CMEC Lab Cleans Up at WSN’s 100th Anniversary Conference in Monterey (November, 2016)
CMEC Lab was well represented at this year’s WSN conference in sunny Monterey, California. Four awesome talks and three fantastic posters were presented over the 3 day conference… and as if that weren’t enough, TWO of the six awards were brought home.
A HUGE congratulations to Tanya Prinzing for winning Best Undergraduate Student Poster (based on her NSERC USRA summer research) and an EXTRA HUGE congratulations to Jenn Burt for wining Best Student Paper (Community/Ecosystem Ecology Category) for the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW! Jenn presented her PhD research on sea otter effects on kelp forests in BC’s central coast.
Other highlights included WSN’s Attitude Adjustment Hour at the incredible Monterey Aquarium and challenging UBC’s Harley Lab to a round of cornhole (beanbag toss). See the gallery for more fun pictures.
(L to R) Erin Slade, Jenn Burt, Jane Watson, Dan Okamoto, Hannah Kobluk, Natasha Salter, Markus Thompson, Tanya Prinzing, Erin Rechsteiner, Gabby Pang
Chasing Low Tides: Clam Garden Work on Quadra Island (October, 2016)
Natasha Salter and her clam team braved the cold, rain, and middle of the night working conditions to tear down her field experiment measuring clam garden productivity. Stay tuned to see what comes from this very cool project!
(L to R) Louis, Carolyn Prentice, Natasha Salter, Gabby Pang, Enhydra the boat
Yes B’y! CMEC Lab Returns from #IMCC4 in St. John’s, Newfoundland (August, 2016)
The Society for Conservation Biology’s 4th International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC 4) took place in St. John’s, Newfoundland this year. The theme was “Making Marine Science Matter” and the congress was attended by marine conservation professionals and students from academic institutions, NGOs and government agencies from all over the world. The sense of optimism and eagerness to come up with better tools to conserve the world’s oceans was palpable, along with the recognition of the importance of including social systems to inform marine conservation policy and management. Congratulations to Jenn Burt, who was recognized as a finalist for Best Student Presentation!
(L to R) Jenn Burt, Anne Salomon, Charlotte Whitney, Gabby Pang, Luis Malpica
Hakai Blog Showcases Hakai Institute and CMEC Lab Research on Mapping Temporal Changes of Kelp Bed Size (March 21, 2016)
Read more about kelp forest monitoring surveys and CMEC Lab’s involvement in this really cool project: https://www.hakai.org/blog/life-at-hakai/kelp-it-changin%E2%80%99
Hakai Blog Showcases CMEC Lab Research on the Effect of Sea Urchin Size on Grazing Rates in Kelp Forests (February 18, 2016)
Read more about CMEC Lab alumni Christine Stevenson’s work on sea urchin size: https://www.hakai.org/blog/life-at-hakai/sea-urchin-size-matters
Anne Salomon – Winner of 2015 SFU Outstanding Supervisor Award! (February 10, 2016)
Current and former CMEC Lab students, staff, and colleagues came together to nominate Anne for a Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Studies (Excellence in Supervision of Graduate Students). Not surprisingly, she got it 🙂
Check out this nice profile of Anne: https://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/blog/year/2016/02/AnneSalomon.html
On a Roll! CMEC Lab Knows How To Tell A Good Story (January & February, 2016)
Natasha Salter (MRM) won 2nd Place for “Best Three Minute Talk” at the 37th Pacific Ecology and Evolution Conference (PEEC) in Bamfield on February 28th (http://peec.ca/) AND Honourable Mention at the Inter-Departmental Ecology of Aquatic Ecosystems (IDEAS) Symposium at SFU on January 30th for her proposal talk on her upcoming field work on clam gardens.
Jenn Burt (PhD) broke new ground at the IDEAS Symposium this year, winning the Most Innovative award for her amazing video abstract entitled “Sea Urchin Abundance, Size, and Behaviour Drive Rates of Kelp Consumption in Temperate Rocky Reefs”.
Great start to 2016, girls!
Stories from the 2014 summer field season
Ever wonder what the CMEC lab does in the field? Check out two ‘storify’ summaries of what the lab has been up to!
May/June – https://storify.com/joshsilberg/cmec-lab-summer-field-work-part-i-1/
July – https://storify.com/joshsilberg/cmec-lab-summer-part-deux/
CMEC Boat Announcement
After 5 years of hard work, the CMEC lab is proud to announce the newest addition to the team…our boat! The boat will be used in its inaugural field season on BC’s Central Coast this spring and summer to support our research above and below the water.
