Spring 2022 UCNRS California Ecology and Conservation Field Course

This spring quarter was my last quarter as an undergraduate student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. I had already completed all of my graduation requirements before this quarter, but there was still one major course that I was lined up to take. Early on in my undergraduate experience, I heard about a field course for biology and environmental science majors that was based out of the University of California's Natural Reserve System (UCNRS). I read about how this course brings together around 30 undergraduate students from across the University of California system to spend 7 weeks in the field learning how conduct field research in the fields of ecology and conservation. I instantly knew this was for me. I applied for the spring of 2022 run of the course in Fall of 2021 and was lucky enough to be accepted.

While the purpose of the field course was to learn about conducting scientific research, I was mostly excited about that fact that we were going to be visiting 5 unique ecosystems in California, all with a great diversity of animal species. I wanted to use this as an opportunity to familiarize myself with the natural history of several regions in California that I had not spent much time in previously, and that is exactly what I did.

At the start of the field course in late March, we all met at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, just East of San Jose. Although we never conducted any research projects at this reserve, it was my favorite by far. Not only did I love the rolling hills of oak savannahs, but the wildlife viewing there was unparalleled by similar habitats I had been in. California Quail and brush rabbits and were literally everywhere and it was often easy to get close to them. An enormous colony of California ground squirrels surrounded the main barn and many individuals allowed me to get within a few feet of them before running to their burrows. There were also several blonde (leucistic?) individuals, with light patterns. California Thrashers, Acorn Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers were also commonly seen around the barn. But by far the best part of Blue Oak Ranch Reserve was the field herping. Not only were rare species like the California red-legged frog and Western pond turtle present at the reserve, but there were so many common amphibians and snakes that could be observed by flipping cover, walking roads at night, and by checking the edges of ponds. There were also rattlesnakes everywhere and they were extremely tame, allowing close up, yet safe views. In total, I observed 16 different reptile and amphibian species on the reserve in just 6 days of being there, making Blue Oak Ranch Reserve the single best herping location diversity wise that I have ever been to.

Next up was Kenneth Norris Rancho Marino Reserve along the central coast in Cambria. The main highlight of this reserve was the rich tidepooling offered by the rocky intertidal zone. In our time at Rancho Marino, we observed octopuses, ochre sea stars, black abalone, nudibranchs, sea urchins, mussels, barnacles, bat stars, pickleback, crabs, brittlestars, and cling fish. There was also a large sea lion rookery along the coast there, and that was the topic of my first group's research project. We investigated if the rising tide causing increased levels of aggression in the sea lions at the rockery, but we found this not to be the case, although further studies would need to be conducted to verify this. The best moment of this project was when a Steller's sea lion showed up and started bullying the California sea lions on the rockery. In addition to the coast, Rancho Marino also had vast expanses of coastal bluffs. Deer were everywhere here, as were Turkey Vultures and Brewer's Blackbirds. We also observed three gophersnakes crawling around in the grasslands on just our second day at the reserve, which blew my mind. Finally, there was also a large pond in the middle of a monterey pine forest on the reserve. Walking through the woods produced glimpses of unusual forest birds like Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Pygmy Nuthatches, and Steller's Jays. But the best part was the pond, where a Sora was hanging out. I spent several days with the other birders in our group trying to get a picture of this elusive and skittish bird and only got a barely IDable photo, but it was worth it for the adventure.

The next reserve we visited was James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve near the Northern tip of the penninsular ranges. Overall, this was my least favorite reserve, as wildlife in general was fairly hard to observe here. Part of me thinks that something funky was occurring in the ecosystem while we were there, as we never saw any deer, never heard any insects at night, and only heard a single owl during our entire stay, even though were knew for a fact that there were several owls living in the area. To me, the place seemed dead in a way. However, we did manage to see a few things of note while at James Reserve, the coolest of which was a coast mountain kingsnake, which was ironically found by someone other than me. We also saw several unusual birds, including the White-headed Woodpecker and Black-throated Gray Warbler. The Mountain Chickadees and Steller’s Jays were also really abundant here, and they become the study subjects of my next group research project. Specifically, we investigated whether or not bird foraging patterns varied between densely covered and open sections of forest and if this variation differed between bird species. We found that neither species was affected by such variation in forest structure.

After conducting our research at James Reserve, we then travelled to the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center in the Colorado Desert for our course’s writing retreat. Other than writing a scientific paper on our previous project, my time at this reserve was entirely spent exploring the desert and getting to know its wildlife. There were washes on both sides of the research center that provided glimpses of black-tailed jackrabbits, coyotes, and Black-throated Sparrows. Behind the research center was a rocky hillside where several chuckwallas watched over the nearby washes. The research center itself had a several palm trees, desert bushes, and a pond that attracted a wide variety of birds. A resident Greater Roadrunner, a pair of American Kestrels, and several White-winged Doves were easily observed from the center. We also visited the research center during the peak of the spring bird migration season, and migrant songbirds such as Yellow Warblers, Wilson’s Warblers, Warbling Vireos, Western Tanagers, and Black-headed Grosbeaks could be seen every day in the trees and bushes around the research center. In addition to exploring the research center, we also got a chance to explore several public locations in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which allowed me to observe even more birds and several lizard species that I had never seen before.

But our time at the Steele/Burnand Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center ended all too soon when we travelled to the last new reserve of the trip: the Sweeney Granite Mountains Desert Research Center in the Mojave Desert. This was it: the last reserve where we would be conducting field research. What would I choose to study? What would the challenges be? As it turned out, the Granite Mountains tested my ability to problem solve and think outside of the box. After much trial and error, my group ended up studying how woodrats affect the health of buckhorn cholla, as common plant species in the area that woodrats build their middens (nests) under. We found that middens were more commonly seen under larger chollas and that larger chollas were on average more stressed, but these results were found independently of each other and we did not find an effect of woodrat presence on cholla health. In addition to the woodrats, a lot of other unique desert species occupied the area surrounding the research center. Western whiptails were everywhere and we even got to observe a pair mating. The area also had a lot of night lizards that could be found under the fallen yucca branches. I also observed a few jackrabbits that allowed me to get really close to them. But by far the best part of the reserve was the birds, as not only was migration season still well underway, but there were a bunch of other unusual desert birds found in the Granite Mountains, such as the Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay, Phainopepla, and Scott’s Oriole. Additionally, we also traveled to the Kelso Dunes and Amboy Crater during our free days to explore other sections of the Mojave Desert. The Kelso Dunes in particular was an exciting place to explore, as you could clearly see the tracks of anything and everything that traveled on the surface of the dunes.

Finally, we returned back to Blue Oak Ranch Reserve to write our papers on our final project and present our results. In the gaps of the hard work, I made sure to get out and take advantage of what could potentially be my last visit to Blue Oak Ranch Reserve, and it was so worth it. As I had predicted at the beginning of the field course, Blue Oak Ranch Reserve had changed in subtle, yet significant ways since the beginning of Spring. Other than most open areas being much drier than before, there were also differences in which plants were flowering, which residential birds were more commonly seen, and the greenery in the trees. I also observed several migrant species of birds in the area that were not there earlier in the spring. It was genuinely enlightening to see how much a habitat could change in just a matter of weeks.

Taking the UCNRS California Ecology and Conservation field course was without a doubt the single best part of my undergraduate college experience. Not only did I actively practice scientific skills and get to know 5 unique California ecosystems, but I also met a lot of passionate, like-minded students from across the University of California system and had so much fun along the way. I now have a much more wholistic view of the state, its ecosystems, and how to learn more about it all on my very own.

Posted on May 24, 2022 04:04 PM by tothemax