The Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute (CMSI) coordinates and promotes new collaborative approaches to research that engage stakeholders and work to solve local, regional, and global challenges emerging in coastal systems.
Research
Featured CMSI Research
Read about some of the long-term projects and innovative research being conducted on campus, in the field, and at our world-class research facility, the Bodega Marine Laboratory.
Uncovering the Ecological Network in Bodega Bay
Stepping out onto the rocky shore of Bodega Bay, you would quickly notice that the intertidal zone is teeming with life. From mussels and barnacles to crabs and anemones, hundreds of species occupy these rocky areas - experts Jackie Sones and Dr. Eric Sanford estimate that there are about 250 different species that make their homes in this rocky intertidal zone in Bodega Bay!
Category: Marine Ecology
Inside the Kueltz Lab at UC Davis
Dr. Kueltz’s backgroundDr. Dietmar Kueltz describes himself as “...a comparative biologist and most interested in mechanisms of stress-induced evolution. My lab studies how fish and marine invertebrates counteract environmental stress.” Originally from Berlin, Germany, he grew up interested in aquatic life. “I was diving and swimming a lot,” he said, “and I am interested in watersports and just about everything aquatic.” Dr. Kueltz attributes this early love of aquatics to his interest in studying stress and evolution in aquatic organisms.
Category: Evolution and Adaptation
Risky Business: Maintaining Economic and Ecological Balance in the Fishing Industry
As you gaze down at the piece of salmon sitting atop the sushi roll you just ordered, you may wonder: Where did this fish come from? Who caught it? How are there enough fish being caught to feed all of the other people who ordered a salmon sushi roll today? Will there be enough tomorrow as well? Despite pondering these questions for a few seconds, you probably shrug it off and delve into your delicious meal, not to think of it again until the next time you arrive at a sushi restaurant.
Category: Aquaculture
Species Resilience and Science Advocacy:
In the labGenetics, climate change, and conservation become highly intertwined in Dr. Andrew Whitehead’s lab. Although he works on a variety of research endeavors, he mainly focuses on how wild species respond to human-induced stress, such as the effects of climate change, and how that may affect an individual organism’s progeny. Essentially, Dr. Whitehead attempts to monitor how climate change and pollution will shape the genetic makeup of multiple generations.
Category: Climate Change
There’s a new detective in town:
Understanding species interactions and population dynamics are important for tracking the success and spread of threatened and endangered species. But how can scientists accurately track these data for species that look the same and cannot be identified via visual comparisons of two individuals? The answer may lie in the realm of conservation genetics and genomics. In addition to being able to provide species-level identification (and even individual-level identification), this field obtains and analyzes organisms’ genetic material to gain insight into population functions. Data obtained from genetic material can shed light on how isolated populations are from one another, how large populations are, and how populations are related to each other in time and space.
Category: Aquaculture