by Julie Cohen, UC Santa Barbara Five years ago, a mysterious disease began crippling sea star populations along the West Coast. Many sea star species died in record-breaking numbers over a short period of time, and a keystone known as the ochre sea star (Pisaster ochraceus) was among the hardest hit. The outbreak extended from […]
Kenneth S. Norris Rancho Marino Reserve
Refuges against rising ocean acidification
Ocean acidification widespread in the California current, but pockets of protection exist By Shelly Leachman, UC Santa Barbara First, the bad news: New data reveals that acidified ocean water is pervasive along the West Coast — and is likely to keep spreading. So what’s the good news? Persistent, less-acidic havens in some regions may be […]
UC Santa Barbara celebrates 50 years of the UC Natural Reserve System
Celebrating the UCSB Natural Reserves from UC Santa Barbara on Vimeo. Additional footage and aerials by Alexander Mark Romanov and NOAA Fisheries. by Shelly Leachman, UC Santa Barbara After touring a storage shed overflowing with boxes of data records, field journals, specimen samples, maps, photographs, and more, Alagona recalled that he “filed that discovery away, […]
NRS Fair marks 50th anniversary
The Natural Reserve System brought a taste of the science, art, teaching, and natural wonders of its 39 reserves to the heart of downtown Oakland this Tuesday, August 11, for the NRS Fair. Hundreds of visitors flocked to the outdoor terrace at UC’s Office of the President to attend. They chatted with graduate student researchers, […]
No Fukushima radiation found in California kelp
Scientists working to measure radiation released after the April 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan have seen no signs of nuclear contamination along the West Coast of the United States. Researchers participating in the Kelp Watch 2014 project announced the news after analyzing the first batch of samples collected earlier this spring. Kelp Watch 2014 […]
Observing Climate Change in Class
UC Santa Barbara students use real climate monitoring data to study the environment by Julie Cohen, UC Santa Barbara Public Affairs Climate monitoring stations take climate change beyond the anecdotal. These remote monitoring sites, which collect measurements on such data as temperature, wind speed, precipitation, fog and soil moisture offer more solid evidence of climate […]
NRS Day at UC Santa Barbara
Shorelines, woodlands, streams, and deserts were the stars of Natural Reserve System Day, celebrated at UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Feb. 8. The full day of presentations and poster sessions was sponsored by the UCSB Natural Reserve System. Held at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, the event featured speakers intimate with the […]
Study of the Seasons: Phenology at the NRS
Nature celebrates the seasons with unmistakable changes. In California, rhododendrons add bursts of pink to coastal forests, bare buckeye branches grow leaf buds, and great egrets gather to nest in tall trees. In autumn, quaking aspens turn from green to gold, toyon produce bundles of berrylike fruits, and snow geese collect by the hundreds of […]