Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources

From frog saunas to medicated baths: Scientists battle a global amphibian plague | CNN What may sound like a spa day for frogs is all part of a global effort to fight the chytrid fungus — the deadly pathogen responsible for what scientists have called the largest disease-driven loss of…

Chytrid fungus has driven roughly 90 amphibian species to extinction and pushed more than 500 into decline. “Once you start taking species out of ecosystems, it has cascading, catastrophic effects," Professor Bree Rosenblum told @cnn.com. www.cnn.com/science/chyt...

We may be underestimating the true carbon cost of northern wildfires - Berkeley News A study led by a UC Berkeley researcher reconstructed emissions from Swedish wildfires and found that current climate estimates are failing to fully account for carbon released from smoldering…

For a recent Science Advances study, postdoc Johan Eckdahl reconstructed emissions from more than 300 wildfires in Sweden. His results suggest that current climate estimates fail to fully account for carbon released from smoldering organic soils.

Postdoctoral researcher @diegoellissoto.bsky.social recently spoke about how combining his academic research with his passion for music offers him a fresh way to think about nature in motion. Listen to his full conversation on @kuow.org's podcast "The Wild." www.kuow.org/stories/let-...

New Research: How Wildfires Can Be Leveraged to Increase Forest Resilience New research details how wildfires could be leveraged to increase forest resilience to future high-severity fires across the Western United States.

ICYMI: Cooperative Extension Professor Kristen Shive and collaborators at @nature.org and the U.S. Forest Service find that wildfires could be leveraged to increase forest resilience to future high-severity fires across the West. Learn more about their research: www.nature.org/en-us/newsro...

Agriculture, natural resources sectors support California’s rank as world’s fourth-largest economy | ANR News Releases California landscapes are diverse, featuring conservation lands, productive farms and innovative renewable-energy projects. A new report from UC ANR quantifies their value.

Analysis by Cooperative Extension Professor Ali Hill and collaborators at @ucanr.edu indicates that California's working landscapes—the farms, ranches, mines, forests, renewable energy installations, and fisheries—generated $404 billion in sales income in 2024.

Assistant Professor @ornithoale.bsky.social and alum @beckyck.bsky.social join a @ucsantabarbara.bsky.social-led team of scientists who say Earth science information can do more than quantify the instrumental or monetary value of nature—it can also measure social good. news.ucsb.edu/2026/022371/...

A photo of Dean David Ackerly with several Peer Advising Leaders standing outside of Mulford Hall.

A photo of a young woman smiling as she stands at a podium. Several people stand in the foreground with their cell phones out and attempt to take photos.

A male professor sits near students at a desk, their heads are turned to look at him as he attempts to explain a concept.

Mark your calendars: #CalBigGive is ONE WEEK away! Join the Rausser College community as we come together for 24 hours of giving beginning at 9 pm on March 11. Every gift during this period will help us unlock matching funds to support students and research. givingday.berkeley.edu/giving-day/1...

Our Wyoming | Beyond the Fence | Season 8 A unique partnership is strategically modifying Wyoming fences to help migrating wildlife.

WATCH: Beyond Yellowstone Research Director Kristin Barker and colleagues at the Stone Center for Environmental Stewardship spoke with @WyomingPBS about their collaborative work to improve migration corridors in the state. www.pbs.org/video/beyond...

How a Tiny Plant is Providing Surprising New Insights into How We Age How a Tiny Plant is Providing Surprising New Insights into How We Age - Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI)

From @innovativegenomics.bsky.social: recent research by @benpwilliams.bsky.social and @daweidai08.bsky.social suggests that Arabidopsis thaliana, a model organism in plant biology, could help scientists study aging at the molecular level. innovativegenomics.org/news/how-a-t...

California’s first mass timber producer uses UC Berkeley research Discover how mass timber is revolutionizing California construction. Driven by UC Berkeley research, Mad River Mass Timber produces sustainable DLT to mitigate wildfire risk, sequester carbon, and…

A California company has become the first commercial manufacturer of dowel-laminated timber in the state, drawing on research from Cooperative Extension Professor Paul Mayencourt's lab to transform waste wood in forests into construction-ready panels.

A composite graphic featuring photos of advisors Ryann Madden (left) and Zarah Ersoff, undergraduate Sanya Sitlani, and Professor Daniel Portnoy set against a blue background.

Congratulations to advisors Ryann Madden and Zarah Ersoff, undergraduate Sanya Sitlani, and Professor Daniel Portnoy, who were honored earlier this month with 2025 Excellence in Advising and Student Services awards. Learn more about the recognition: nature.berkeley.edu/news/four-ra...

An electron microscopy image shows lipid droplets (gray) accumulating around an altered nuclear membrane (purple) in liver cells lacking CLCC1.

A new @nature.com study from a team of @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social scientists details how a previously unrecognized membrane-shaping protein regulates how liver cells store and secrete fat—processes central to the development of fatty liver disease. mbn.berkeley.edu/news/berkele...

Cows and other grazing animals have sometimes been cast as environmental villains. But across California, Rausser College faculty are studying how to balance the impacts of agricultural methane emissions with the ecosystem benefits of grazing. nature.berkeley.edu/breakthrough...

A photo of several pumas in a desert environment closing in on two penguins.

A black and white camera trap photo that shows a puma stalking a group of penguins.

