The NRS’s Hastings Natural History Reservation has awarded financial support to two graduate students conducing field research at the Carmel Valley reserve. Kacie Ring of San Francisco State University and Russell Winter of Old Dominion University will each receive up to $1500 from the William Simes Fund. Ring is exploring how host animals affect a […]
Hastings Natural History Reservation
Jen Hunter, new director of Hastings Natural History Reservation
The NRS’s oldest reserve is now under the leadership of its newest director. Jennifer (Jen) Hunter took the reins of Hastings Natural History Reservation in December, after former resident director Vincent Voegeli relocated to Kauai. Hunter, who holds a PhD in carnivore community ecology from UC Davis, learned about the NRS as a graduate student. […]
NRS hosts earthquake warning system sensors
A major effort to warn Californians about impending earthquakes is coming to the NRS. Scientists from UC Berkeley are installing seismometers at four reserves this fall as part of an earthquake early warning (EEW) system for the entire West Coast. Called ShakeAlert, the system will detect the first rumbles of an earthquake, predict its intensity, […]
Baird award supports research at Berkeley NRS reserves
A new award program has been established to supportresearchby UC Berkeley graduate students at NRS reserves. The Carol Baird Graduate Student Award for Field Research will fund UC Berkeley graduate students conducting field research based in or around Angelo Coast Range Reserve, Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, Hastings Natural History Reservation, Point Reyes Field Station, and Sagehen Creek […]
Solar tags illuminate woodpecker ways
Featherweight tracking technology offers insights into the hidden lives of birds Keeping tabs on wild birds has long been a low-tech proposition. While radio collars and satellite tags became standard for tracking big mammals, binoculars and notebooks have remained critical for following most twittering, flittering birds. The holdup has been battery weight. To bleep the […]
Testing rangeland change with the tools of history
The first European settlers to set foot on California soil didn’t arrive alone. Clattering behind the sandals and boots of the Spanish missionaries were the hooves of their cattle and sheep. Over the next few centuries, the number of imported livestock grazing California rangelands swelled into the millions. The hungry mouths and trampling feet of […]
2015-16 Mathias Grants awarded
Fourteen University of California graduate students have been awarded 2015-16 Mildred E. Mathias Graduate Student Research Grants from the UC Natural Reserve System. The students, from six different UC campuses, each received up to $3,000 to fund field projects at 24 different NRS reserves. Virtually all of this year’s successful proposals will study ecology, evolution, […]
NRS Fair marks 50th anniversary
The Natural Reserve System brought a taste of the science, art, teaching, and natural wonders of its 39 reserves to the heart of downtown Oakland this Tuesday, August 11, for the NRS Fair. Hundreds of visitors flocked to the outdoor terrace at UC’s Office of the President to attend. They chatted with graduate student researchers, […]