By Shelly Leachman, UC Santa Barbara Conservation requires certain heroics: research to identify and develop solutions, and the resources to put them into place. And sometimes it’s a matter of being quick on one’s feet — quite literally. Case in point: Cristina Sandoval, longtime director of UC Santa Barbara’s Coal Oil Point Reserve. In her […]
Coal Oil Point Reserve
Rare sunfish washes ashore at Coal Oil Point
By Shelly Leachman, UC Santa Barbara There are rare finds, and then there are those out-of-nowhere, first-ever discoveries that send scientists’ hearts aflutter. An occurrence at Sands Beach in Goleta a week ago lands decidedly among the latter. A fish that washed in with the tides at UC Santa Barbara’s Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve has been […]
Disease caused catastrophic sea star declines
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 […]
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 […]
Snowy plover orphans released at Coal Oil Point Reserve
by Ashley Spratt, public affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura Office On the first day of May, Jessica Nielsen peered silently through her binoculars as two western snowy plover chicks broke through their tiny egg shells just below the dunes of a sandy beach in southern California. It’s a sight Jessica has seen before […]
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. Founders foresight “The founders of the reserve system wanted these places to have historical significance because they knew the state would change rapidly,” said Alagona, who is the faculty advisor for Kenneth S. […]
Refugio oil spill fouls NRS reserve
A burst oil pipeline along the Santa Barbara coast spilled an estimated 105,000 gallons of crude into the wildlife-rich waters of the Santa Barbara Channel May 19. The leak originated onshore at Refugio State Beach, then poured into the ocean via a storm drain. In the water, it formed an oil slick that came ashore […]
Slugs, Gauchos toast NRS 50th
UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz raised their glasses to the 50th anniversary of the NRS at alumni reunions May 16-17. Banana slugs, snowy plovers, and the dedication of a natural history center honoring NRS founder Kenneth S. Norris played starring roles in these tributes to the largest university-administered network of natural reserves in […]