Environment & Ecology

Back in Bloom: Flowers Begin Their Return to the South Coast

March 3, 2022 by

Southern California’s native wildflowers exhibit a dazzling array of colors, shapes, sizes and timing of blooms.
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Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Garners Public Support for Official Designation

February 22, 2022 by

The sanctuary will protect a crucial part of the California coastline which includes culturally important sites for the Chumash people, valuable oceanographic features and a rich ecosystem.
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Peering Into the Sea Otter Genome Reveals Much

February 14, 2022 by

The researchers found an opportunity to learn about the consequences of species-wide declines by looking to otters in the aftermath of the fur trade.
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Living on the Margins: Shrinking Forest Footprints in the Future American West

February 9, 2022 by

“I guess the message would be there's actually a pretty nuanced response, potentially, to how we might see more ecosystems affected by climate change,” Professor Anna Trugman said.
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At North Campus Open Space, Years of Restoration Work Unveil a Transformed Landscape

January 13, 2022 by

In a landmark conservation deal with the Trust for Public Land in 2013, Ocean Meadows Golf Club was sold by its owner, Mark Green, for $7 million, with a further $10 million raised to facilitate the g...
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UCSB Earth Science Researchers Map Fossil History in Ediacaran Era

December 5, 2021 by

MacDonald and collaborators were able to extract accurate dates from the use of a rhenium-osmium chronometer.
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UCSB Ecologist Looks to AI To Improve Wildlife Camera Trapping

November 5, 2021 by

The data analyzed in this study was taken from a long-term camera trap project in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique.
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Despite Public Outrage, Pine Mountain Remains Threatened By Logging

October 29, 2021 by

The project threatens 755 acres of conifer forest and chaparral on a mountain ridge in Los Padres National Forest.
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Thinking Globally and Acting Locally: Ian Shive and the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network Celebrate New Hospital

October 22, 2021 by

Shive is an author, photographer, filmmaker and conservationist, whose most recent works include the Discovery+ series “The Last Unknown” (2021).
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Back From the Brink: 20 Years of Snowy Plover Conservation at Coal Oil Point Reserve

September 30, 2021 by

A challenge since the program was established has been balancing recreational access to Sands Beach with the interests of the plovers.
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As Oceanic Oxygen Levels Drop in Warming Seas, Fish Flee to Shallower Waters, Researchers Find

September 23, 2021 by

Often, the major focuses of ocean climate change are bold and visible: The melting Arctic ice sheet, bleached and weakened tropical reefs and ocean acidification come to mind.  However, an equally im...
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In a Landscape of Wet-Dry Whiplash, UCSB Researcher Develops New Method to Predict Water Deficits During Growing Season

September 21, 2021 by

In order to avert catastrophe and mitigate the worst human impacts of drought, many researchers have devised ways to predict the effects of natural disasters.
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To the Limit: Long-Term Study Reveals How Kelp Forests Respond to Repeated Disturbances

August 29, 2021 by

The researchers were particularly interested in how the different layers of vegetation throughout the kelp forest would adapt to the loss of the canopy.
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With California Heating Up, UCSB Researchers Study the Future of the State’s Fires

August 26, 2021 by

In their most recent research, Tague and her collaborators focused on the Big Creek watershed in the southern Sierra Nevada, a region which is particularly sensitive to climate change.
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Looking Back at the Campaign to Save the West Mesa

August 10, 2021 by

Now, as part of Phase 2, fundraising is being done to create an endowment and restore the West Mesa.
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