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.
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 habitats are established. Authors of this paper present an exception: findings of a suite of studies that…
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 from the Marine Life Protection Act in California. It provides essential information to better understand the role of marine…
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 reduce the risk of failure. Santa Cruz Island provides an interesting case study in eradication, because a variety…
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 met before any eradication effort is initiated. For many vertebrates,…
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 feasibility when developing connectivity conservation priorities and plans. In Connectivity Conservation edited by Kevin R. Crooks and M Sanjayan.
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 the success of these efforts, surveys were conducted of landbirds on revegetated and remnant riparian plots.…
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 coordinated studies that were conducted to evaluate the effects of alternative restoration…
United Nations Environment Programme, chapters co-authored by Scott Morrison
For the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, 2006, a team of environmental and social scientists assembled to assess the state of the world’s deserts. This report is the product of that effort, which includes chapters co-authored by Conservancy scientist Scott Morrison on Natural history…
Marty, Jaymee T.
Livestock grazing in the American West often conjures up images of cattle degrading riparian areas or spreading weeds throughout desert rangeland. But cattle grazing does not always or necessarily harm biodiversity. In areas where native herbivores have been eliminated, livestock grazing may replicate ecological disturbance…
Scott A. Morrison, Douglas T. Bolger, T. Scott Sillett
Fragmentation-sensitive species – those that tend to disappear when their habitat is fragmented – pose particular challenges for conservation, in part because fragmentation ushers in such a wide array of ecological changes. This study focuses on one such species, examining whether its annual survivorship is…
Scott A. Morrison, Douglas T. Bolger
Reproductive success of many species in arid environments can be sensitive to rainfall patterns: rainfall events can produce a boom of primary productivity that fuels an ecological response from the “bottom-up.” This study describes the reproductive success of a songbird in a semi-arid region over…
Scott A. Morrison, Douglas T. Bolger
Fragmentation-sensitive species – those that tend to disappear when their habitat is fragmented – pose particular challenges for conservation, in part because fragmentation ushers in such a wide array of ecological changes. This study focuses on one such species, examining whether reproductive success is different…
Douglas T. Bolger, Andrew V. Suarez, Kevin R. Crooks, Scott A. Morrison, Ted J. Case
Habitat fragmentation ushers in a wide array of ecological changes, and understanding the drivers and impacts of those changes is critical for conservation management. This study examines an often overlooked suite of taxa – arthropods – and describes patterns of abundance and diversity across a…