No one agency is tasked with protecting us from marine algal blooms. So here’s a map worth checking before you go out on the waters of San Francisco Bay.
Timely news, art, ideas and science from the natural world of Northern California.
Tactical Pooping, and Other Ways Birds Survive Summer
Here’s a look at how birds beat the heat along with some ways you can help. As SFBBO researcher Katie LaBarbera says, “these are birds trying to survive in the crevices in our world.”
How Surrogate Sea Otter Moms Are Helping Populations Recover
It turns out sea otters are better than people at raising sea otters. That could be useful if the U.S. government decides to reintroduce them to their historic range.
Why a Mouse Matters
Salt marsh harvest mice are hard to find, and their fates offer a glimpse at our own coastal society’s future. A reporter tags along on an epic rangewide survey of salties—the Bay Area’s own endemic mouse species.
Can We Prevent Another Algaepocalypse in the Bay?
Researchers and water agencies are searching for ways to lower the risk of another worst-case bloom by reducing the amount of nutrients in the Bay.
Recharge Alone Won’t End California’s Groundwater Drought
Groundwater recharge is a useful way to put surface water back underground, but experts say it is a limited solution.
Time Traveling With Clam Fossils
Ancient clams offer a uniquely detailed fossil record. As they build their shells, layer by layer, they preserve clues to the climate they once lived in.
Bald Eagles Have Adopted a Baby Hawk in the Bay Area
Photographer Doug Gillard witnessed the female eagle bringing in the first fuzzy, gray baby bird, but he assumed it was dinner for the eaglet.
Birds Flock to a Resurrected Tulare Lake, Peaking at Nearly the Size of Lake Tahoe
The resurrected Tulare Lake and thousands of acres of nearby flooded farmland are providing a temporary respite for the millions of migratory birds that pass through California along the Pacific Flyway every year.
Moss Knows How to Wait
Mosses are not particularly competitive; they do not crowd out other species. They find a foothold where there are the proper resources: moisture, a place to tuck their rhizoid roots. The range from which they can acquire nourishment is limited. Humans are on the opposite end of that spectrum, able to move resources long distances, at increasingly devastating costs to one another and to ecosystems.