About

Ano Nuevo Reserve is one of the University of California's 39 Natural Reserves.  It is located a short drive north of Santa Cruz and is an important breeding site for an incredible diversity of marine mammals and birds.  Nearly 100,000 tourists visit the Reserve every year to see the northern elephant seals on docent-led tours.  The close proximity of the Reserve to UC Santa Cruz and several other universities make it a hotspot for undergraduate experiential learning.  Students obtain hands-on research experience while working on world-class scientific research projects, resulting in dozens of peer-reviewed publlications annually.  Recent research topics include contaminant bioaccumulation in top predators, the impact of acoustic disturbance on marine mammals, and using animals as ocean sensors to study both animal behavior and the ocean environment.

To find out more, please take a look at our latest annual report.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Patrick Robinson, Ph.D.
Director, Ano Nuevo Reserve
patrick.robinson@ucsc.edu