Environment & Ecology

March 3, 2022

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

By Sean Crommelin

Southern California’s native wildflowers exhibit a dazzling array of colors, shapes, sizes and timing of blooms.

February 22, 2022

Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary Garners Public Support for Official Designation

By Emma Holm-Olsen

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.

February 14, 2022

Peering Into the Sea Otter Genome Reveals Much

By Sean Crommelin

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.

February 9, 2022

Living on the Margins: Shrinking Forest Footprints in the Future American West

By Sean Crommelin

“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.

January 13, 2022

At North Campus Open Space, Years of Restoration Work Unveil a Transformed Landscape

By Sean Crommelin

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 golf course’s trans...

December 5, 2021

UCSB Earth Science Researchers Map Fossil History in Ediacaran Era

By Anaya Khan

MacDonald and collaborators were able to extract accurate dates from the use of a rhenium-osmium chronometer.

November 5, 2021

UCSB Ecologist Looks to AI To Improve Wildlife Camera Trapping

By Emma Holm-Olsen

The data analyzed in this study was taken from a long-term camera trap project in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique.

October 29, 2021

Despite Public Outrage, Pine Mountain Remains Threatened By Logging

By Nasim Elyasi

The project threatens 755 acres of conifer forest and chaparral on a mountain ridge in Los Padres National Forest.

October 22, 2021

Thinking Globally and Acting Locally: Ian Shive and the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network Celebrate New Hospital

By Emma Holm-Olsen

Shive is an author, photographer, filmmaker and conservationist, whose most recent works include the Discovery+ series “The Last Unknown” (2021).

September 30, 2021

Back From the Brink: 20 Years of Snowy Plover Conservation at Coal Oil Point Reserve

By Sean Crommelin

A challenge since the program was established has been balancing recreational access to Sands Beach with the interests of the plovers.

September 23, 2021

As Oceanic Oxygen Levels Drop in Warming Seas, Fish Flee to Shallower Waters, Researchers Find

By Sean Crommelin

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 important, but often-o...

September 21, 2021

In a Landscape of Wet-Dry Whiplash, UCSB Researcher Develops New Method to Predict Water Deficits During Growing Season

By Sean Crommelin

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.

August 29, 2021

To the Limit: Long-Term Study Reveals How Kelp Forests Respond to Repeated Disturbances

By Sean Crommelin

The researchers were particularly interested in how the different layers of vegetation throughout the kelp forest would adapt to the loss of the canopy.

August 26, 2021

With California Heating Up, UCSB Researchers Study the Future of the State’s Fires

By Sean Crommelin

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.

August 10, 2021

Looking Back at the Campaign to Save the West Mesa

By Sean Crommelin

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

August 3, 2021

UC Researchers Dive Deeper Into the Nitrogen Cycle at Sedgwick Reserve

By Sean Crommelin

“Although it's interesting that rock is delivering nitrogen to ecosystems, at least in Sedgwick it’s not going to be a big contributor to the functioning of the system,” Chadwick said.