Ethan Personius) was back in action on October 5 at HMSC’s Science on Tap.  During “A Night of Sharks, Science and Stories,” Dr. McInturf and Josh Bowman led the discussion and dissection – this time of a Salmon shark. Dr. Chapple was on hand to share his perspective, talk about his experiences in the field, and answer audience questions about the lab’s research. This was the inaugural dissection in the auditorium of the new Gladys Valley Marine Studies Building at HMSC, and it was attended by 172 people in person and 85 more online -  quite the turnout!

Want to keep up with all the happenings in the Big Fish Lab when they’re not doing public events?  Largely thanks to the science communication skills brought in by Dr. McInturf, the lab has developed a substantial online presence.  Lab members have collaboratively developed a standard operating procedure for their science communication, which allows them all to share the social media duties. According to Dr. McInturf, their online presence has grown significantly since January 2022 - she reports that they have nearly 1000 followers on Instagram, 500 on Twitter, and a growing Facebook following. 

Advancing seafood quality in the US - OSU Seafood Research Center

Have you ever wondered how researchers assess seafood freshness and quality? Positively Groundfish recently met with Dr. Christina DeWitt to discuss the work she does at the OSU Seafood Research and Education Center in Astoria.

Student News

Our students have been busy, as usual!  From graduates, to summer students, to awards, late spring through summer have been very busy!

Recent Graduates

Joseph Brockman, M.S., Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences – Spring 2022

Amila Hadziomerspahic, Ph.D., Applied Economics – Spring 2022

Hyung Joo Kim, M.S., Food Science and Technology – Spring 2022

Montana McLeod, M.S., Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences – Summer 2022

Rufa Mendez, Ph.D., Food Science and Technology – Spring 2022

  • Jung Kwon, Advisor
  • Dissertation - Pacific Dulse: A Promising Macroalgal Resource for Functional Food Use

Summer Students

It was a busy undergraduate and high school internship summer for COMES, and the first in-person summer since before the pandemic! The energy was palpable as we welcomed 14 interns representing Research Experiences for Undergraduates (funded through the National Science Foundation), OSU College of Agricultural Sciences Branch Experiment Station interns, and several other independent students conducting internships with our faculty. Visit the 2022 COMES Summer Students page for more information on these amazing students and their projects.

Student Awards

Summer is also the time when we acknowledge our HMSC graduate student award recipients each year.  These students are celebrated through HMSC’s Markham Symposium, during which the students present posters and ignite talks.  They also have time to network with other scientists and to discuss research ideas with peers. This year the Symposium was offered in a hybrid format.

2022 COMES student award recipients are:

Bill Wick Marine Fisheries Award

  • Hillary Thalmann, Ph.D, Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences (Jessica Miller, Advisor)

Ivan Pratt Memorial Student Graduate Scholarship

  • Sara Hutton, Ph.D., Environmental and Molecular Toxicology (Susanne Brander, Advisor)

Mamie L. Markham Research

  • Joshua Bowman, MS Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences (Taylor Chapple, Advisor)

Maryann Bozza Scholarship

  • Hillary Thalmann, Ph.D., Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences (Jessica Miller, Advisor)

McNeil Award

  • Jessica Schulte, Ph.D., Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences (Taylor Chapple, Advisor)

Walter G. Jones Fisheries Development Memorial

  • Geoffrey Walker, MS Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences (Kathleen O’Malley, Advisor)
COMES Newsletter

Writer/Editor - Alison Storms

Layout and Content Compilation - Alison Storms

Other Contributors -  Kathleen O'Malley, American Genetic Association, Journal of Heredity, NOAA Fisheries, Devon Pearse, Tasha Thompson, Jung Kwon, Seafood Source News, Marine Drugs, KGW News Portland, Science Daily, Nature World News, CosmeticsBusiness.com, Bernarda Calla, CIMERS, Michael Banks, Philip Shirk, Megan Sabal, Jessica Miller, Zoe Almeida, Hillary Thalmann, Kyle Newton, American Scientist, The Whole Tooth, Susanne Brander, Emily Pedersen, Grist.com, San Francisco Chronicle, Science, Phys.org, SouthAfricaToday.net, Environmental Health News, Oregon Coast Daily News, Ohio Capital Journal, NC Policy Watch, Taylor Chapple, Alex McInturf, Jess Schulte, Josh Bowman, Adriene Koett-Cronn, Positively Groundfish, OSU College of Agricultural Sciences Marketing and Communications, Oregon State University Research Newsroom, United States Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Sea Grant, OSU Extension Communications Photo Library, and the Hatfield Marine Science Center.