Wildfires are burning at an unprecedented six reserves in the UC Natural Reserve System across northern and central California, and threaten a seventh. Blazes sparked by both lightning and arson have consumed nine buildings and one vehicle, as well as an untold number of acres of grassland, forest, chaparral, and other natural habitats. Beginning the […]
McLaughlin Natural Reserve
Mine facilities metamorphose into McLaughlin Natural Reserve field station
This story is part of NRS reserves transformed by Proposition 84 funds, a series describing the facilities improvements and expansions at NRS reserves supported by Proposition 84 bond funds. An industrial mine and ecological research station aren’t typical bedfellows. One uses hulking machinery to extract resources; the other enlists scientists to study environmental phenomena. In […]
Research shows field courses bridge STEM diversity gaps
When Roxanne Beltran was admitted to UC Santa Cruz, she was thrilled to finally start her college career, possibly to become a marine biologist. But the introductory biology and physics classes she was required to take almost drove her out of science. “I was suddenly in 400 person lecture halls, when my entire high school […]
NRS reserves adapt to coronavirus shutdown
Spring is prime time around the University of California Natural Reserve System. As winter thaws, and skies dry, scientists and students alike start migrating to the protected lands of the network’s 41 reserves. Field stations bustle with university classes on field trips, who rub shoulders with faculty and student researchers, and may intersect with buses […]
How the monkeyflower gets its spots
By Kara Manke, UC Berkeley The intricate spotted patterns dappling the bright blooms of the monkeyflower plant may be a delight to humans, but they also serve a key function for the plant. These patterns function as landing pads for bees, attracting nearby pollinators to the flower and signaling the best approach to access the sweet […]
Bringing back the wildflowers
The road linking the northern tip of Lake Berryessa to the southern shores of Clear Lake is particularly arresting in spring.
McLaughlin Reserve art project wins award
by UC Davis Art Studio UC Davis graduate student Jodi Connelly was awarded the 2018 Keister and Allen Art Purchase Prize for an art project featuring the NRS’s McLaughlin Natural Reserve. The prize is given to a UC Davis art studio Master of Fine Arts student annually. The award provides for the purchase of artwork […]
NRS researcher Susan Harrison elected to National Academy of Sciences
By John Stumbos, UC Davis Susan Harrison, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Environmental Science and Policy, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors a scientist can receive. As an ecologist, Harrison studies the processes that shape and maintain plant species diversity at the landscape scale. […]