scheduled advising is always wel-

come whenever we are in. For

more information about Sherri’s

office hours and ways to reach

her, refer to the EEB website:

www-eve.ucdavis.edu/

undergrad. My office hours are

posted outside Sherri’s office as

well as outside my office, 2202

Storer Hall (just down the hall).

Now that all of that’s taken care

of, prepare yourself! There’s

some interesting stuff for every-

one; including: the 411 on the

Bodega Marine Program, inter-

views with TWO graduate stu-

dent, Sarah Myhre and Chris

Searcy. There is information on

the available faculty advisors for

this academic year. I’ve also

included some great photos!

Enjoy!

Master

Advisor:

James Doyle

Undergrad

Advisor:

Sherri Mann

Peer Advisor and

EEB Newsletter Editor:

Nicole Carbone

Hello EEB undergrads and wel-

come back from break! This is

our first Newsletter for the

2009-2010 Academic year, so

there is lots of information to

pack into these pages. Just a few

important things I would like to

mention before we get into the

cool stuff...

My name is Nicole Carbone. I’ll

be your EEB Peer Advisor for the

rest of the academic year. Daniel

Hooper was also our EEB Peer

Advisor for Fall Quarter 2009. I

would like to send out warm

wishes to Daniel Hooper, and

congratulations on graduating!

You will be missed!!!

In addition, I would like to wel-

come our new Master Advisor,

James Doyle. Find out more

about him and me in our Staff

Update section on page 3.

Basic information for people who

may not know... The Evolution

and Ecology office is located in

2320 Storer Hall, right across

from the elevators. Many re-

sources are located there includ-

ing our wonderful Academic

Advisor, Sherri Mann. Drop-in or

By: Ann Tan (SEEDS President)

I would like to remind all the EEB

majors and anyone interested in

SEEDS to come to our biweekly

meetings on Wednesdays,

6:30pm in 2342 Storer Hall. The

second meeting for the quarter is

Wednesday, January 27. There

we’ll discuss the current research

project the group is working on

and plans for our upcoming field

trips. Upcoming trips include

Point Reyes and the Bodega

Marine Laboratory.

In addition to discussing club

details, professors and graduate

students often make appearances

at the meetings to discuss their

research areas and how you can

get involved. This is a great op-

portunity to find out information

about how to get your own re-

search started as well as what

types of research is available to

you. Professionals with degrees

in the ecology and environmental

sciences give presentations as

well, to expand member's knowl-

edge on life outside academia.

So stop by or email me, Ann Tan,

at ajtan@ucdavis.edu for more

information

about the club

and our research

topic. Hope to

see you there!

Congrats Daniel Hooper

(former EEB Peer Advisor) on

your graduation! You will be

missed!

I N S IDE

TH I S

I S SUE :

Welcome Back

EEB !

1

Faculty Advisors:

Get Yours NOW!

2

Advising Staff

Update

3

Bodega Marine

Laboratory

Special

4

Interview with

Graduate Student

Sarah Myhre

5

Where Can You

Find Nearby

Nature?

7

Chris Searcy and

Tiger Salamanders

8

Come Join SEEDS: Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability

EEB Newsletter

Winter 2010

E E B N E W S L E T T E R — W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

Welcome Back EEB Majors!

P A G E 2

Q: What did one

lab rat say to the

other?

A: "I've got my

scientist so well

trained that

every time I push

the buzzer, he

brings me a

snack.”

Photo from Bodega Marine Lab

intertidal zone

It’s a Darwin Celebration!

Faculty Advisors: How You Can Get Yours? If you haven't already

stopped by the Evolution

and Ecology department

to be assigned a faculty

advisor, then you should

do so soon. Faculty advi-

sors provide valuable in-

formation about research,

graduate school, and ex-

perience possibilities.

Sherri Mann can assign

you to a faculty advisor or

students can request fac-

ulty if they are available

for advising.

