UC Office of the President NRS Transect

Title The NRS Transect 6:1 (fall 1987)

Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/41m9q05x

Journal UC Natural Reserve System, 06(1)

Author UC Natural Reserve System

Publication Date 1987-09-21

eScholarship.org Powered by the Digital Library Volume 6, No.1 University of California Natural Reserve System Fall 1987

In this issue: .NSF Director Visits Reserves (po 2) .NSF Facilities Grants (po 2) .Collaborative Programs (po3) .New Publications (po 8)

Systemwide Office Column:

State Agencies Find NRS A Valuable Resource

Among the many research projects based on reserves in the past five years are 42 studies specifically designed to provide state agen- des with the information they need to man- age California's natural resources wisely. These programs range from the use of re- serves' pristine habitats for baseline moni- toring to sponsored research projects. Spotted Owl Chick Sa' ved at J ames Reserve The list of agencies that use the reserves inlcudes almost all of the natural resource This two-week old spotted owl, shown here was a good 12 feet off the ground, but easily managers of the state: Department of Fish with its mother, made last Memorial Day viewed from a rock higher up the slope and Game, Office of Appropriate Technol- weekend one to remember for students and about 20 feet away. ogy, Dept. of Parks and Recreation, Joint researchersat the JamesSan Jacinto Moun- The chick was moved to its new home Committee on Aquaculture and Fisheries, tains Reserve. A field zoology class from Sundayafternoon. Within two hours, its Dept. of Health, State Water Resources Con- Santa Monica City College discovered the mother joined it there. ReserveDirector Dr. trol Board, Regional Water Quality Control chick on the Reserve'snature trail on Satur- Mike Hamilton monitored the situation for Boards, California Air Resources Board, day, May 23. Though unharmed and alert, the next 10 days, then left for a six-week re- Coastal Conservancy, Dept. of Food and this small member of a speciesof special search trip to Venezuela. The nest was Agriculture, Division of Mines and Geol- concern to the state was too young to sur- empty when he returned. In early August, ogy, Dept. of Health, and Sea Grant College vive out of its nest for long. another group of reserve users confirmed Program, a joint state and federal project. Luckily, mom and dad were nearby, the chick had fledged when they were The significance of the NRS to these agen- bringing food and tending to the chick at strafed at close range by a baby owl. Since cies, and to the citizens of California, can be regular intervals. The group decided to let then, Hamilton has seenthe young owl on seen with a glance at some reserve-based things be overnight, hoping the adults the Reservea number of times, most re- research programs, which include studies of: would be able to move the chick back to the cently in mid-October. .elephant seal and sea lion biology (Aflo nest. But the next morning the owl had only Nuevo Island Reserve) moved farther down the slope towards the .radionuclides in the Gulf of the Farallones creek. Since its chancesof surviving where () it was were next to none, it was time to get Don't forget... .paralytic shellfish poisoning (Bodega Ma- the chick off the ground. You can help reverse the processesthat are rine Reserve) Unable to find the owl nest, the group re- driving some 252 of California's native .biology of endangered species (Philip L. inforced what appeared to be a squirrel's plant and animal speciestoward extinction Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center, nest in a canyon live oak nearby. The nest by filling in Line 90 on your state tax return. continuedon page5 NSF Tours the NRS

