What's Current in

Environment + Sustainability

Hayden Vega wears a lobster on his head
Photo Credit
Matt Perko

Real-world coral studies spark future in ocean conservation

Read Article

A close-up view of fluorescent coral.
Photo Credit
Anemone via AdobeStock
Coral underpin ecosystems as vibrant as they are. But these iconic animals face many challenges in the 21st century.

UC Santa Barbara leads $1.3-million research project on coral regeneration
In Focus placeholder

UCSB, Community Environmental Council to hold Living with Fire Summit
In Focus placeholder

UCSB study helps wildlife safely cross Gaviota Pass
UCSB professor Deron Burkepile explores the North shore of Moorea’s fore reef.
Photo Credit
Andrew Thurber
The structural complexity of a healthy coral reef provides habitat for a diversity of lifeforms.

Dead coral skeletons hinder reef regeneration by sheltering seaweed
In Focus placeholder

UCSB geographer receives NSF grant to study adaptations to land degradation and ‘bright spots’ of resilience
A shortfin mako encountered off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico.
Photo Credit
Neil Ferdinand Nathan
Apex predators like this shortfin make have an outsized influence on their ecosystems. Unfortunately, they’re also the hardest hit by fishing.

Big sharks have a big impact — and a big problem
A ranger watches hippos through binoculars.
Photo Credit
Narvikk vis iStock
A ranger watches hippos in the Akagera national park, Rwanda, which is managed by the NGO African Parks. Management of many of the continent's protected areas is being transferred from governments to nonprofit NGOs.

Outsourcing conservation in Africa
concept illustration of water and other molecules

‘Going green always wins’: Bruce Lipshutz makes the case for green chemistry in drug manufacturing for low-income countries
Sand dunes surround palms, trees, shrubs and a small lake in the UAE.
Photo Credit
Jing Yang via iStock
A desert oasis is perhaps the most striking example of a groundwater-dependent ecosystem.

Groundwater is key to protecting global ecosystems
Fishing boats in Peru
Photo Credit
Renato Molina

Expanding marine reserves will redistribute global fishing effort
researchers working with Senegalese partners
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image
UCSB geographer David López-Carr, center left, and Stanford University health and environmental scientist Andrea Lund, center right, working with Senegalese partners

Research and efforts to combat schistosomiasis earn geographer David López-Carr several high-profile awards
concept illustration of turning heat into electricity

Investigating the extraordinary thermoelectric properties of cadmium arsenide thin films
Subscribe to Environment + Sustainability