Joshua trees will be under the gun in the California of the future. Scientists predict that it’ll become too hot and dry for these striking Mojave plants to persist in much its the high desert habitat by 2100. How much water these treelike yucca plants can store at one time is key to their conservation. […]
Mathias Graduate Student Research Grants
Field research, UC mentors inspire career in marine biology
by Brenda Ortiz, UC Merced Lauren Schiebelhut credits the support and opportunities afforded to her at UC with opening the door to her career in marine research. Schiebelhut — a first-generation transfer student from Fresno — earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from UC Merced in May 2009 but was uncertain about her future. […]
Foreign bees monopolize Southern California flower resources
Immense numbers of introduced honey bees overwhelm native pollinators for access to pollen and nectar By Mario Aguilera, UC San Diego Hike around the natural habitats of San Diego County and it becomes abundantly clear that honey bees, foreign to the area, are everywhere. In a study published last year, researchers at the University of California […]
Sun protection for mosses and records of paleo climate: the 2018-19 Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant awards
The tiny mosses that glue desert soils together spend the majority of their days dormant—the better to withstand a harsh environment. Yet within seconds of absorbing water, the crumbly wisps of brown green up in a frenzy of photosynthetic activity. How these hardy desert residents withstand the harsh UV rays of the sun while essentially […]
Role of honey bees in ecosystem pollination
by Mario Aguilera, UC San Diego An unprecedented study integrating data from around the globe has shown that honey bees are the world’s most important single species of pollinator in natural ecosystems and a key contributor to natural ecosystem functions. The first quantitative analysis of its kind, led by biologists at the University of California […]
From buzz pollination to seal bones: the 2017-18 Mathias Grant awards
Does the personality of a ground squirrel affect its foraging style? Which microbes live in harvester ant guts? What drives the production of Daphnia “superfleas” ? University of California graduate students aim to answer these natural mysteries and more with funding from the UC Natural Reserve System’s 2017-18 Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant […]
Apply for a 2017–18 Mathias Grant
The UC Natural Reserve System is accepting applications for its 2017–2018 Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grants. The program supports research by UC graduate students at one or more of the 39 NRS reserves. Graduate students from any UC campus are welcome to apply. This year, the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program is supporting […]
UC Natural Reserve System Celebrates 50 Years
California is a wonderland of natural riches. Its boundaries include wave-tossed shorelines, sere deserts, snowy mountaintops, and timeless oak savannas. California has the world’s most massive trees, its oldest living organisms, the highest and lowest elevations in the lower 48 states, and the largest population in the nation. The UC Natural Reserve System helps California […]