Possible 2009-2010 faculty

advisors and their research

include:

Graham Coop—Various

aspects of evolutionary and

population genetics.

Jonathan Eisen—The ge-

nomic basis for the origin of

novelty in microorganisms.

The origin and evolution of

symbiosis. Phylogenomics and

genome bioinformatics. Micro-

bial community genomics (aka

metagenomics). Extremophiles.

DNA repair.

Brian Gaylord—Ecological

biomechanics and biological

physical coupling in coastal

marine systems, focusing on

how the scaling of physical

processes places bounds on

organismal design and ecologi-

cal pattern.

Gail Patricelli—Animal com-

munication and sexual selec-

tion; the causes and functional

implication of directional

sound radia-

tion in song-

birds; sexual

selection and

acoustic com-

munication in

sagegrouse

and other

Galliformes;

the possible effects of noise from

energy development on acoustic

communication and breeding

behavior of sage-grouse.

Marcel Rejmánek—Plant

competition, biological invasions,

plant community dynamics, mod-

eling and tropical ecology.

Thomas Schoener—Ecology;

island ecology; lizard population

biology; spider ecology; preda-

tion; resource partitioning; food

webs; spacing behavior; mathe-

matical models of population

interactions; feeding strategies.

Peter Wainwright—Evolution

and ecology of functional mor-

phology, especially feeding

mechanisms of fishes and other

vertebrates; locomotion; pheno-

typic plasticity; complexity; di-

versity.

something about natural selection

and evolution. Born in 1809,

Darwin was interested in nature

where his passion took him to

Cambridge University. His well-

known five year voyage on the

HMS Beagle led him to develop his

theories for natural selection. He

published his theories and evidence

for evolution in The Origin of Spe-

cies in 1859. Darwin died in 1882.

For those of you who do not

know, Darwin’s 200th birthday just

rolled around last year and many

are still celebrating. He is one of

the most influential scientific figures

in history. The United Kingdom

issued a commemorative two

pound coin last year (shown to the

left); that’s pretty cool.

Today almost every person— who

is old enough to know— knows

E E B N E W S L E T T E R

In photo above:

EVE Professor Grosberg takes a

moment to snap a picture with

our newest addition to Storer

Hall, a beautiful piece of Darwin

artwork.

Photo by: Brenda Cameron

Attention Students: Advising Staff Update!

P A G E 3 E E B N E W S L E T T E R — W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

The Evolution and Ecology Depart-

ment will miss former Master Advi-

sor Cathy Toft and welcomes back

Dr. James Doyle to the position. Dr.

Doyle received his PhD from Har-

vard University in 1971.

His research interests include phy-

logenetic analyses on origin, early

evolution, and systematics of angio-

sperm, integrating molecular, mor-

phological, and fossil data, Creta-

ceous paleobotany and palynology.

Dr. Doyle teaches EVE 140—

Paleobotany (Winter Qtr), EVE/PLB

108—Systematics and Evolution of

Angiosperms (Spring Qtr), and at

times, BIS 2C—Introduction to Biol-

ogy (Fall Qtr).

It seems sort of odd for me to be

introducing myself, but I suppose

you might want to know a little

about your new 2009-2010 peer

advisor. My name is Nicole and I’m

in my fourth year of college (four

out of five). I transferred from Los

Medanos Community College (in

Pittsburg, Ca) Fall 2008 into the

Evolution, Ecology, and Biodiversity

Major at Davis.

I have since then taken many inter-

esting EVE courses, as well as other

classes in different areas. I am mi-

noring in Education and will be

applying to the UCD teaching cre-

dential program when I graduate.

After that I will be looking at differ-

ent graduate schools with interests

in herpetology (study of reptiles

and amphibians, if you don't already

know that) and/or marine biology.

My main interest for these subjects

came from courses I took here:

• EVE 134/L/F (Herpetology)

with Professor Shaffer,

AMAZING course! If you’re

planning on taking it, try to get

into the lab and the field por-

tion as well, they provide a

great learning experience.

