http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification 720 https://escholarship.org/uc/urcaj_2024/rss Recent eScholarship items from Volume 5 (2024) Mon, 14 Sep 2026 15:41:07 +0000 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/74t749zd Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a conglomeration of algal cells that can release toxins that worsen water quality, kill marine life, and ultimately endanger human health. Species of the diatoms in the Pseudo-nitzschia genus, which produce the marine neurotoxin domoic acid, are largely responsible for toxic blooms along the US West Coast. Ocean acidification, increased water temperatures, intensified precipitation unpredictability, and increased water stratification – all caused by global warming – are each linked to increases in domoic acid production in species of Pseudo-nitzschia. In response to HABs, statewide agencies issue advisories against eating certain seafood species and may formally close important commercial and recreational fisheries. These closures can last for months, shortening the fishing season, and costing millions of dollars in revenue or lost days of recreational fishing opportunities. To ease statewide fisheries management and support coastal communities,... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/74t749zd Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Puchkova, Isabella https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3nx8v9rb The purpose of this study is to gain insight into how mixed (multiracial and multiethnic) students at UC Santa Barbara experience, interact with, and perceive Ethnic Studies at the university. We will derive conclusions about how mixed students measure their sense of belonging and representation in Ethnic Studies, as well as gather data on how Ethnic Studies impacts their identity, class participation, and other performances. We hope our findings provide important information on the role that Ethnic Studies plays for multiethnic UCSB students, as well as how campus can potentially be a more inclusive and intersectional space. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3nx8v9rb Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Park, Julia https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0xm856h1 Although research has shown that social support is a strong buffer against mental illnesses, Asian Americans are one of the least likely ethnic groups to speak out about mental health and seek social support. The present study proposes two mediators - filial piety and perceived parental stigma towards mental health - as possible explanations for why Asian Americans are less likely to seek social support. A total of 340 U.S. undergraduates identifying as Asian American or White answered a writing prompt about a social stressor and questions that measured filial piety, perceived parental stigma, and likelihood of seeking social support. Results showed that Asian Americans were less likely to seek social support, have higher levels of filial piety, and are more likely to perceive greater parental stigma. Both filial piety and perceived parental stigma were significant mediators, but had different effects on the relationship between culture and social support. Higher filial piety... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0xm856h1 Fri, 17 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Pang, Tricia https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9996m8sq Coastal wetlands play a valuable role in sequestering carbon, but many have been degraded by human activities. Wetland restoration can help re-establish ecosystem function, including long term carbon storage, but the extent is somewhat unknown. One of the factors that determines how much carbon is stored in wetlands is plant tissue chemistry, specifically carbon content and C:N ratio. Plant carbon content directly translates to carbon stored in living biomass, and C:N is an indicator of decomposition rate, which can predict long term carbon storage. Taking C:N as an indicator of decomposition rate and thus longer term carbon storage, and carbon content as an indicator of carbon storage in living biomass, this study examines variation of C:N, carbon, and nitrogen in Salicornia pacifica (pickleweed), a common coastal wetland plant, between restored and established wetlands, as well as across elevations. I found that pickleweed from an established wetland has a higher carbon content... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9996m8sq Mon, 9 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Bihari, Kinga https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9319q327 This paper explores the barriers to voluntary assimilation encountered by Chinese American students at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). This study aims to explore the nuances of cultural assimilation by using a mixed-methods approach, specifically challenging the either/or dichotomy of retaining one’s native culture and acquiring American culture. The study analyzed factors such as cultural identity, family cultural practices, and experiences of discrimination. The findings reveal the complex interplay between cultural identity, discrimination, and assimilation, highlighting the multifaceted nature of the assimilation process for Chinese American students. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9319q327 Mon, 9 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Yang, Freya https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6j4070q4 Solar energy production, and thus photovoltaic (PV) installation, is on the rise in California. However, the land requirements pose a direct land conflict with agricultural land, as PV installations compete with, and often displace, existing agricultural land. Agrivoltaics, which collocate PV panels into agricultural crop production, have been proposed as a solution. Agrivoltaics can provide multiple additive and synergistic benefits for crop production, such as reduced drought stress, water conservation, increased food production, as well as preserving agricultural land while increasing solar energy production. However, there is limited research on agrivoltaic suitability and potential in California. This study assesses California’s agricultural land suitability for agrivoltaic integration using geospatial analysis of five suitability criteria: 1) crop type, 2) farmland productivity, 3) water stress, 4) insolation, and 5) proximity to electric substations. I found that there... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6j4070q4 Mon, 9 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Bihari, Kinga https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3mr7078n Coastal wetlands provide essential ecosystem services and are important sinks for atmospheric CO2. With climate change and sea level rise, coastal wetlands are threatened. Studying sediment accretion rates is important for predicting a wetland's resilience to sea-level rise. Sediment accretion, driven by local sediment availability contributes to the vertical growth of a wetland, which is important for the wetland to be able to keep up with rising sea-level. Sediment can accumulate in a wetland from a variety of sources, one of the most important being freshwater tributaries which bring sediments from the local watershed into the wetland system. This study focuses on two freshwater tributaries, Phelps Creek and Whittier Channel, which drain into Devereux Slough, the larger wetland system whose upper portion is located in University of California, Santa Barbara’s North Campus Open Space (NCOS), and their potential for contributing to the restored wetland’s sediment accretion. We... https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3mr7078n Mon, 9 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Rolland, Emily