"Unique in the nation." "Exceptionally di- verse." "A resource of national signifi- cance." "The caliber and commitment of re- serve-basedstaff is most impressive." Such were the phrases used by Dr. Jim Edwards this Septemberto summarize his impres- sions of the Natural ReserveSystem for Dr. Kenneth Farrell, UC Vice President-Agri- culture and Natural Resources. Edwards directs the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Biological ResearchRe- sourcesProgram, the only federal grant program to fund both facility and equip- ment improvements at field stations. He had just completed a tour of 10 NRS sites in as many days. As program director, Edwards regularly visits marine laboratories, field stations, Dr. Richard Karban, UC Davis, studies plant-insect interactions at the Bode~a Marine Reserve and and natural history museums, so his charac- Laboratory , which recently received a $45,000NSF facilities and equipment Improvement grant. terization of the NRS as a national role model takes on added significance. He did, however, identify areasin need of improve- ment, calling for (1) the provision of an ade- quate, dependable budget for operations, The National ScienceFoundation has weather station will allow for comparative maintenance,and program development, awarded grants totalling $145,000to two studies with other field stations. (2) increasedstaffing, particularly at the NRS sites through its 1987Biological Re- Theseimprovements will greatly increase reservelevel, (3) increased opportunities for search ResourcesProgram. the researchcapabilities of the Reservation, staff professional growth, and (4) the devel- The Hastings Natural History Reserva- which is best known for work in vertebrate opment of reserve-basedinstructional pro- tion received $99,982to more than dquble ecology. Ongoing studies span a spectrum grams, currently lacking due to inadequate the size of an existing building, providing of topics in plant and invertebrate ecology on-site housing and dining facilities. the site's first modem wet laboratory. The as well. But traditional natural history and Nonetheless,the NRS has fared well in funds will also be used to purchase lab and field ecology studies now need experirnen- competitions for facilities and equipment field equipment, as well as to upgrade the tal approaches to answer the more focused improvement grants at the national level. lab's septic system. Theseadditions will questions arising in modern field work on RecentNRS budget augmentations from help meet the special needs of field research behavior, population dynamics, and adap- within the University have made the re- with a strong laboratory component. The tation. The expansion will provide the fa- serveseven more competitive. Such fund- Berkeley campus and the systemwide NRS cilities that such work requires. ing is particularly significant now, for the office have also increased the site's funding The second grant went to Bodega Marine Reaganadministration is placing increased base as part of its overall development. Reserve,which received $45,000to estab- emphasison the importance of "research Located in upper Carmel Valley, the lish a grid system, develop portable micro- centers"to maintain the nation's leadership 1,998-acreHastings Reservation includes a climate datalogger monitoring stations, and role in scienceand technology. NSF has complete representation of Mediterranean renovate an avian researchlab. This grant been given the lead role at the federal level habitats characteristic of the central Coast was matched by $4,500each from the Davis to fund the development of new research Ranges. The site was founded in 1937and is campus and the systemwide NRS office. centers,including biological field stations. managed by the Museum of Vertebrate Zo- Located on , this 326-acre Severalrecent changesto the facilities ology on the Berkeley campus. More than reserve encompassesa variety of coastal and equipment grant programs are particu- 240 publications have resulted from studies habitats, from subtidal areasto active larly significant to the NRS. First, relatively at the Reservation, including 43 produced dunes. Complementing the site's natural young and undeveloped sites can now during the last five years. diversity is the Bodega Marine Laboratory, qualify for NSF improvements as long as Existing facilities, which are now filled to built on the Reservein 1966. Both the Re- they can document the potential for re- capacity during the March through August serve and the Lab are administered by UC searchproductivity. Second,NSF grants field season,include a 6OO-square-footdry Davis. Together they support a variety of must be matched dollar for dollar by the lab / office, a library, synoptic collections, studies on marine, intertidal, and near- station's parent institution, but the value of microcomputers, and residencesfor perma- shore terrestrial systems. instructional improvements can now be nent and visiting researchers. The 671- The NSF grant will fund a professionally used to match researchimprovements. And square-foot addition will be divided into an surveyed, permanently marked grid cover- third, NSF is placing increased emphasis on office and a wet lab. A hazardous waste ing the entire upland portion of the Reserve. computerized databasedevelopment, an storage locker is planned as well. It will be staked at 100-meterintervals and areawhere the NRS is making rapid strides. The NSF grant will also fund an Omni- specially marked at 200-meter intervals for data digital recording weather station. In aerial photo-mapping. The grid will en- Jeff Kennedy, Environmental Planner addition to providing the Hastings Reserva- hance researchers'abilities to map changes Natural Reserve System tion with a modem monitoring system, this in vegetation and topography over time. It will also aid in planning long-term research As the NRS matures, it is changing from a working with more resource-intensive pro- and monitoring, serve as a referencefor passive collection of natural areasto an ac- duction systems. Another priority is train- large-scalesamplings of habitats or popula- tive resource for work in the field sciences. ing that will increase the ability of other tions, and standardize resulting data sets. As part of this growing process,we are be- countries to study and develop dry lands. The grant and matching moneys will also ginning to develop ties with programs both As part of its education program, the Insti- fund four portable microclimate stations. within and outside of the University with tute publishes a quarterly newsletter called Populations of most plants and animals which we share goals. Here, we highlight the Drylander and sponsors lecture series, vary markedly over short distances on the four programs with a high potential for mu- workshops, and conferenceson dry lands Reserve,presumably in ways related to its tualistic relationships. researchand management. pronounced microclimatic differences. The DLRI is in an environment suited for Two of the weather stations will be used to basic and applied researchaddressing the gather background data defining microcli- challenging problems facing the inhabitants matic trends, and two will be available for of dry lands. It is centrally located in the dry researchersto use at specific study sites. interior of Southern California in the transi- The grid system and microclimate moni- The Dry Lands ResearchInstitute (DLRI) tion zone between sub-humid and semi- toring capability will enhance the site's ter- was established by the UC Regentsin 1964 arid areas. Extremelyarid low desert, high restrial work, including several studies of to create a center for agricultural and envi- desert, dry forest, and shrub lands are all plant physiological ecology and ecological ronmental research,education, and training within easy reach. The DLRI makes use of genetics,as well as plant and insect commu- for scholars working in arid and semi-arid UCR's 615-acrefield experiment station and lands. Located on the Riverside campus, nity ecology. the 835-acreMoreno Ranch site within five Researchersstudying behavior, ecology, the DLRI encouragesassociation and inter- miles of campus. The University's 37-acre and physiology of birds will similarly bene- action among investigators within the UC Botanic Gardens maintain an extensive col- fit from the renovation of the avian research system and with local, national, and inter- lection of dry land plant speciesfrom laboratory. The existing temporary aviary national researchcenters. will be converted into a permanent lab The main goals of the Institute are to en- meeting modem animal care guidelines, courage long-term, integrated researchand with a new, sloping concrete floor with improve the management of the often frag- drains, four separatebird holding rooms, ile and abused arid lands. As Gaafar Karrar and observation ports for recording behav- and Daniel Stiles wrote in a recent article in ioral data from outside the holding rooms. the Journalof Arid Environments,"Dry lands Bodega Marine Laboratory /Reserve is are presently under stressto a degree per- one of the few sites nationwide to receive haps unprecedented in history. High hu- NSF grants for both terrestrial and marine man and livestock population have resulted station facilities improvement. in 75 percent of all the productive land within the world's dry lands becoming de- SarahSteinberg Gustafson, Editor sertified to some extent. The rate of deserti- Natural ReserveSystem ficiation is increasing and, if present trends continue, by the year 2000,the situation will have become a global catastrophe." The DLRI places special emphasis on ap- Fusari Coordinates plying the latest scientific advances to un- derstanding, adapting, and improving tra- The Granite Mountains Reserve is one of the Santa Cruz Reserves ditional agricultural systems,as well as on NRS sites used by the Dry Lands Institute. At UC SantaCruz, all NRS roads lead to Dr. Margaret H. (Maggie) Fusari, the Reserve verse responsibilities include developing a reserve-usehistory and projecting likely System'snewest campus-basedAcademic programs and facilities, budgeting, fund- future needs. Her current concerns include Coordinator. raising, promoting researchuse of reserves, site development for new lab facilities at Big "Campusesare often unaware of the integrating reserveswith campus objec- Creek, creation of interpretive overlooks to value of their reserves,"Fusari says. This tives, and a feasible degree of public service. provide secureaccess to Younger Lagoon, a should not be a problem at UC Santa Cruz. To this complex position she brings a 20- resource inventory at Afto Nuevo State Re- SinceJune 1987,Fusari has been applying year background in teaching and research, serve in cooperation with the Department her special competenceand energy to make as well as considerable administrative expe- of Parks and Recreation, and development sure not only that her campus is aware of its rience. For three years, she was in charge of of a Field Studies Center at UCSC. reserves,but that the reservesbest serve the curriculum design and management for Fusari received her Ph.D. in Biology from teaching and researchpurposes for which Prescott College, a private, four-year insti- UC Los Angeles. She first came to the Santa they were intended. "It is important for the tution in Arizona. Fusari maintains active Cruz campus in 1980to complete her disser- future of the reserves,"she says, "that they status as a researcher,and specializes in zo- tation and to lecture for the Departments of be utilized appropriately." ology. Currently she is working with the Environmental Studies and Biology. She Fusari coordinates activities for four re- Department of Fish and Game, the Bureau still enjoys lecturing, particularly on field serves:Afio Nuevo Island, Landels-HiU Big of Land Management, and ReserveMan- methods, but says she finds the position of Creek, Younger Lagoon, and a campus re- ager Dr. Philippe Cohen to establish a pro- Academic Coordinator "more satisfying serve not within the NRS. Sheacts as liaison gram to monitor bighorn sheep at the Gran- than teaching alone could ever be." between the SantaCruz campus, the reserve ite Mountains Reserve. users,the site managers, funding agencies, With support from a committee of fac- SusanRumsey, Editorial Assistant and the systemwide NRS office. Her di- ulty, staff, and students, Fusari is compiling Natural ReserveSystem around the world. Additionalopportuni- ment strategies for hardwood range use. ties are available at field stations in the Six regional specialists and a number of Mojave Desert, the Imperial Valley, and the county-based advisors acrossthe state carry southern SanJoaquin Valley. out these goals, supported by faculty re- Researchis also linked to the NRS, par- searchat state and private universities. ticularly the Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon What is most exciting about the program Desert ResearchCenter, the Sacramento is that it allows Cooperative Extension to Mountains Reserve,and the Granite Moun- develop a new constituency without aban- tains Reserve(see Transect, 5(2):3). This re- doning traditional clientele. Population serve is one of the most valuable for dry shifts from cities to rural areashave pro- lands research,as it includes a remarkable duced new problems for hardwood range variety of dry land ecosystemsand environ- resources. New demands have been placed ments. There are hot dry slopes to perennial on the University to solve problems involv- springs, lowland cholla/yucca dominated ing quality of life and aestheticswhile main- bajadas,and juniper / pinyon peaks. Both taining the state's economic strengths. pristine and poorly managed areasare As with many natural resource issues,the available for research. ultimate goal of the Hardwood Program is Scholarsassociated with the Institute to make oak conservation economically vi- during the past 20 years have improved the able on private lands. The challenge is to understanding and management of dry create management options that are biologi- lands. For more information, or for a sub- cally sound, yet maintain the economic and scription to the Drylander, contact the DLRI cultural goals of the landowners. Lands at the University of California, Riverside, serving the dual purposes of economic re- CA 92521,(714) 787-5318. turn and conservation vary in quality of resources,but all provide opportunities to Wesley M. Jarrell, Director augment the speciesand habitat conserva- Diana W. Freckman, Associate Director tion carried out on natural reserves. Dry Lands Research Institute The task of integrating biological conser- Earthwatch Visits vation into urban and agricultural develop- ments will undoubtedly bring the NRS and Bodega Cooperative Extension closer together as we prepare for the next century. Are you a field scientist in need of funding Conserving Cali- I' d welcome the opportunity to discuss and field teams for your reserve-basedre- these issues with Transectreaders. Please search? Or perhaps just an individual in £omia's Hardwoods contact me at the Dept. of Soils and Environ- search of adventure? In either case,Earth- mental Sciences,University of California, watch can help. Statewide issuesof oak conservation re- Riverside, CA 92521,(714) 787-5115, or A non-profit organization, Earthwatch cently prompted the California Department your county Cooperative Extension Office. sponsors field researcharound the world in of Forestry and Fire Protection and the UC order to expand our knowledge of the earth Division of Agriculture and Natural Re- Tom Scott, Natural Resource Specialist and its inhabitants and to increasepublic sourcesto createa program of researchand Integrated Hardwood Range Management Program understanding of science. Since it was education on hardwoods enhancement, protection, and management. What does the Integrated Hardwood RangeManagement Program (IHRMP) have in common with the Natural Reserve System?Though their conservation goals are similar, the Hardwood Program focuses on the management and economics of re- sourceuse as the primary means of promot- ing oak conservation. Thus, the applied researchand educational programs con- ducted by the Hardwood Program for re- sourcemanagement on multi-use lands are complementary to the more basic research programs supported by NRS reserves. The Natural ResourcesProgram of Coop- erative Extension overseesthe