Climate Change

All West Coast Abalones at Risk of Extinction on the IUCN Red List

All seven of the United States’ abalone species that live on the West Coast are listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, Red List of Threatened Species. This is the first global Red List assessment of the species. The West Coast listings were based on an abalones assessment led by Laura-Rogers Bennett of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, or CDFW, and University of California, Davis.

Episode 6 of UC Davis' Unfold Podcast takes a deep dive into oceans and a changing climate

Oceans have always done us a favor, absorbing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. But now rising greenhouse gases are warming the ocean and changing its chemistry. All of this is putting marine species and ecosystems at risk, threatening food security and the livelihoods of people along its shores. In this episode of Unfold, we’ll take a deep dive into the ocean to examine the effects of climate change.

In this episode:

For Red Abalone, Resisting Ocean Acidification Starts With Mom

Red abalone mothers from California’s North Coast give their offspring an energy boost when they’re born that helps them better withstand ocean acidification compared to their captive, farmed counterparts, according to a study from the Bodega Marine Laboratory at the University of California, Davis.

Earth Day Interview with Kiva Oken

Earth Day began in 1970 as a movement for transformative environmental change, and Earth Day's mission and momentum has only grown since. This year, the chosen theme is climate change - a subject that influences and impacts the Marine and Coastal Sciences greatly. As part of our continued efforts to advance our understanding of coastal and ocean systems and improve the sustainability of those systems and the communities that rely on them, we did a virtual interview with one of our Assistant Professors, Kiva Oken, who is giving us a focus on fisheries, plus some information about how they're being affected by climate change and COVID-19.

Rising Tides, Troubled Waters: The Future of Our Ocean

The blob went unnoticed at first. In the summer of 2013, a high-pressure ridge settled over a Texas-size area in the northern Pacific, pushing the sky down over the ocean like an invisible lid. The winds died down, and the water became weirdly calm. Without waves and wind to break up the surface and dissipate heat, warmth from the sun accumulated in the water, eventually raising the temperature by 5 degrees Fahrenheit — a huge spike for the ocean.

How Giant Kelp May Respond to Climate Change

In a Changing Ocean, Giant Kelp’s Reproductive Success Depends on Where It’s From

When a marine heat wave hit California’s coast in 2014, it brought ocean temperatures that were high for Northern California but fairly normal for a Southern California summer. Much of the giant kelp in the north died in the heat wave, while southern populations survived.

UC Davis News

The Paleo Climate of California

Corals are a recent addition to this body of prophecy. Scientists now know that deep-sea corals off the coast of California live for hundreds of years—and they record a ring for every year of their growth, just like a redwood. What their growth rings tell us about past ocean conditions can also illuminate our planet's future. 

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