Conservation Science

Interstate-90 is a priceless east-west conduit in Washington state. But for wildlife, it is a dike blocking the flow of migrating animals on both sides. Watch the video

Several studies have implicated lead poisoning in deaths of the endangered California condor. A study published this year found lead poisoning was the primary cause of death in juvenile and adult condors from 1992 to 2009. A 2010 study analyzed three to four months of lead levels using condor feathers and found much higher and more frequent exposures than blood draws suggested, said Myra Finkelstein, an environmental toxicologist at UC Santa Cruz, who conducted the study. Still other work tied the chemical composition of lead found in poisoned birds with that of ammunition.

Dr. Jeff Dlott is the father of one of the students (Chloe Dlott) where I am teaching this year. We connected early in the year when he realized we are both Switzer Fellows and have been in communication. Jeff did his Ph.D. in entomology, but now runs a sustainable agriculture company. I asked Jeff if he was willing to come and run two lab sessions with junior biology students.

This issue brief reports on the mechanics of and lessons learned from a conservation incentive program focused on the gopher tortoise. Its aim is to inform the successful design and implementation of other candidate programs emerging throughout the southern forests and greater United States. The Switzer Foundation is funding a pilot demonstration project to test the feasibility of the project concept. Read a summary and download the report

The study, "Connecting Natural Landscapes Using a Landscape Permeability Model to Prioritize Conservation Activities in the United States," appears in the journal Conservation Letters. Authors include David Theobald of CSU, Kenyon Fields and Michael Soulé from Wildlands Network and Sarah Reed from the Wildlife Conservation Society. Read the full story

From the blog's About Me page: My name is Tara Cornelisse and I’m a Ph.D. candidate at University of California Santa Cruz. I have a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology from San Francisco State University. I am also an insect enthusiast (I love them!) but with a wider passion to advance the conservation of biodiversity- all of the plants and animals on this beautiful Earth of ours.

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The overall objective of this field study is to quantify cougar ecology in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Specific goals are to:

“People once had the pleasure of spotting flying squirrels gliding through the forests and visiting their porches at night in the San Jacinto Mountains, but not anymore,” said Shaye Wolf, climate science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s a tremendous loss. The flying squirrel needs the immediate protections of the Endangered Species Act to ensure that it doesn’t suffer any more declines.”