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University of California Press
Open Access

On the Front Lines of Climate and Biodiversity Science

Lessons from UC Davis Field Research Stations

by Gary Bucciarelli (Editor), Edward J. Larson (Editor)
Price: $95.00 / £80.00
Publication Date: Dec 2026
Edition: 1st Edition
Title Details:
Rights: World
Pages: 205
ISBN: 9780520425507
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Illustrations: 22 b/w illustrations, 6 tables

About the Book

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 insight. Taken collectively, these studies reveal new perspectives on the role of field-based science in understanding California biodiversity and advancing global conservation and habitat protection. The book’s findings encourage readers to push forward despite pressing challenges and to remain thoughtfully engaged with nature.

About the Author

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, specializing in evolutionary biology, and is author of sixteen books, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America’s Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion

Table of Contents

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