Page 3 – Seattle Aquarium

How J. Kenji López-Alt makes it a day at the Seattle waterfront

Posted on August 21, 2024December 24, 2024 by Joseph Becker

The chef, author and Seattle Aquarium member recently partnered with the Aquarium to map a food-centric day at the Seattle waterfront. Kenji’s itinerary includes several snack stops—and a pause to pet sea cucumbers at our Life on the Edge habitat.

Download itinerary as a PDF

J. Kenji López-Alt’s day at the waterfront

Chef | author | Seattle Aquarium member

Follow along with me as I make it a day on the Seattle Waterfront. Nothing beats food with a Puget Sound view! 

1: Khachapuri from Skalka

If you like the idea of really good flatbread—like fluffy pita or charred pizza dough—filled with cheese, butter and eggs, you’ll have a good time. 

2: Seattle Aquarium 

Work up an appetite while visiting their many habitats. We love interacting with the sea cucumbers in the touch pools and feeling their slick, leathery skin. 

3: Antojito from Maíz 

This Mexican spot starts with fresh masa and serves up tacos, tamales and more, all filled with delicious, dripping guisados of the day. 

4: Hoagie from Post Alley Pizza 

The pizza is fantastic but the hoagies are the sleeper hit. Built on freshly-baked rolls, piled with cold cuts, provolone, greens, oil, vinegar and “jazz” seasoning. 

More Seattle waterfront itinerary highlights

Ivar’s
Okinawa Teriyaki 
World Spice 
Aditi Chai 
Pier 62 
Pike Place Fish Market
The Seattle Great Wheel 
Pike Place Buskers (located throughout Pike Place Market)

From idea to ecosystem: Creating the Ocean Pavilion’s biggest habitat

Posted on July 30, 2024August 6, 2024 by Emma Leiser

Famously beautiful and fiercely important, coral reefs are bursting with many different forms of life, making them hubs of biodiversity. With the opening of our Ocean Pavilion expansion, the Seattle Aquarium will say hello to The Reef, a multistory habitat that mirrors an Indo-Pacific coral reef. Its warm waters will house fish, including sharks and rays. This thriving reef ecosystem will also be visible to anyone walking by the Aquarium via the building’s public oculus window.

But what does it take to transform a slice of downtown Seattle into a tropical reef? A lot, it turns out.

Planning it out

With the Ocean Pavilion, Aquarium leaders wanted to create a window into the Coral Triangle, a region of unmatched marine biodiversity in the Indo-Pacific. Guests would experience both the stunning natural beauty of the area and learn more about the connections between the Coral Triangle and our local marine ecosystems—and the challenges both regions face. After the experience, guests would be motivated to take action to regenerate the health of Earth’s one ocean.

Throughout the Aquarium’s years-long planning process, the decision of which animals could live in The Reef and how to design the habitat were intertwined. Over several years the Aquarium’s animal care, engineering, and engagement teams worked alongside the Ocean Pavilion architect (LMN) and habitat designer (Thinc) teams to create environments that support animal wellbeing and facilitate connections between the animals and guests.

That collaborative process resulted in plans for The Reef to include an open swimming area, crevices created by corals and rockwork, and flat, sandy enclaves. Each area provides critical habitats for the different tropical animals that comprise a reef ecosystem. The open swimming area gives animals, including spotted eagle rays and other cartilaginous fish known as elasmobranchs, plenty of room to move freely. The sandy areas give bottom-dwelling elasmobranchs, like Indo-Pacific leopard sharks, a place to rest. And the corals and rocks—including a large rock wall near a central viewing window—provide the kinds of protective spaces that smaller fish naturally seek out.

Populating The Reef

Our teams designed The Reef with the animals in mind. Animal care experts knew the habitat would need to support resident species throughout their lives. And all these different species needed to coexist, so large predator species would not be a good fit. Finally, we focused on getting these animals through sustainable means. All of the elasmobranchs in The Reef came from other zoos and aquariums or were diverted from the commercial fish trade.

Corals presented an animal care concern. Reef-building stony corals need an intense amount of light, which is difficult to simulate and maintain deep in an aquarium habitat. Stony corals also need water with high levels of calcium and other supplements, which is challenging to replicate in a closed environment with other animals. Ultimately, the team chose to include only handmade corals in The Reef, representing about 40 different species. Over 30 species of living corals will occupy other habitats in the Ocean Pavilion where they can safely thrive.

