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And the following projects and activities:
The following research projects took place on, or in the surrounding vicinity, of the Stunt Ranch Reserve during 2003-2004.
K-12 ACTIVITIES:The reserve is honored to be one of several environmental programs highlighted in the UCLA in LA: Partnerships for a Greater Los Angeles 2005 Directory. One of the Reserve’s successful partnerships is with the Cold Creek Docents, a division of the Mountains Restoration Trust, who coordinate the K-12 program at the Stunt Ranch Reserve. The Reserve and the Cold Creek Docents together are dedicated to making contributions to the education and training of the next generation of scientists and informed citizens who realize the importance of informed management of biological systems in sustaining human culture. This awareness is best created at an early age and continued over a lifetime.
Nancy Helsley, President of the Cold Creek Docents, says, “it is a beneficial purpose that both the University and the Docents serve, not only in education, but as stewards of the land and watershed.” The Reserve and the Cold Creek Docents work together for a wide variety of educational uses related to the natural history of chaparral and oak woodland ecosystems and the history of the Chumash people in the Santa Monica Mountains.
2003-2004 USE BY INSTRUCTIONAL GROUPS
The Stunt Ranch Reserve determines use on the basis of visitor days. During 2003-2004, the reserve had 3602 users and 5071 user days. These user numbers are broken down by university-level use from UCLA, other UC campuses, the California State University system, and others within/outside California. In addition to university use, the Reserve hosted environmental education programs for K-12 coordinated by the Cold Creek Docents, and varied public outreach programs. For more information on the UCLA Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve, visit http://nrs.ucop.edu/Reserves/stunt.html, email cfelixso@ucla.edu, or call 310 206-3887.
2003-2004 Coordinated/led by the Cold Creek Docents of the Mountains Restoration Trust
RESERVE RESEARCH FEATURED IN THE FOLLOWING PUBLICATIONS:
With 2003-2004 Updates
1996 - 2005 Ambrose, R.F., S.F. Lee and S.P. Bergquist. 2003. Environmental monitoring and bioassessment of coastal watersheds in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. Report to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. Anzalone, C.B., L.B. Kats, and M. Gordon, 1998. Effects of solar uv-b on embryonic development in three species of lower latitude and lower elevation amphibians Conservation Biology 12, 646-653. Baas, P., F.W. Ewers, S.D. Davis and E.A. Wheeler 2004 Evolution of xylem physiology. In: Evolution of Plant Physiology, I. Poole and A. R. Hemsley (eds.). Linnean Society Symposium Series number 21, Elsevier Ltd., Oxford, UK: pp. 273-295. Blumstein, D.T., E. Fernández-Juricic, O. LeDee, E. Larsen, L. Rodriguez-Prieto, and C. Zugmeyer. 2004. Avian risk assessment: effects of perching height and detectability. Ethology 110: 273-285. Blumstein, D.T. 2003. Flight initiation distance in birds is dependent on intruder starting distance. Journal of Wildlife Management 67:852-857. Chari J, P. Wilson 2001. Factors limiting hybridization between Penstemon spectabilis and Penstemon centranthifolius (Scrophulariaceae). Canadian Journal of Botany 79: 1439-1448. Cody, M.L. 2001. Bird
diversity components in Australian Eucalyptus Coffman, G.C., R.F. Ambrose and P.W. Rundel. 2004. Invasion of Arundo donax in river ecosystems of mediterranean climates: impacts and management strategies. In: Arianoutsou, M. and V.P. Papanistasis (eds.) Ecology, Conservation and Management of Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems. Millpress, Rotterdam. Cowling, R.F., F. Ojeda, B.B. Lamont and P.W. Rundel. 2004. Climate stability in mediterranean-type ecosystems: implications for evolution and conservation of biodiversity. In: Arianoutsou, M. and V.P. Papanistasis (eds.) Ecology, Conservation and Management of Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems. Millpress, Rotterdam. Cowling, R.F., F. Ojeda, B.B. Lamont, P.W. Rundel and R. Lechmere-Oertel. 2005. Rainfall reliability, a neglected factor in explaining convergence and divergence of plant traits in fire-prone Mediterranean-climate ecosystems. Global Ecology and Biogeography (in press). Davis, S.D., F.W. Ewers, J. Wood, J.J. Reeves. and K.J. Kolb. 1999. Differential susceptibility to xylem cavitation among three pairs of Ceanothus species in the Transverse Mountain Ranges of Southern California. Ecoscience. 6: 180-186. Davis, S.D., F.W., Ewers, J.S. Sperry, K.A. Portwood, M.C. Crocker, and G.C. Adams 2002. Shoot dieback during prolonged drought in Ceanothus chaparral of California: a possible case of hydraulic failure. American Journal of Botany 89:820-828. Davis, S.D., R. B. Pratt, F. W. Ewers, and T.J. Bowen. 