Science Informing Management

How do discoveries impact the policies and management decisions made by the CA-CESU and other agencies? Science-informed decision-making is a core value of the CESU. Research is an important tool for informing management decisions, such as developing strategies on how ecosystems and organisms can adapt to climate change. Learn more about our science informing management projects below.

Sustaining Joshua Trees in the Mojave in Face of Climate-driven Vulnerabilities 

Years Active: 2024-2027

PI: Lynn Sweet (University of California, Riverside)

Several parks within the Mojave Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network (MOJN) contain Western and/or Eastern Joshua tree forests. These species are already experiencing impacts of climate change, including increased intensity of fires, frequency of fires, and mortality. Lowered recruitment, ie. a decrease in the development and survival of saplings over a given time frame, has also been a shift associated with climate change for these species. To better understand these threats and develop management responses, this project will assess climate vulnerability for the two Joshua tree species occurring in five MOJN western parks. The overall goals of this project are to analyze climate change-induced vulnerabilities to Joshua trees, investigate recruitment niche patterns and vulnerabilities, determine demographic trends of Joshua tree populations, and produce fine-scale future suitable habitat models that will inform management plans.

Researchers from UCR will collect field data to assess the status of Joshua tree seedling recruitment across the study area and characterize the vulnerability of this life stage by studying seedling survival and microenvironmental conditions. Additionally, simultaneous demographic surveys with project partners will be conducted. This project will help inform restoration practices using updated information about species persistence under climate change.

CALeDNA Services in Alaska’s National Parks

Years Active: 2024-2029

PI: Rachel Meyer (University of California, Santa Cruz)

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an increasingly effective tool for detecting species of interest to national parks, such as threatened, endangered, invasive, and subsistence species. CALeDNA, a program run by the University of California Conservation Genomics Consortium based at UC Santa Cruz, facilitates eDNA work. This project seeks to detect and monitor species of interest using eDNA and genomics, through the CALeDNA program. Initially, it will focus on fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate species found in Alaska’s national parks. The project aims to create species-specific and universal primers, sequence DNA for un-sequenced species, and generate species gene maps from eDNA samples. 

The project will also engage and train citizen/community scientists on how to properly collect, store, and transfer environmental samples to the CALeDNA laboratory at UCSC for processing. In addition, this project will train and employ young scientists and students in eDNA and genomics, and attune them to the needs of park managers working to protect biodiversity and restore habitat. This work will enable staff of parks and programs to use the expert services of CALeDNA without having to be experts in genomics themselves. Additionally, it will support the discovery, protection, recovery, and monitoring of native species, the identification, management, control, and eradication of invasive species, and the associated follow-up restoration activities. Looking forward, future funding may allow this work to expand, extending to other parks, regions, and species.

Assessing Avian Utilization of the Mojave National Preserve to Inform Conservation and Fire Management Plan Objectives

Years Active: 2024-2025

PI: Sam Veloz (Point Blue Conservation Science)

The Mojave National Preserve has been afflicted with three major wildland fires over the past 15 years, affecting over 206,000 acres. As a result, vegetation structure and composition have shifted dramatically, particularly for the Joshua tree and pinyon/juniper woodlands. Birds are expected to be particularly affected by these shifts. Birds comprise the greatest percentage of federally and California State listed species, species of concern, and sensitive species for the Mojave National Preserve. However, there is no fire management plan objective to protect or conserve these birds or their habitats. This is largely due to a lack of knowledge on the distribution and abundance of birds. The data exists, but it is disjointed and scattered across multiple files, sources of literature, agency records, university records, and other NGO records.

To help develop fire management plan revisions, this project seeks to compile bird information from these sources and synthesize it into a geospatial product that highlights important bird areas. This could be followed by opportunities for field observations to address gaps in information or verify existing data using point counts, breeding bird surveys, or other transect counts.

Ecology and Management of Phloeosinus in Giant Sequoia

Years Active: 2024-2029

PI:  Seth Davis (Colorado State University)

Bark beetles in the genus Phloeosinus are increasingly reported in association with the decline of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) across the range of the species. The beetle infests weakened or challenged trees and likely hastens tree decline by damaging or killing tertiary and secondary branches, ultimately disrupting gas exchange and tree water balance. These beetles are an emerging native pest that may threaten the persistence of giant sequoia on the landscape. Despite this threat, there is currently little information on the basic ecology of Phloeosinus in giant sequoia, which prevents the development of integrated pest management approaches. This project seeks to learn more about the factors related to beetle behaviors, survival, and movement. This research will consider flight timing, how and when beetles move from the forest floor to the canopy, key thresholds for beetle survival, and potential beetle attractant or repellant tools. The project will also focus on generating new methods for beetle population control and tree protection tactics.