The animal care work for the Ocean Pavilion began over two years ago when the first animals came to the Aquarium’s off-site Animal Care Center. Since then, our aquarists have become very familiar with the needs of these fishes, invertebrates (animals without backbones) and even mangrove trees!

Prepping the habitat

Unlike our habitats at Piers 59 and 60, the Ocean Pavilion has a closed loop system, meaning once water enters the building, it generally stays and recirculates. The water comes in from Elliott Bay and completes a treatment process that includes heating, filtration and disinfection so it can safely mimic the water found in the Coral Triangle. But before animals can safely swim in the water, a different group of organisms needs to set up shop: bacteria!

Two different types of nitrifying bacteria break down ammonia-rich animal waste. The first type transforms ammonia into nitrites. The second turns nitrites into nitrates, which are safer to have around. The Aquarium’s Water Quality team cultivated populations of these bacteria in about a month by creating the ideal conditions for them to reproduce and thrive.

Before animals enter the habitat, the Engineering team thoroughly tests elements of the life support systems, which maintain all habitats and water throughout the building. These tests make sure the temperature regulation, filters, pumps, pipes and more run smoothly. The team always has failsafe redundancies built into habitat systems and backup plans in case of an emergency to ensure animal wellbeing.

Moving in

Habitat? Check. Water? Check. Systems? Check. Time for the animals!

The team starts by carefully planning the transport of each animal to the Animal Care Center so they can quarantine. This is an important time to help the animals settle into their temporary habitats and assess their health status.

When fish are ready to move into The Reef, the team starts by introducing groups of small schooling fishes. These smaller fish need ample time to get to know their new home and find the hiding spots where they feel most comfortable. Then we move on to introducing larger fishes, with the elasmobranchs brought in later in the lineup.

Moving animals into The Reef is an unhurried, carefully monitored process. Each new addition requires a period of observation to make sure the animals are adjusting well. Once the animal care, veterinary, water quality and engineering teams agree that the animals and the habitat are doing well, the next wave of animals can come in.

This highly involved process can take weeks or even months, but it is the best way to ensure animal wellbeing.

Protecting wild coral

The Reef at the Ocean Pavilion may have taken years to come together, but wild coral reefs take even longer. Large reef systems, like barriers and atolls, can take millions of years to fully form.

Reef-building corals—which are animals that live in large groups called colonies—use calcium carbonate to build their stony skeletons. Build rates vary from species to species, but in the Coral Triangle, even the fastest corals add less than an inch per year to their skeletons.

Despite the fact that they take up less than 1% of the seafloor, coral reefs are incredibly important marine ecosystems. They support about 25% of known marine life, providing crucial habitat space and other resources. Humans benefit too because these reefs protect shorelines and provide food, medicine and more. Unfortunately, corals face many threats including climate change, rising ocean temperatures, pollution and unsustainable fishing practices.

When you visit the Ocean Pavilion, you’ll experience the wonder of coral reefs and learn more about how people around the world are working to restore these ecosystems. No matter where you are, from the Coral Triangle to the Salish Sea and beyond, you can join them today.

To reduce your carbon footprint, try walking or taking public transit. You can even pick up litter when you see it on the beach. Keep our waterways clean by limiting fertilizer usage in your greenspaces. Some sunscreens have chemicals that hurt corals. Choose reef-safe formulas to protect yourself and corals! Visit our Act for the ocean page to learn more.

Don’t miss “puffin plumage palooza” at the Seattle Aquarium!

Posted on July 23, 2024July 25, 2024 by Emma Leiser

Ahhh, summer in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Sunshine, blue skies, warming temperatures and…breeding plumage? If you’re a tufted puffin, the answer is yes. These charismatic alcids (or diving birds) are all dressed up for the season—and now is the perfect time to see them!

Birds of a feather sticking together

Tufted puffins are sometimes called “the parrots of the sea” because of their dramatic and colorful change in appearance during their breeding season. Beginning at about age 3, both males and females develop a bright orange bill plate (complemented by vibrant orange legs!), a white “face mask” and—our favorite part—distinctive golden tufts above their eyes, also the source of their common name.

