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Colin Levings 🇨🇦

@cdlevings.bsky.social
837 followers 545 following 39 posts

Retired/active fisheries scientist-oceanographer - interested in estuaries&salmonids, benthos, fjords, nautical history & bunch other things. Author Salmonids in Estuaries bit.ly/2FrfJoy. Sailed on Western Flyer 22 y after Ricketts. colinlevings.ca

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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Evidence of a warm winter 2025-2026-annual Fuschia that we accidentally left hanging outside last autumn is doing very well this summer. Maybe this is more common than I think in our area. Anyway humming birds are loving it. Pender Harbour BC
Evidence of a warm winter 2025-2026-perennial Fuschia that we accidentally left hanging outside last autumn is doing very well this summer. Maybe this is more common than I think in our area. Anyway humming birds are loving it. Pender Harbour BC
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
A bucket list and lessons learned paper -short title Levings, C. D., & Macdonald, J. S. (2026). Historical case study of a transfer experiment that demonstrated the importance of the estuarine ecosystem for the survival of Chinook salmon . Journal of Fish Biology, 1–16. doi.org/10.1111/jfb....
Percentages in habitat type images denote composition of recaptured adults based on their release habitat as smoltsSmolts were transferred by helicopter bucket and each habitat release group received the same flying time. 408784 smolts were released over 3 years of the experiment
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Waiting for an occupant - crows nest in the Fraser River estuary BC. Spotted in a January 2026 walk. #addBirder
Waiting for an occupant - crows nest in the Fraser River estuary BC. Spotted in a January 2026 walk.
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Thinking back to late summer (August) - moon jellyfish drifting under marine riparian - Douglas fir bough reflection - overhanging the high tide zone. Pender Harbour BC
Thinking back to late summer (August) - moon jellyfish drifting under marine riparian - Douglas fir bough reflection - overhanging the high tide zone. Pender Harbour BC
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Riparian on its way to detritus and food web in lower Fraser R -recalled a 1955 Russian paper on Lena R. delta an early freshwater tidal fish food web. 1 and 2 (fry) is iconic Taimen/Hucho). Draft fish name translations. Pirozhnikov P. L. 1955. Questions in Ichthyology Vol 3: 164-185 (in Russian
Lower Fraser River riparian in autumnLena River delta fish food web from. Pirozhnikov P. L. 1955. Questions in Ichthyology Vol 3: 164-185 (in Russian) draft fish names are my scribbles.see right image for codes to namesCodes to draft fish names
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Chromatophores were working overtime on this spawned out chum salmon from the Chehalis River. BC. Image from my grandson Erik Levings. #marinelife
Chromatophores were working overtime on this spawned out chum salmon from the Chehalis River. BC. Image from my grandson Erik Levings.
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
There is nothing as soothing as a tranquil stream flowing through the rain forest. In this case, Anderson Creek near Madeira Park, BC.
There is nothing as soothing as a tranquil stream flowing through the rain forest. In this case, Anderson Creek near Madeira Park, BC
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
A fine set of bracket fungi seen today on an old oak tree in Chaldecott Park, Vancouver #fungi
A fine set of bracket fungi seen on an  old oak tree in Chaldecott Park, VancouverA fine set of bracket fungi seen on an  old oak tree in Chaldecott Park, VancouverA fine set of bracket fungi seen on an  old oak tree in Chaldecott Park, VancouverA fine set of bracket fungi seen on an  old oak tree in Chaldecott Park, Vancouver
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Shallow and deep ecosystems in the Salish Sea, BC Canada 1. food web in real time - an octopus was still alive in the esophagus of a ling cod (Ophiodon elongatus) after it was caught 2. at high tide, a moon jelly moved into the marine riparian - fir tree branches are reflected in the image.
Octopus in a ling cod mouthMoon jellyfish in the marine riparian at high tide - fir tree branches reflected in the image
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Reposted by Colin Levings 🇨🇦
Neil Banas @neilbanas.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Really cool paper. You can see the point on the time series where #capitalism was invented!
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Interesting review paper on non-native plant species and riverbanks. Topic likely relevant to estuaries too. Hardwick, J., et al. "The role of non-native plant species in modulating riverbank erosion: a systematic review." River Research and Applications (2025). doi.org/10.1002/rra....
Purple loosestrife from Wiki