2004. Interactions between water stress and freezing regulates chaparral distribution patterns in coastal California. In Ecology, Conservation and Management of Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems, M. Arianoutsou and V. P. Papanastasis (eds.). Millpress, Rotterdam. Davis, S.D., F.W. Ewers, R.B. Pratt, P.L. Brown, T.J. Bowen 2005. Interactive effects of freezing and drought on long distance transport: A case study for chaparral shrubs of California. In: Vascular Transport in Plants, N. M. Holbrook and M. A. Zwieniecki (Ed.). Elsevier/AP, Oxford, In Press. Dilley J, P. Wilson, M.R. Mesler. 2000. The radiation of Calochortus: generalist flowers moving through a mosaic of potential pollinators. Oikos 89: 209-222. Esler, K.J., P.W. Rundel and R.H. Cowling. 1998. Biodiversity and conservation biology of coastal transition zones from mediterranean to desert ecosystems: an intercontinental comparison. pp. 205-230. In: Rundel, P.W., G. Montenegro and F. Jaksic (eds.), Landscape Disturbance and Biodiversity in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. Ewers, F.W., M.C. Lawson, T.J. Bowen, and S.D. Davis 2003. Freeze/thaw stress in Ceanothus of southern California chaparral. Oecologia, 136: 213-219. Fedriani, J.M., T.K. Fuller, R.M. Sauvajot, E.C. York, 2000. Diets of three sympatric carnivores in the Santa Monica Mountains of California: the importance of habitat, human presence and interspecific competition. Oecologia 125, 258-270. Fedriani, J.M., T.K. Fuller, R.M. Sauvajot, 2001. Does availability of anthropogenic food enhance densities of omnivorous mammals? An example with coyotes in southern California. Ecography 24: 325-331. Fenster C, S. Armbruster, P. Wilson, M. Dudash, JD. Thomson. 2004. Pollination syndromes and floral specialization. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 35: 375-403. Gamradt, S.C. and L.B. Kats. 1996. Effect of introduced crayfish and mosquitofish on California newts. Conservation Biology 10: 1155-1162. Gamradt, S.C. and L.B. Kats, 1997. Impact of chaparral wildfire induced sedimentation on oviposition of stream-breeding California newts (Taricha torosa), Oecologia, 110, 546-549. Gamradt, S.C. and L.B. Kats. 1997. Aggression by non-native crayfish deters breeding California newts. Conservation Biology 11: 793-796. Guo, Q. and P.W. Rundel. 1997. Measuring dominance and diversity in ecological communities: choosing the right variables. Journal of Vegetation Science 8: 405-408. Guo, Q. and P.W. Rundel. 1998. Self-thinning in early postfire chaparral succession: mechanisms, implications, and a combined approach. Ecology 79: 579-586. Guo, Q, 2001. Early post-fire succession in California chaparral: changes in diversity, density, cover and biomass. Ecological Research 16, 471-485. Guo, Q. 2003. Temporal species richness-biomass relationships along successional gradients. Journal of Vegetation Science 14: 121-128. Jacobsen, A.L., S.L. Fabritius and S.D. Davis. 2004. Fire frequency impacts non-sprouting chaparral shrubs in the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California. In Ecology, Conservation and Management of Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems, M. Arianoutsou and V. P. Papanastasis (eds.). Millpress, Rotterdam. Keeley, J.E. 1996. Postfire vegetation recovery in the Santa Monica Mountains under two alternative management programs. Bulletin Southern California Academy of Sciences 95: 103-119. Keeley,J. E., M.B. Baer-Keeley, and C.J. Fotheringham, editors. 2nd Interface Between Ecology and Land Development in California. U.S. Geological Survey, Sacramento. Keeley, J.E. and C.J. Fotheringham, 2001, Historic fire regime in Southern California shrublands. Conservation Biology 6: 1536-1548. Keeley, J.E. and C.J. Fotheringham. 2001. History and management of crown-fire ecosystems: A summary and response. Conservation Biology 15: 1561-1567. Keeley, J.E. 2002. Fire management of California shrubland landscapes. Environmental Management 29: 395-408. Keeley, J. E., M. S. Witter, and R. S. Taylor. 2003. Challenges of managing fires along an urban-wildland interface --- lessons from the Santa Monica Mountains, Los Angeles, California. In Third International Wildland Fire Conference. Sydney, Australia. Keeley, J.E. and P.W. Rundel. 2005. Fire and the Miocene expansion of C4 grasslands. Ecology Letters (in press). Kerby, J.L. and L.B. Kats, 1998, Modified interactions between salamander life stages caused by wildfire induced sedimentation, Ecology, 79, 740-745. Kohn, M., E. C. York, D. A. Kamradt, G. Haught, R. M. Sauvajot, R. K. Wayne, 1999. Estimating population size by genotyping faeces, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. B 266: 657-663. Langen, T.A. and R.M. Gibson. 