About the Bodega Marine Laboratory
Our Mission:
Through innovative research programs and teaching initiatives, the Bodega Marine Laboratory will lead the way to the multi-disciplinary scientific understanding required to solve complex environmental problems on the marine and terrestrial sides of the tideline in northern California.
Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML) is a leader in multidisciplinary research aimed at solving complex environmental problems in coastal ecosystems.
For nearly 50 years, BML has also provided hands-on training to students who have become leaders in the fields of marine science and policy. BML’s long history of research and training has contributed invaluably to our knowledge of coastal systems and the policy that protects them.
BML fosters an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to address challenging questions at the rapidly changing land-sea interface, including
Faculty and researchers are tackling a diverse array of basic and applied research problems, including the impacts of climate change on marine and atmospheric systems, invasive species, the effect of oil spills and other pollutants on diverse habitats and organisms, the effect of proposed energy gathering systems and marine protected areas on marine habitats and communities, and how changing productivity affects salmon and other species at the top of the food chain.
Scientists have studied the environs around Bodega Marine Laboratory since the 1920s, attracted by the diversity and abundance of sea life that occurs in the region, which is one of the four most productive coastal ocean ecosystems on earth. BML’s unique suite of facilities and proximity to diverse habitats are critical to UC Davis scientists, and BML serves as the gateway to coastal/environmental research for 80+ UC Davis faculty, including 10 resident faculty from 4 colleges and many departments. UC Davis’ contingent of coastal/environmental scientists is internationally renowned.
An Organized Research Unit of the University of California, Davis the Bodega Marine Laboratory is specialized facility equipped with sophisticated technology, an instrument and sensor network and long term environmental data set, the Cadet Hand Library, teaching classrooms and lecture hall, dorms, wet labs, greenhouses, dive training facility, seawater system and vessel fleet. The BML community includes faculty, researchers, visiting scientists, undergraduate and graduate students, staff and volunteers.
Bodega Marine Laboratory is located off California Coast Highway 1 about three miles from the village of Bodega Bay, one of the north coast’s busiest fishing ports and a popular tourist destination. Bodega Marine Laboratory is 28 miles from Santa Rosa, 65 miles north of San Francisco and 100 miles west of Davis.
Resident faculty, researchers and students span four colleges across the UC Davis campus, and BML regularly hosts research faculty from a variety of disciplines from throughout the University system.
Above, click a thumbnail to see a larger diagram.
The UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences addresses critical issues that impact agriculture, the environment, and people in California and around the world. The College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences mission is to integrate, evaluate and communicate knowledge of the sciences and technologies of natural resource utilization and conservation, agriculture, food, nutrition, human development, and related environmental, health, safety and policy concerns. The college’s three divisions are organized into 21 departments.
- Environmental Science and Policy
- Environmental Toxicology/Nutrition
- Land, Air and Water Resources
- Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology
- Animal Science
The UC Davis College of Biological Sciences is one of few colleges in the country dedicated entirely to the study of biological sciences. The college’s faculty, researchers and students explore fundamental questions about life. Breakthroughs in medicine, nutrition, agriculture, and the environment all depend on better understanding life’s many building blocks and how they fit together. Researchers at the CBS are advancing the planet’s knowledge every day, exploring how life processes work when all goes right – and what happens when things go askew.
The UC Davis College of Letters and Science is made up of three divisions, each with its own dean. The college now has over 50 departments amongst its three divisions and more than 11,000 students and over 500 faculty. The breadth of the college is complimented by its depth of study – with limitless opportunities for students to research with and learn from some of the best known minds in any given field.
The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has shaped the field of veterinary medicine, from developing dynamic education programs reflective of today’s needs to uncovering solutions for emerging diseases of animals and humans to sharing knowledge with communities worldwide. The school trains the next generation of small and large animal veterinarians as it develops leaders in public health, disease control, food safety, environmental protection, biotechnology, higher education and research.