East Bay Regional Parks reported
A new population of the caper-fruited tropidocarpum (Tropidocarpum capparideum) has been discovered in Vasco Hills Regional Preserve on protected land acquired by the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) in partnership with the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservancy (Conservancy). The plant had been undocumented for 68 years until a few individuals were observed on nearby private land in 2023.
SF Gate reported
Parkgoers hoping to walk beneath the towering Bay Area redwood trees are in luck: Muir Woods National Monument reopened Thursday, thanks to a coalition of concessionaires who run businesses inside the park.
For the next nine days, through Oct. 31, visitors won’t have to pay the monument’s $15 per person entrance fee. They will, however, still need to pay for parking, which ranges from $9.50 for a standard vehicle to $45 for a large vehicle. Parking a personal vehicle or riding the Muir Woods Shuttle ($3.75 for adult round trips) requires a reservation and can’t be completed on-site, where permits aren’t sold and there isn’t any cell service.
Read more: Anonymous donors just reopened a closed national park site
Posted in Park, Uncategorized
ScienceDaily reported
Bumble bees aren’t random foragers – they’re master nutritionists. Over an eight-year field study in the Colorado Rockies, scientists uncovered that different bee species strategically balance their intake of protein, fats, and carbs by choosing pollen from specific flowers. Larger, long-tongued bees seek protein-rich pollen, while smaller, short-tongued species prefer carb- and fat-heavy sources. These dietary preferences shift with the seasons and colony life cycles, helping bees reduce competition, thrive together, and maintain strong colonies.
Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250827010724.htm
Posted in Animals | Tags: Bumblebees
Earth.com reported
In Siberian permafrost, scientists thawed ancient soil and saw tiny nematodes move. These animals “woke up” after an extremely long freeze and resumed life functions in the lab.
Source: Scientists revive a worm that was frozen in Siberia for 46,000 years – Earth.com
Posted in Animals | Tags: Panagrolaimus kolymaensis
ExploresWeb reported
To ask if you could live outside the International Space Station (ISS) is rhetorical at best — but could any living organism on Earth manage it?
One unassuming toughie did, and provided at least rough proof of concept that life could exist on Mars.
Lichen from Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys survived 18 months on a platform attached to the outside of the ISS’s Columbus module, Futurism reported. Though they emerged in worse shape than temperate lichens tested separately in “Mars-like conditions,” many still survived.
Read more Lichen Survives on Outside of International Space Station » Explorersweb
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Lichens Survive in Space
The Guardian reported
The extremely unusual phenomenon – also known as red lightning – lasts for a millisecond and is rarely visible to the naked eye
Read on www.theguardian.com/global/2025/oct/22/red-lightning-new-zealand-red-sprites
Posted in Environment | Tags: Red Lightening
The Guardian reported
Human-wildlife conflict has now overtaken poaching as a cause of fatalities – and is deadly for people too. Some villages are finding new ways to live alongside them
SF Gate reports on the impact of the government shutdown on Pinnacles National park
The federal government shutdown has impacted Pinnacles National Park, California’s smallest national park, in various ways. While the park remains open, the western entrance is closed to vehicles, causing inconvenience for visitors. Additionally, the shutdown has led to limited access to amenities like trail maps, brochures, and the Bear Gulch Nature Center, impacting educational programs and visitor services.
Read article at : No maps, brown water: Shutdown woes at Calif.’s smallest national park
Monga Bay reported
Read more: New cluster of Tapanuli orangutans discovered in Sumatra peat swamp
Posted in Animals | Tags: Tapanuli orangutans
Regional In Nature (RIN) Activity Guide. Fun facts on wildlife, plants, ecology, and history; games and activities for kids and families!
— Read on www.ebparks.org/whats-new/rin
Posted in Park | Tags: East Bay Regional Parks
National Audubon reported
Marvel at the beauty of birds and learn the stories behind our favorite images from this year’s contests—featuring, for the first time, photographers from Chile and Colombia.
See photos and read more The 2025 Audubon Photography Awards: The Top 100 | Audubon
Posted in Photography | Tags: Audubon Photography Awards
The New York Times reported
Nesting often high in the redwoods’ canopy, the marbled murrelet faces new and longstanding risks.
Read on at A Tiny Seabird Faces Growing Threats in the Forest
Posted in Birds | Tags: Marbled Murrelet
Mono County Tourism reported
📣 Sonora Pass (108) has reopened!
All three passes are now open: Tioga Pass (120), Monitor Pass (89), and Sonora Pass (108)
📸Sonora Pass 10.6.25 – pre-storm
Posted in Drives | Tags: Sierra Pass Reopened
SF Gate reported
Wildlife officials in Oregon and Washington have confirmed the presence of a dangerous fungus known for killing millions of bats across North America.
The fungus Pseudogymnoascus, which causes a disease called white-nose syndrome, was found on bats at San Juan Island National Historical Park in Washington, and on bat droppings at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in Oregon, the U.S. Geological Survey announced on Friday. This is the first time the fungus has been detected in the state of Oregon.
Read more at Deadly fungus found at two national parks in Pacific Northwest
Posted in Animals | Tags: bats, Pseudogymnoascus, White nose syndrome
See the events calendar for the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden at Garden Events
Posted in Class/Workshop, Garden | Tags: UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Events
Monga Bay reported
Read more Indigenous-led protections spark Bali starling’s recovery in the wild
Posted in Birds | Tags: Bali Starling
Earth.com reported
On August 24, 2025, a simple two note call recorded at 9:35 pm in Andhra Pradesh on the east coast of southern India, confirmed that the Jerdon’s courser still persists in the wild, as shown by a public recording that logs the time and coordinates.
