Native plants cherished in Europe can become big problems abroad, and vice versa by Paddy Woodworth, Irish Times Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco, has got pretty used to living with threats of one kind or another. Most obviously, this natural harbour sits on top of the San Andreas Fault, where the Pacific and North […]
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High Tech in the High Sierra
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– As the legend holds, a violent escape from Nevada State Prison in 1871 concluded in a true-life Wild West shootout in California, not far from Mammoth Mountain. The immediate surroundings were renamed accordingly –– Convict Creek, Convict Lake and Mount Morrison, after a slain member of the posse that ambushed the […]
Conifer Endophytes: The Microbe Partners of Pines
The human body is awash in microbes. They live a top our skin, within our guts, between our teeth, below our fingernails. Unnerving as it may seem, many play a key role in maintaining human health by producing vitamins, helping digestion, and edging out nasty pathogens. It should come as no surprise, then, that plants […]
Hastings Reservation Celebrates 75 Years
Hastings Natural History Reservation is celebrating 75 years of science research into California ecosystems. Located among the rolling oak hills of eastern Carmel Valley, Hastings became the first biological field station of the University of California in 1937. Hundreds of students and scientists have worked there since, advancing the study of subjects such as bird […]
2013-2014 Mathias Student Research Grants Available
The NRS is at it again—granting money to graduate student researchers working at our reserves. For 26 years, the NRS has provided critical early-career funding for University of California masters and doctoral students conducting field research. Best of all, you could qualify for these monies too. Those eligible for a Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student […]
Shaping Life: The Geology of Mediterranean-Climate Ecosystems
The banksias of Australia and the coast redwoods of California are just two examples of the staggering biodiversity found in Mediterranean-climate ecosystems. This profusion of plant species owes its origins to the unique geological history of each region. Shaping Life: The Geology of Mediterranean-Climate Ecosystems explains the starring role of geology in the evolution of […]
Team frees frogs in bid to save most-endangered amphibian
by Ian James, The Desert Sun IDYLLWILD — Dozens of frogs hopped from plastic containers into a mountain creek on Wednesday as researchers began a reintroduction effort that they hope can save the most endangered amphibian in California. Mountain yellow-legged frogs were once plentiful in streams across the mountains of Southern California, but they vanished […]
The Endangered Species Act at 40
The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) turned 40 this year. It’s a law that has been both lauded for saving species and excoriated for limiting development since the first day of its passage. UC Santa Barbara Professor of History and the Environment Peter Alagona discussed the mixed legacy of the ESA at the Sierra Nevada […]