• Bodega Marine Labo-

ratory Summer Ses-

sion 1 courses. This

was a great experi-

ence and opportunity

to gain research ex-

perience as well as

meet new people,

some may become

great friends. Because you stay

in dorms for the 6 weeks you

are taking courses, this really

gives you a good chance to be

completely devoted to learning

the material in this fast paced

session.

Of course if anyone ever has any

questions or wants to talk about

courses, my office is 2202 Storer.

Office hours are posted outside that

office as well as outside Sherri Mann’s

office in 2320 Storer.

and advice. All pre-health students

are encouraged to stop by HSA,

South Hall, Room 111, or call

530-752-4475 to sign up for a

group advising session in their field

of interest (e.g. Pre-Med 1A), or to

make an appointment to see an

advisor who will assist them with

their concerns. Go to HSA’s web-

site for brief descriptions of all of

the major services provided by

If you are a pre-health student, it is

highly recommended you visit

Health Sciences Advising (HSA)

here on campus. HSA offers infor-

mation on preparation for an ad-

missions to health professions pro-

grams, including assistance with all

aspects of the application process.

In addition, the office presents in-

formative workshops and has many

handouts that provide useful tips

Health Sciences Advising, as well

as the multiple health professions

for which they offer guidance. In

addition to all that information

there are also handouts and vid-

eos! Check it out!

advisingservices.ucdavis.edu/

advising/hsa/

-Sherri Mann

Dr. James Doyle can be found

in his office in 5349 Storer Hall.

Pre-Health Students - HSA Has Some Advising For YOU!

Q: What did

the male

stamen say to

the female

pistil?

A: I like your

"style".

P A G E 4

Above: A sea star eating a

mussel.

Below: Giant Green

Anemones in a tide pool

(underwater photo). What courses can I take?

What about the research opportunities?

Bodega Marine Laboratory Special... For those of you possi-

bly interested in Ma-

rine Biology, UC Davis

has an amazing marine

laboratory in Bodega

Bay, located on a spec-

tacular section of the

coast, about 2 hours

from campus. Students

can apply for Spring or

Summer courses at

BML (Bodega Marine

Laboratory).

One of the most fascinating aspects of

the program is gaining experience on

your independent research project.

Students design and test their own

research hypotheses under

supervision of BML faculty.

BML offers small interactive

classes and hands-on learning

(laboratory and field work).

You get to know your instruc-

tors (and vice versa), and you

have access to a natural re-

serve, state parks, and the

Bodega Harbor. Students live

in housing located at the ma-

rine lab. The possibilities for

what you get out of this ex-

perience are endless.

If you are interested in taking

classes during the Spring ses-

sion the deadline is fast ap-

proaching, January 31st. There

are also 6-week courses offered

during Summer Sessions.

For more information about

applications, or just the pro-

gram in general, visit their web-

site at bml.ucdavis.edu. Student

Services Manager Lisa Valentine

is available to help answer ques-

tions via email

(lavalentine@ucdavis.edu) or

you can call her at (707) 875-

2002. Also feel free to stop by

my office, 2202 Storer for infor-

mation.

something in one of the labs or

field trips will interest you and

spark a question you feel the

need to further explore. From

there, your Professors and

TAs assist you in the process

of formulating hypotheses and

designing experiments. There

are also copies of past projects

in the BML library and a great

librarian available for help find-

ing research on a topic. For

Your research project can

focus on many topics rang-

ing from studies of the

ecology of tide pool or-

ganisms to the effects of

pollution on fish embryos.

If you aren't sure what you

want to do your research

on don't worry, your Pro-

fessors and TAs are there

to help you decide on a

topic. Odds are that

the most part, your research

project can address any topic

that interests you (within rea-

son).

Don’t worry about not having

done research before, most

people in the program have no

prior research experience. The

program is great for introduc-

ing students to the excitement

of doing your own research!