Read more Bird not seen in 20 years is rediscovered using an audio recorder – Earth.com
Posted in Birds | Tags: Jerdon's courser
Earth.com reported
A quiet neighborhood can heal the mind. A neglected one can harm it. Scientists at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine have found that a person’s surroundings may alter the brain’s structure and increase the risk of dementia.
Read on www.earth.com/news/your-neighborhood-could-actually-change-how-your-brain-works/
Posted in Environment | Tags: Neighborhood Impact on Health
The Guardian reported
As the US government shutdown enters its third week, concerns mount over how the nation’s public lands will fare
Read on www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/16/yosemite-government-shutdown-national-parks
Posted in Park | Tags: Government shutdown, Yosemite National Park
The Guardian reported
Unless global heating is reduced to 1.2C ‘as fast as possible’, warm water coral reefs will not remain ‘at any meaningful scale’, a report by 160 scientists from 23 countries warns
Posted in Environment | Tags: Coral Reets
The Guardian reported
Biodiversity losses are growing, the IUCN reports as summit opens, but green turtle’s recovery ‘reminds us conservation works’
Posted in Animals, Birds | Tags: Extinction
University of Exeter reported
*Widespread mortality of warm-water coral reefs under way, as world reaches first tipping point
*With global warming set to breach 1.5°C, world dangerously close to further catastrophic tipping points
*These include melting ice sheets, Amazon rainforest dieback and collapse of vital ocean currents
*Tipping points pose a new type of threat that current international structures and agreements are not designed to counter
*Key to averting catastrophe is to act urgently, by supporting societal transformation and triggering ‘positive tipping points’ such as the self-propelling rollout of green technologies
Read on news.exeter.ac.uk/research/new-reality-as-world-reaches-first-climate-tipping-point/
Posted in Environment
TVP World reported
Officials are sounding the alarm after an invasive North American species of mushroom was identified in eastern Poland.
The government agency responsible for managing Poland’s forests has said that a mushroom known as the slender golden bolete has been found in Białowieża Forest in eastern Poland.
Read more Invasive American mushroom species found in Poland
Posted in Mushrooms | Tags: Białowieża Forest, Slender Golden Bolete
Photographed in the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, CA on October 15, 2025.
The Regional Parks Botanic Garden is a California native plant garden. It is located within Tilden Park in the hills above Berkeley, California, It is a 10-acre garden includes many of the state’s rare and endangered plants and a place for visitors to wander among trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses from plant communities throughout the state. There are free weekend and holiday tours. Admission and parking are free. For more information about the garden visit the Friends of the Regional Parks Botanic Garden.
Reuters reported
In Chile’s arid Atacama, the driest desert in the world, scientists are studying a small, resilient flower that could hold genetic clues to help crops withstand worsening drought conditions driven by climate change.
The Cistanthe longiscapa, known locally as “pata de guanaco,” blooms during rare rainfall events in the Atacama desert, creating a mosaic of colors
Read more Chile’s Atacama desert flower could hold key to drought tolerant crops | Reuters
Posted in Environment, Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Cistanthe longiscap, Pata de Guanaco
East Bay Regional Park District reports
The East Bay Regional Park District applauds Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of landmark legislation, Senate Bill 392, which strengthens conservation efforts and enhances climate resilience across the East Bay, as well as other areas throughout the state. SB 392 was passed unanimously by the legislature.
SB 392, authored by state Sen. Tim Grayson (D-Concord), establishes the East Bay Hills Conservation Program, empowering the Park District to better protect the ecological integrity of the East Bay hills while improving wildfire resilience and expanding public access to natural areas.
Posted in Park | Tags: East Bay Regional Park District
Volcanic eruptions on the remote island of Nishinoshima repeatedly wipe the land clean, giving scientists a rare chance to study life’s earliest stages. Researchers traced the genetic origins of an extinct purslane population to nearby Chichijima but found striking quirks—evidence of a founder’s effect and genetic drift. These discoveries shed light on how plants recolonize harsh environments and how ecosystems evolve from scratch.
— Read on www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250915202828.htm
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants
ScienceDaily reported
Kobe University researchers found that orchids rely on wood-decaying fungi to germinate, feeding on the carbon from rotting logs. Their seedlings only grow near deadwood, forming precise fungal partnerships that mirror those seen in adult orchids with coral-like roots. This discovery highlights a hidden carbon pathway in forest ecosystems and explains the evolution of fully fungus-dependent orchid species.
Source: Scientists discover orchids sprouting from decaying wood | ScienceDaily
Posted in Wildflowers and Other Plants | Tags: Orchids that Sprout in Wood
Check out the latest events and news for Sonoma Land Trust at OUTINGS & EVENTS
Posted in Talks, Walks & Hikes
from East Bay CNPS
| October 22, 7:30 pm, via Zoom Register to attend Speaker: Matteo Garbelotto, PhD In this month’s online presentation, Matteo Garbelotto will summarize 25 years of research progress in understanding Sudden Oak Death (SOD). He will also describe how citizen science has discovered a recent new introduction of the SOD pathogen in multiple locations around the Bay Area and how this new introduction potentially puts our forests at greater risk. READ MORE→ |
Posted in Uncategorized
Natural History Wanderings 