These striking features have an important purpose: helping the tufted puffins find a suitable mate. Once together, they often become a bonded pair and form lifetime partnerships. Females typically produce a single egg, which both parents take turns incubating until the chick hatches about six weeks later.

Amazing all year ‘round

Tufted puffins get more muted—but only in appearance!—with the close of the summer breeding season. Their tufts and bill plates fall off, the white mask is replaced with black feathers and their legs return to their typical grayish/brownish color. They’re still absolutely fascinating to watch as they, like all alcids, appear to “fly” underwater while diving for their next meal of small schooling prey such as herring, krill and shrimp.

If hunting solely for themselves, they’ll gulp the food down while still under the surface. But if they’ve been successful during the breeding season and have a chick to feed, they can carry between five and 20 fish back to the nest, held crosswise in their bills!

"Puffin plumage palooza" is waiting for you!

Here at the Seattle Aquarium, we have five tufted puffins in our care. If you’d like to see them in all their colorful glory, now is the time—they typically begin to lose their breeding plumage just as we’re saying goodbye to summer in Seattle, late August or early September.

Plan a visit today to meet the tufted puffins, learn more about them and explore our habitats to find other new favorite marine animals!

Quiz: Who’s your tropical reef alter ego?

Posted on July 17, 2024July 19, 2024 by Emma Leiser

To celebrate the Ocean Pavilion’s August 29 opening, we created a fun quiz. Meet some of the amazing species that will call the Ocean Pavilion home, and discover which is most like you!

The ripple effect: Former youth volunteers make conservation a career, part 2

Posted on July 3, 2024September 25, 2024 by Emma Leiser

In our recent web story, we highlighted a number of former Youth Ocean Advocates, or YOAs—folks who participated in our teen volunteer program and then went on to a variety of ocean-related careers. Today, we’re happy to share several more.

These are just a few examples of the many young marine enthusiasts (over 2,500 since the program launched in 1994!) who learned and grew at the Seattle Aquarium—and then, in a wonderful ripple effect, went on to make a difference for the marine environment in their jobs and communities. We hope you enjoy reading their stories.

“The Seattle Aquarium shaped my journey and helped me see the tremendous impact of science education in informal settings.”

—Bethany Shimasaki, YOA 2012–2015

Imagine spending your days on the water, helping people discover the wonders of the ocean and the animals that live there. That’s what Bethany does: She works in ecotourism in Washington and Hawai‘i, specifically for small businesses that follow whale-watching guidelines. She shares knowledge with tour guests and, by taking photos of the whales she sees, she’s able to contribute data to researchers.

“I’ve been inspired by humpback whales since I was little,” she says. “I grew up in the San Juan Islands and spent a lot of my childhood on a boat.” Her curiosity and love for humpbacks only grew with time; in high school, she worked as a deckhand for a local whale-watching tour.

“Attending a career fair at the Seattle Aquarium helped me realize that people can do this for a living,” she comments. “I was shy and didn’t see my potential, but becoming a YOA helped me realize that I could talk to people.” She continues, “Education is key to changing policy. And if I can give people a connection to humpbacks, they’ll start caring and acting to protect them.”

“It defined my high school years and gave me a community that I’ll forever belong to. I became a part of the Seattle Aquarium and never left.”

—Trinity Conn, YOA 2012–2015

The first time Trinity walked through the Aquarium’s Pacific Coral Reef habitat, she was captivated. “The corals blew my mind,” she says. “They looked so weird that I just had to know more.” By then, Trinity already knew she wanted to be a scientist. “I loved animals, marine life, the ocean and being outdoors right from the start,” she comments.

Trinity joined the YOA program in high school because she wanted to learn more about careers in marine conservation and see how she felt working in that world. Her years of volunteer service only fueled her interest in coral. “It felt like an unexplored world with so much to learn,” she explains.

That curiosity is still driving her. Trinity recently earned her Ph.D. from Penn State University, where she studied coral genomics and conservation. She is now continuing that work as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Shedd Aquarium.

“Being a YOA was the spark that ignited my lifelong passion for conservation and driving larger social change—it provided a platform for me to learn, grow and hone my advocacy skills.”

—Derek Baker, YOA 1995–1997

Sometimes former YOAs make their way back to the Aquarium—like Derek Baker, our senior director of strategic initiatives and government affairs. After graduating from Western Washington University with a double major in political science and communication, he held numerous roles in government and the private sector related to public policy, community organizing and communications. When the opportunity arose to join our staff in 2018, he jumped at it.

“I’ve always had a passion for our marine environment and effecting change,” he notes. “I was excited to take the skills I learned around public policy, community organizing and the power of connecting with people through storytelling, and apply them to ocean conservation at the Aquarium.”

Derek continues, “The challenges facing our ocean and planet can appear daunting, but educating and bringing government stakeholders to the table can make large-scale change possible for our communities. Just like our ocean, government and its policies touch us all—and bringing policymakers to the table will ultimately lead to a healthier future for everyone.”

“Meeting and working with Seattle Aquarium staff members made me realize I could make my love of the ocean my job.”

—Hyejoo Ro, YOA 2012–2015

Hyejoo grew up in the Pacific Northwest where, she says, “I was always interested in the marine environment, always outside and surrounded by nature—which really helped foster my empathy for animals.” Field trips to the Aquarium, the University of Washington and various labs opened her eyes to the idea that her love of animals and nature could become more than just a hobby.

Hyejoo brought her love for the ocean to college, where she’s currently in graduate school at the University of California–Merced. Her research is focused on understanding the dietary patterns of predators with stable isotopes, which are a tool that traces and reflects diet and habitat. She’s studied how shark or grey wolf diets differ according to different life history traits, like age and sex or where they live. Her work is centered on whether these predators are considered to be keystone species and their impact on other populations.

She’s not stopping there. In the future, Hyejoo would like to continue her research with stable isotopes because, she says, “They are a tool that can shed light on complex ecological interactions between species in any system—marine, terrestrial, estuaries, rivers, lakes and more.”

“My time at the Aquarium helped me break out of my shell. I was super shy and it helped me grow.”

—Liz Allyn, YOA 2014–2015

As a marine mammal technician for Makah Fisheries, Liz has found a sweet spot in the space where policy and research meet. She’s focused on evaluating strategies to restore local salmon, including studying seal and sea lion populations in Puget Sound. In what she describes as “a little of everything,” her role involves both fieldwork and data analysis.

“My childhood was centered around the ocean,” Liz says. She spent weekends on the beach at Golden Gardens and visited the coasts of Oregon and Maine. “I wanted to be either a marine biologist or a human rights lawyer—and, as it’s turned out, my career is kind of an intersection of those things,” she explains.

Participating in what was then called our Citizen Science program through her high school marine biology class in 2012, Liz researched sea stars. “That’s when it hit me: people do this for work,” she says. She soon joined the YOA program, one of the many steps that helped lead her to where she is today. Going forward, she aims to finish her Master of Science in fisheries at the University of Washington and continue working at the intersection of marine ecology and treaty resource management.

Be part of the next generation of Youth Ocean Advocates

With the opening of the Ocean Pavilion this year, the YOA program’s capacity will grow even further. Offering school-year and summer sessions, it’s open to young people enrolled in grades 9–12 in a high school, Running Start, GED or homeschool program at the time of application. Interested in becoming a YOA—or know someone who might be? You’ll find details on our Youth Ocean Advocates webpage.

Let tropical corals inspire you

Posted on June 24, 2024June 25, 2024 by Emma Leiser

Coral reefs are symphonies of nature. Each member plays a unique and essential role.

Even in this community of exquisite players, corals themselves stand out. Rock? Plant? Alien? Corals can resemble any of these. Yet they are, in fact, animals.

Slowly and masterfully, in tropical and temperate waters, corals grow. They form colonies and, in some cases, large reefs—structures that many other animals adapt into hiding places and homes. In total, around one in four ocean animals makes their home in a coral reef.

The vibrant tropical reefs of the Coral Triangle inspired our new Ocean Pavilion—coming soon to the waterfront. And right now, corals you’ll encounter at the Ocean Pavilion are growing at our offsite Animal Care Center, tended to by skilled teams.

In the wild, coral populations are fragile and disappearing at astonishing rates because of human-induced climate change and ocean acidification. To avoid impacting wild populations, we help the corals in our care reproduce asexually through a process called fragmenting or propagation.

Enjoy a sneak peek at these marvels. And when the Ocean Pavilion opens, come see them in person. We can’t wait to inspire you with the beauty of coral reef ecosystems and stories of how people are working to protect them.

