Conservation Science

Spotting an animal's fresh footprints in the wild can conjure a world for the hiker: Why did the deer tracks disappear? Where did the cougar turn off the trail? What does it mean when two sets of footprints seem to coincide? This beautifully illustrated field guide, the first devoted to the tracks and signs of California animals--including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates like spiders and beetles--blends meticulous science with field experience to provide an engaging companion for both armchair exploration and easy field identification.

Tavis writes: I recently landed a 3-year post-doc position with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute as the project coordinator for eMammal, a large-scale NSF- funded citizen science project using volunteers and remote cameras. eMammal is a further development of SI Wild, an existing project that has pooled camera-trapping images from all over the world and will soon be expanded to allow volunteers on our project to upload data, and then expanded again to allow visitors to analyze and visualize data.

Coral reefs are one of the most threatened ecosystems world wide. This project collects critical data for the Kenya Wildlife Service to promote effective coral reef conservation and management of marine protected areas.

Using small electronic tags, Marin scientists have been able to track the surprisingly long migration of golden-crowned sparrows to Alaska and back to Point Reyes. Biologists from PRBO Conservation Science based at the Palomarin Field Station near Bolinas attached the small tags to 33 sparrows wintering in and near Point Reyes National Seashore in 2010 before they headed north on spring migration.

Current ecological thought suggests the more diverse a plant community is, the more productive it is. But scientists don’t fully understand why this is so. “We’re exploring the possibility that plant-soil feedbacks may also be a critical but underappreciated factor in plant community development,” says Andrew Kulmatiski, assistant research professor in Utah State University’s Ecology Center and Department of Plants, Soils and Climate. Read the full story

Laura Meyerson of the University of Rhode Island works at the Institute of Botany in Pruhonice on exploring genetic qualities of a very common plant phragmatis australis.This global research project can help to develop better understanding of the invasive species. Watch the video

The United States and Puerto Rico account for 80% of the total value of Peruvian timber sales, said Andrea Johnson, forest campaign director of the Environmental Investigation Agency. Read the full story

Contract signed! I am now Director of Science and Solutions at the Waitt Foundation. I could not be more thrilled about the potential this position holds for contributing to meaningful progress in ocean conservation. Read Ayana's blog post