Group of people at Cape of Good Hope sign on rocky coast, some with arms raised — From left to right: Mark Rothman (University of Cape Town, South Africa), Fernando Lima (Associação BIOPOLIS, Portugal), Katia Monteiro (Associação BIOPOLIS), Alaina Stockdill (UC Davis, USA), Fernanda Valdovinos (UC Davis), Lauren Mossman (UC Davis), xx (University of Cape Town, South Africa), Rui Seabra (Associação BIOPOLIS), John Largier (UC Davis).

A Global Effort to Decode the Ocean’s Most Productive “Hotspots”

by Jessica Lee
May 05, 2026

While they cover less than 1% of the ocean’s surface, the world’s four major upwelling zones are biological powerhouses. Located along the coasts of California, Chile, Portugal, and South Africa, these Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems (EBUS) drive cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface, supporting massive populations of fish, birds, and mammals.

But as the global climate shifts, these vital coastlines are under pressure. To understand how these ecosystems will adapt, the Valdovinos Lab at UC Davis was recently awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Human Frontier Science Program (HSFP).

Bridging Continents and Disciplines

Led by Associate Professor Fernanda Valdovinos, the project unites an international team of mathematicians and field biologists to move beyond local observations toward a global "grounded truth." The initiative is bolstered by a newly awarded seed grant from UC Davis Global Affairs for “Building Portugal’s Marine Food Web: Studying Global Upwelling Ecosystem Sustainability,” further cementing the project's commitment to international collaboration.

"That’s my strength—I am a very interdisciplinary and cross-scale researcher," says Valdovinos. "We are all very excited and open to understanding what the other does."

Four people standing on rocky coastal tidepools with reflections under cloudy sky — Fernando Lima (Associação BIOPOLIS, Portugal) with Valdovinos Lab’s members (Alaina Stockdill, Lauren Mossman, Fernanda Valdovinos). Image courtesy of Rui Seabra

The "Eyes and Ears" of the Ecosystem

The work begins with a key component: standardized data collection.

The Loggers: The team is deploying sensors that act as the "eyes and ears" of the ecosystems.
Uniformity: These loggers ensure data is collected in the same way across all four zones — California, Chile, Portugal, and South Africa.
Field Work: During a recent expedition to Cape Town, South Africa, the California researchers worked alongside Portuguese colleagues to deploy these sensors.

Graduate student Alaina Stockdill noted that the field experience was eye-opening: “Even on these really small spatial scales, there's so much variability in what an organism is experiencing.”

The Mathematical Machinery

What happens once that data is collected? That’s where the "mathematical machinery" developed by the team’s theoreticians comes in. By feeding local data into complex models, the researchers can map how temperature changes cascade through the food web. This unique approach combines nearshore and offshore data, food web dynamics and mathematical modeling. Together, these components create a planetary-scale view of how communities adjust and adapt to changing conditions.

A Blueprint for the Future

This project is just the start of a long-term research agenda. Once created, tested, and refined, this integrative model can be applied to other aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, offering a novel way to understand change and variability across the globe.