Summer Courses:

Experimental Inverte-

brate Biology, Me-

chanical Design of

Organisms, Marine

Environmental Issues,

Environmental Stress

and Development in

Marine Organisms,

Coastal Oceanogra-

phy, Biological Ocean-

ography, and Costal

Marine Research.

Spring Courses:

Physiological Adap-

tations of Marine

Organisms, Popula-

tion Biology and

Ecology, Under-

graduate Collo-

quium in Marine

Sciences, and Ad-

vanced Laboratory

Research in either

Physiological Adap-

tations of Marine Organisms

or Population Biology and

Ecology. Hands on experience is

just one of the perks

BML has to offer.

E E B N E W S L E T T E R

I’m on

a boat!

Photo by: Vi Nguyen

Interview with Grad Student Sarah Myhre

P A G E 5 E E B N E W S L E T T E R — W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

Nicole: Tell us a little bit about

you and your background...

Sarah: I grew up in Washington

State skiing and whitewater rafting.

I now live in Sebastopol, CA and

work at Bodega Marine Lab. I

have a cat and a dog, and I’m look-

ing forward to having a real job

one day.

N: Where did you do your

undergraduate work and what

did you major in?

S: I was an undergraduate at West-

ern Washington University in Bel-

lingham and majored in biology,

with a emphasis in marine science.

N: I see you are working on your

Doctorate, did you first get a

Master’s (why or why not)?

S: No, I don’t have my master’s. I

choose to work for two years after

completing my bachelor’s de-

gree. I always knew that I wanted

to get a PhD, and I figured that if I

avoided getting a master’s then it

would save me some time and ef-

fort. While this strategy won’t

work for everyone, it did work for

me, probably because I got a job in

science between my bachelor and

my graduate work. During that

interim period, I worked as a “coral

reef benthic specialist” for

NOAA’s Coral Reef Ecosystem

Division in Honolulu, HI.

N: What work are you doing for

your Doctorate?

S: Good question. That is one of

those questions that you may or

may not want to ask graduate stu-

dents, depending on where they are

in the process of finishing their

degree.

What I’m working on right now is

the first 2 chapters of my

dissertation (out of

5). These chapters will be

focused on the Oxygen

Minimum Zone (OMZ) in

the California Margin. This

is an oceanographic zone in

intermediate water depths

that is depleted of oxygen

and creates a natural biologi-

cal barrier for marine species

(because critters in the ocean

need oxygen too). What

paleoceanographers know

about the CA margin OMZ

is that it is responsive to

climate change: It expands

in the water column during

warm, carbon dioxide-rich

time periods and contracts

during cold time peri-

ods. So, I’m interested in

understanding how greatly

the OMZ responds to rapid

climate warming and how

the geologic record can in-

form us about changes the in

modern OMZ. All of this

work ties back to the central

question: how will the modern

ocean respond to human-generated

climate change.

N: What was/is your inspiration

in the Ecology field?

S: The natural world! It’s awesome!

I love it SO MUCH! Check it out!

It's FABULOUS.

N: How and when did you decide

that is what you wanted to re-

search-- was there some moment

when you were an undergraduate

that you decided you wanted to do

this?

S: Ummm. No. I can’t trace it back

to some Ah Ha! moment. I did a lot

of “figuring-it-out” as an under-

graduate, which is one of the rea-

sons why it took me six years.

I don't think anyone will

come across the desire to

do research in the same

way. For me it was a lot

of amazing experience in

wilderness that drove me

to love natural sys-

tems. Once that happened,

even at an early age (like 7

or 8), what I really wanted

was to just understand the

world around me. How

does the world work and

how do I fit into this

strange equation? AND -

as I grew up and realized I needed

a job - how do I make a living

learning about the natural world?

That is where research came in.

“The natural

world! Its

awesome! I

love it SO

MUCH!

Check it out!

Its

FABULOUS!”

