This story was originally published in the Fall/Winter 2021–22 edition of the White Mountain Research Center Newsletter, which features introductions to new staff, goodbyes to former researchers and colleagues, summaries of studies on rock art research, a new flora of the area, GLORIA alpine summit survey updates, and more. By Rick Ianniello, Environmental Scientist, California […]
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2021-22 Mathias Grants awarded
The border between the ocean and dry land is a tough neighborhood. Residents of the intertidal zone—tidepool animals such as mussels and limpets, snails and barnacles—are alternately battered by waves, then exposed to drying sun.
Sister reserve summit in Loreto, Mexico
The NRS’s sister reserve in Loreto, Mexico, is planning a field station to support students and researchers studying Loreto Bay and Baja California. To build momentum and advance the effort, nonprofit Eco-Alianza de Loreto, A.C. held a planning meeting this fall that featured the NRS as an example to follow. Dubbed the Centro de Estudios […]
Steve Monfort is the new executive director of the UC Natural Reserve System
Steve Monfort, former director of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the National Zoo, is the new executive director of the UC Natural Reserve System. He began his new position on Nov. 4, 2021. At the Conservation Biology Institute, headquartered on 3,200-acres in Front Royal, Virginia, Monfort led teams of scientists studying and breeding more than […]
Snake training at Deep Canyon
By Heather Constable, Campus Administrative Officer, UC Riverside NRS Rattlesnakes are an uncomfortable fact of life in California. From the state line with Oregon, where the western rattlesnake holds sway, to the border with Mexico, where sidewinders rule alongside speckled, red diamond, and western diamondback rattlers, these venomous reptiles are notorious for frightening the snot […]
Experienced mothers prime pups for success
By Tim Stephens, UC Santa Cruz A new study based on four decades of data from the elephant seal colony at Año Nuevo Reserve has enabled researchers to disentangle the effects of environmental conditions, population density, and maternal traits on reproductive success in northern elephant seals. The study, published October 13 in Proceedings of the Royal Society […]
Longtime NRS Executive Director Peggy Fiedler retires
Peggy Fiedler, who made the UC Natural Reserve System an integral part of state and global efforts to understand the impacts of climate change on California ecosystems, has retired after more than eleven years leading the organization.
Biologist wins Packard Fellowship for Año Nuevo research
By Tim Stephens, UC Santa Cruz The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has awarded a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering to Roxanne Beltran, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz. The Packard Fellowships support young scientists and engineers who show exceptional promise and creativity. The Packard Fellowship gives Beltran $875,000 […]