News | Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute & Bodega Marine Laboratory

CMSI Associate DIrector, Anne Todgham, recognized as new Chancellor’s Fellow

CMSI is so proud of our Associate Director for Academic Programs, Dr. Anne Todgham, for being a new Chancellor’s Fellow.

R ead more in UC Davis Dateline

Climate Change

New tactic in combating exploding sea urchin population

Off the Northern California coast, there is a crisis beneath the waves. The kelp forest – seaweed that provided habitat and food for much of life in the ocean – is gone, wiped out by an exploding population of purple sea urchins.

Sustainable Seafood

Kelp! They Need Somebody … To Eat Sea Urchins

Urchinomics and its partner, the UC Davis' Bodega Marine Laboratory, are running a trial designed to develop methods for ranching purple sea urchins for profit, while at the same time addressing the consequences of a nasty ecological chain reaction.

Sustainable Seafood

From Overpopulation to Hors d’oeuvres

Wildlife conservation sometimes involves eating fewer animal products. But to save California’s kelp forest, a new dish is being added to the menu: purple sea urchin.

Sustainable Seafood

Saving White Abalone with UC Davis Project Scientist Kristin Aquilino

UC Davis project scientist Kristin Aquilino directs the Bodega Marine Laboratory's white abalone captive breeding program. In this video, she discusses the work she and her colleagues are doing to bring the endangered species back from the brink of extinction. This week marks the first time captive bred white abalone will be released to the ocean in hopes of saving the species.

Conservation

An Undersea Forest In Decline

Envision California’s lush forests from San Francisco to the Oregon border. Now imagine that 90 percent of those forests disappear within two years. Laura Rogers-Bennett, senior environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, says that’s exactly what happened to underwater kelp forests off Northern California’s coastline from 2014-16.

Conservation

First White Abalone Release Marks Major Milestone for Species Facing Extinction

A career dedicated to mollusks isn’t always easy. Sometimes progress can occur at a snail’s pace. But a team of scientists are close to reaching a significant milestone in their efforts to bring white abalone — a species of sea snail — back from the brink of extinction.

Conservation

How Giant Kelp May Respond to Climate Change

In a Changing Ocean, Giant Kelp’s Reproductive Success Depends on Where It’s From

When a marine heat wave hit California’s coast in 2014, it brought ocean temperatures that were high for Northern California but fairly normal for a Southern California summer. Much of the giant kelp in the north died in the heat wave, while southern populations survived.

UC Davis News

Climate Change

Behind the Story: Tracking abalone in the lab, by boat and under the sea

My job is to write about the wonders and challenges of our coast and oceans, but I’ll admit: Before this story, I had no idea what an abalone looked like...

Conservation

Can the long-lost abalone make a comeback in California?

The California coast once teemed with millions of white abalone. Overfishing, warming oceans and predators devastated the species. Almost all are gone. Now scientists are trying to save this mysterious sea snail.

Conservation