P A G E 6

Zephyr

EEB Lizard Advisor

(unofficially of course)

Zoology Around Campus...

N: Do you find that your re-

search has provided you a

chance to go places and "see

the world"?

S: Definitely. I have had the

pleasure of working in some of

the most remote and beautiful

locations in the world. Prior to

the earth science/

paleoceanography work that I do

now, I worked as a coral reef

ecologist. As a reef ecologist I

worked in Bermuda, Costa Rica,

the Northwestern Hawaiian Is-

lands, American Samoa and the

Pacific Remote Island Area. I

went on research cruises, lived in

tropical subsistence villages,

drank rum and went out dancing

in the wildest places you might

imagine. It was a great way to

grow up. As a young scientist it

has been adventure after adven-

ture, sometimes with incredible

results and sometime with very

scary results. There is nothing

like taking your own life, career

and future into your own hands

to really force you to see what is

important and what you want.

N: What sort of advice could

you give to an undergraduate

who is looking into going to

graduate school?

Get up and do something that you

are interested in. And it doesn’t

have to be perfect; it just has to be

something. Everything in science is

incremental, and you must work on

the step that you are at. Someone

told me once that a scientific career

is autocatalytic, which means that

once you put a few experiences

under your belt (i.e. an REU ex-

perience, volunteering in a lab, a

summer field course) you will be-

gin to generate momentum in your

career.

I’ve met a lot of undergraduates

that have a very entitled attitude,

and I think that I was just like that

at the same stage in my career.

Unfortunately the real world will

smack you upside the head very

fast with that kind of thinking and

your dreams of romantic and tropi-

cal research will vanish very

quickly. What the scientific sys-

tem rewards is mature, shrewd and

progressive thinking. If you want

to be a scientist, you need to work

harder and better than your compe-

tition. You need to see professors

as potential allies and mentors, not

as obstacles on your path. You

need to recognize the people

around you that have worked their

entire careers to be scientists and to

be your teachers. It is very hum-

bling, very difficult and extremely

rewarding. If you can bring

excitement, maturity, capability

and direction to your career,

then you have all the tools you

need to succeed as a scientist.

(Also – figure out what a CV is

and work on yours, develop a

working relationship with a

professor in order to start accru-

ing recommendations, take a

summer course abroad, volun-

teer or work in a lab, apply for

lots of fellowships, undergradu-

ate research grants and REU

programs, and don’t give up

when you get rejected(!) – it’s

part of the process.)

Wow! Than you so much

Sarah for taking the time to

answer all these questions.

rabbits/hares like the Brush

Rabbit or the Black Tailed

Jackrabbit hopping around

campus (and the city), in fields,

and hiding in bushes. There are

so many different birds to be

found, such as: Raptors

(Hawks, Falcons, Owls, and

Vultures), Scrub Jays, Black-

birds, Herons, Egrets, House

Finches, Canada Geese, and

Ducks (Mallard and Wood

You don't have to be an animal

science or EEB major to notice

the variety of animals around

campus. Here are a few you

might have noticed. There are

(possibly) three different types

of squirrels on campus: the

Eastern Fox Squirrel and the

Western Grey Squirrel (less

common in Davis) are tree

squirrels, and the California

Ground Squirrel. There are

Ducks). Reptiles like Gopher

Snakes and two types of tur-

tles (one native and one inva-

sive) can be found in the Arbo-

retum. And many other types

of animals I may have missed.

Occasionally one might also

see a certain Peer Advisor

with her Bearded Dragon lay-

ing on a sunny patch of lawn.

Don’t be shy, he loves people!

E E B N E W S L E T T E R

It’s always nice to take a break from school and work

and get out into nature. But where can you go around

here where you can hike or just explore the world and

the creatures living in it? Stebbins Cold Canyon Trails

are a good place to start. Enjoy a 4 mile long trail or

take alternate partial trails.

Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve is approximately 6 miles

west of Winters. For more information on trails go to:

www.berryessatrails.org/guide/trailguide/

The trails offer many types of fauna ranging from rep-

tiles and amphibians, to mammals, and birds. One can

also find various types of flora (plants) along the hiking

trail. Possibly one of the most rewarding parts of the

trail is the top; the spectacular view of Lake Berryessa

is breathtaking.

Below are some pictures from a hike up into Stebbins

Cold Canyon. I hope everyone gets a chance to visit up

there while they are in Davis!

Where Can You Find Nearby Nature?

This trail leads from Stebbins Cold Canyon up to a

beautiful view of Lake Berryessa!

E E B N E W S L E T T E R — W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 P A G E 7

P A G E 8

E E B N E W S L E T T E R

DID YOU

KNOW?!

Research at Jepson Prairie Reserve

manders. I always liked being

outside and doing field research. I

think I liked my grandfather's

work on salamanders more than

my father's work on birds be-

cause I could actually catch the

salamanders. My grandfather

would also come up with little

projects for the two of us to

work on together, like scoring the

phenotypes of a bunch of sala-

manders along an elevational gra-

dient in order to see the hybrid

zone between the low-elevation

and high-elevation specialists.

My major interests center around

conservation and community

ecology. I've always been very

concerned about the environ-

ment, so I wanted to do a thesis

looking at the relationship be-

tween the diversity of ecosystems

and the stability of their food

webs. If more diverse systems

can be shown to be more stable,

then it will be a strong argument

to conserve all of the diversity,

not just species that are impor-

tant to humans. I also feel that a

lot more work needs to be done

on community ecology, because

we clearly do not understand how

ecosystems function yet. There are

so many indirect effects in food

webs, that we can't predict very

well what will happen to the rest of

the system if we change the density

of one of the species. I feel like our

goal should be understanding eco-

systems well enough that we could

create a sustainable ecosystem of

our own. Part of reaching this goal

is understanding dynamic proc-

esses, such as the food web interac-

tions that would lead to a stability-

diversity relationship. Another part

is understanding what species can

coexist. I have been working on

another project using phylogenetic

comparative methods to try to

figure out what evolutionary proc-

esses allow a large number of

closely related species to coexist

during adaptive radiations. Of

course, all of these are theoretical

issues, and while conducting re-

search on California tiger salaman-

ders, I have become very interested

in their particular conservation

issues. I've therefore been re-

searching a lot of basic natural his-

tory of California tiger salamanders

so that better conservation deci-

sions can be made for this species.

Michael: Where/When did

you graduate, and what was

your major (as an under-

graduate)?

Chris: I graduated from Harvard

in 2005 with a degree in biology.

Michael: Why did you choose

to study herpetology, and

what are your major interests

right now?

Chris: I originally got interested

in herpetology because my grand-

father was a herpetologist. I

would help him collect salaman-

ders for his research projects,

looking at inter and intraspecific

competition in plethodontid sala-

By: Michael Garland

At first glance, Jepson Prairie Reserve looks like the rest of the livestock pastures that span the countryside near

Dixon in Solano County. But here, a tunnel dwelling predator lurks beneath the ground. It has been known to

attempt to eat humans. People building on its territory are struck with fear when they rouse it from its abode,

and researchers such as Chris Searcy have worked for years trying to uncover its secrets.

It's Ambystoma californiense, the California tiger salamander, and they will snap at anything that moves— if they're

hungry enough (they usually are).

Jepson Prairie is a part of UC Davis' Natural Reserve System, and Chris Searcy studies the ecology of the endan-

gered tiger salamanders that call it their home. Chris is a graduate student in the Schoener and Shaffer Labs in the

UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology. The California tiger salamander is an important species in terms

of its ecology as well as its conservation status. At Jepson, California tiger salamanders migrate throughout the

prairie and breed in local vernal pools. Larvae that metamorphose into terrestrial adults leave the ponds in

search of underground shelter. Chris gives some background about his research at Jepson and why California

tiger salamanders are a critical part of the prairie's ecological community.

