Measurements and data collected from space can be used to better understand life on Earth. 

An ambitious, multinational research project funded by NASA and co-led by UC Merced civil and environmental engineering Professor Erin Hestir demonstrated that Earth’s biodiversity can be monitored and measured from space, leading to a better understanding of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Hestir led the team alongside University of Buffalo geography Professor Adam Wilson and Professor Jasper Slingsby from the University of Cape Town on BioSCape, which collected data over six weeks in late 2024.

In a new study, biology researchers from the College of Sciences’ UCF Marine Turtle Research Group studied the dispersal movements of four juvenile sea turtle species, revealing that they may be active swimmers, rather than passive drifters, during their early life stage known as the “lost years.”

These findings challenge existing hypotheses and provide important data for assessing risks from human activity and informing conservation efforts.

A new study of the Great Barrier Reef has revealed that the network of no-take marine reserves supplies nearly half of the region’s coral trout fishery catch.