Products

We identify issues and uncertainties that pose obstacles to conservation and then—in collaboration with internal and external colleagues—develop science products that help overcome those obstacles.

2010 | Marine | Planning | Publications & Reports

Science-based and stakeholder-driven marine protected area network planning: A successful case study from north central California

Mary Gleason, Scott McCreary, Melissa Miller-Henson, John Ugoretz, Evan Fox, Matt Merrifield, Will McClintock, Paulo Serpa, Kathryn Hoffman

This paper describes the planning process for California's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) in north central California. The process represents a case study in the design of a regional component…

2009 | Freshwater | Planning | Publications & Reports

California’s Freshwater Biodiversity in a Continental Context

Howard, J, C. Revenga

Worldwide, freshwater species and habitats are, on average, more imperiled than their terrestrial or marine counterparts. Despite concerns over the health of the world’s freshwater species and…

2009 | Marine | Publications & Reports

Are we missing the boat? Collaborative solutions for North American fish wars

Mary Gleason, Chuck Cook, Michael Bell, Erika Feller

This editorial highlights the polarization and lack of innovation in U.S. fisheries management, using the West Coast groundfish fishery as an example. The authores focus on the need for new…

2009 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Fire on Guadalupe Island reveals some old wounds – and new opportunity

Oberbauer, T., L. Luna Mendoza, N. Citlali Oliveres, L. Barbosa Deveze, I. Granillo Duarten, S.A. Morrison

Guadalupe Island in Mexico is undergoing a dramatic ecological recovery following the eradication of feral goats. Unfortunately, that eradication came too late for some species and ecosystems, and…

2009 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Reproductive consequences of an extreme drought for orange-crowned warblers on Santa Catalina and Santa Cruz Islands

Kathryn M. Langin, T. Scott Sillett, Jongmin Yoon, Helen R. Sofaer, Scott A. Morrison, Cameron K. Ghalambor

Island archipelagos can provide useful opportunities for comparative studies in ecology. For example, breeding ecology of a songbird was studied on two of the California Channel Islands, which share…

2009 | Terrestrial | Planning | Publications & Reports

Threats and biodiversity in the mediterranean biome

E.C. Underwood, J.H. Viers, K.R. Klausmeyer, R.L. Cox, M. R. Shaw

The mediterranean biome is one of the rarest terrestrial ecosystem types on Earth, restricted to only 2% of the world’s land surface. Encompassing portions of southern Australia, central Chile,…

2009 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Incorporating ecological drivers and uncertainty into a demographic population viability analysis for the island fox

Victoria J. Bakker, Daniel F. Doak, Gary W. Roemer, David K. Garcelon, Timothy J. Coonan, Scott A. Morrison, Colleen Lynch, Katherine Ralls, Rebecca Shaw

Population models can be a critical tool in managing recovery of endangered species. This paper presents an analysis that became the foundation of recovery planning and tracking for the endangered…

2009 | Terrestrial | Planning | Publications & Reports

Modeling multiple ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, commodity production, and tradeoffs at landscape scales

Erik Nelson, Guillermo Mendoza, James Regetz, Stephen Polasky, Heather Tallis, D. Richard Cameron, Kai MA Chan, Gretchen C. Daily, Joshua Goldstein, Peter M. Kareiva, Eric Lonsdorf, Robin Naidoo, Taylor H. Ricketts, M. Rebecca Shaw

Humans benefit from the goods and services provided by natural ecosystems like water filtration, carbon storage, and recreational opportunities to name a few. Assigning economic value to these…

2009 | Terrestrial | Planning | Publications & Reports

Expanding the global network of protected areas to save the imperiled mediterranean biome

Underwood, E.C., K.R. Klausmeyer, R.L. Cox, S.M. Busby, S.A. Morrison, M.R.Shaw

Mediterranean habitats are among the rarest on Earth. Characterized by warm dry summers and cool wet winters, they are restricted to only 2% of the Earth’s land surface–portions of…

2008 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Quantifying eradication success: the removal of feral pigs from Santa Cruz Island, California