Above: Photo of Jepson Prairie

Reserve by Vide Ohlin

Below: Chomper, Michael

Garland’s precious baby

Bearded Dragon!

“Equipped with his

five senses, man

explores the

universe around

him and calls the

adventure Science.”

~Edwin Powell

Hubble, The Nature

of Science, 1954

Interview with Graduate Student Chris Searcy

P A G E 9 E E B N E W S L E T T E R — W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

Michael: What projects are underway

at Jepson, and what is the purpose of

this research? How long has research

been taking place? How long have you

been working at Jepson?

Chris: Well, pretty much all of the projects

I work on have some component at Jepson,

except for the adaptive radiation

study. First, there is the project with the

drift fences. This is being used to monitor

the upland habitat use of California tiger

salamanders. A lot of previous research on

pond-breeding amphibians has focused on

the aquatic habitat, because that is where

the amphibians are most easily found. If you

seine a pond at the right time of year, then

you will always collect tadpoles and lar-

vae. Finding the amphibians in the terrestrial

environment is much more difficult, because

many of them are fossorial and spend the

majority of their time in burrows where you

can't get at them. Yet, more and more re-

search is showing that pond-breeding am-

phibians need a large area of terrestrial habi-

tat outside of the pond, because they dis-

perse a long distance from the pond when

they are not breeding. Our work at Jepson

indicates that California tiger salamanders

make particularly long migrations, longer

than any other species in their family. We

estimate that California tiger salamanders

regularly make migrations on the order of

2.1 - 2.3 km from the pond edge. Since the

drift fences are spread out across the land-

scape and we can track individual salaman-

ders through the use of a pattern recogni-

tion program, we can figure out survival

rates, dispersal distances, what portions of

the habitat the salamanders prefer, changes

in population size between years, what

weather conditions the salamanders prefer,

etc.

Other projects at Jepson include my study of

the relationship between diversity and stabil-

ity. For that project, I have constructed

paired plots in a number of different vernal

pools. One plot is a salamander enclosure

and one is a salamander exclosure. By com-

paring the densities of invertebrate species

between these two plots, I can determine

what impact the removal of salamanders has on

the community. Then by comparing this effect

across a number of different ponds, I can deter-

mine whether the effect changes based upon the

original diversity of the pool.

We've also used Jepson for a project on ecologi-

cal niche modeling. Ecological niche modeling is

used to predict where else you might find a

species based upon where you have found it in

the past. We are trying to determine what

locality information leads to the best mod-

els. Jepson was also part of a vernal pool survey

I conducted with Kirsten Sellheim, another

graduate student in Population Biology. Our

survey was trying to determine how the animal

communities living in vernal pools varies across

the state, and what factors are correlated with

more diverse ponds.

Research on California tiger salamanders at

Jepson Prairie started in 2002, when Brad's for-

mer postdoc Peter Trenham installed the first of

the drift fences. I've been working there since

2005.

Michael: Why is Ambystoma californiense

ecologically important?

Chris: California tiger salamanders are ecologi-

cally important for two reasons. First, they are

top predators in the vernal pools. Since vernal

pools are temporary, they can't support fish, and

thus amphibians are the top predators, since

they can find refuge in the terrestrial environ-

ment during the period that the ponds are

dry. California tiger salamanders are larger than

the other salamanders that they coexist with, so

they are the very top predator. Of course,

other species come and eat the salamanders,

such as birds and snakes, but they aren't actually

residing in the

ponds. Second, Califor-

nia tiger salamanders,

while endangered, are

very abundant where

they occur. This is true

of many salamander

species. We estimate

that there are around

40,000 California tiger

salamanders, just at

Jepson Prairie. This

abundance makes them an important part

of the ecosystem.

Michael: What is the current conser-

vation status of A. californiense, and

where else can they be found besides

Jepson (generally speaking)?

