Keeping common species common

The website of the Gap Analysis program (GAP) provides some nice resources about gap analysis. GAP is a cooperative effort among regional, state, and federal agencies, and private groups coordinated by the USGS Biological Resources Division. There are all sorts of tie-ins to todays lecture - not just the gap analysis bit - consider their motto for example 'keeping common species common.' Their FAQ provides a nice introduction to what they do and what gap analysis is and you can access their data by state - California for example. Take a look at some of the data sets and maps. You can turn on and off various layers on the maps and they give you a sense of how useful GIS is.

Side note: Photo Credit

The photo on the previous (below) blog and the one to the left were taken by Callie Bowdish--for more of her fabulous photos see her website... there are a lot of local nature and surf shots! Especially some great ones of Coal Oil Point Reserve.

May 17th Habitat Restoration at Coal Oil Point Reserve

Hello Restoration Volunteers!

Come join us this Saturday, May 17th from 9am-12 noon for a Habitat Restoration
Workday at Coal Oil Point Reserve.  Coal Oil Point Reserve is a 170-acre nature
reserve owned by UC Natural Reserve system, and located just west of Isla Vista.
The Reserve is an ecologically important area that is home to a number of
endangered and threatened species, including the Western Snowy Plover.  This
Saturday we will be improving habitat by removing non-native plants, and
maintaining previously planted areas.  This is a great opportunity for all
community members who want to improve water quality and the local habitat for
all the critters that live here!

If you plan to join us please RSVP to Tara Longwell at longwell@lifesci.ucsb.edu
to receive directions to our meeting spot.  We strongly suggest carpooling to
cut down on the number of cars on site! Tools, gloves, water, and snacks will
be provided.

Hope to see you there!
Tara Longwell
--
Tara Longwell
Reserve Steward
Coal Oil Point Reserve
UC Santa Barbara
Natural Reserve System
http://coaloilpoint.ucnrs.org

Snowy Plover Docent Program

UCSB Student Funded Positions

We are advertising for 2 student assistants to help with the docent program from
mid-May through August. We would prefer students who are eligible for
work-study, if possible.

STUDENT ASSISTANT POSITION IN CONSERVATION
The UCSB Coal Oil Point Reserve is seeking 2 students to help with various tasks
of the Snowy Plover Docent Program. The primary responsibility of the student
will be to watch the plover nesting area during times that volunteer docents
are not available. The student will also help the docent coordinator with
recruitment of new docents, special outreach events, docent trainings, and
office maintenance.

Must attend Docent Training, Sat., May 10th, 9AM-1:30PM
- Salary is $10.00 per hour.
- Average work, 10 hours per week.
- Flexible hours, particularly early mornings, and weekends are needed.
- The position is available from May 15th until August 30th.

If you are interested, please respond to Program Coordinator, Jennifer Stroh, to
set up an interview:  stroh@lifesci.ucsb.edu

For more info on snowy plovers, see Apr 1st post on this blog....

Mutant Swan in UCSB Lagoon!!!!!

This weekend I decided to show my mother who was visiting from Colorado the pristine scenery of UCSB. We were walking around the lagoon and I was describing the one swan who normally occupies the lagoon in all his majesty when we spotted this monstrosity. Is it the same swan? Is it a mutant swan? Is that a third leg? Or perhaps just the second bent at an obscure and uncomfortable angle? Should I worry about walking so close to Lagoon water? Please help me solve this mystery.

Good fences make good neighbors (?)

This photo, taken by Warner Glenn in 1996, is believed to be the first of a live jaguar in the United States.

On the CNN homepage today:

Jaguars, an endangered species, have a breeding population in northern Mexico. Scientists believe there are no more than 120 left in the wild there. It's believed that since 1910, the cats are only visitors north of the border. They have been virtually unstudied here until recently but any possible return of breeding jaguars to the United States could be stopped by the new border fence. Last month the Department of Homeland Security waived 30 environmental laws to finish 470 miles of the fence by the end of the year.

Other articles about the wildlife impacts of the border fence can be found here, here and here.

Dead Zone

The world's hypoxic zones—swaths of ocean too oxygen-deprived to support fish and other marine organisms—are rapidly expanding as sea temperatures rise, a new study suggests.

Read the report in the latest issue of Science.

Caribou

Fewer caribou calves are being born and more of them are dying in West Greenland as a result of a warming climate. "Spring temperatures at our study site in West Greenland have risen by more than 4 degrees Celsius over the past few years," said author Eric Post. "As a result, the timing of plant growth has advanced, but calving has not." The phenomenon, called trophic mismatch, is a predicted consequence of climate change, in which the availability of food shifts in response to warming, whereas the timing of demand for those resources does not keep pace.

Work experience

We are looking to hire a student employee for an ongoing restoration project.
Please forward the following job description to any students you feel would be
interested

Thanks,
Casey

Job opportunity:

We at CCBER are looking for someone to work approximately one day per week on a
restoration project in Toro Canyon near Carpinteria.  Duties may include
assisting in Cape Ivy removal, vegetation and arthropod monitoring, and soils
analysis.  This is a great opportunity to gain experience and learn some
valuable skills.  Pay is $10 per hour.

Ideally, applicants should have one full day per week that they can work in
order to facilitate carpooling.

Please contact Casey Peters at cpeters@lifesci.ucsb.edu

Coal Oil Point Tours

Enjoy a tour of Coal Oil Point Reserve, a nature reserve owned by UCSB in Goleta.

Call for tour dates at (805) 893-5092 or cerra@lifesci.ucsb.edu.

Trained tour leaders will take you on a walk through a few of the Reserve’s ecosystems: from sandy beach to the Devereux Slough to a restored coastal dune system.  Learn about the Reserve's current restoration projects and its cultural and geologic history while identifying flora and fauna-such as American Kestrel, Coast Golden Bush, and the Globuse Dune Beetle-that make their home at Coal Oil Point.  $5 donation suggested, except for students and Reserve volunteers.

Tours are a program of Shorelines & Watersheds-a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization-and Coal Oil Point Reserve.  Funding for the Tour Program is provided by Venoco Inc.


--
Nicole Cerra
Education Coordinator
Coal Oil Point Reserve
(805) 893-5092