Studying Rust Resistance and Drought Tolerance of Sugar Pines in Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks

Years Active: 2024-2025

PI:  Joan Dudney (University of California, Santa Barbara)

The invasive white pine blister rust (WPBR) has contributed to dramatic declines in white pine species throughout North America. In Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, the combined effects of WPBR, fire, drought, and mountain pine beetle have led to extremely high rates of mortality (54-80%) in sugar pines. Preliminary studies also indicate similar WPBR infection rates for sugar pines in Yosemite National Park. This project seeks to address these concerns by identifying and mapping potentially rust-resistant sugar pine trees in Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks. This will involve extending a previous rust-resistant tree survey in Yosemite National Park to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Additionally, the project will estimate variation in sugar pine growth rates and water-use efficiency, two traits that can be used to quantify variation in drought tolerance. Project findings will help inform future cone collection and planting of potentially rust-resistant sugar pines.

Genetic Testing of Separated Populations at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Years Active: 2020-2023

PI: Bradley H. Shaffer (University of California, Los Angeles)

The 101 Freeway is the most critical road barrier for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Urban development has also been extensive along the 101, and consequently, very few places still have natural habitat up to the freeway on either side. Constructing a wildlife crossing structure across 101 in the Liberty Canyon Area has been a goal for many years. 

To accomplish this, Dr. Shaffer's lab will extract DNA from Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area samples and conduct analyses of population genetic differences for separated populations. Park staff collected genetic samples for various targeted species. Dr. Shaffer's lab extracted DNA from the samples for these species to test an analysis of population genetic structure. The goal is to understand how differentiated populations of these species are both across the freeway and at various distances on the same side of the freeway. 

This project will provide critical scientific information about the impacts of freeways and development of population genetic structure for the chosen species. While information has been already gathered on effects of urbanization on larger wildlife species, this work focuses on smaller vertebrates. This work will also allow researchers to directly measure the future success of the proposed infrastructure facility.

Adapting a Fire Management Plan to the Effects of the Dixie Megafire

Years Active: 2022-2024

PI: Alan Taylor (Pennsylvania State University)

A century of fire exclusion in Lassen Volcanic National Park has diminished the interactions between fire, vegetation, and terrain that regulated historical patterns of fuels, fire severity, and fire extent. In Lassen Volcanic National Park, prescribed fire and managed wildfire are the management tools used to reduce fuels and generate fuels/vegetation mosaics that will be resilient to future wildfires. Areas where fuels have been reduced from prescribed fire and managed wildfire can reduce severity of wildfires that burn through them at least for a decade or two. There is considerable concern that climate change can alter fire-vegetation/fuel interactions and increase fire severity particularly in areas that have not burned for a century or more. This research is focused on understanding how areas that were treated (prescribed fire units, managed wildfire units) and burned by recent large wildfires influenced the severity of the Dixie Fire to support fire management planning in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Post-Fire Forest Inventory in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Years Active: 2022-2024

PI: Dr. Hugh Safford (University of California, Davis)

A century of fire suppression and high levels of tree mortality from the recent drought have put the conifer forests of Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks  at a substantially increased risk of catastrophic fire. Many important resources are threatened by such fires, including the iconic giant sequoia groves. For example, several groves burned in the recent Castle Fire, resulting in the death of a large number of monarch giant sequoias. The KNP Complex fire burned through over 75,000 acres of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in September and October of 2021 including over 18,000 acres of critical old growth Sierran Mixed-Conifer forest habitat. 

There is a need for a post-fire inventory of keystone forest tree species to assess forest recovery and identify when and where to intervene with post-fire reforestation based on vegetation trajectories and a RAD (Resist, Accept, Direct) framework. Surveys for this project will include mixed conifer inclusive of sequoia groves. The overarching goals of this project are to assess levels of natural tree regeneration and tree mortality for mixed conifer forest in high severity areas in order to determine whether active reforestation might be needed to retain forest cover.

Providing eDNA Services through CALeDNA

Years Active: 2021-2025

PI:  Rachel Meyer  (University of California, Santa Cruz)

This project will enable parks and programs staff to use expert services of CALeDNA which is a program run by University of California Conservation Genomics Consortium. This partnership will help detect and monitor species of concern to parks and their habitats using eDNA and genomics. Using eDNA and genomics, this project focuses on developing species-specific and universal primers, sequencing DNA for un-sequences species, and creating species gene maps from eDNA samples. This initial part of the project will focus on aquatic invasive species. CALeDNA is enhancing the ability of national park units and programs to detect and monitor species of management concern within and adjacent to parks. This work will help protect the natural flora and fauna of national parks including Alaska anadromous fish, Alaskan algal blooms, and Hawaiian stream faunal assemblages.