UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute

The secret to saving seagrass might be microscopic. 🌊🌱🔬

UC Davis Population Biology PhD student Karolina Zabinski is discovering how microbes help eelgrass adapt to its environment. Her research at the Bodega Marine Laboratory - UC Davis shows that "matching" plants with the right bacteria can be vital to successful restoration efforts and protecting blue carbon reservoirs: https://biology.ucdavis.edu/news/what-makes-seagrass-survive-look-microbes

📸: Karolina Zabinski (front), Maggie Sogin (back left), and Sophie MacVittie (back right) sampling for seagrass-associated microbes in Tomales Bay, California. (Courtesy photo)

Image description: Three researchers, Karolina Zabinski, Maggie Sogin, and Sophie MacVittie, wade through a shallow, muddy tidal flat during low tide. They are wearing chest-high waterproof waders and carrying colorful buckets and sampling equipment. The background shows a vast, shimmering seagrass meadow under bright daylight.

Exciting Opportunity: New CMSI Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Davis!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the CMSI Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, designed for early-career scientists eager to develop innovative research at the intersection of marine and coastal science.

Fellowship Highlights:
- Interdisciplinary: Work with at least two UC Davis faculty mentors. Prospective fellows are encouraged to explore the research of CMSI faculty and reach out to prospective mentors to discuss potential collaborations
- Unique Access: Dual residency at the Davis campus and the Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML).
- Support: Two years of salary/benefits + up to $15,000 in research and engagement funds.

Deadlines:
- Priority Review: June 15, 2026
- Final Deadline: July 1, 2026

Join a vibrant community dedicated to marine science excellence.
👉 Apply here:

Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute (CMSI) Postdoctoral Fellowship University of California, Davis is hiring. Apply now!

While they cover less than 1% of the ocean's surface, the four major upwelling zones in California, Chile, Portugal, and South Africa are biological powerhouses. 💨🌊🦀🐟

Thanks to grants from the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) and UC Davis Global Affairs, the Valdovinos Lab is leading a global, collaborative effort to understand how these vital ecosystems will adapt to a shifting climate: https://marinescience.ucdavis.edu/blog/global-effort-decode-oceans-most-productive-hotspots

Image description: A group of people at the Cape of Good Hope sign on a rocky coast, posing for the camera, some with arms raised.

Table manners matter, even for fish. 🐠

New research from UC Davis reveals that a major evolutionary "spark" 50 million years ago wasn't just about where fish lived, but also about how they ate.

By evolving the ability to bite food off hard surfaces (like coral and rocks), lineages like parrotfish and butterflyfish began diversifying faster than their open-ocean cousins. This single "innovation" is a primary reason why our coral reefs are so vibrant and biodiverse today.

Read more about how biting shaped the ocean: https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/fish-evolution-accelerated-after-adapting-eat-hard-surfaces

📸: Public Domain

Image description: Yellow-brown butterflyfish with dark stripes swimming above a coral reef.

Fish Evolution Accelerated After Adapting to Eat off Hard Surfaces Why are there so many species of coral reef fish? According to a new study, it’s because about 50 million years ago, some fish figured out how to bite food from hard surfaces. Evolution doesn’t proceed at an even pace: Species evolve in jumps and spurts, followed by lulls. These periods of rapid...

From curiosity in a GE class to innovative immune research! 🐟 Mikaila Hishaw, a UC Davis Marine and Coastal Science major, took ownership of her independent research on white sturgeon. When funding for equipment got tight, she even 3D-printed her own tools!

Read more: https://www.ucdavis.edu/blog/how-one-uc-davis-student-turns-question-about-animal-physiology-innovative-immune-research

UC Davis 23 likes. "How this student's research impacts the health of animals and humans"

UC Davis Picnic Day was claw-some! 🦀

We had a blast talking about marine science and seeing your craft skills in action. To everyone who stopped by to learn, create, and celebrate with us — thank you for being part of our community! Check out our 2026 Crab Hat Hall of Fame 🏆🦀 below to see some of our favorite looks from the day.

Image description: A series of vibrant photos from UC Davis Picnic Day featuring visitors, from children to adults, proudly wearing handmade, colorful paper crab hats. They are posing outdoors in front of marine science exhibits under bright, sunny skies.

Precision matters in science, and it begins with the tools students use every day. This challenge will fund new microscopes and pipettors for classroom use at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, strengthening hands-on learning, accurate data collection, and the skills needed for tomorrow’s scientific breakthroughs.

During UC Davis Give Day, just 15 gifts of any size will unlock a $6,000 gift, providing the microscopes and pipettors essential for student discovery at Bodega Marine Laboratory.

Your contribution, no matter the amount, makes an impact — putting the future of marine science directly into our students' hands: https://buff.ly/u8lLwiQ

Image description: Three students in a classroom at Bodega Marine Laboratory, working at long tables. In the foreground, a student looks into a microscope at a small glass container holding a specimen.

UC Davis Picnic Day is almost here, and we’re bringing the ocean to you! Join us this Saturday, April 18th, on the Davis campus, starting at 10 AM, for a hands-on marine science experience.

🐚 Meet some of our favorite tide pool critters at our touch tank

🔬 Get an up-close look at marine life under the microscope

🦀 Create your own custom crab hat at our craft table!

📍 Find us just outside the Sciences Laboratory Building.

Come explore, learn, and celebrate marine science with us! 🌊🐠
https://marinescience.ucdavis.edu/events/uc-davis-picnic-day


Image descriptions:
A glass tank holding sea stars, whelks, purple urchins, and other marine life, with a person's hand poking into the water from above.
A leather star being held out to a group of people who are gently stroking its arms.
A vibrant pink paper hat shaped like a crab being assembled by a pair of hands.
A deep purple sea star with light purple markings being held out by a hand above a tank of water.

Not all corals respond to heat the same way. UC Davis researchers Rachael Bay and Anya Brown are studying coral genes and microbiomes in the Cook Islands to learn why some corals withstand heat stress, and whether those traits could help protect reefs as oceans warm: https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/some-corals-can-stand-heat-could-they-help-those-cant

📸: Images courtesy of Rachael Bay/UC Davis and Joaquin Benitez/UC Davis

Image Descriptions: A snorkeler underwater holding a tray of small corals that have been prepared for outplanting.
A large coral grouped with smaller corals in very clear, shallow waters.
Rachael Bay holding out a white sphere of coral towards Anya Brown as they both look down at it.