DSL Ramsey, J Parkes, SA Morrison

Populations at very low abundance can be very difficult to detect. Consequently, one of the biggest challenges of eradication projects is determining whether an inability to detect the species at the…

2008 | Terrestrial | Planning | Publications & Reports

Conserving connectivity: some lessons from mountain lions in southern California

Scott Morrison, Walter Boyce

Critical for biodiversity conservation is the retention of ecological connectivity in the landscape, so that wildlife—and the natural processes that sustain wildlife—can move around.…

2008 | Terrestrial | Technology | Science | Publications & Reports

One size does not fit all: the use of cattle grazing for grassland management at Carrizo Plain National Monument

Caroline Christian , Lawrence Saslaw, H. Scott Butterfield

To better understand the ecological role of cattle grazing in managing Carrizo Plain National Monument, we initiated a long-term study in 1997 designed to evaluate the effects of cattle grazing on…

2008 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Wildlife Response to Restoration on the Sacramento River

Golet G.H., T. Gardali, C. Howell, J. Hunt, R. Luster, B. Rainey, M. Roberts, H. Swagerty, N. Williams

Studies that assess the success of riparian restoration projects seldom focus on wildlife. More often, vegetation is studied, with the assumption that animal populations will recover once adequate…

2008 | Marine | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports

Establishing Resilient Marine Protected Area Networks–Making it Happen

Dan Laffoley, Alan T. White, Stacey Kilarski, Mary Gleason, Scott Smith, Ghislaine Llewellyn , Jon Day , Annie Hillary, Victoria Wedell, Daphine Pee

With government, agency and organizational partners, Conservancy scientists helped publish an IUCN guidebook to inspire conservation investment in global marine protection and provide a case study…

2007 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Reducing risk and enhancing efficiency in non-native vertebrate removal efforts on islands: a 25 year multi-taxa retrospective from Santa Cruz Island, CA

Scott A. Morrison

Eradication of invasive non-native species is often necessary to protect island ecosystems. Eradication efforts can nonetheless be risky investments. How they are planned and implemented can greatly…

2007 | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Facing the dilemma at eradication’s end: uncertainty of absence and the Lazarus effect

Scott A. Morrison, Norman Macdonald, Kelvin Walker, Lynn Lozier, M Rebecca Shaw

One of the greatest challenges in pest eradication is knowing when it has been achieved. This paper discusses why that is challenging, and why it is so important to consider how that challenge will be…

2006 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Marine | Publications & Reports

Designing and establishing conservation areas in the Baja California-Southern California border region

M.D. White , J.A. Stallcup, K. Comer, M.A. Vargas, J.M. Beltran Abaunza, F. Ochoa, S.A. Morrison

The California South Coast Ecoregion, a global biodiversity hotspot, is bisected by the US-Mexico border. Development near the border, ranging from urban sprawl to border security infrastructure,…

2006 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Marine | Planning | Science | Publications & Reports

Where to draw the line: integrating feasibility into connectivity planning

Scott A. Morrison, Mark D. Reynolds

Protecting, restoring, and enhancing habitat connectivity in already fragmented landscapes poses many challenges for conservationists. This essay discusses the importance of considering implementation…

2006 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Science | Publications & Reports

Abundance Patterns of Landbirds in Restored and Remnant Riparian Forests on the Sacramento River, California, U.S.A.

Gardali T. , A.L. Holmes, S.L. Small, N. Nur, G.R. Geupel, G.H. Golet

Restoration efforts on the Sacramento River are focusing on revegetating the land with native plants and restoring natural river processes in an attempt to recover wildlife populations. To evaluate…

2006 | Freshwater | Terrestrial | Planning | Economics | Science | Publications & Reports

Assessing societal impacts when planning restoration on large alluvial rivers: A case study of the Sacramento River Project, CA

Golet G.H., M.D. Roberts , E.W. Larsen, R.A. Luster, R. Unger, G. Werner, G.G. White.

River restoration projects have the potential to influence many of the services that rivers provide to people, yet rarely is this studied in a comprehensive manner. This paper reports on a set of…