News

Millions of Eggs Bring Program 1 Step Closer to Saving Species

The Bodega Marine Laboratory’s white abalone program has millions of new additions following its most successful spawning ever at the University of California, Davis, facility. Three out of nine recently collected wild white abalone spawned last week, as did seven of 12 captive-bred white abalone. One wild female was particularly generous, producing 20.5 million eggs herself.

"Five years ago, the Gulf of Alaska warmed to record temperatures, likely due to a sudden acceleration in the melting of Arctic sea ice. Usually a cold southern current flows along California. That year, the warm “blob” spread down the coast and, instead of blocking tropical species from moving north, it served as a balmy welcome to a variety of animals far from home."

What a night it was at the Women Divers Hall of Fame (WDHOF) banquet dinner at Beneath the Sea (BTS), as part of the largest Scuba trade show in the United States, on March 30, 2019 in the Meadowlands, New Jersey. Over 200 people were present at the gala ceremony where women divers inducted into the class of 2019 included the late Dr. Susan Williams.

Congratulations to Tessa M. Hill, who has been awarded an Academic Senate Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award by the Davis Division of the Academic Senate.

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Tropical Species Near San Francisco? New Range Limit Records Indicate Future Face of California Coast

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Read the journal article in Scientific Reports

The “Science Uncorked” lecture series at the Gourmet Au Bay wine bar are the brainchild of Ellie Fairbairn and Kristin Aquilino, researchers at nearby Bodega Marine Labortory — part of UC Davis’ Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute. They coordinate the biweekly series independent of their work at BML, to communicate science to the public and inspire environmental stewardship.

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Rachel Bay received a Sloan Foundation fellowship to fund research on the molecular mechanisms of thermal tolerance in corals, an increasingly critical physiological process as ocean temperatures shift and warming events occur.

Read more at the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences

Since 2013, sea star wasting disease has brought about massive mortality in multiple sea star species from Mexico to Alaska. The East Coast has not been immune, as the disease has affected the shores from New Jersey to New England.

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The SeaDoc Society invites viewers to explore the magnificent wildlife of the Pacific Northwest in a new adventure series called Salish Sea Wild, debuting Jan. 10. Salish Sea Wild is hosted by SeaDoc Science Director Joe Gaydos and will feature a new species or topic each month, starting with Steller sea lions in January.

“We’re in a region with a Mediterranean climate and upwelling— what’s cool is that both of these are associated with high levels of biodiversity,” says Grace Ha, an ecology Ph.D. student. In upwelling zones, nutrient-rich waters from the deep ocean are transported to coastal regions, which makes them hotspots for biodiversity.

Read more at the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences