A ground squirrel with cheeks stuffed with nuts, seeds or grains, is a common sight. But a new study provides the first evidence that California ground squirrels also hunt, kill and eat voles. The study, led by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of California, Davis, is the first to chronicle widespread carnivorous behavior among squirrels.

All students, including those from ethnoracially diverse and from white backgrounds, benefit from supportive learning environments that accommodate adolescents’ multiple cultural and ethnic backgrounds, according to new University of California, Davis, research. These benefits span the academic, social and emotional realms.

Outdoor air pollution from power plants, fires and cars continues to degrade human, animal and environmental health around the globe. New research shows that even pollution levels that are below government air-quality standards are associated with differences in children’s brains.

Childhood malnutrition is one of the world's most pressing health challenges, and Kathryn Dewey, distinguished professor emerita in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition, has been at the forefront of efforts to address it. Her pioneering research led to an innovative supplement to combat nutritional deficiencies and has informed and improved global health policies.

The UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES) is pleased to introduce Professor Adrienne Nishina as the new chair of the Department of Human Ecology. She started her new role July 1. 

Nishina has been with the department’s faculty since 2006. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, from the University of California, Los Angeles.

When salmon return from the ocean to the Klamath River after the world’s largest dam removal project ends this fall, they will regain access to 400 miles of historical spawning habitat their species has been cut off from for more than a century.

From the river to the lab, looking at the very ear bones of fish, scientists with the University of California, Davis, are playing a key role helping to answer a big dam question: Will it work? Will a diverse population of salmon thrive again once the dams are removed and the Klamath River restored? 

UC Davis has just appointed Ron Mangun and Amanda Guyer co-directors of the Center for Mind and Brain (CMB). As co-directors, they will lead the center for the next three years.

For Mangun, a distinguished professor of psychology and neurology, this appointment extends his leadership of the research center he founded. Guyer, a professor of human ecology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has served as CMB associate director since 2017. 

Wading through flooded rice fields, a team of UC Davis students and researchers release thousands of shimmering fish into the water. These small golden shiners hold the promise of significant contributions to the dual challenges of climate change mitigation and sustainable food production.

Maci Mueller, who earned her doctoral and master’s degrees in animal biology at UC Davis, is the winner of the 2024 Kinsella Memorial Prize for her leadership and work developing novel breeding technologies for cattle.

Mueller graduated in 2023 and is now an assistant professor at Kansas State University where she focuses on animal genomics and biotechnology.

California’s wine industry could play a role in reducing methane emissions from dairy cattle.

Researchers at University of California, Davis, added fresh grape pomace left over from winemaking operations to alfalfa-based feed for dairy cows and found that methane emissions were reduced by 10% to 11%. 

The preliminary findings could offer a low-cost sustainable pathway for vineyards to reduce waste while helping dairy operations maintain quality while cutting back on emissions of methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas.