Cal Poly Humboldt students study how barn owls are used in Lodi vineyards
For owl parents Poppy and Yarrow, that's a lot of mouths to feed.
In an effort to study their daily life, professors and students at Cal Poly Humboldt started a new project.
"It's part of this broader research project we got going on with Cal State Humboldt to study barn owls and how they're used in our Lodi vineyards," Winemaker and Lodi Winegrape Commission Executive Director Stuart Spencer said.
Over the past 35 years, wine growers across Lodi have used barn owls to control rodents.
So much so, many farms have installed these owl boxes within the vines.
"A family like this can eat up to 3,500 gophers in one season," Spencer explained. "They're an incredible tool for dealing with rodent pests in your vineyards, and they hunt all night long. It's a great, sustainable way to manage rodents in the vineyard."
Using these boxes, researchers had an idea to put GPS tracking devices on the owls to study their behavior.
"This owl is going probably half a mile away from us here and feeding in some open fields to the west of us, and then circling back around, and you can see this incredible pattern of where they're hunting," Spencer shared.
There are over 170 owl boxes throughout Lodi.
On top of studying the owls' patterns, this research is key to understanding how the relationship between farming and wildlife is essential.
"We live in our vineyards, you know, they're going to be the healthiest when they're in balance with the overall ecosystem," Spencer said. "The more we can use natural predators like ours to control things in the vineyard, the better off the whole ecosystem would be, the better the quality of the grapes will be, the better the wine will be, and the better off we all are as a community."
You can watch the four baby owls in Lodi grow on a YouTube livestream provided by these researchers at Cal Poly Humboldt.
CBS Sacramento plans on speaking with these researchers and their process of tracking the owls in the coming weeks.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
How screen time affects sleep—and why it matters for your child's mental health
It's 9:08 p.m., and you're in the hallway again. Your 11-year-old is asking for 'just 10 more minutes' to finish their YouTube video. You glance at the clock, doing the math on how many hours of sleep they'll actually get. You know they'll be grumpy in the morning—but you're also tired of arguing. Sound familiar? In many households, the nightly screen time debate has become a familiar routine. You want your child to unwind. You want to avoid a meltdown. But you also want them to get the sleep they need. Now, new research published in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that this everyday push-and-pull over screens and bedtimes may have deeper consequences than we realized. Too much screen time is linked to worse mental health, but this study shows something more—screen time may interfere with sleep, and sleep plays a critical role in how your child's brain develops. And for preteens and early adolescents, that sleep-brain link might hold the key to understanding why more screen time today could lead to more depressive symptoms down the road. New research from the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, the largest long-term brain development study in the U.S., offers important insights into how screen time, sleep, and emotional health are connected. In a recent analysis of over 900 children, researchers found a clear chain of effects: More screen time in late childhood (ages 9–10) was linked to shorter sleep two years later. Shorter sleep was associated with changes in the brain's white matter, especially in the cingulum bundle—a key tract involved in emotion regulation. Those brain changes were linked to more depressive symptoms in early adolescence (ages 11–13). The study used advanced imaging techniques (like NODDI, a more precise way of looking at white matter than traditional MRI) to detect these subtle but significant changes. While the changes don't necessarily mean a child will develop depression, they suggest that sleep loss during key developmental years could make the brain more vulnerable to emotional health issues. This builds on earlier research showing that sleep is vital for healthy brain development, especially during puberty when the brain is undergoing massive structural changes. Related: 13 best educational shows for kids—goodbye screen time guilt If you've ever noticed how a cranky, underslept tween becomes a different person after a good night's rest, you're not imagining it. Sleep affects mood in the moment. It also plays a deeper role in how the adolescent brain develops over time. The new study adds weight to a growing body of research showing that more than just a side effect of screen time, sleep is a critical link between digital habits and emotional health. During sleep, especially in adolescence, the brain is hard at work. It strengthens memory, balances mood-regulating