1998. Sampling and information acquisition by western scrub-jays, Aphelocoma californica. Animal Behaviour 55: 1245-1254. Langen, T.A. 1999. How western scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) select a nut: effects of the number of options, variation in nut size, and social competition among foragers. Animal Cognition 2: 223-233. Liebert, A.E. 2003. Behavioral flexibility throughout the colony cycle of the paper wasp, Polistes aurifer. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Liebert, A. E., 2004. Ground nesting in the paper wasp Polistes aurifer (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Insectes Sociaux 51:99-100. Liebert, A. E., P. Nonacs, and R. K. Wayne, In press. Solitary nesting and reproductive success in the paper wasp Polistes aurifer. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology DOI: 10.1007/s00265-004-0875-5. Luce, S. 2003. Urbanization and Aquatic Ecosystem Health in Malibu Creek, California: Impacts on Periphyton, Benthic Macroinvertebrates, and Environmental Policy. D.Env. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Murry, M.A., A.S. Konopka, S.D. Pratt, and T.L Vandergon. 1997. The use of PCR-based typing methods to assess the diversity of Frankia nodule endophytes of the actinorhizal shrub Ceanothus. Physiologia Plantarum 99: 714-721. Orme, A.R., 2004. The morphodynamics of a small
seasonal river mouth Pratt, R.B., K.A. McElwain, and S.D.
Davis. 2004. Relationship between life history
type and resistance to xylem cavitation in California chaparral. In
Ecology, Conservation and Management of Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems,
M. Arianoutsou and V.P. Papanastasis (eds.). Millpress, Rotterdam,
ISBN 90 5966 0161. Redtefeldt, R.A., and S.D. Davis. 1996. Physiological and morphological evidence of niche segregation between two co-occurring species of Adenostoma in California chaparral. Ecoscience 3: 290-296. Riano, D, E. Chuvieco, S. Ustin, R. Zomer, P. Dennison, D. Roberts, J. Salas. 2002. Assessment of vegetation regeneration after fire through multitemporal analysis of AVIRIS images in the Santa Monica Mountains. Remote Sensing of Environment 79: 60-71. Rundel, P.W., G. Montenegro, F. Jaksic (Eds.) 1998, Landscape Degradation and Biodiversity in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems, Springer Verlag, 447 PP. Rundel, P.W. 1998. Landscape disturbance in mediterranean-type ecosystems: an overview. pp. 3-22, In: P.W. Rundel, G. Montenegro and F. Jaksic (eds.) 1998, Landscape Disturbance and Biodiversity in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. Rundel, P.W. 1999. Disturbance in mediterranean-climate shrublands and woodlands L.Walker (ed.) Ecosystems of Disturbed Ground. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 271-285. Rundel, P.W. 1999. Wildland fire. pp. 4-11, In: Southern California Environmental Report Card 1999. UCLA Institute of the Environment, Los Angeles. Rundel, P.W. and J. A. King, 2001. Ecosystem processes and dynamics in the urban/wildland interface of Southern California. Journal of Mediterranean Ecology 2 209-219. Rundel, P.W. 2002. Preserving biodiversity. pp. 4-13, In: Southern California Environmental Report Card 2002. UCLA Institute of the Environment, Los Angeles. Rundel, P.W. 2003. Invasive species as a global problem. pp. 5-11, In: Southern California Environmental Report Card 2003. UCLA Institute of the Environment, Los Angeles. Rundel, P.W. 2004. Mediterranean-climate ecosystems: defining their extent and community dominance. In: Arianoutsou, M. and V.P. Papanistasis (eds.) Ecology, Conservation and Management of Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems. Millpress, Rotterdam. Rundel, P.W. 2004. Invasive Plants of California’s Wildlands. (Book review). Madroño. Rundel, P.W. and R.E. Gustafson. 2005. An Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California: Coast to Foothills. University of California Press, Berkeley. 300 p. Saidy, J., and D.A., Gray, 2004. Observations of the acoustic behavior of Hoplosphyrum boreale (Scudder) a common scaly cricket of Southern California. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 103: 34-43. Schoenberg, F.P., R. Peng, Z. Huang and P. Rundel. 2003. Detection of non-linearities in the dependence of burn area on fuel age and climatic variables. International Journal of Wildland Fire 12: 1-6. Wilson P, M. Valenzuela, 2002. Three naturally occurring Penstemon hybrids. Western North American Naturalist 62: 25- 31. Wilson P., MC. Castellanos, JN. Hogue, JD. Thomson, WS. Armbruster . 2004. A multivariate search for pollination syndromes among penstemons. Oikos 104: 345-361. Zutta, B.R. and Gamon, J.A. 2002. Assessing vegetation functional type and biodiversity in Southern California using spectral reflectance. Research Report to CEA- CREST, California State University, Los Angeles. Wilson P., MC. Castellanos , A. Wolfe, JD. Thomson. 2005. Shifts between bee- and bird-pollination among penstemons. In N. Waser and J. Ollerton (eds.) Specialization and generalization in plant-pollinator interactions. University of Chicago Press.