IHRMP, which has four major goals: (1) improve oak regeneration, (2) maintain habitat di- versity for wildlife associatedwith oaks, (3) demonstrate the consequencesof hard- wood rangeland conversion to urban and intensive agricultural developments, and Dr. Jim Griffin, Resident Ecologist at the Hastings Reservation, stands between two wildlife enclo- (4) develop feasible alternative manage- sures being used in studies of oak regeneration. founded in 1971,Earthwatch has mobilized 950 projects, providing researcherswith nearly $9 million and more than 15,000vol- unteer field assistants. Eight such hardy souls from all over the U .5. spent two weeks at Bodega Marine Re- serve last March. Ranging in age from 18 to 77, these participants helped ReserveMan- ager Dr. Peter Connors and colleagues in an ongoing study of wintering shorebirds. The goal of the project was to track the movements of different segments of local dunlin populations and to investigate dif- ferencesin weights of the birds between these sub-populations. This entailed a ma- jor trapping effort at night in salt marshes with mist nets, as well as all-day watches by volunteers distributed at key points around . Though hampered by rains more persis- Desert bighorn sheep, a state-Iisted rare species,are the subject of a long-term monitoring and re- tent than usual, the project achieved results search program sponsored by the Dept. of Fish anId Game at the Granite Mountains Reserve. that can be obtained only with large num- campus faculty for more than a decade. bers of people working in close coordina- State Agencies continuedfrom page1 Much of the course is based on knowledge tion. The Earthwatch volunteers were ex- Granite Mountains Reserve,Kendall-Frost gained from researchat the Afto Nuevo Is- tremely enthusiastic about their experience, Mission Bay Marsh, and Valentine Camp) land Reserve. and the investigators greatly appreciated .mosquito and encephalitis control (San During their winter breeding season,ele- interacting with these interesting people. ]oaquin Freshwater Marsh Reserve) phant sealsmay abandon their beachesif For information on joining an expedition .coastal and island crustal land deforma- disturbed. The 150,000annual public visi- or applying for a grant, contact Field Repre- tion ( Reserve) tors must be accompanied by trained do- sentative Nonna Cheatham at P.O.Box .sediment transport and beach protection cents to protect the breeding populations. 2101,Walnut Creek, CA 94595,(415) 934- () Thus, this docent program is vital to the 7970. Full proposals must be submitted 10 State Park's seal management objectives. to 12months before the project begins. .high-elevation watersheds, including snow chemistry and the sensitivity of mon- On a broader scale,the University pro- tane lakes to acid precipitation (Sierra Ne- vides state agency scientists with an enor- vada Aquatic ResearchLaboratory) mous pool of diverse expertise. For ex- .earthquake instrumentation for Long Val- ample, the Directory to Expertiseand Facilities ley (Sierra Nevada Aquatic ResearchLab) Relatedto Wildlands(Wildlands Resources In addition, the Bodega Marine Reserve Center, Report # 8, December 1985)includes manages the Bodega Marine Life Refuge for 780 academics involved with wildlands. the Department of Fish and Game and an They work in 161units on 8 campusesand Area of Special Biological Significance for in 35 county offices of cooperative exten- the Water ResourcesControl Board. The sion. The University's Water Resources waters surrounding the Aflo Nuevo Island, Center also lists approximately 275 academ- Santa Cruz Island, and Scripps Coastal Re- ics with expertise in water-related issues. serves are also Areas of Special Biological- The agenciesmay also gain accessto Signifigance. graduate studel)ts for researchprojects. The University benefits as well through interac- As well as providing the use of field labo- tion with agency personnel whose experi- ratories with equipment and trained per- encecan provide students-and faculty- sonnel, the NRS supplies state agencies with a real-world pragmatism. with the principal product of the Univer- As the pressures on natural resourcesin- sity-knowledge. Most of the reserve- crease,applied ecology will become even based researchis designed to give state more significant. Our major reservescan agenciesthe information necessaryfor de- become centers for in-service training of veloping sound management and policy. agency personnel, providing the latest sci- This researchalso contributes to the entific methods to address problems of fire knowledge used by state heritage agencies ecology, endangered speciesmanagement, for their public interpretation activities. In restoration ecology, etc. In this context, the this sense,the reservesprovide an impor- NRS may playa key extension role, meeting tant, though indirect, service to all of the the rapidly growing need by resource man- citizens of the state. agement agenciesfor guidance regarding In some cases,reserve activities benefit the care of our natural heritage. the public more directly. Docents for the interpretive program at Afto Nuevo Island C. Ronald Carroll, Associate Director State Park have been trained by SantaCruz Natural Reserve System Coastline of America, Alaska, Washington, and Oregon have passed similar-and, in some cases,more restrictive-bills. Legisla- tion at the federal level has made it through the House of Representatives and is now being considered by the U .5. Senate.

