Rockweed Rescue

UC Santa Barbara marine scientists to restore rocky intertidal seaweed to boost coastal biodiversity.

A massive seaweed bloom is smothering life from the Caribbean to West Africa

For eight years, thick mats of seaweed have smothered coral reefs, trapped sea turtles and brought economic instability to coastal communities as reddish-brown gobs of foul-smelling sargassum wash onto beaches along the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and tropical Atlantic. These phenomena are symptoms of a massive seaweed bloom scientists are calling the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt.

New data platform illuminates history of humans’ environmental impact

Animal remains found at archaeological sites tell the millennia-long story of how humans have hunted, domesticated and transported wildlife, altered landscapes and responded to environmental changes such as shifting temperatures and sea levels.Now, that story is available digitally through a new open-access data platform which links records of animals across biological and archaeological databases

One million species at risk of extinction, UN report warns

The bonds that hold nature together may be at risk of unraveling from deforestation, overfishing, development, and other human activities, a landmark United Nations report warns. Thanks to human pressures, one million species may be pushed to extinction in the next few years, with serious consequences for human beings as well as the rest of life on Earth.