The border between the ocean and dry land is a tough neighborhood. Residents of the intertidal zone—tidepool animals such as mussels and limpets, snails and barnacles—are alternately battered by waves, then exposed to drying sun.
Mathias Symposium
2020-21 Mathias Grant recipients
By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System Most people will be staying close to home in 2021 due to the pandemic. UC Santa Barbara graduate student Samantha Sambado will not be among them. Her doctoral research will take her on multiple journeys up and down California, in search of ticks and the human pathogens they […]
2019-20 Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant awards
By Kathleen Wong, UC Natural Reserve System 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Apply for a 2014-2015 Mathias Grant
The UC Natural Reserve System is accepting applications for its 2014-2015 Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grant. The grant supports research by UC graduate students at one or more of the 39 NRS reserves. Graduate students from any general UC campus are welcome to apply. Each award can total up to $3,000. A maximum […]
2013-2014 Mathias Grants Awarded
To a scientist, the natural world is full of mysteries. How does the winter ant thrive in cold weather when most insects go underground or perish? Are urban birds stressed out by the glow of street lamps, the roar of traffic, and the constant presence of people? What do some of the world’s largest pinnipeds, […]