SFOS Newsletter
Spring 2009
SFOS scientists make headlines with
Census of Marine Life findings
In this photo, sand fleas (amphipod crustaceans) are shown under shore ice in the Beaufort Sea. Photo by Shawn Harper.
According to a Census of Marine Life press release in February, the waters of the Arctic and Antarctic share 235 marine species. CoML also documented the existence of 5,500 marine species in the Arctic and 7,500 in the Antarctic.
SFOS scientists Russ Hopcroft, Bodil Bluhm and Rolf Gradinger are leading CoML's effort to catalog the diversity of sea creatures in the Arctic through the Arctic Ocean Biodiversity program.
Hopcroft, Bluhm and Gradinger's work has been featured in hundreds of national and international news outlets, including USA Today, Reuters, ABC News and Scientific American. Photographs by Hopcroft and SFOS graduate student Shawn Harper have also appeared in hundreds of media outlets including the National Geographic website.
Hopcroft, Bluhm and Gradinger completed 14 expeditions as part of the International Polar Year. The CoML is a ten-year, 70- nation initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution and abundance of marine life in the world's oceans.
Click on the image to download the Spring 2009 newsletter (3 MB PDF).
Greetings from the Dean
During the last year, our faculty and staff considered future directions for our school by establishing a new SFOS strategic plan. This plan will allow us to build on our existing strengths and chart a new course for the next decade.
Princess Tours gives $100,000
to UAF Marine Advisory Program
Princess Cruises & Tours has donated $100,000 to the University of Alaska Fairbanks for the support of the Marine Advisory Program.
SFOS scientists make headlines with Census of Marine Life findings
According to a Census of Marine Life press release in February, the waters of the Arctic and Antarctic share 235 marine species. CoML also documented the existence of 5,500 marine species in the Arctic and 7,500 in the Antarctic.
SFOS scientists key to Bering Sea studies
One of the richest and most productive marine ecosystems in the world, the Bering Sea region
provides more than half of the U.S. seafood catch and is home to dozens of marine mammal
species. It is also the source of ...
Juneau high school students do it again
For the third year in a row, high school students from Juneau have won first and second place in the Tsunami Bowl, Alaska's regional version of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl...
COSEE Alaska established; Sigman hired
Marilyn Sigman, a respected marine science educator from Homer, has been named education specialist for the new Alaska Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence in Anchorage.
SFOS dedicates Lena Point Fisheries Building
SFOS dedicated the new Lena Point Fisheries Building in Juneau on April 28. Governor Sarah Palin spoke at the ceremony and congratulated UAF on its contributions to fisheries science.
Other speakers included UA President Mark Hamilton, Representative Beth Kerttula and UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers.
Optimism during an economic recession
History shows that during tough economic times, more people decide to go to college. That's good news for SFOS, and good news for our state.
Standouts - Faculty and Staff News
Featured Faculty: Brenda Konar
Brenda Konar is an associate professor of marine biology who specializes in marine invertebrates and plants. She was raised in California, but she loves the chill and darkness of Fairbanks winters.
Spotlight on the Coastal Marine Institute
by Sharice Walker, CMI Technical Editor
The University of Alaska Coastal Marine Institute was created in June 1993 by a cooperative agreement between the University of Alaska and the U. S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Alaska Region.
Featured Student: Megan Murphy
Megan Murphy already knows she wants to live and work in Homer,
Alaska, and is pursuing a graduate degree in biological oceanography at
UAF to help her achieve this goal. She is studying the oceanographic effects
on crab larval transport in Kachemak Bay.
Standouts - Student News
Other Student News
Featured photo
Mayumi Arimitsu, a master's degree student in fisheries, conducting her thesis research in Kenai
Fjords National Park.