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How elephant seals learn to swim
Northern elephant seals are a precocious bunch. Within a month of birth, their mothers leave them on the beach to fend for themselves. Then, driven by hunger, instinct, or a combination of both, they head to sea for ten straight months. En route they teach themselves to dive, fish, sleep on the waves, and dodge predators. For the first time, researchers at the NRS's Año Nuevo Island Reserve have a glimpse into how pups master life in the ocean. Read more >>
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Groundwater key to drought survival for California forests
The water stashed away in the root zone of forests is what sees California forests through multi-year droughts. New research by UC scientists at the NRS's James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve and other sites across the West highlight how dependent forests are on groundwater storage to see them through dry years. But California's highly variable rain and snowfall levels puts Golden State forests at greater risk. Read more >>
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Reviving field research
The economic boom that followed World War II also swallowed many of the natural landscapes scientists used for research and teaching. To preserve these outdoor laboratories, enterprising University of California faculty established the largest university-led network of natural reserves. Today, the NRS is an incubator for environmental scientists and a source of important discoveries helping people live in harmony with nature. Read more >>
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2019 Simes Fund awards
The NRS's Hastings Natural History Reservation has awarded William Simes Research Fund grants to two graduate students conducting field research at the reserve. Congrats to Kacie Ring, studying ticks and Lyme disease, and Russell Winter, observing cooperative acorn woodpecker behavior. Read more >>
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