hormones, and fine-tunes the connections between different brain regions. One of the brain systems being shaped during this time is white matter—the communication network that helps thoughts and emotions flow smoothly. A key white matter tract called the cingulum bundle helps regulate emotions by connecting areas responsible for feeling and self-control. The study found that less sleep was linked to less organized white matter in the cingulum bundle. This kind of disorganization can make emotional regulation harder—raising the risk for symptoms of depression. This wasn't just a theory. These changes showed up clearly in brain scans. And what contributed most to that sleep loss? More screen time. Related: Study shows parents need to 'practice what they preach' when it comes to kids' screen time You don't have to wage a nightly war over screens. A few small, consistent changes can go a long way in protecting your child's sleep — and, as the research suggests, their long-term emotional well-being. Set a consistent screen curfew. Aim to turn off all screens at least 30–60 minutes before bedtime to help melatonin rise naturally and support easier sleep onset. Remove devices from the bedroom. Keeping phones, tablets, and TVs out of sleep spaces minimizes late-night use and improves sleep quality. Create a wind-down routine. Replace screen time before bed with calming activities — reading, drawing, music, or simply chatting — to help the brain transition to rest. Be flexible, not perfect. Consistency beats strict rules. It's okay to have occasional exceptions — what matters most is your overall routine and your child's total sleep. Model healthy habits. Kids notice what parents do. Try unplugging with them in the evenings to make screen-free time feel more connected, not like a punishment. Related: Former teacher shares her 'secret weapon' on reducing screen time More screen time in childhood may lead to less sleep in adolescence — and that lost sleep can subtly reshape brain wiring tied to emotional regulation, increasing the risk of depression. The takeaway? Prioritizing sleep is a powerful, actionable way to support your child's mental health. You don't have to ban screens entirely. Just a few changes, like a screen curfew, no devices in bed, and a steady bedtime, can make a real difference. Sources: JAMA Pediatrics. 2025. 'Role of Sleep and White Matter in the Link Between Screen Time and Depression in Childhood and Early Adolescence'
The Verge
a day ago
- The Verge
It's time for Dan Da Dan season 2.
Posted Jul 3, 2025 at 4:30 PM UTC It's time for Dan Da Dan season 2. Following its theatrical preview earlier this summer, the second of Science Saru's Dan Da Dan adaptation is finally streaming on Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, and a few other streaming platforms depending on which territory you live in. You can also check out the new season's opening and closing credits sequences on YouTube.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Scientists Find Most Cats Sleep on Their Left Side – This Could Be Why
Cats sleep between 12 and 16 hours a day, and a new study suggests that most of them prefer to catch these Z's while lying on their left side. Cats are already known to prefer an elevated position when they nap, like the top of a cat tree, or somewhere in the stack of suitcases on your wardrobe, far out of reach from ground predators and cuddle-hungry owners. This behavior allows them to see any threats coming from afar. The study's authors reasoned that cats' sleeping positions – whether they lie on their left or right side – may serve similar functions. "Asymmetries in behavior can have advantages because both hemispheres of the brain specialize in different tasks," says behavioral neuroscientist Onur Güntürkün, from Ruhr University Bochum in Germany. Related: Güntürkün and his team analyzed the sleeping positions of cats in 408 carefully chosen YouTube videos, which revealed a statistically significant leftward bias. Two-thirds of the cats chose to lie on their left, a position that leaves their left visual field unobstructed by their own body. The left visual field feeds into the right brain, which is associated with spatial awareness, threat identification, and the coordination of quick escape. So this sleeping position may grant the cat a quicker reaction time when woken by a predator (or needy human). "Sleep is one of the most vulnerable states for an animal, as anti-predator vigilance is drastically reduced, especially in deep sleeping phases," the study's authors write. "We are inclined to believe that the significant leftward bias in sleeping position in cats may have been evolutionarily driven by hemispheric asymmetries of threat processing, but additional factors cannot be excluded." This research was published in Current Biology. Orcas Caught 'Kissing' For Two Minutes With Tongue Microbe 'Flavors' Tell Octopuses Which Babies Deserve Their Care A Mysterious Blob of Cold Water Defies Ocean Heat – Now We Know Why
