by Sara Weinstein, graduate student , UC Santa Barbara Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Raccoons host a variety of parasites and one parasite of particular concern is the raccoon roundworm. This large nematode can cause severe disease in humans and other wildlife. Raccoon roundworm is linked to rodent declines and has the potential to significantly […]
Coal Oil Point Reserve
New Documentary on Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve
Santa Barbara is graced with an oasis of native wilderness surrounded by urban areas. Located adjacent to the UC Santa Barbara campus, Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve protects beach, dune, and wetland habitats within a spectacular but densely populated section of central California. But this idyllic shoreline didn’t always look as pristine and inviting as […]
A brush with preservation
by Sonia Fernandez, UC Santa Barbara Public Affairs When Hank Pitcher first set out decades ago to paint Coal Oil Point, one of his favorite subjects, he was doing it to memorialize a place he thought was going to disappear forever. “I grew up in a time when Isla Vista went from about a hundred […]
A lesson in nature’s restoration
Cristina Sandoval picks her way through the blackened remains of brush and scrub at UC Santa Barbara’s Coal Oil Point Reserve, where a fire recently consumed an estimated 20 or so acres. It began near midnight on June 26, and within an hour or so—driven by 25 mph winds blowing west to east—it had traveled […]
Observing Climate Change in Class
UC Santa Barbara students use real climate monitoring data to study the environment 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 change. “I’m very proud of our site,” said […]
The Friendliest Bird on the Beach
by April Price, Conservation Specialist, Coal Oil Point Reserve On August 6, an employee at McGrath State Beach rescued a plover egg from being washed away, and brought the egg to the NRS’s Coal Oil Point Reserve. After a two-day incubation at the reserve, a fuzzy baby plover emerged and Raul was born. Raul spent […]
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 […]