Marine Ecology

Blending In: Ecology Graduate Student Grace Ha Investigates Camouflage in Seagrass Meadows

“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

What’s In a Scientific Name? A Story.

A scientific name means more than just Linnaean nomenclature. Names go out into the world like buoys in the ocean, mere indicators of the stories and relationships weighted below them. Grace Ha writes about discovering a new marine species — and naming it.

Read more in Bay Nature

Discovering Curiosity: Eric Sanford Discusses How Marine Science and Sustainable Fisheries Go Hand in Hand

Outside Eric Sanford’s office window, foamy waters crash against rocky shores and open up to the expansive blue of the Pacific Ocean. Here, at the Bodega Marine Laboratory, Sanford and colleagues in his lab work to understand how ocean acidification is changing the ecology and evolution of the planet’s marine life.

Read more at the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences

Northern California Divers Battle to Save Abalone - With a Giant Sea-Urchin Vacuum

Usually, the first weekend of April is when abalone divers pack up their wetsuits and fins and head off to campsites along the Sonoma and Mendocino coast. However, this year’s recreational abalone season is closed due to a population on the brink of collapse, so the diving community has rechanneled its efforts in a seemingly mad scheme to save the abalone, involving underwater vacuums, hookahs and purple sea urchins.

Species richness accelerates marine ecosystem restoration in the Coral Triangle

Coral Triangle is a marine area located in the western Pacific Ocean with exceptional species diversity in coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests. Caring for these at-risk areas is crucial for preserving the numerous ecological functions and benefits these habitats provide. Dr. Susan Williams, Fulbright Specialist and UC Davis professor, has been working on improving seagrass meadow restoration in Indonesia.

El Niño’s Gone, But Some Unusual Southern Visitors Remain on the North Coast

Investigating El Niño weather pattern and the effects it has on redistribution of species, BML research coordinator Jackie Sones and ecology professor Eric Sanford have discovered red pelagic crabs on the Californian Northern Coastline. Because they are usually found off Baja California, Sones and Sanford suggest that the finding is indicative of how strong the most recent El Nino was. 

Survey Shows Impact of Sea Star Wasting Disease in Salish Sea

Sea star wasting disease has devastated intertidal populations of these animals on the West coast from Mexico to Alaska. But what about sea stars that live below the low tide line, mostly out of sight? An analysis of data collected by divers in the Salish Sea shows severe impacts on some species, especially the sunflower sea star, Pycnopodia helianthoides.

On Ocean Plastic Instead of Turtle Shells, Crabs Abandon Monogamy

The oceanic crab Planes minutus lives far from land. The crabs find a refuge between the upper shell and tail of loggerhead sea turtles, where they are nearly always found as a monogamous pair, one male and one female. But floating plastic trash in the ocean provides many new places for these crabs to live — and more space opens up many different ways for crabs to live and find partners.