News and Events

“So the clue was, ‘This temperate coral undergoes quiescence in the winter. Another word for this is … ?’” Anya Brown has spent most of her adult life around coral reef systems. Her brother, meanwhile, has cultivated a career as a writer on the American quiz show, “Jeopardy!”

Where do you go when you’re a fish and you need a skincare treatment? Coral reefs contain natural “beauty salons,” lively social hubs of activity where fish “clients” swim up and wait to be serviced by smaller fish cleaners.

At the Bodega Marine Laboratory, science leapt beyond the lab bench in a surprising collaboration—part fashion show, part modern dance, part film screening—where artistic expression met ecological research on the Sonoma Coast.

Some reef fish have the unexpected ability to move their jaws from side to side, biologists at the University of California, Davis have discovered. This ability – which is rare among vertebrate animals – allows these fish to feed rapidly and efficiently on algae growing on rocks.

For some, the ocean is a scenic backdrop—an inviting place for relaxation or an awe-inspiring force of nature. For Mona Hansche, it’s the soundtrack of her life; and Bodega Bay is the chorus—the part that always returns, anchoring the melody of her experiences.

After a summer of tide pooling and hands-on marine research at Bodega Marine Laboratory, UC Davis undergrads Makayla Peixoto and Jessica Bartolome returned to campus as peer advisors, helping future students discover their own path to the coast.