Comox Valley Nature invites its members and the public to CVN’s November general meeting. where you can hear the following keynote presentation by our guest speakers:
Title: Sea Star Wasting Disease Monitoring on the BC Coast
Speakers: Carolyn Prentice and Ondine Pontier (Hakai Institute)
Date: Sunday, November 23, 2025
Time: 3:00 p.m. PT
Location: Main hall of Comox United Church, 250 Beach Drive, Comox
Carolyn and Ondine will present on some of the work their team at the Hakai Institute does monitoring sea star wasting disease along the BC coast. They will provide an overview of what sea star wasting disease is and what has happened since the initial outbreak over 10 years ago, including the recent discovery of the causative agent of the disease.
About the speakers
Carolyn Prentice completed an undergraduate degree in Biology at UBC as well as a Masters in Resource Management at SFU and has been working at the Hakai Institute on Quadra Island full time since 2018. Most of her work uses field surveys and genetic techniques to better understand drivers of change in nearshore ecosystems such as seagrass meadows and rocky intertidal ecosystems. She currently runs the Biodiversity and Sentinels of Change Lab on Quadra Island.
Ondine Pontier also completed her undergraduate in Biology at UBC and has been working at the Hakai Institute on Quadra Island since 2014. She is a scientific and commercial diver and has spent many hours underwater working in kelp forests and other nearshore ecosystems. She currently runs the kelp monitoring program at the Hakai Institute working with many partners along the BC coast to understand how giant kelp and bull kelp are responding to changing ocean conditions.
More about the meeting
After the keynote presentation there will be a break with coffee/tea, goodies and socializing, followed by the business part of the meeting. This consists mainly of brief reports from our interest groups and projects, an opportunity for guests to learn more about what we do.
