Have a yen to do your graduate research in the desert? If so, Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center has an offer you shouldn’t refuse. This year, graduate students conducting research at Boyd Deep Canyon can apply for a Mayhew Graduate Research Award to help fund their investigations at the reserve. The competition is open […]
Blog Post
New Book Celebrates the NRS
There is far more to science than can be discovered indoors. “The most basic rules of the world—the ones we all live by—are ecological rules. You can’t study them or even perceive them very well in a classroom or laboratory,” wrote Kenneth S. Norris, acclaimed professor of natural history at the University of California, Santa […]
2012-2013 Mathias Grant Winners
The patterns of fog moisture, the impacts of native bee declines, and how kelp rafts help marine organisms disperse are among the myriad topics awarded funding this year by the Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grants. Sixteen graduate students attending eight different University of California campuses will receive up to $3,000 each to support […]
Snake Tales
To judge from now-clichéd chase scenes in wildlife documentaries, you might think predator-prey interactions are simple and predictable: A predator sees, chases, kills, and then eats its prey. End of story. But don’t let such scenes fool you. Recent research indicates that some predator-prey encounters are remarkably intricate, and nuanced interactions can determine their outcomes. […]
Study of the Seasons: Phenology at the NRS
Nature celebrates the seasons with unmistakable changes. In California, rhododendrons add bursts of pink to coastal forests, bare buckeye branches grow leaf buds, and great egrets gather to nest in tall trees. In autumn, quaking aspens turn from green to gold, toyon produce bundles of berrylike fruits, and snow geese collect by the hundreds of […]
NRS Launches Sister Reserve Program
The UC Natural Reserve System is launching a Sister Reserve Program to enable reserves to form alliances with other protected areas around the globe. The program is designed to help sites with similar habitats, such as oak savannas, or having mutual interests, to have an official relationship with one another The goal is for sister […]
Fog Preserves Relict Pine Forests
The fog comes in, and a drop of water forms on a pine needle, rolls down the needle, and falls to the forest floor. The process is repeated over and over, on each pine needle of every tree in a forest of Bishop pines on Santa Cruz Island, off the coast of Santa Barbara. That […]
White Mountain Research Center 2013 Minigrants
White Mountain Research Center (WMRC) is providing minigrants to support original graduate student research during 2013. Grants of $500 to $,1000 will be awarded on a competitive basis to offset the cost of meals and lodging at one or more of the WMRC research stations: Owens Valley, Crooked Creek, Barcroft, and Summit. No travel funds […]