Every summer, students in the Marine Biodiversity and Conservation MAS Program at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego spend a week on Catalina Island, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. Here, the students learn to identify local algae and fish species as well as how to measure their populations using belt transects. However, … Read More

Richard and Ken Norris honored with Norrisanima miocaena An extinct species of whale was recently renamed in remembrance of the late Ken Norris and his son Richard (Dick) Norris, both influential scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. Norrisanima miocaena is newly described in the journal PierJ . Read More

How seaweed could help curb cow burps—one of California’s greatest sources of methane emissions Agricultural and marine scientists at the University of California have joined forces to combat one of the greatest sources of methane emissions in California: cow burps. Scientists have found that a certain species of red algae seaweed, Asparagopsis taxiformis, produces a compound that could halt bovine … Read More

In memory of  Roger Revelle, the Ocean Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine created the Roger Revelle Commemorative Lecture series featuring distinguished speakers on the themes of ocean science and public policy. The 20th annual Revelle Commemorative Lecture “Sustainability in Deep Water: The challenges of climate change, human pressures, and biodiversity conservation.”  was delivered by … Read More

Congratulations to CMBC Director Emeritus, Dr. Lisa Levin who will receive the highest international distinction to ocean sciences presented by the Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation. The Oceanographic Institute of Monaco said it chose Levin as the 2019 science lauréat for her considerable work that “seeks to highlight the need for the political, technological, and economic sectors … Read More

Congratulations to Dr. Alfredo Giron, graduate under Dr. Octavio Aburto, received the newly created award that honors Walter Munk’s legacy. The inaugural award was presented to Alfredo Giron at the OCEANS Conference in Marseille. Giron received his Ph.D. in March from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. After receiving the award, Giron presented his commemorative lecture, “The Risk of Oversimplification in … Read More

Scientists have known that crabs use a leg-rubbing technique to communicate, as well as specialized ridges on the claws and arms that are rubbed together to produce noise. But when Jennifer Taylor, an assistant professor at CMBC and lead author of a  new study, heard the sounds of stridulation from her ghost crabs, neither their legs nor claws were moving. … Read More

Lisa Levin, CMBC Director Emeritus – shows consequences of a warming ocean in major international report. Levin, represented Scripps in co-authoriing the fifth chapter, “Changing Ocean, Marine Ecosystems, and Dependent Communities,” of the IPCC’s Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC). The chapter authors write that the ocean is exhibiting physical and biochemical changes due … Read More

Scientists find that corals rely more on hunting than previously thought When it comes to feeding, corals have two options. Most of their nutrients come from microscopic algae living inside of them, but if those algae aren’t creating enough sustenance, corals can use their tentacles to grab and eat prey swimming nearby. Paper lead author Mike Fox – a postdoctoral … Read More