A Perilous Future for Animal Life in the Ocean?

From elephants to monarch butterflies, the news is full of stories about the health of wildlife on land. But what about animal life on the other 71 percent of the planet: our oceans? How are whales, sharks and corals fairing relative to their terrestrial counterparts?

Guests at a Chancellor’s Community Breakfast, hosted by UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry T. Yang and the UCSB Affiliates, will hear Douglas McCauley, an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, answer these and other related questions. McCauley will provide a brief history of the ways in which humans have altered the Earth’s oceans, and will take a look at likely future impacts on the seas. In addition, he will spotlight the actions and initiatives — large and small — that can be taken to help ensure a healthier future for animal life in the oceans.

McCauley’s talk, “The Past and Future of Animal Loss in the Ocean,” will begin at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, at El Paseo Restaurant, 813 Anacapa St., #10 in Santa Barbara. The cost is $25. Admission is free for members of the UCSB Affiliates, UC Santa Barbara Foundation Trustees, and members of the Gold Circle and of the Chancellor’s Council. Reservations can be made by calling Percy Sales at (805) 893-8260 or by sending a check — payable to the UC Regents — to the UCSB Affiliates, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106.

McCauley is a Sloan Research Fellow in the Ocean Sciences whose research topics range from manta rays and bumphead parrotfish to pirates and fish-spying satellites. His work has been featured in The New York Times and Time magazine and on National Public Radio.

Questions can be directed to Sales at percy.sales@ucsb.edu.