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.
Climate Change
Climate change is dramatically altering the San Francisco Bay Area's ecosystems and raising profound questions among conservationists about how to help species best adapt to new conditions.
The Bird Nest Detectives
March 22, 2023 •
Century-old bird nests help scientists time-travel to San Francisco Bay’s lost plant communities.
King Tides Offer a Glimpse into the Future of Sea Level Rise
January 19, 2023 •
King tides over 7 feet are coming to the Bay Area Jan. 21-22, 2023—and lucky for us, they’re happening at a reasonable time to go out and see them. Here’s a short cosmic backgrounder on why king tides happen.
6 Million Acres to Go
January 3, 2023 •
California, the most biodiverse state, hopes to stave off the Sixth Extinction by protecting 30 percent of its lands and waters by 2030. How’s that going?
The Nearly Unkillable Eucalyptus Meets Its Match
October 20, 2022 •
Eucalyptus trees on Albany Hill are wasting away from blight. Some people may cheer—but these trees are also home to endangered monarchs.
Logjam: The Supply Chain Problem That’s Keeping California From Preventing Catastrophic Wildfires on Private Land
October 11, 2022 •
Private landowners in California hold a huge amount of forest that’s primed to burn.
In Bay of Life, an Internationally Renowned Media Duo Look to Their Monterey Backyard
October 4, 2022 •
With Bay of Life, Frans Lanting and Christine Eckstrom wanted to go past Monterey Bay’s natural beauty to explore its past, present and possible futures.
Can We Have More Whales and Fewer Whale Strikes?
September 23, 2022 •
Anchovies sparkled and seawater sprayed from the crusty maws of gray whales as they burst through the surface, again and again, off the coast near Pacifica, fifteen miles south of San Francisco. Groups of up to six gray whales devoured … Read more
On the Enigmatic ‘Flying Potato,’ Neither Plant Nor Animal, That Caused the Bay’s Biggest Harmful Algal Bloom in History
September 21, 2022 •
Heterosigma akashiwo can photosynthesize like a plant and wiggle like an animal, and it’s here to stay — but it’s still something of an enigma.
Modeling the uncertain future of Northern California’s bull kelp forests
August 2, 2022 •
For two years, scientists at UC Davis have been modeling a “Field of Dreams” hypothesis about bull kelp to understand what approaches could best help the recovery of the kelp forest ecosystem in Northern California.