On the Front Lines of Climate and Biodiversity Science

Relaying the results of cutting-edge biological research on ecosystem responses to global change, On the Front Lines of Climate and Biodiversity Science offers a crucial, multi-angled view of the value and power of long-term studies at field stations. Focusing on research conducted across California, from its coasts to the summits of the Sierra Nevada, this volume uses a cross-disciplinary approach to show how research from ecologically distinct systems can be evaluated together to produce meaningful insights. These studies reveal new perspectives on the role of field-based science in understanding California's biodiversity and advancing global conservation and habitat protection. The findings encourage readers to push forward despite pressing challenges and to remain thoughtfully engaged with nature.

Gary Bucciarelli earned his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from UCLA. He leads innovative research programs with the University of California and the California Sentinel Sites for Nature project. 

Edward Larson holds a PhD in the History of Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, specializing in genetics and evolutionary biology, and is author of sixteen books, including Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory.

Contents

Introduction

Gary M. Bucciarelli and Edward J. Larson

Chapter 1: Using Animal Movement Ecology to Understand Biodiversity in a Changing World

Karen E. Mabry

Chapter 2: “The Little Things That Run the World”: Ants and Other Insects at Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve, California

Philip S. Ward                     

Chapter 3: McLaughlin Reserve as a Model System for Evolutionary Ecology

Susan Harrison, Eric LoPresti, Sharon Strauss, and Katherine Toll

Chapter 4: Long-Term Ecological Research on the Endangered California Tiger Salamander, Ambystoma californiense, at the Jepson Prairie Preserve

Christopher Searcy and H. Bradley Shaffer

Chapter 5: Seasonality, Phenology, and Fire Recovery in the Lassen Volcanic Park UC Davis Field Station

Julianne Pekny and Eric Post

Chapter 6: Gazing Seaward from Bodega Marine Reserve: Oceanography at the Land-Sea Interface

John L. Largier

Epilogue

Gary M. Bucciarelli

References

Contributors Bios

Index