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Save the … parasites? Analyzing 140 years of parasite abundance in fish shows dramatic declines, especially in parasites that rely on three or more host species. The decline is linked to warming ocean temperatures. Parasitic species might be in real danger, researchers warn — and that means not just fewer worms, but losses for the entire ecosystem.

The release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for almost a quarter of global warming, is being studied around the world, from Arctic wetlands to livestock feedlots. A 91±¬ÁÏ team has discovered a source much closer to home: 349 plumes of methane gas bubbling up from the seafloor in Puget Sound, which holds more water than any other U.S. estuary.

How long would it take to walk the entire shoreline of Puget Sound? Which species are at risk here, and to what depths can the most adept bird and mammal divers reach? How much population growth can we expect in the next decade? A new resource published this week explores these questions and many more in the 2015 Puget Sound Fact Book, published by the Puget Sound Institute at 91±¬ÁÏ Tacoma. The online publication brings together stray “who knew?” tidbits,…

While the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was running a six-part series on problems plaguing Puget Sound, 91±¬ÁÏ undergraduates, graduate students and faculty were at work on board the 91±¬ÁÏ’s 274-foot research vessel gathering information needed to help puzzle out some of the sound’s most pressing problems.