Can scientists defeat vast armies of sea urchins and re-kelp California’s North Coast? A Wild Billions story.
The Ocean
Bay Nature stories about the Pacific Ocean.
The Secret Lives of Baby Tidepool Creatures
July 27, 2023 •
Imagine if your offspring were unrecognizable as the same species, and lived in a completely different habitat. This is the case for most tidepool creatures: barnacles, sea stars, urchins and more lead secret early lives as zooplankton, microscopic animals drifting out in the open ocean.Â
How Surrogate Sea Otter Moms Are Helping Populations Recover
July 26, 2023 •
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
July 17, 2023 •
Historic Money for Bay Area Nature Has Started to Flow. The Challenge? Spending it.
June 26, 2023 •
Meet BIL and IRA—two federal bills with forgettable names that belie their enormous potential impact on the environment.
How the DNA We Leave Behind Can Help Conservation
May 3, 2023 •
Bits of DNA linger on the forest floor, in the ocean, and even in the air—and these strands have stories to tell, back at the lab. Here’s how environmental DNA (aka ‘eDNA’) is starting to transform how ecologists work in the Bay Area and beyond.
Dungeness Crab Fishery Is Closed Early Again to Prevent Whale Entanglements
April 19, 2023 •
Dungeness crabbers finished the season without a single whale entanglement, unlike past years, but they paid a price.
As Whale Populations Grow, Dungeness Crabbers Foresee Their Own Demise
March 22, 2023 •
For decades, whale migration and crabbing operated as a tag team. But now, the whales are coming sooner—widening the window for exposure to fishing gear.
How a ‘Sturgeon Surgeon’ Tracks the Bay’s Giant, Stealthy Living Fossils
March 22, 2023 •
Researchers are investigating the secrets of our two resident sturgeon species, which have razor-sharp armor and shlorp up clams with their vacuum-shaped mouths.
That Foam on the Beach Is (Probably) Fine
March 8, 2023 •
Storms on the California coast whip up sea foam, especially in winter and spring. Here’s a frothy dollop of the science behind how this stuff forms (it’s kind of a planktonic meringue).