Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
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Scientists investigate unusual ocean conditions along the U.S. West Coast
For two years in a row, ocean life along the U.S. West Coast has suffered from the delayed appearance of conditions that normally support a highly productive marine environment. Instead of the usual upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters along the coast during spring and summer, ocean conditions early in the year have been similar to…
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ARCS Foundation scholarships support ten UCSC graduate students
Ten UC Santa Cruz graduate students have received scholarships worth a total of $100,000 from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation for the 2006-07 academic year. The Northern California chapter of the ARCS Foundation is the most generous provider of annual private awards to the UCSC campus and has provided more than $1…
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California Academy of Sciences honors UCSC botanist Jean Langenheim
Jean Langenheim, professor emerita and research professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been chosen to receive the 2006 Fellows Medal of the California Academy of Sciences (CAS). This is the highest honor bestowed by the academy, founded in 1853 as the first scientific institution in the western…
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Study documents the marathon migrations of sooty shearwaters
Every summer, millions of sooty shearwaters arrive off the coast of California, their huge flocks astonishing visitors who may have trouble grasping that the dark swirling clouds over the water consist of seabirds. Scientists have long known that sooty shearwaters breed in New Zealand and Chile and migrate to feeding grounds in the Northern Hemisphere.…
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UCSC researchers use new technology to study Cape fur seals in South Africa
Sophisticated electronic tagging technology developed as part of the Tagging of Pacific Pelagics (TOPP) program is now being deployed to study Cape fur seals in South Africa. Daniel Costa, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is currently in South Africa working with an international team of investigators to…
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Two geographic sites in Antarctica named in honor of UCSC biologists
Costa Spur and Terrie Bluff, once nameless features of the austere Antarctic landscape, have now been officially named in honor of Daniel Costa and Terrie Williams, professors of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Both scientists have done extensive field research on marine mammals in Antarctica. The U.S. Board on…
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Greenbeards have blue throats in a breakthrough study of the evolution of altruistic behavior
A new study of side-blotched lizards in California has revealed the genetic underpinnings of altruistic behavior in this common lizard species, providing new insights into the long-standing puzzle of how cooperation and altruism can evolve. The study, led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, offers the first evidence in vertebrates of an…