Nearly half of California is protected in some land status that prevents most kinds of intensive human land uses. These lands support extensive natural habitats, and for many species, are a critical stronghold in an increasingly human-dominated world.
Yet, changes in the landscape in and near these places have left many in a degraded and precarious condition. Catastrophic wildfire, invasive species, and climate change threaten vast swathes of the state. Protected lands are becoming increasingly isolated by urban and agricultural development, roads, and other infrastructure. Such obstacles can limit a species’ ability to move to across the landscape and adapt to climate change.
Conservancy scientists are working to enhance the resiliency of protected lands in the face of rapid change, and to maintain the landscape connections necessary for plants and animals to adapt over time.
David C. Marvin, Lian Pin Koh, Antony J. Lynam, Serge Wich, Andrew B. Davies, Ramesh Krishnamurthy, Emma Stokes, Ruth Starkey, Gregory P. Asner
Integration of multiple technologies greatly increases the spatial and temporal scales over which ecological patterns and processes can be studied, and threats to protected ecosystems can be…
David C. Marvin, Gregory P. Asner
Policies that incentivize forest conservation by monetizing forest carbon ultimately depend on the accuracy of carbon stock estimates. Often, these estimates are based on field inventory sampling. In…
Michael F. Westphal, Joseph A. E. Stewart, Erin N. Tennant, H. Scott Butterfield, Barry Sinervo
This paper documents the negative effects of the 2012-2014 drought—the most severe multi-year drought in southwestern North America in the past 1,200 years—on the endangered blunt-nosed…
Funk, W.C., R.E. Lovich, P.A. Hohenlohe, C.A. Hofman, S.A. Morrison, T.S. Sillett, C.K. Ghalambor, J.E. Maldonado, T.C. Rick, M.D. Day, T.J. Coonan, K.R. Crooks, A. Dillon, D.K. Garcelon, J.L. King, L.M. Lyren, E.E. Boydston, N. Gould , W.F. Andelt
The genomics revolution provides powerful tools for understanding evolution and advancing conservation. This study applies genomics techniques to examine the evolutionary mechanisms underpinning…
M.B. Pesendorfer, T.S. Sillett, S.A. Morrison, A.C. Kamil
Foraging behavior may be influenced by a variety of factors, including food abundance and competitor density. This study examines how such factors affect the seed caching behavior of the Island…
Cara Byington, Greg Golet
M.B. Pesendorfer, T.S. Sillett, W.D. Koenig, S.A. Morrison
Many corvids are renowned as “ecosystem engineers” because they facilitate the long-distance seed dispersal of keystone tree species like oaks. This paper reviews research into various…
Buchalski, M.R, B.N. Sacks, D.A. Gille, M.C.T. Penedo, H.B. Ernest, S.A. Morrison, W.M. Boyce
Bighorn sheep occupy a desert landscape of rugged mountains separated by expansive and very arid valleys. Highways and other development in those valleys fragment habitat and isolate populations from…
Morrison, S.A., A.J. DeNicola, K. Walker, D. Dewey, L. Laughrin, R. Wolstenholme, N. Macdonald
This paper describes a program to eradicate an introduced and rapidly increasing population of wild turkeys from an island. It includes a description of the principles important for eradication…
Matthew G. Johnson, Kylene Lang, Paul Manos, Greg H. Golet, Kristina A. Schierenbeck
When non-native ornamental species spread into wild landscapes they can displace natives that have greater wildlife habitat value. Controlling the spread of a non-native species can be difficult when…
Vasilissa V. Derugin, Joseph G. Silveira, Gregory H. Golet, Gretchen LeBuhn
In restoration ecology, understanding how and when species colonize newly created habitat is critically important for assessing progress toward restoration goals. By using camera traps to take a…
Langin, K.M., T.S. Sillett , W.C. Funk, S.A. Morrison, M.A. Desrosiers, C.K. Ghalambor
Islands are renowned laboratories for discovery into natural selection. This study looked at “islands” of habitat within a single island and remarkably found that the Island Scrub-Jay…
Hofman, C.A., T. C. Rick, M. T. R. Hawkins, W. C. Funk, K. Ralls, C. L. Boser, P. W. Collins, T. J. Coonan, J. L. King, S.A. Morrison, S. D. Newsome, T. S. Sillett, R. C. Fleischer, J. E. Maldonado
Genomics techniques provide powerful means of understanding evolutionary history. This paper examines the evolution of the island fox, which occurs on six of the California Channel Islands. Insights…
Katie Andrews, Megan Webb, Robin Cox
This interactive webmap takes a multimedia approach to showcase the Conservancy’s conservation legacy in Marin County, California. Eleven achievements are profiled with photographs and…
H.B. Ernest, T.W. Vickers, S.A. Morrison, M.R. Buchalski, W.M. Boyce
Highly fragmented landscapes can pose myriad threats to wide-ranging species like mountain lions. Coastal southern California has long been the focus of research into demographics, genetics, and…
Tim Bean, Bob Stafford, Scott Butterfield, Justin Brashares
This paper presents a multi-step approach to estimate the realized and potential distribution of the endangered giant kangaroo rat. The authors estimate the potential distribution by modeling…
Beltran, R.S., N. Kreidler, D.H. Van Vuren, S.A. Morrison, E.S. Zavaleta, K. Newton, B.R. Tershy, D.A. Croll
Introduced predators and herbivores can have dramatic ecological effects on island ecosystems; their eradication can produce similarly profound ecological responses. This paper analyzes data from…
Rick, T.C, T.S. Sillett, C.K. Ghalambor, C.A. Hofman, K. Ralls, R.S. Anderson, C.L. Boser, T.J. Braje, D.R. Cayan, R.T. Chesser, P.W. Collins, J.M. Erlandson, K.R. Faulkner, R. Fleischer, W.C. Funk, R. Galipeau, A. Huston, J. King, L. Laughrin, J. Maldonado, K. McEachern, D.R. Muhs, S.D. Newsome, L. Reeder-Myers, C. Still, S.A. Morrison
Understanding the deep history of places and resources, and the interplay between natural and cultural histories, can be critical to science-based conservation management. This paper explores the case…
Tim Bean, Laura Prugh, Bob Stafford, Scott Butterfield, Mike Westphal, Justin Brashares
In this study, the authors developed a suite of species distribution models (SDMs) for the endangered giant kangaroo rat using the machine-learning method Maxent. They compared these models with three…