We received naming entries from a diverse array of creative collaborators ranging from distinguished emeritus professors to 4 year-old seafarers. After much deliberation and thought, it has been decided that the CMEC lab boat shall hitherto be known as Enhydra! The winning name was co-suggested by Josh Silberg (CMEC Lab Member) and Dr. Jon Driver (Vice-President, Academic & Provost of Simon Fraser University). Enhydra means “in the water” and is also the Latin genus of the sea otter. Thank you to all who participated! Stay tuned to the CMEC lab website for field updates on how Endydra will be used in the field!
Coastal Marine Ecology and Conservation Lab 
Dr. Jim Estes – Adjunct Professor UC Santa Cruz
Proposed Boat Name – Hydrodamalis
Reason: Scientific name for the extinct North Pacific manatee-relative, the Steller’s sea cow
SeaMEC
Jeremy Stone – UBC School of Planning
Proposed Boat Name – The Silver Surfer
Reason: It’s a cool silver boat! (There was also a comic book character with this name)
Proposed name: sea-mec
Proposed name: Umiak
The Greenlanders name for their transport boat paddled by women
Elroy White – Heiltsuk Archaeologist and CMEC Collaborator
Proposed Boat Name: CMEC
Bob Paine – Professor Emeritus – University of Washington
Proposed Boat Name: Bedarke
Reason: Name in SE Alaska for black katy chiton that Anne studied for her PhD
Iris Wunsch – Greencoast Media
Proposed Boat Name: Moana
Reason: Means “Ocean” in Polynesian.
Jeff Warren – Assistant Professor – SFU Chemistry
Proposed Boat Name: Queen Anne’s Revenge
Tanya Storr – mother to nephew & sister to deckhand (& owner of former research vessel – canoe named Sweet Pea)
Proposed Boat Names: Current Lee, Eco-Sal, Kelpin, Sweet Pea II, Sweetest Pea, Tide-a-lee
John Kay – University of Toronto Emeritus Professor
Proposed Boat Name: Tula Quest
Karen Kohfeld – Associate REM Professor – SFU
Proposed Boat Name: Second Kelpings
Ken Lertzman – Hakai Professor – SFU
Proposed Boat Name: Essa
Reason: “Essa” is the true name of “foam on waves” in the language of the dragons in “Wizard of Earthsea”
Steve Katz – Associate Professor – Washington State University
Proposed Boat Name: Miss Behavin’
Reason: It was the name we stuffed the ballot box with when NOAA was running a similar contest for the Bel Shimada
Shirley Salomon
Proposed Boat Names: BeagleToo Or Beagle II
Reason: The original vessel allowed a very young scientist an opportunity to be part of a scientific mission. His observations which embraced a broad approach to the natural world were originally published as a Journal of Researches. I can see a parallel as this yet unnamed boat will be taking young graduates who are keen to hone their research skills and to apply them to current community concerns related to B.C.s changing coastal environment.
John Welch – REM & Archaeology Associate Professor – SFU
Safety officer says to keep it simple and honorific: “Tula”
Tim Storr – Deckhand
Proposed Boat Name: SnaFU
James Alan Storr Park, age 4, Quadra Island – nephew to Auntie Anne and proud member of sea trials crew
Proposed Boat Name: Joko
Reason: he likes it!
Dr. Alan Storr – Professor Emeritus UBC Chemistry
Proposed Boat Name: Saltori
Dr. Norm Sloan – Marine Ecologist – Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve
Proposed Boat Name: MV Blob Sculpin
Reason: In honour of the deep sea
Carl Humchitt – Heiltsuk collaborator on 2011 Herring research
Proposed Boat Name: Cal-H
Steve Daigle – Daigle Welding & Marine (Builder of the boat)
Proposed Boat Names: Aluminus, Sample Seeker, Queen of the North III, Adventurous, Explorathor, Exploratory, Labaway
Alexandra Steinmetz – Producer and long time ocean supporter
Proposed Boat Name: SS Sea Murray
Reason: After the one and only Bill Murray, because everything should be named after him.
Gary Wilson – Heiltsuk Economic Development Corporation
Proposed Name: Amphibian 1
Reason: it is in reference to your comments about research below and above water, which I am assuming research is conducted on shore, as well.
Josh Silberg – SFU Master’s Student & CMEC Lab Member
Proposed Boat Name: Enhydra
Reason: Enhydra lutris is the Latin name for the sea otter, a creature that plays a considerable role in many CMEC lab research projects.
This has to win!
I was going to suggest the same name! “Enhydra” means “in the water”, so this might be a good name for a boat. It might also be worth considering the Heiltsuk name for sea otter