Bull Seals-A Weighty Subject At the Afio Nuevo Island Reserve,biolo- gists have acheived the heretofore irnpos- sible: they've weighed adult elephant seal bulls. UC Santa Cruz Professor Burney Le brown trout (Salmo trutta) Boeuf and colleagues weighed a dozen bulls this past summer; the largest tipped ords data from some 15 sensorsin a form the scalesat almost two tons. The research- that is easily transferred to the Reserve's ers expect that record to be broken in the computer for use in a variety of studies. next month or so as sealsreturn to Afio Announcemen ts Nuevo for the breeding seasonat their full Deep Canyon Adds Facility winter weights. Before last summer only females and irn- The Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Re- SNARL Awarded Damages; mature males were weighed becauseavail- searchStation recently completed a remote Adds Monitoring Network able equipment could not handle the much housing and laboratory facility at Agave The Sierra Nevada Aquatic ResearchLabo- larger adult males. Now the bulls can be Hill. ThoughonlyamileduewestofRe- weighed passively using a 4-by-16-foot alu- ratory (SNARL) will receive $4,175in an serve headquarters, it is half an hour away minum platform set on two pressure-sensi- out-of-court settlement from Convict Lake by car. Located at an elevation of 2,800feet, Resort, Inc. to cover damages resulting from this facility is more convenient to study sites tive weighbars. The device is disguised with sand and placed in a location the ani- an illegal damming of Convict Creek up- in the upper part of the canyon. Research- mals are likely to cross. stream of the Reserve. ers began using the facility in September. According to the resort's owner, Al The new building consists of a 400- A more comprehensive method requires that a bull be immobilized with drugs, then Bentley,the combination of accumulated square-foot shipping cargo container modi- sediment near its docks and last year's low rolled onto the platform by eight to ten fled into an air-conditioned "vandal-proof" strong people. During the course of such an precipitation were causing boats to hit bot- research facility. The dorm section contains examination, the seal is also measured for tom. Though the U .5. Forest Service previ- bunk spacefor four and a bathroom with length, girth, and blubber thickness, and a ously denied permission to do so, on March composting toilet. The kitchen/lab area is 28 the resort dammed the lake's outlet. equipped with a refrigerator and micro- blood sample is drawn. The breeding seasonat Afio Nuevo runs The downstream flow in Convict Creek wave oven, a long bench, and cabinets. dropped from 16 to 3 cubic feet per second Funding for the Agave Hill facility came from early December through mid-March, during which time the sealsfast. Le Boeuf before the Department of Fish and Game from various donors and from campus and hopes to discover their metabolic cost of discovered the dam and ordered its removal NRS funds. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd contributed on April 1. As a result, an estimated 75 toward interior furnishings and the breeding by analyzing how much energy they burn up during the course of a season. adult brown trout and an entire age-classof planned construction of a deck to protect some 10,000emergent hatchlings died in the dirt pad supporting the building. SNARL's 3,600-foot portion of the creek alone. Each of the adults that died had been weighed, measured, and marked for identi- Coast Cracks Down on TBT fication in a study of the effect of set stream On September 11,Governor Deukmejian conditions on native trout growth. The lost signed a bill regulating the use of tributyltin researchtime and reliability is impossible to (TBT), a highly toxic paint additive used to Davis to Host Riparian Meeting quantify, as is the impact on the stream's protect boat hulls from fouling organisms uc Davis University Extension has issued a insect and algal communities. (seeTransect 5(1):3). The bill takes effect call for papers for the SecondCalifornia Ri- Bentley was cited with violating the January 1,1988. parian SystemsConference scheduled for terms of his special Forest Service use per- Introduced by Assembly Member Daniel September 22 through 24,1988 on the Davis mit and for obstructing the natural flow of a Rouser, Bill # 637 allows only "slow-leach- campus. Abstracts for spoken and poster stream protected by the Dept. of Fish and ing" paints to be sold or used-that is, those sessionsare due March 15. Game. In addition to the money to be paid that releaseno more than 5 micrograms of Like its 1981predecessor, this conference to SNARL, Bentley was fined $1,000. TBT per square centimeter per day. It also will provide a technical update for profes- Meanwhile, SNARL installed a stream bans completely the use of TBT-containing sional resource managers and will seek to monitoring network consisting of in-stream coatings on craft less than 25 meters long, as broaden public appreciation of riparian instrumentation funded by the Southern well as on fish capture nets, culture pens, or habitats by strengthening communication California Edison Company that records other items intended to be submerged in between people interested in their preserva- discharge in three experimental stream water. Aluminum vessel hulls are excluded tion. It will consist of invited lectures and channelsand water temperature in two. In becausethey are corroded by copper, the panels, poster sessions,discussions be- addition, a weather station was funded by less toxic alternative to TBT. Violations of tween resource management professionals the Dept.of Fish and Game and the sys- the prohibitions would be a misdemeanor. and policy makers, and public lectures and temwide NRS office. This equipment rec- In order to protect the entire Pacific displays. NRS Associate Director Dr. C. Ronald Carroll will be part of a panel dis- Reserve Managers Gather for are now underway for a similar exchange next summer. For details, contact Larry cussing relationships between aquatic and Workshop in Eastern CA terrestrial elements of riparian systems. Ford, Dept. of Forestry and ResourceMan- In addition to UC Extension, co-sponsors The Sierra Nevada Aquatic ResearchLabo- agement, 145Mulford Hall, University of include the UC Davis Institute of Ecology ratory (SNARL) and the White Mountain California, Berkeley, CA 94720. and the Water ResourcesCenter, which is ResearchStation (WMRS) hosted the fourth part of the Division of Agriculture and annual NRS ReserveManagement Work- Natural Resources. Registration for the shop October 8 through 11. More than 40 three-day conferenceand its proceedings is people attended this year's meeting. Awards $70. Reduced rates for the public compo- The workshop convened at SNARL, nent alone may be available. For more in- where participants discussed such topics as Muth Gets Conservation Prize formation, contact Dr. Dana Abell, Riparian geographic information systems, strategic ConferenceCoordinator, University Exten- planning, and NRS funding. This portion of Dr. Allan Muth, Director of the Philip L. sion, University of California, Davis, CA the meeting also included tours of SNARL's Boyd Deep Canyon Desert ResearchCenter, 95616,(916) 752-3098. laboratory and experimental stream chan- received a 1987Outstanding ServiceAward nel facilities, as well as nearby Valentine from The Nature Conservancy for his work Camp. The latter half of the meeting was in creating a permanent home for the Enjoy }epson Prairie held in the White Mountains, with tours of Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard, an en- This Spring WMRS' Owens Valley, Crooked Creek, and dangered species. Muth, who has studied Docent-led public tours of the JepsonPrai- Barcroft Laboratories. the demography of the lizard since 1984, rie Reservewill be held Saturday and sun- was involved in the multi-agency effort to day mornings from February 28 through Welsh Seminar Draws form the Coachella Valley PreserveSystem. May 1. Each tour starts at 11a.m. and lasts For more information on this project, see 60 to 90 minutes. California Conservationists Transect4(2):4. Volunteer docents begin training January In July, the Nature Conservancy Council for 20 on the Davis campus, which managesthe Wales hosted 10 Californians for a two- NRS Publications Win Honors site. Training requires six Wednesday eve- week exchange seminar in oak woodland nings and one or two field trips to the Re- conservation and nature reserve manage- Two NRS publications received awards serve, located 20 miles south of campus. ment. The 10 participants represented the this year. Natural ReserveSystem: The First Late March and early April are the best NRS (3), the UC Berkeley Department of TwentyYears won an award of achievement time of year to observe the diverse flora and Forestry and ResourceManagement (3), the from the Society for Technical Publications. fauna of this SacramentoValley vernal pool California Native Plant Society (2), and the It also received a silver medal from the reserve. JepsonPrairie, recently classified Department of Parks and Recreation (1). Council for Advancement and Support of by the National Park Serviceas a Desig- Despite many differences in culture and Education (CASE) in the photocommunica- nated National Natural Landmark, pro- land-use patterns, California and Wales tions via print category for the images by vides habitat for several listed species,in- share problems concerning hardwoods Galen Rowell. This 4-color, 24-pagebooklet cluding the Delta green ground beetle, the management. Of particular interest was a describes the purpose and history of the tiger salamander, and Solano grass. Welsh government program providing NRS, and highlights various teaching, re- For information and tour reservations, funding to sheep farmers to preserve and search,and public service projects based on call Pat Hale at (916)752-6580. manage their rough grazing areas,includ- reserves. In addition, the Transectreceived a ing woodlands, in native vegetation. bronze medal from CASE in the internal The U .5. portion of the program took periodicals division. Both publications are place last March, when four Welshmen available at no charge from the systemwide Past Events toured California's oak woodlands. Plans NRS office (seeback page).

