Author: Tim Stephens
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Coots can count: Study shows surprisingly sophisticated nesting behavior in common marsh birds
Coots, the Rodney Dangerfields of the bird world, just might start to get some respect as a result of a new study showing that these common marsh birds are able to recognize and count their own eggs, even in the presence of eggs laid by other birds. The counting ability of female coots is part…
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UC Santa Cruz scientist Todd Lowe wins Sloan Research Fellowship
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has selected Todd Lowe, an assistant professor of computer engineering at UC Santa Cruz, to receive a Sloan Research Fellowship in molecular biology. Lowe, whose research combines computational and experimental approaches to uncover new biology, is among 117 young scientists and economists to receive the prestigious fellowships this year. Lowe…
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UCSC astronomer John Faulkner to address U.K. astronomy meeting
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has invited John Faulkner, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, to give the Roger Tayler Memorial Lecture at the National Astronomy Meeting next month in Dublin. Faulkner’s talk, which will take place on April 10, will be the last in a series of five…
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UCSC researcher will describe scientific voyages to Antarctica in a public talk at the Seymour Center on Wednesday, March 12
As chief scientist aboard the research vessel Laurence M. Gould, Daniel Costa led a research team investigating the ecology of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica on two cruises in 2001 and 2002. Costa, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz, will share his experiences conducting research during the harsh Antarctic winter,…
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Tiny birds are sure to make a big impression on Hummingbird Day at the UCSC Arboretum on Saturday, March 15
Visitors to the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum can count on aerial acrobatics galore for the Arboretum’s annual Hummingbird Day festival on Saturday, March 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. Thousands of nectar-producing Grevillea, Erica, and Salvia blooms in the Arboretum fuel the tiny birds with liquid energy for their mating dances.…
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$1 million gift from philanthropist Jack Baskin to UC Santa Cruz School of Engineering supports new building and new department
Retired engineer and philanthropist Jack Baskin has once again demonstrated his strong support for the engineering school that bears his name with a gift of $1 million to the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Baskin’s latest contribution will help fund a new engineering building now under construction on the…
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New studies reveal connections between oceanographic processes and rockfish populations
More than 60 species of rockfish live along the U.S. West Coast, including about 10 commercially important species (often sold as red snapper) that inhabit the shallow rocky reefs and kelp beds of the California coast. Like most marine fish, rockfish produce larval young that spend the first few months of their lives drifting about…
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Lecture promises ‘behind the headlines’ look at Keiko the whale
Keiko the killer whale has been making headlines since the early 1990s, when he starred in the popular Free Willy movies. For a look behind the headlines at the effort to return Keiko to the wild, the public is invited to a talk at UCSC’s Long Marine Laboratory by Charles Vinick, executive vice president of…
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UC Santa Cruz biodiversity workshop focuses on Santa Lucia Mountains
The Santa Lucia Range, rising steeply from California’s Big Sur coast, is one of the most environmentally complex and biologically rich areas of the state. An all-day workshop held last week at the University of California, Santa Cruz, brought together representatives of the many governmental and nongovernmental agencies, private groups, and university researchers studying this…
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Volcanic seamounts siphon ocean water through the seafloor–researchers trace flow over long distances
Researchers have discovered a pair of seamounts on the ocean floor that serve as inflow and outflow points for a vast plumbing system that circulates water through the seafloor. The seamounts are separated by more than 30 miles (52 kilometers). “One big underwater volcano is sucking in seawater, and the water flows north through the…
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New health sciences major at UC Santa Cruz includes community service and Spanish language requirements
The University of California, Santa Cruz, has established a new health sciences major designed for students interested in medical careers. Students majoring in health sciences at UCSC will be required to become proficient in Spanish and to do an internship in a community health care setting, in addition to taking the usual science courses required…
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Scientists explain formation of stone circles and other strange patterns in northern regions by simple feedback mechanisms and self-organization
Perfect circles of stones cover the ground in parts of Alaska and the Norwegian islands of Spitsbergen. Elsewhere in the far north, stones form other striking patterns on the ground: polygons, stripes, islands, and labyrinths. No, pranksters are not at work in these remote areas, nor are aliens, elves, or any other outside forces moving…