Ecology Evolution and Marine Biology

Flames from the Thomas Fire reflect in the waves just west of Ventura. Its proximity to the ocean provided researchers a unique opportunity.

This image of a blue plastic pile represents the cumulative amount of plastic waste that would be generated between 2010 and 2050 — enough to cover the entire island of Manhattan, and ten times the height of the Empire State Building — under a business-as-usual scenario where no aggressive policy actions are taken.

California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) surfaces in a pond in Point Reyes National Seashore, Calif.

Fishers coming home on a paddle canoe after fishing on the fore reefs of Abaiang, Kiribati

Beach bur, a native plant that helped to form dunes on a section of Santa Monica Beach in Los Angeles

Diatoms are one of the largest groups of phytoplankton, which serve as a foundation of the ocean’s food web.

A research diver conducts periodic monitoring of a kelp forest marine protected area

A forest community changes as trembling aspen succumb to drought in southwestern Colorado.

Holly Moeller hopes these nondescript algae will help her uncover the intriguing lifestyle of mixotrophs and understand how environmental conditions influence their growth.