OBFS Holds Annual Meeting at Bodega Marine Lab/Reserve The 1987annual meeting of the Organiza- tion of Biological Field Stations (OBFS)was held September 16 through 20 at the Bodega Marine Laboratory and Reserve. More than 60 scientists and station directors from throughout North and Central America attended, bringing the facility widespread recognition. OBFSis the primary professional organi- zation for North America's field station di- rectors and private individuals interested in field stations. The 1988meeting will be held in Maine, hosted by the National Audubon Society. For more information about OBFS, contact Dr. Richard Coles, Washington uni- versity, Tyson ResearchCenter, P.O.Box Lookin& northeast across Olcott Lake, a large vernal pool at the Jepson Prairie Reserve. Public tours 258,Eureka, MO 63025,(314) 938-5346. of this sIte will be available this spring. Get Your New Brochures Here Hot off the press are brochures for two more reserves: Bodega Marine Reserveand val- Island Research Fund entine Camp. Designed for prospective Would you like to do researchon Santa reserve users, these publications describe Cruz Island? The Nature Conservancy and the natural resourcesof the sites and con- SantaBarbara Museum of Natural History tain information on access,facilities, and are providing grants of up to $20,000for re- use. Also available are brochures for Afto searchprojects that address questions re- Nuevo Island Reserve,Hastings Natural lated to terrestrial and freshwater flora and History Reservation, Pygmy Forest Re- fauna, geology, and ecology of the Island. serve, Ryan Oak Glen Reserve,San Joaquin A total of $135,000is available through Freshwater Marsh Reserve,Philip L. Boyd the fund, and applications will be reviewed Deep Canyon Desert ResearchCenter, and as they are received. For more information, Santa Cruz Island Reserve. Contact the sys- including a list of high-priority research temwide NRS office for free copies. topics, contact the Santa Cruz Island Project Director, The Nature Conservancy, 213 SteamsWharf, SantaBarbara, CA 93101, (805)962-9111.

