Protecting the Ocean We Have

Every year, the Bodega Marine Laboratory hosts summer sessions for undergraduate students interested in coastal systems and marine science. During the roughly five-week program, students take classes in topics like coastal oceanography, marine environmental issues and biological oceanography. They conduct fieldwork and go on field trips to nearby sites like the Hog Island Oyster Company. Students can even live at the lab’s on-site dormitory during the session.

What Shells Tell

White abalone shells ​are​ magnificent structures. Translucent during the marine snail’s juvenile days, the extremely durable shell increases in opacity as the organism ages, gaining its paint-splatter-esque red, brown and white coloring from the algae it eats. But abalone, along with other marine organisms, are facing a crisis, one that affects the integrity of their shells.