Immerse yourself in our coral portraits

Dive deeper into corals at the Aquarium

The ripple effect: Former youth volunteers make conservation a career, part 1

Posted on June 18, 2024September 25, 2024 by Emma Leiser

Our volunteer program for high-school-aged teens, Youth Ocean Advocates (YOA), launched in 1994—and since then, has attracted over 2,500 marine enthusiasts. These youth volunteers (known as YOAs) often share that the experience has either furthered their existing desire for a career in marine conservation, or helped them discover a new one.

Here, we bring you the stories of a few of the many YOAs who have followed their dreams and, in a beautiful ripple effect, are continuing to benefit the marine environment through their careers. Watch for part two of this series, where we’ll introduce you to more former YOAs making a difference for ocean health!

“Having a sense of purpose and understanding the value of your opinion and knowledge was a really important lesson, especially as a young woman of color. It opened doors for me.”

—Jasmine Prat, YOA 2010–2013

Jasmine Prat went snorkeling for the first time during a family vacation when she was in 4th grade. “It blew my mind,” she says. “Seeing a whole new world underwater for the first time.” After moving to Seattle in the middle of high school, she jumped at the opportunity to join the YOA program to learn more about the ocean and meet new people.

“It was priceless,” she says, describing her experience. “It taught me how to inspire others and have an open mind and ear—and developed my own confidence too. Feeling like an expert at that age was really formative.”

Jasmine went on to earn a master’s in environmental science at Washington State University and is now a foreign affairs specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring, Maryland. In her role, she helps draft and implement international policy regulating the high seas and marine mammal bycatch.

“My time at the Aquarium was my base. It locked me into wanting to be a marine biologist.”

—Emma Strand, YOA 2012–2014

Emma Strand grew up loving the ocean and fantasizing about being a marine biologist. She says that, in addition to solidifying her career ambitions, participating in the YOA program helped increase her communication skills and confidence.

Scuba diving played a key role too. During a dive in Honduras, she saw the effects of coral bleaching firsthand, and found it fascinating that some corals were bleaching while others still appeared to be thriving.

“That experience sparked a curiosity that’s become the basis of my research,” she says. After earning her Ph.D. in biological and environmental sciences with a specialty in evolution and marine biology from the University of Rhode Island, she joined Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute as a postdoctoral scientist. Her current research is focused on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture—developing genomic tools to advance research-based sustainable management of marine environments; and climate change resilience— investigating how marine organisms respond to rapidly changing environments.

“It was a transformative experience for me. The program showed the potential to bridge passions into careers.”

—Noah Chesnin, YOA 1997–1999

Noah Chesnin was 16 when he joined what was then called our teen naturalist program in 1998. “I was shy and nervous,” he recalls. “But putting on a Seattle Aquarium t-shirt gave me the confidence to share my passion with visitors.”

After earning a master’s in environmental management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, Noah went on to a stint at the Conservation Law Foundation, shaping policy related to ocean issues. That experience helped him realize that he wanted to focus on engagement and build a public movement.

He’s now the director of policy and outreach for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Seascape Program, the conservation initiative of the New York Aquarium, where he leads policy advocacy work, including nominating and building a coalition to advocate for the designation of Hudson Canyon as a National Marine Sanctuary. He also serves as vice chair of the proposed Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council and on the executive committee and as policy work group co-chair of the Aquarium Conservation Partnership—a consortium of 29 U.S. aquariums and zoos working collaboratively on conservation policy.

“Becoming a YOA gave me confidence to talk to anyone—as well as confidence in what I did and didn’t know.”

—Anja Brandon, YOA 2008–2012

As a young child, Anja Brandon loved animals and dreamed of working at a zoo. But a field trip to the Seattle Aquarium changed all of that. “I fell in love with the tiny invertebrates and was inspired by how everything appeared to be connected and worked together,” she says.

She joined the YOA program as soon as she was able, and credits it with helping to develop her public speaking and customer skills. “Having exposure to staff members and volunteers alike helped build connections that I’ve been able to use throughout my career,” she comments.

And what a career it is! With a Ph.D. in environmental engineering at Stanford University, Anja is now the associate director of U.S. Plastics Policy at Ocean Conservancy, where she helps write legislative text for states working on policy. Among her many achievements, she helped write the federal “Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act” (S. 984) and California’s “Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act” (S.B. 54).