A recent study led by Mitchell Serota (PhD '24 Environmental Science, Policy, and Management) reveals how Magellanic penguins have disrupted the traditional social structures of pumas in Argentina’s Monte León National Park. ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/news/how-pen...

Congratulations to PhD student Isabela Tapia Jaramillo, who was selected as a 2025 recipient of the Fonseca Leadership Fellowship, which provides financial support for research and education focused on critical conservation challenges in Latin America. ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/news/phd-stu...

On Wednesday, Professor Matteo Garbelotto will walk through the town of Canazei, Italy. In one hand, he'll hold the Olympic torch as it makes its way to Milan. In the other will be the lead to S’Abba, the service dog who helped him walk and ski again. www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/deep-do...

A graphic that features a photo of western monarch butterflies and a headshot of a man. Text overlaying the graphic reads: "Western Monarch Butterflies: Protecting Our Pollinators. A screening and Q&A with filmmaker Ian A. Nelson. Wednesday, January 14, 2026. 5:30 pm | David Brower Center"

Join us on Jan. 14 for a free screening of "Western Monarch Butterflies: Protecting Our Pollinators." After the film, hear from director Ian A. Nelson as he joins Dean David Ackerly and Essig Museum scientist Peter Oboyski for a Q&A.

Register today: nature.berkeley.edu/albright/202...

Western sycamore, Fremont cottonwood, willow, and gray pine trees line the mainstem of Chalone Creek in Pinnacles National Park.

A recent study led by ESPM PhD student @rosemohammadi.bsky.social and Associate Professor @albertruhi.bsky.social reveals the vulnerability of riparian biodiversity hotspots to California’s intensifying climate whiplash. Learn more about their findings: ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/news/climate...

A photo of a warning side on a flooded road, nearly submerged under water

Approximately 5,500 hazardous sites across the United States are at risk of coastal flooding by 2100, according to a new study led by researchers from UC Berkeley, UCLA, and the nonprofit Climate Central. nature.berkeley.edu/news/coastal...

A composite image featuring eight headshots of men and women looking at the camera.

Eight Rausser College faculty were recently named among the world’s most influential researchers, according to a new report from analytics firm @clarivateag.bsky.social. Learn more about the methodology and see who made the list: nature.berkeley.edu/news/rausser...

Congratulations to our colleagues at the Schmidt DSE for launching Kigali Sim in partnership with @unep.org. This new, open-source tool will help global policymakers reach environmental and climate goals.

Read more about the tool and its development: nature.berkeley.edu/news/new-mod...

A banner that reads: "Inside California: From forests to farmland, Rausser College researchers are advancing science and solutions to support communities and ecosystems across the Golden State." An illustration of California is next to it, and the Breakthroughs magazine and Rausser College logos are above it.

Our Fall issue of Breakthroughs looks inland to California's rural and agricultural areas, highlighting the Rausser College researchers advancing science and solutions to support communities and ecosystems across the Golden State. Read the full issue at nature.berkeley.edu/breakthroughs.

A photo of a beaver pond near a stand of trees burned during the Beckwourth Complex Fire near Truckee, California.

A recent Ecological Applications study led by alum Jessie Moravek, PhD '24, details how beavers can boost fire resilience and water storage in 31 watersheds across California's Sierra Nevada by creating well-connected wetland environments. ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/news/beavers...

A photo of farmworkers crouched in the field harvesting crops.

ARE Cooperative Extension Professor Alexandra Hill recently spoke with Ag Alert about challenges in the farm labor market, and how California farmers are working to support their farmworkers amid fears of deportation.
www.agalert.com/california-a...

A person holds a drinking glass under a running faucet.

A new study led by Cooperative Extension Professor Kristin Dobbin finds that, on average, water utilities where all voters have a say in local water decision-making tend to perform better than those whose voters do not have a say. Read more: ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/news/how-wat...

Bull Creek within the Kings River Experimental Watersheds

The ecological impacts of drought on California's Sierra Nevada are far more complex and context-dependent than previously understood, according to a recent study by Kyle Leathers and ESPM professor @albertruhi.bsky.social. Learn more about their findings: ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/news/how-dro...

A map of California showing permitted cannabis sites and tribal territories.

A collaborative study of cannabis policy and land use led by the Cannabis Research Center found that cultivation threatens CA Tribal cultural resources. Read more about the findings and explore tools to support Tribal control of the consultation process. ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/news/new-res...

Opinion | The Reality of Living With Wolves, Bears and Mountain Lions (Gift Article) Recent conflicts between wolves and people expose major shortcomings of America’s efforts to bring back predators.

CA wildlife officials recently announced that they euthanized four wolves, an act @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social researchers Arthur Middleton, Justin Brashares, and Kaggie Orrick say exposes major shortcomings of America’s efforts to reintroduce predators. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...

YouTube video by UC Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures with Ayana Johnson

Earlier this month, marine biologist and author @ayanaeliza.bsky.social spoke with Dean David Ackerly and ASUC Senator Bella Santos about climate solutions, hope, and her New York Times bestselling book, “What If We Get It Right?" Watch their full conversation: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAYj...

Did Forest Service negligence make the Garnet Fire worse? Years of inaction by the US Forest Service station near Fresno put one of the agency’s last stands of old growth forests in California on the brink of

Other agencies and private landowners near Fresno have successfully conducted prescribed burns in the area, but ESPM Professor Scott Stephens says the Forest Service's lack of treatments could contribute to the collapse of the Sierra Nevada ecosystem. fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...