News | Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute

Southern California margin benthic foraminiferal assemblages record recent centennial-scale changes in oxygen minimum zone

Microfossil assemblages provide valuable records to investigate variability in continental margin biogeochemical cycles, including dynamics of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Analyses of modern assemblages across environmental gradients are necessary to understand relationships between assemblage characteristics and environmental factors... Read the full publication by Hannah Palmer, Tessa Hill, et al. in Biogeosciences

Marine Ecology

Kelp is On the Way!

Scientists are mobilizing to aid California’s crashing kelp forests, which have been decimated due to a combination of stressors, including warming oceans, the disappearance of sea stars and an associated population explosion of purple urchins.

Climate Change

Brian Gaylord receives the 2020 College of Biological Sciences Faculty Teaching Award

Please join us in congratulating Brian Gaylord, who has been awarded the College of Biological Sciences Faculty Teaching Award!

This award is given each year to a Professor who has consistently exhibited excellence in undergraduate teaching. Brian has a long track record of outstanding teaching, both on the main campus and at the Bodega Marine Laboratory, and he is deeply respected and admired by his students and colleagues.

2020 Commencement

Congratulations to the UC Davis Marine and Coastal Science Major Class Of 2020!

Tessa Filipczyk - Camille Frias - Jeffrey Nishimura - Michael P. Montgomery - Tina Nguyen - Jonathan Huang - Anyela Gonzalez Casillas - Amanda Outcalt - Scout Carlson - Alexandra Chu - Jaclyn Plasterer

Note: Some graduate names are not shown due to privacy requests, but we're super proud of all of them, too!!!

We also have a brand new Ph.D. to celebrate, congratulations to Dr. Melissa Ward!

Education

Spotlight on the Scientists: Carina Fish

Written by Undergraduate Intern Jane Park

Exploring the Oceans

Corals are one of the most iconic images of the ocean, offering a spectacular scenery of vibrant, underwater castles for snorkelers and divers. But for marine biogeochemist Carina Fish, these vacation spots aren’t just aesthetically pleasing. Corals are biological time capsules, making them a perfect toolset for Fish to utilize as she uncovers stories about the Earth’s past.

Marine Ecology

Research Rockstars: Michael Brito and Kenzie Pollard win first prize for their video

Bodega Marine Lab undergraduate students Michael Brito and Kenzie Pollard just won first prize for their short film, submitted to the 2020 UC Davis Research Rockstars Undergrad Slam Video Contest! Michael and Kenzie made their video as part of their independent research project last summer during the Coastal Marine Research (BIS 124) class at the laboratory, working under the guidance of Eric Sanford.

Education

To Our Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute and Bodega Marine Lab Community

Dear UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute and Bodega Marine Laboratory Community,

Feeding Sea Urchins Could Be One Way To Restore The West Coast’s Vital Kelp Forests

Considered a delicacy around the globe, sea urchins please the palates of the wealthy, showing up on sushi bars and swirled into pasta at fine restaurants. However, these spiny creatures in recent years have plowed through forests of bull kelp along coasts around the world.

Sustainable Seafood

California’s critical kelp forests are disappearing in a warming world. Can they be saved?

The “sequoias of the sea” suck up carbon and shelter special species. They’ve been hit hard, but scientists, surfers, and more are banding together to save them.

Earth Day Interview with Kiva Oken

Earth Day began in 1970 as a movement for transformative environmental change, and Earth Day's mission and momentum has only grown since. This year, the chosen theme is climate change - a subject that influences and impacts the Marine and Coastal Sciences greatly. As part of our continued efforts to advance our understanding of coastal and ocean systems and improve the sustainability of those systems and the communities that rely on them, we did a virtual interview with one of our Assistant Professors, Kiva Oken, who is giving us a focus on fisheries, plus some information about how they're being affected by climate change and COVID-19.

Climate Change