Environment & Ecology

The Scientists’ Declassified Guide to Talking About Climate Change

Through these conversations you — better than any scientist — have the opportunity to find and address misinformation, misunderstanding and fear.
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In Search of Effective Conservation Strategies, Researchers Studying Amphibian Disease Look to Natural Resistance

“When management supports these natural mechanisms, it will lead to more successful management outcomes and fewer failures,” Brannelly said.
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Mosquitoes in Santa Barbara Test Positive for West Nile Virus

Carrier mosquitoes have the potential to pass the virus on to humans — but it isn’t a reason for panic.
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A Closer Look At California’s Iconic Oaks in Sedgwick Reserve

At Sedgwick, Davis and his collaborators have been studying oak regeneration on the decadal scale.
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UCSB Researchers Investigate Mortality Among Amphibians Besieged by Endemic Parasites

The researchers had earlier developed a flexible statistical model, specifically looking at patterns of aggregation in parasite abundance. These patterns informed host mortality.  
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Rivers in Madagascar Offer a Window Into the Inner Workings of Abrupt Channel Shifts

Brooke and his collaborators are among the first attempting to map out where avulsions occur in order to test existing hypotheses regarding the factors and conditions leading to these events.
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Invasive Mosquito Species, Aedes aegypti, Detected in Santa Barbara County

The mosquito was first spotted at a home in Santa Barbara near the intersection of North La Cumbre Road and Foothill Road, and was later identified as Aedes aegypti.
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Over Land and Sea, UCSB Researchers Put a Number on Fast-Growing Microfiber Emissions

The amount of microfibers currently being released into the natural environment has drawn alarm from scientists, environmentalists and policymakers across the world.
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Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! How the “Ecology of Fear” Can Be Instrumental To Achieving Wildlife Conservation Goals

“Research on the ecology of fear tries to understand the role that risk perception plays in driving not just animal behavior, but broader species interactions,” Gaynor said.
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“I really do believe that we owe it to future generations to protect these areas”: UCSB Lecturer Creates Website to Spread Awareness of Public Lands

The compendium provides information about 50 public land destinations within a 300-mile radius of Santa Barbara, specifically using Campbell Hall as the epicenter.
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Building Wheat to Take the Heat

There is much interest in making wheat resilient to drought and better cope with its varietal stressors, such as heat. 
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Bright Ideas: UCSB Researchers Establish a Laboratory Culture of Bioluminescent Ostracods

Establishing a laboratory culture of V. tsujii allowed the team to make observations regarding the ostracod's development.
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Friends of the Island Fox Bolsters Research and Conservation Initiatives With Much-Needed Funds

Friends of the Island Fox works alongside the patchwork of organizations governing the Channel Islands in their “efforts to preserve and protect the island fox."
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Researchers Reconstruct Oceanic Nitrous Oxide Emissions, Revealing Intriguing Patterns

The researchers used 158,000 measurements in their reconstruction and —among other things— uncovered a seasonal pattern in nitrous oxide emissions.
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Research Into This Elegant Wildflower Brings Climate Center Stage

Peach sought to examine the effects that particular conditions correlated to climate have on the floral reproductive traits of the wildflower.
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