tran .sect (tran'sekt), n. 1. Field Science.A line along which physical and biological Publications data are collected. 2. Tech.Slang. A cross- sectional slice of the environment under Sex and the Social Bird study. Guide to Oak Literature PopulationEcology of theCooperatively Breed- Seeingthe need for a comprehensive list of ing Acorn Woodpeckerwill be available from In a broad sense,the Natural ReserveSys- the extensive but scattered literature on the Princeton University Pressin January tem is also a transect. It encompassesa California oaks, the Pacific Southwest For- 1988. Written by Drs. Walter Koenig and cross-sectionof California's natural diver- est and Range Experiment Station (PSW) Ronald Mumme, this 450 plus-page book sity in a system of natural areasand field recently published California Oaks: A Bibli- details the complex society of the only bird stations specifically reserved for teaching ography.This 37-pagepublication contains speciesnative to California that breeds co- and research. Recognizing this, we have more than 750citations compiled by Dr. operatively (seeTransect 1(1):1). chosen to call our award-winning newslet- JamesGriffin, ResearchEcologist at the The monograph is based on almost 15 ter the Transect.For back issuesor a free Hastings Natural History Reservation, Dr. years of researchconducted at the Hastings subscription-two issues per year- write Philip McDonald of the PSWStation, and Natural History Reservation, much of or phone the systemwide NRS office: (415) PamelaC. Muick, a graduate student at UC which was part of the authors' UC Berkeley 644-4211;ATSS8-532-4211. Berkeley. doctoral dissertations. Koenig, a resident In addition to the standard bibliography, researchzoologist at Hastings, received his .100"!" Recycled paper the book includes a topical outline that dis- Ph.D. in 1978. Mumme completed his de- Edited by Sarah Steinberg Gustafson plays referencesby key words and an index gree in 1984and is now doing postdoctoral Designed by Pam Fabry listing all Quercusspecies and named hy- work at Cornell University. In accordancewith applicable Federal laws and University policy , The book will be available in hardcover the University ofCalifornia does notdiscriminale in any of its brids. policies, procedures, or practices on the basis of race, color, na- Known as General Technical Report PSW- ($55.00)and paperback ($16.95).To obtain a tional origin, citizenship, sex,marital status, sexualorientation, 96, this handy publication is available at no copy, contact the Order Department, Prince- age veteran status, or handicap. Inquiries regarding the Univer- sity's equal opportunity policies may be directed to the Personnel charge from the PSW Station, P.O.Box 245, ton University Press,3175 Princeton Pike, Studies and Affinnative Action Manager, 2120University Ave- Berkeley,CA 94701. Lawrenceville, NJ 08648,(609) 896-1344. nue,Berkeley, CA 94720,(415)644-4270.

04-UJ14 Natural Reserve System 2120University Ave., 4th floor University of California Berkeley,California 94720 (415)644-4211