News and Events | Friday Harbor Laboratories

Jul 22, 2026 | Publications, Tide Bite

Tide Bite – August 2026

Echinoderms – seastars, urchins, cucumbers and others – are often used as symbols of the sea; they are found neither on land nor in freshwater so this is appropriate. So those of us who have a lifelong enchantment with marine critters would often list these as some of our favorite organisms – certainly I do.

Jun 24, 2026 | Publications, Tide Bite

Tide Bite – July 2026

We have often written about the ‘stickiness’ of FHL, where people return year after year, changing roles with time. Morrigan’s Tide Bite shows that some start this process very early, in this case as a first-year student at UW – and already they have come back as an undergraduate Teaching Assistant (TA).

May 26, 2026 | Publications, Tide Bite

Tide Bite – June 2026

The field of Biomechanics has been strong at FHL for decades, with research and classes exploring the links between biology and engineering in algae, invertebrates, and fishes. This essay explores a different organism than the usual suspects: a remarkable marine bird, the gannet.

Apr 23, 2026 | Publications, Tide Bite

Tide Bite – May 2026

Sometimes – maybe even often? – the most interesting results we get in our scientific endeavors are the unexpected ones, not the ones that confirm our hypotheses. These “what, really?” results can lead into exciting new directions and spawn new discoveries.

Mar 27, 2026 | Publications, Tide Bite

Tide Bite – April 2026

The following essay is both sad – as it follows the passing of a long-term and cherished colleague – and uplifting, as it celebrates his years of contributing at FHL and to marine science education.

Feb 23, 2026 | Publications, Tide Bite

Tide Bite – March 2026

Undergraduate Education at FHL: The Team Behind the Transformation
by Megan Dethier, Maia Kreis and Mar Wonham
Megan Dethier, the Purpose and the People:
A core part of the FHL mission is education – of undergraduate students, graduate students and lifelong learners.

Jan 26, 2026 | Publications, Tide Bite

Tide Bite – February 2026

Eelgrass research is an important part of the ecological work done at FHL, as reported in various previous Tide Bites (e.g., volumes 145, 125, 94) by scientists working on wasting disease, ecology, and restoration efforts.

Dec 17, 2025 | Publications, Tide Bite

Tide Bite – January 2026

Few invertebrates, terrestrial or marine, capture the human imagination as much as cephalopods, especially octopus. There’s something about those big eyes, those many arms, those remarkable behaviors…
In this essay, Willem connects the dots (the suckers?) between eyes, arms, behaviors — to explain how octopuses sense and process their world in unique ways.

Nov 25, 2025 | People, Publications, Tide Bite

Tide Bite – December 2025

Meet the Waterfront Staff
by Megan Dethier
Perhaps the two most important things for a high-functioning marine lab are an excellent seawater system and some kind of boat fleet. As any boat owner knows, boats (and places to keep them) are a handful – FHL has a small but mighty waterfront team who look after this very important facet of our operations.

Oct 23, 2025 | Publications, Tide Bite

Tide Bite – November 2025

At FHL we try hard to both honor our past by maintaining our core strengths and adapt to the needs of the FHL community. An example is the summer teaching program.