Office of Research
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Sea otters maintain remnants of healthy kelp forest amid sea urchin barrens
While kelp forests have declined dramatically along the California coast, sea otters in Monterey Bay are maintaining patches of healthy kelp forest, according to a new study.
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Return to Rat Island: Conservation strategy leads to ecosystem rebound
Hawadax Island’s birds and seashore ecosystem have returned to a natural balance after the removal of invasive rodents.
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The collapse of Northern California kelp forests will be hard to reverse
Most of Northern California’s kelp forest ecosystem is gone, replaced by widespread ‘urchin barrens’ that may persist long into the future, according to a new study.
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UCSC leads multicampus initiative on coastal resilience and climate adaptation
A UC-funded initiative will bring together researchers at the Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and San Diego campuses to address pressing issues for California’s coastal communities.
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Girl activists are more visible than ever. Is this progress?
In the past decade, there’s been an explosion in media coverage of girl activists. Professor Jessica Taft, a leading expert in youth activism, sees opportunity in this visibility, but her research has also identified many troubling trends in how girl activists are portrayed.
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Scientists describe ‘hidden biodiversity crisis’ as variation within species is lost
Many of the benefits people receive from nature depend on diversity within species, but this intraspecific variation is poorly understood and declining rapidly.
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LASER talk to feature research by UCSC deans of the humanities and social sciences
The event will feature research presentations by Jasmine Alinder, Dean of the Humanities (“Representing Japanese American Incarceration”), and Katharyne Mitchell, Dean of the Social Sciences (“Sanctuary Space and Insurgent Memory”).
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Computer scientist Yang Liu wins $1M grant for research on fairness in AI
Liu’s research aims to achieve more equitable outcomes from decision-making tools based on automated machine-learning algorithms.
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Oldest DNA sequences reveal how mammoths evolved
Analysis of ancient DNA sequences recovered from mammoth teeth reveal North American mammoths were descended from two earlier mammoth lineages.
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Astronomer J. Xavier Prochaska honored for top research paper in Science
J. Xavier Prochaska, distinguished professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, and his coauthors of a landmark paper describing a fast radio burst from a massive galaxy have been chosen to receive the prestigious AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize.
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Healthy oceans need healthy soundscapes, say marine scientists
A global team of researchers has documented the pervasive impacts of noise on marine animals and ecosystems and identified actions to return to the soundtrack of the healthy ocean.
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Rob Fairlie testifies before Congress on inequality in pandemic economic impacts
Rob Fairlie testified before the House Committee on Small Business to share his latest research on the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, including the disproportionate hardships faced by minority-owned businesses.