Chris: The California tiger salamander is

divided into three distinct population

segments, each of which is listed sepa-

rately on the Endangered Species

List. The two smaller population seg-

ments in Santa Barbara and Sonoma

Counties are listed as endangered, while

the third and largest population segment

is listed as threatened. The main popula-

tion segment occurs from the northern

edge of Yolo County, south to the south-

ern end of the Central Valley. It is mainly

found around the edges of the valley,

since the center of the valley has been

taken over for agriculture. It also occurs

in the Coast Range from the Bay Area

south to the Carrizo Plain.

Michael: What is the biggest threat

to A. californiense?

Chris: The biggest threat to California

tiger salamanders is human develop-

ment. Vernal pool habitat is very attrac-

tive for development because it is flat, and

thus easy to convert to agricultural fields

or housing developments. That is why

California tiger salamanders have already

lost over 50% of their historic range on

the floor of the Central Valley. The Cen-

tral Valley is a very important agricultural

region and also the site of the most rapid

urbanization in the US.

Photo by: Vide Ohlin

P A G E 1 0 E E B N E W S L E T T E R — W I N T E R

Michael: How is research at

Jepson going to benefit A. cali-

forniense, and/or other species,

in the long run?

Chris: Hopefully by understanding

what parts of the habitat California

tiger salamanders utilize most of-

ten, we can prioritize conservation

to focus on those areas. Also, by

understanding the demographics of

the species we can determine

which life stage is most important

to species survival so that conser-

vation can focus on that age

class. We are also trying to figure

out how California tiger salaman-

ders are connected to the rest of

the vernal pool community through

the food web so that the appropri-

ate prey species can be conserved

as well.

Research on California tiger sala-

manders is important for many

other species because they are

federally protected and require

large areas of habitat. Because of

their long breeding migrations,

California tiger salamanders protect

not only the vernal pools that they

breed in, but also any land within

1.3 miles of a breeding

pond. Because breeding ponds are

usually less than 1.3 miles apart, this

can be used to protect entire ver-

nal pool landscapes. At least 90

other species with some form of

federal or state conservation status

occur within 1.3 miles of California

tiger salamander breeding

ponds. Thus, by conserving Califor-

nia tiger salamanders, we are con-

serving all of these other species as

well.

Michael: Are there any future

plans for A. californiense con-

servation (could be your work,

or other research)?

Chris: The current conservation

guideline used by the Fish and

Wildlife Service is that for every

one acre of California tiger sala-

mander habitat that is destroyed,

three acres need to be protected

somewhere else. Basically, what

this means is that the federal gov-

ernment grants certain people per-

mission to kill California tiger sala-

manders in exchange for those

same people paying to conserve

other California tiger salamander

habitat. In the end, this should lead

to 1/4 of the current California

tiger salamander habitat being de-

stroyed in order to pay for the

conservation of the other 3/4. Our

current research is trying to ensure

that the 3/4 that we end up with

are as high or higher quality than

the 1/4 that is being de-

stroyed. We want to ensure that

the habitat that remains in the end

is able to support a large number of

sustainable populations with ade-

quate genetic variation, resistance

to invasion from Eastern tiger sala-

manders, buffering against climate

change, etc.

Michael: When will you obtain

your Ph.D, and what are your

plans after getting it?

Chris: I will obtain my PhD in

2011. Dr. Shaffer and I submitted a

grant to the Bureau of Reclamation

in November that would fund an-

other three years of research at

Jepson. If we get the grant, then I

will stay with Dr. Shaffer as a post-

doc for another two years after I

graduate.

More information about Jepson

Prairie Reserve can be found at

http://nrs.ucdavis.edu/jepson.html

Left: Larval California tiger salamander

(photo by: Adam Clause)

Middle: Drift fence on the Jepson Reserve

(photo by: Adam Clause)

Right: Measuring the mass of a California

tiger salamander (photo by: Vide Ohlin)