Projects

The return of Pacific salmon from the ocean allows for the transfer of marine-derived nutrients (MDN) from marine to terrestrial ecosystems. These nutrients enter the riparian ecosystem through direct consumption of carcasses or nutrient assimilation after carcass decomposition.

Fungal communities have rarely been examined in riparian systems, especially fungi associated with salmon. I examined fungal communities near salmon-bearing streams along a natural nitrogen gradient and in response to an in-situ salmon carcass manipulation, and identified fungal communities associated with salmon.

Forests are threatened by a multitude of stressors, including anthropogenic disturbances and climate change. Assessing how forests will respond to these stressors requires a comprehensive understanding of net primary productivity (Npp), environmental constraints on growth, and adaptive capacity.

Echolocation recording device at a tree site Conversion of natural habitats to vineyard monoculture is rapidly increasing both globally and on the California central coast. Although agricultural expansion typically decreases species diversity and abundance, landscape heterogeneity can maintain biodiversity, ecosystem function, and provide pest control services within agricultural systems.

Grouping is ubiquitous across animal taxa and environments. Safety in numbers is perhaps the most cited reason for grouping, yet this fundamental tenet of ecological theory has rarely been tested in wild populations.