Boris Worm

y interests in teaching and research focus on the causes and consequences of changes in marine biodiversity, and its conservation on a global scale. The oceanic ecosystem is by far the largest on Earth, covering more than 70% of the planet by area and an even larger percentage by volume. Human domination of this ecosystem is rapidly expanding through the effects of overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution and climate change. 

Apart from looming species extinctions there are some wider concerns about the stability and productivity of impacted communities and the ocean ecosystems they are embedded in. This is why our lab tries to quantify both patterns and trends in marine biodiversity, to understand the consequences of these changes, and to document practical solutions that can help restore marine life. In our research my students and I employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, with some emphasis on the analysis of complex data sets.

I also have a long-standing interest in science communication and ocean education. In collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada we have built a free online platform called which uses video, augmented reality and interactive learning tools to foster ocean literacy – our awareness of how the ocean affects us in our daily lives, and how our choices affect the ocean. This content is now used in both formal and informal education to engage youth and others in ocean exploration and conservation.

• Brian Schatteman (M.Sc, since 2024): Marine community change analyzed with global trawl surveys. Brian is investigating patterns and drivers of shelf-ecosystem community change driven by fishing, climate change and species interactions.
  
  
• Alexander Gonzales (PhD, since 2022): Identifying shark nursery areas in the Panamanian Pacific Ocean. Alexander analyses seasonal hotspots of shark aggregations in Panama, documenting potential nursery areas, and investigating their trophic ecology at different life stages.
  
  
• Donna Dimarchopoulou (Postdoc shared with Lotze lab, 2022-2025): Identifying the effects of ocean warming on global fisheries catches. Donna quantified patterns and processes which lead to changes in catch composition from cold- to warm tolerant species across cast regions of the Northa American shelf seas.

Selected Publications

Worm B (2025) A catch in ocean conservation. Science 389:352-353

Durant M, Shackell NL, Keith DM, Tittensor DP, Worm B (2025) Addressing bycatch of depleted species through a marine conservation network in the Canadian Atlantic. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 82:1-15

Feitosa LM, Caughman AM, D'Costa NG, Orofino S, Burns ES, Schiller L, Worm B, Bradley D (2025) Retention bans are beneficial but insufficient to stop shark overfishing. Fish and Fisheries 26:473-487

Schiller LL, D'Costa NG, Worm B (2025) The global footprint of drifting fish aggregating devices. Science Advances 11:eads2902

Solway H, Worm B, Wimmer T, Tittensor DP (2025) Assessing changing baleen whale distributions and reported incidents relative to vessel activity in the Northwest Atlantic. PLoS ONE 20:e0315909

Worm B, Orofino S, Burns ES, D’Costa NG, Manir Feitosa L, Palomares MLD, Schiller L, Bradley D (2024) Global shark fishing mortality still rising despite widespread regulatory change. Science 383:225-230

Schiller L, Britten GL, Auld G, Worm B (2024) Learning from positive deviants in fisheries. Fish and Fisheries 25: 409-428

Boyce DG, Tittensor DP, Fuller S, Henson S, Kaschner K, Reygondeau G, Schleit KE, Saba V, Shackell N, Stanley RRE, Worm B (2024) Operationalizing climate risk in a global warming hotspot. npj Ocean Sustainability 3:33

Links