Environment Content

First Cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Northern Elephant Seals Confirmed in California

Katherine E Kerlin — February 25, 2026 - 10:00am

Seven weaned elephant seal pups in California’s Año Nuevo State Park tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed Tuesday evening.

Helping Beekeepers Fight Mites Through More Effective Treatments

Katherine E Kerlin — February 19, 2026 - 2:18pm

Researchers from the USDA and UC Davis are helping beekeepers protect their colonies from destructive varroa mites through a promising new line of research.

Frog Love Songs and the Sounds of Climate Change

Katherine E Kerlin — February 12, 2026 - 8:00am

A good love song tells female frogs when the time is right for mating, finds a UC Davis study showing male frogs change their tune as the weather warms.

H5N1 Causes Die-off of Antarctic Skuas, a Seabird

Katherine E Kerlin — February 05, 2026 - 7:00am

More than 50 skua deaths in Antarctica from H5N1 mark the first confirmed die-off of wildlife from bird flu on the continent, reports study from UC Davis and Erasmus MC.

Tell Me Something Good … About Salmon

Katherine E Kerlin — January 29, 2026 - 1:22pm

For every bad thing happening in the world, there are good people trying to make things right. Sometimes they even win. That’s why I’m starting a new series on this blog called “Tell Me Something Good.”

I’m opening it up with Carson Jeffres, a UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences researcher who helped inspire the idea, simply by telling me something good. I needed to hear it. Maybe you do, too.

Julian Johnson’s Big Year of Birding

Katherine E Kerlin — January 27, 2026 - 3:48pm

Julian Johnson didn’t even consider himself a birder until a couple of years ago, but the UC Davis undergraduate student broke the Yolo County Big Year record for birding in 2025. He recorded 275 species while spending more than 1,000 hours birdwatching in the country last year. His achievement came just months after a UC Davis team broke the” Big Day” record for Yolo County.

Expedition to Antarctica: UC Davis Tracks Melting Glaciers

Katherine E Kerlin — January 23, 2026 - 1:31pm

UC Davis scientists are in Antarctica to deploy Gull, an autonomous underwater vehicle known as a glider, that will help us understand how fast one of the world’s biggest and most important glaciers — Thwaites — is melting. Thwaites Glacier and neighboring Pine Island Glacier are potential glacial flow from the West Antarctic ice sheets. If this system collapses, it could raise sea levels across the world.

LA Fires: Chemicals From the Smoke Lingered Inside Homes Long After the Wildfires Were Out

Katherine E Kerlin — January 06, 2026 - 12:16pm

When wildfires began racing through the Los Angeles area on Jan. 7, 2025, the scope of the disaster caught residents by surprise. Forecasters had warned about high winds and exceptionally dry conditions, but few people expected to see smoke and fires for weeks in one of America’s largest metro areas.

Lessons from the Caldor Fire’s Christmas Valley ‘Miracle’

Katherine E Kerlin — December 19, 2025 - 9:00am

The Lake Tahoe communities of Christmas Valley and Meyers were spared during 2021's Caldor Fire. A UC Davis study reveals which pre-fire fuel treatments worked best to bring about the Christmas Valley "miracle."

Record Returns: 2,100 Salmon Spawned in Putah Creek

Katherine E Kerlin — December 17, 2025 - 10:32am

A record-breaking 2,100 Chinook salmon returned to spawn in restored Putah Creek this fall. UC Davis fish biologists and partners are tracking and monitoring the run.