Grout, Jeff A., Colin D. Levings, and John S. Richardson. "Decomposition rates of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and Lyngbyei’s sedge (Carex lyngbyei) in the Fraser River Estuary." Estuaries 20, no. 1 (1997): 96-102. https://doi.org/10.2307/1352723 Knotweed from Wlki
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Reposted by Colin Levings 🇨🇦
Seabed 2030 @seabed2030.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
📣 Exciting news! The Nippon Foundation and Scottish Association For Marine Science are embarking on a groundbreaking deep-sea research project to study "Dark Oxygen' – a revolutionary discovery of oxygen production in complete darkness on the #oceanfloor.
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Aviation enabled our estuary studies British Columbia coast. Studies of mid coast fjords sometimes required flying to meet a ship eg Mallard from YVR sometimes climbed an hour to get over the mountains. CCG chopper flew us to Homathko R estuary. This is how we collected data in remote areas. 🌊🪸🐛
Homathko River estuary was at the maximum distance re fuel from the CCG base in Campbell River. Survey was for geomorph and marsh studies. 1980 picGrumman Mallard (from Wiki). BC Airlines flew us into Ocean Falls where we were doing benthic studies at a pulp mill. See
Fournier and Levings 1982. Polychaetes recorded near two pulp mills on the coast of northern British Columbia : a preliminary taxonomic and ecological account Syllogeus (National Museum of Canada) 40: 1- 91.I have not flown on a Seabee but certainly did on the legendary Beaver. The map at this link shows the places we worked at up and down the coast. https://colinlevings.ca/about/places-ive-studied/
Pic is at Haida Gwaii - Daajing Giids - Queen Charlotte City 1965
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Animals of the marine riparian on the Salish Sea Black tail deer and Blue Heron🦅🦌🌊🌲
Black tail deer - 2 spike buckBlue heron on a precarious perch
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Collembola, chironomids and mites are some of the inverts found in the marine riparian zone in the Salish Sea, British Columbia. publications.gc.ca/collections/... gives details on invertebrates&food webs esp re juvenile salmon. See doi.org/10.1603/0046... for vegetation-invert connections 🐙 🌊
Collembola - springtails are frequent food items in juvenile salmon caught at high tide under marine riparian vegetation
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
Always intrigued by how the high tide marks the edge of the marine riparian zone in the Salish Sea, British Columbia. Read about it here -https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2015/mpo-dfo/Fs70-5-2001-109-eng.pdf - includes food web collections to juvenile salmon.
Horizontal profile of the lower tree branches shows the high tide mark. Jervis Inlet BC
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
British Columbia estuarine gammarid amphipod redux – see attached my past squibs. Scope for new work on indicator G. setosus colinlevings.ca/about/amphip... in BC fjords re changing temp & glacier retreat. Beasts are key estuarine salmon food in north temperate bit.ly/2FrfJoy p 98, 102 #addOcean 🌊
Amphipod specific papersEogammarus confervicolusLog and wood waste found to reduce amphipod productivity see Stanhope and Levings 1985Skirt of sedge rhizomes hanging over shallow embankment was low tide refuge for amphs - "huge" biomass found
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Undersea cables in the news these days. Way back in the day we sampled a telephone cable being recovered in the Salish Sea British Columbia and found 15 classes of organisms on it. The cable had been laid for 53 y. waves-vagues.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/library-bibl...
cloud sponge from Wikicold water coral from WikiCable drum on recovery barge
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
My side-gig in recent years -writing some West Coast marine ecology history items. It’s been fun -see attached papers on Ed Ricketts (Steinbeck friend) work in British Columbia; My memoir; notable cruise of USFCS Albatross in Salish Sea; History of ocean perch exploitation in the Gulf of Alaska.
From ANH 47 (2)courtesy Chris RooperAlbatross from NMFS
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Learned so much helping with this review paper on ecology and ocgy of land-ocean links, spearheaded by Brian Hunt @ubcoceans.bsky.social. oceans, small watersheds, mini estuaries, mountains, fjords, food webs #oceanography @earth2ocean.bsky.social aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Off Yakutat Gulf of AlaskaGrenville Channel British ColumbiaMcNab Creek estuary, British Columbia
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 09/07/2024
Mink enjoying a drink on a hot day at Pender Harbour BC
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 01/06/2024
ow.ly/pTgE50S1yyl Good stories here by Nick Rahaim about the fishing life of the Western Flyer after her 1940 trip to Sea of Cortez with Ricketts and Steinbeck. Includes a clip of my first fisheries job when I worked aboard her as a tech for the Halibut Commission.  www.cnrs-scrn.org/argonauta/pd...
ow.ly
Fish Stories: Salty Tales from the Western Flyer’s Decades at Sea – Western Flyer Foundation
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 08/04/2024
  Sediment data (size, trace ele, chlor, pororsity, C,N)), meiofauna & macrofauna incl sea whips on beam-trawl &trap-transects Clio Channel, Broughton Arch. BC, CDN.Near Kalugwis Available thanks to colleague-Terri Sutherland co-lead bit.ly/3J6ZbBA doi.org/10.1002/aqc....
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 08/04/2024
  Sediment data (size, trace elements, chlorophyll, pororsity, C,N)), meiofauna & macrofauna incl sea whips on beam-trawl & trap-transects Clio Channel, Broughton Arch. Near Kalugwis Available thanks to colleague-Terri Sutherland co-lead bit.ly/3J6ZbBA doi.org/10.1002/aqc.... troffe pics
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Colin Levings 🇨🇦 @cdlevings.bsky.social · 29/02/2024
Report from unique detailed surface trawl survey - Chinook salmon fry-smolt feeding across Fraser River BC Canada tidal freshwater channel wrt possible food sources from local & upstream habitat. From baseline sampling 1988. Thanks co-authors for great assistance. bit.ly/3Ux2OHF
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