Reserve Faculty Director: Phil Rundel is continuing to work
with government agencies and international NGOs to promote a better public
understanding of the global significance of Mediterranean-climate ecosystems
and their biodiversity. More than a thousand educational posters designed
and published by Stunt Ranch have now been distributed all over the world,
as well as broadly to educational groups and schools in Southern
California. Rundel presented in an overview talk on Mediterranean-Climate
Ecosystems at a March workshop in Malibu sponsored by the International
Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He also met in March in
Santiago with the Director and Associate Director of CONAF, the Chilean
government agency in charge of national parks and forest resources. At that
time he presented seminars on Mediterranean ecology and biodiversity to
CONAF and to the Universidad de las Americas. CAROL FELIXSON Reserve Director of Education and Community Outreach: In addition to her work for the Stunt Ranch Reserve, Carol Felixson serves as the docent and communications coordinator for the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden (MEMBG) at UCLA. She was appointed as one of two manager’s representatives to the UC Natural Reserve System University-wide Advisory Committee which meets twice a year. In her column for the Los Angeles Times Kids Page, Drawing from Nature, Felixson introduces children to a subject from nature and an art technique. The children then apply what they have learned in an illustration. She is also a contributing author to the MEMBG quarterly newsletter. Additionally, Felixson is on the board of advisors of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life - Southern California. A graduate in Social Welfare from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she completed a Professional Designation in Public Relations from UCLA Extension. She is currently enrolled in UCLA Extension's Creative Writing Certificate Program and is a member of the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
LISA POMPELLI
UCLA RESERVE FACULTY ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
, Chair: Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA (see above)
Richard F. Ambrose:
Professor in the UCLA School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental
Health Sciences and Director of the Environmental Science and Engineering
Program. Dr. Ambrose continued his long-term research on wetland ecology
and restoration at Mugu Lagoon, which included the completion of a 10
hectare restoration of salt marsh habitat. He also completed an assessment
of the success of wetland mitigation projects throughout Los Angeles and
Ventura Counties, and has initiated an expansion of this program to include
wetland mitigation projects throughout California... Dr. Ambrose’s research
also includes long-term monitoring of rocky intertidal communities in
southern California and aquatic ecosystem health of coastal watersheds. Jeanne Arnold: Professor of Anthropology at UCLA. Dr. Arnold is an archaeologist with a research focus on the North American Pacific Coast. She co-directs an international (US-Canada) archaeological project in British Columbia and supervises an ethnoarchaeological project on modern Los Angeles household architecture and uses of space. She continues long-term research on the California Channel Islands, and her latest book is Foundations of Chumash Complexity (2004). Martin Cody: Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA retired this year. He joined the UCLA faculty in 1966. He plans to concentrate on research now, and will remain affiliated with UCLA for research purposes, for the duration of a 5-yr NSF grant that will develop embedded networks of remote sensor systems, and test their efficacy on rainforest ant birds in Chiapas, Mexico. He also has long-term research projects on birds in Grand Teton National Park and on plants of British Columbia islands that he will maintain, as well as field work on Australian bird diversity and distributions. Meanwhile, he has to make sure his new house gets up and running. Art Huffman: Senior Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy retired this past year. He was at UCLA for two years as a Post doc in the 70's, then from 1980 – 1996 he served as the Director of Lecture Demonstrations. Then for eight years he served as a Senior Lecturer. He still comes in to campus about two days a week, gives demo shows to groups and schools, and works on various physics problems with colleagues. Peter Nonacs: Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA. Dr. Nonacs served as the UCLA representative to the UC Natural Reserve System University-wide Advisory Committee. Nonacs research interests are behavioral ecology and social evolution, using both theoretical and experimental approaches. Victoria Sork:
Professor and Chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at
UCLA and professor in the Institute of the Environment. Dr. Sork was
appointed to succeed Dr. Peter Nonacs as UCLA representative to the UC
Natural Reserve System University-wide Advisory Committee. Her
research interests include population biology,
conservation genetics, and evolutionary dynamics of plant populations. back to TABLE OF CONTENTS
For more information on the UCLA Stunt
Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve, visit
http://nrs.ucop.edu/Reserves/stunt.html,
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