By Tim Stephens

Return to Rat Island: Researchers help restore native species to Aleutian island chain

In 2008, UC Santa Cruz researchers led a conservation effort to remove invasive rats from an island off Alaska’s Aleutian archipelago. A decade later, native island birds and the seashore ecosystem are returning to their natural balance.

By Tim Stephens

Healthy oceans need healthy soundscapes, say marine scientists

A global team of researchers has found overwhelming evidence that marine fauna and their ecosystems are negatively impacted by noise, which disrupts their behavior, physiology, and reproduction, and can even cause mortality.

By Tim Stephens

Study of flowers with two types of anthers solves mystery that baffled Darwin

Researchers at UC Santa Cruz have found that some flowers encourage bees to visit, and therefore pollinate, multiple flowers through a clever strategy of doling out pollen gradually from two different sets of anthers.

Original story from the UCSC Newscenter.

By Tim Stephens and Sarah Buckleitner

Cooperative research effort documents northward migration of kelp forests

In a sweeping display of the power of community-based science to capture data spanning the entire West Coast of North America, a team of scientists and countless volunteers from 14 different organizations joined forces to document the northward migration of kelp forests due to warming waters.

By Tim Stephens

Marine mammals show off their training in evacuation from Long Marine Lab

CZU Lightning Complex update: two dolphins, five seals, and a sea lion were safely evacuated from the UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Laboratory thanks to good preparation, well-trained and cooperative animals, and generous assistance from SeaWorld San Diego and the Marine Mammal Center.

Original story from UCSC Newscenter.

By Tim Stephens

Alaska’s salmon are getting smaller, affecting people and ecosystems

The size of salmon returning to rivers in Alaska has declined dramatically over the past 60 years because they are spending fewer years at sea, according to a new study. Salmon are critically important to both people and ecosystems in Alaska. Smaller salmon provide less food for people who depend on them, less value for commercial fishers, and less fertilizer for terrestrial ecosystems.