Be part of the next generation of Youth Ocean Advocates

How will the Ocean Pavilion model sustainable design?

Posted on May 15, 2024May 26, 2025 by Emma Leiser

This summer, the Seattle Aquarium’s campus will expand when our new Ocean Pavilion opens.

As we began this project, we asked ourselves a key question: How can a technically complex building like an aquarium—which must keep animals healthy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year—model sustainable design?

Navigating that answer has spanned years and included architects, regenerative designers, engineers, builders, animal experts and many others! Dive in with us:

The Ocean Pavilion’s sustainability features

When it’s complete, the Ocean Pavilion will be owned by the City of Seattle. It will serve as a living laboratory dedicated to ocean health. With that in mind, we designed the building to use energy, water and materials efficiently and with care. The Ocean Pavilion will:

Operate 100% fossil fuel free.
Recirculate 96% of the salt water in its habitats—meaning that once water enters the building from Elliott Bay, it remains in the building.
Recapture heat from the warm-water habitats to warm the building.
Feature carefully chosen materials, like the Alaskan yellow cedar exterior panels on the building’s west face, which are Forest Stewardship Council-certified and come from an Indigenous-led company.
Use large windows to reduce the amount of electricity needed for indoor lights.
And much more!

Explore salt water in the Ocean Pavilion: The Ocean Pavilion’s saltwater habitats are what’s called a “closed-loop” system. Watch our video to learn more:

Get nerdy with us: Learn how our Water Quality team uses science to maintain healthy saltwater habitats.

What “green building” certifications is the Ocean Pavilion pursuing?

The Ocean Pavilion will be LEED Gold-certified (update, May 2025: certification received!). We’re also targeting Zero Carbon Certification from the International Future Living Institute (ILFI), which includes requirements beyond LEED.

The ILFI is a global nonprofit that certifies advanced sustainable and regenerative buildings. ILFI Zero Carbon Certification is a rigorous international standard for buildings that are highly energy efficient and have fully neutralized their carbon emissions, meaning that they do not add any net carbon to the atmosphere.

Earning this certification requires neutralizing both operational and embodied carbon:

Operational carbon comes from emissions required to heat, cool and power the building.
Embodied carbon is different. It refers to emissions generated by raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation and installation of building materials (in other words, the emissions generated by creating the building’s materials and constructing it).

Zero Carbon Certification requires us to offset 100% of the building’s operational energy use with new renewable energy. Some buildings meet this requirement by adding rooftop solar panels, but our rooftop will be a space for the public to enjoy. So, instead we’re working on an agreement that will add additional renewable energy capacity to Seattle’s electric grid.

The best part? This additional capacity will meet our needs and provide additional renewable energy that others can use. Stay tuned for more details on that step.

Many green building experts consider ILFI certifications like Zero Carbon Certification to be especially challenging. Why? They’re based on actual performance over 12 consecutive months—not plans or estimates. We’re proud to be the first aquarium building in the world to pursue an ILFI certification. We hope to be the first of many.

A growing number of organizations are adopting this certification:

Climate Pledge Arena here in Seattle (world’s first arena to be certified)
Google’s 6 Pancras Square office in London (world’s first building project to be certified)
Microsoft’s Puget Sound and Silicon Valley campuses (pursuing certification)

Why the focus on carbon?

We all impact the ocean through our actions. The Aquarium is no different!

Too much carbon in the atmosphere is warming the ocean and planet. These changes are wreaking havoc on delicate ocean ecosystems. As coastal storms intensify and seawater levels rise, human communities are feeling the impacts too.

Since 2012, the Aquarium has been carbon neutral, meaning that we’ve offset any emissions we’ve produced so that we don’t add net carbon to the atmosphere. And since 2014, we’ve offset more carbon than we emit for scope 1 and 2 emissions. In 2020, we took that further by also offsetting more than we emit for select scope 3 emissions. (Learn more about scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions on the EPA website.) When purchasing carbon offsets, we work with a climate consultant to select options that are third-party verified and align with our values.

Plans are in the works to revitalize the other buildings on the Aquarium’s campus—and we’ll continue challenging ourselves to meet tough green building standards. This goal complements the work we’re doing every day to conduct marine conservation research, advocate for ocean-friendly policies, rescue animals, provide exceptional animal care and restore endangered species—all of which are possible with support and engagement from our community members—like you!

