Sound Waves - USGS Monthly Newsletter of Coastal Science - Stories in the May 2008 issue http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/ Tuesday, 13 May 2008 Tuesday, 13 May 2008 In an exciting new partnership between the Coast Salish (indigenous peoples of the Salish Sea ecoregion) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), members of western Washington Tribes and British Columbia First Nations will measure water quality in Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia during their annual summer canoe voyage, the Tribal Journey. http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2008/05/ Tuesday, 13 May 2008 A new study finds that all sea otters in an area with abundant food resources share the same dietary preferences. Where food is limited, however, a diverse array of feeding strategies emerges, with individual sea otters specializing on particular types of prey. http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2008/05/research.html Tuesday, 13 May 2008 Scientists from India and the United States met in Goa, India, to discuss the establishment of an International Partnership for Coastal Water Resources. http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2008/05/meetings.html Tuesday, 13 May 2008 TRACES will be the first project to trace the flow of genes and animals across the sea-floor communities of an entire ocean basin. This international undertaking will involve researchers from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in an integrated study of deep-sea coral communities. http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2008/05/meetings2.html Tuesday, 13 May 2008 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Alaska Science Center biologists Bob Gill and Dirk Derksen were presented with awards at the 25th Alaska Bird Conference. http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2008/05/awards.html Tuesday, 13 May 2008 Tim Tinker has joined the U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center as its newest research ecologist. http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2008/05/staff.html Tuesday, 13 May 2008 The U.S. Geological Survey will welcome a new group of USGS Mendenhall Postdoctoral Research Fellows on October 1, 2008. Of the 14 postdoctoral researchers in the class of FY09, 7 will be conducting research on coastal and marine topics. http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2008/05/staff2.html Tuesday, 13 May 2008