Health care for feathered friends at the Aquarium: A birds-eye view

Posted on May 8, 2024May 9, 2024 by Emma Leiser

This story is part of our series, The Doctor Is In—highlighting our veterinary team’s expertise in service of animal wellbeing.

It’s not just marine mammals at the Aquarium who are trained to cooperatively participate in their own health care. The birds entrusted to us participate in their own care too. How do they do it? By eating!

“Animal care staff can closely monitor food consumption to help assess health,” says Supervisor of Birds and Mammals Sara Perry. “We count how many and what type of fish or bug each bird eats during the day. Overall behavior during a feeding can tell us a lot about the wellness of the bird as well.”

Working toward the clean plate club

When feeding alcids (including the common murres, rhinoceros auklet and tufted puffins in our care), staff can also deliver specific vitamins or necessary medications, expertly hidden in a tasty fish. It’s similar to how parents of young children may “hide” vegetables in a favorite food!

The comparison to human children doesn’t stop there: Animal care staff often need to be creative and patient when feeding birds. “They’re not like a sea otter who will usually eat anything at any time, or a seal who just gulps fish down. Ask any of our staff, feeding the birds takes finesse!” Sara laughs. “We rely on our knowledge of each bird, their behavior and their preferences—depending on time of year—and apply it to a group setting.”

"You look like you haven't aged a bit!"

Here at the Seattle Aquarium, we have a good number of elderly birds in our care. But it’s hard to know that just by looking at them. Why? Birds don’t show graying of feathers as they age, unlike the graying or lightening of hair and fur of mammals (including us humans!)—so it’s not possible to estimate age based on that indicator.

Birds do show other age-related changes that are seen in mammals, though. For instance, their mobility and vision may deteriorate over time, their appetites may change, and they may rest more than younger birds. “Our Aquarium staff know each bird as an individual, which allows us to adjust feeding and spaces to help the older ones,” comments Director of Animal Health Dr. Caitlin Hadfield. “It’s all in the name of taking the best possible care of each bird at the Aquarium for their whole lives.”

Did you know?

All the birds (and mammals) at the Seattle Aquarium fall into one of two categories—they were either born at a zoo or aquarium or they were rescued and have been deemed non-releasable according to the guidelines established by government agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and policies such as the Migratory Bird Act.

Providing the very best care and quality of life for the animals entrusted to us—at all stages of their lives—is a vital part of our mission, Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment. Learn more about birds at the Aquarium on our website or, better yet, plan a visit with us soon!

What is biodiversity and why is it important to us?

Posted on April 22, 2024December 12, 2024 by Emma Leiser

If you took a time machine back to four billion years ago, life would look very different. Because all life forms would look nearly the same! All life on Earth shares a common ancestor, but billions of years of genetic mutations took us from microscopic organisms to millions of unique species, adapted to live all around the world. This wide variety of life is known as biodiversity.

Biodiversity has three components: genes, species and ecosystems. All living things have genes, which guide how the organism will look and behave. Genes mutate, and these changes can impact how well organisms survive in their environment. Over time, genetic changes build up, eventually leading to distinct species. Many different species and nonliving environmental factors—including water, minerals, currents, wind and temperature—interact to function as an ecosystem, where they fulfill different roles. The global ecosystem of all Earth’s living beings is called the biosphere.

For example, an organism’s genes determine whether it grows a shell to become a mussel, sprouts many tentacles like a sea anemone or grows wings like a black oystercatcher. In a rocky shore ecosystem, these species all coexist. Each fills a different role, like how mussels filter water, anemones provide other organisms shelter and black oystercatchers maintain balance in the populations of their prey species.

Biodiversity's importance

A diverse ecosystem with many different species is more likely to survive natural and human-made catastrophes like floods, storms, wildfires and marine heat waves. The members of that ecosystem offer a wide range of possible strengths and defenses. Each adaptation represents a potential way to help the ecosystem bounce back from challenges.

Species within an ecosystem are connected, which means a threat to any one species could have surprisingly widespread effects.

Sea otters represent a classic example of the dangers of disregarding biodiversity. During the 18th and 19th centuries, hunters and fur traders nearly drove sea otters to extinction. The decline in sea otters led to an explosion of sea urchins, their prey, since there were no longer enough sea otters to fill the role of predator. The urchins overgrazed kelp beds, which are vital habitats for many marine species, including rockfish and salmon. Sea otter populations are on the rebound thanks to conservation efforts, but recovery of these ecosystems is a lengthy process.

Think of an ecosystem like a car. A car is made up of many different parts, some of them small or unseen. If your car were to lose one bolt, would you still want to drive it? What about two bolts or a headlight or even a whole tire? How many parts would you be willing to lose before you no longer feel safe?

Marine species face many human-caused threats, including overfishing, climate change, habitat loss and pollution. Losses of marine biodiversity have brought huge changes to ecosystems. And since Earth’s ecosystems connect to create the biosphere, losses of biodiversity could mean planet-wide changes, affecting us all.

Billions of people—including you!—rely on the ocean for food, medicine and other resources. Changes in marine ecosystems, like the continuous problem of overfishing, could threaten these resources. In addition, your job might be connected to the sea. Your favorite vacation spot or even your home might be located near a body of water that is vulnerable to coastal erosion, dangerous storms or species losses.

Threats to biodiversity could mean the loss of culturally important species or activities, especially for Indigenous communities. Some endangered marine species—including sea otters and southern resident orcas—are considered culturally significant by people native to the Pacific Northwest. Indigenous peoples have stewarded coastal areas since time immemorial and continue to lead efforts to protect marine biodiversity. Their traditional knowledge is vital to conservation work.

Our biodiversity initiatives

The Seattle Aquarium is involved in many conservation projects that aim to protect and restore biodiversity in the Salish Sea and beyond. Among our longest-running projects are seasonal and annual surveys of Washington’s sea otter population. The more information we have on sea otters, the better we can understand what conditions they need to thrive.

We are also involved in recovery projects for Indo-Pacific leopard sharks, kelp and xʷč’iłqs, which is the Lushootseed word for pinto abalone. The Seattle Aquarium values the expertise of Indigenous people and has partnered with tribes, Indigenous leaders, and local communities in Washington State and in the Coral Triangle on research and conservation efforts for these species.

Celebrating biodiversity at the Ocean Pavilion

Our new Ocean Pavilion expansion will bring the jaw-dropping biodiversity of the Coral Triangle to Seattle. Coral reefs are hubs of biodiversity. They support about a quarter of known marine life, despite taking up less than 1% of the seafloor. Known as the “Amazon of the ocean,” the Coral Triangle is a reef system in the Indo-Pacific that is considered the most biologically diverse marine ecoregion in the world. It contains 75% of known coral species, including at least 15 endemic species that are found nowhere else on the planet.

The Ocean Pavilion is designed to celebrate the biodiversity of Earth’s one ocean. The design process included cross-cultural collaboration between local Coast Salish and urban Indigenous leaders and the Aquarium’s design and architectural team.

When the building opens this summer, you’ll have the chance to come face to face with over 100 different tropical marine species. Through the Ocean Pavilion’s publicly accessible oculus window, you’ll see the beauty of a healthy reef ecosystem just by walking by. And native plantings on the rooftop and public artwork will highlight the relationships between Coast Salish communities and shoreline ecosystems.

By surrounding yourself in the ocean’s bounty of life—whether on a visit to the Aquarium or a trip to the shore—you can appreciate your part in the global web of biodiversity. And the role you can play in protecting it.

J. Kenji López-Alt’s day at the waterfront

More Seattle waterfront itinerary highlights

Planning it out

Populating The Reef

Prepping the habitat

Moving in

Protecting wild coral

Birds of a feather sticking together

Amazing all year ‘round

"Puffin plumage palooza" is waiting for you!

Be part of the next generation of Youth Ocean Advocates

Immerse yourself in our coral portraits

Dive deeper into corals at the Aquarium

Be part of the next generation of Youth Ocean Advocates

The Ocean Pavilion’s sustainability features

What “green building” certifications is the Ocean Pavilion pursuing?

Why the focus on carbon?

Working toward the clean plate club

"You look like you haven't aged a bit!"

Did you know?

Biodiversity's importance

Our biodiversity initiatives

Celebrating biodiversity at the Ocean Pavilion

Website maintenance

Cyber Weekend Sale