News

Those of you driving into Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve over the last couple of weeks undoubtedly noticed all the brush-cutting activity that took place on our Sand Hill Road border and along the main road leading to the Sun Field Station. This was part of our ongoing program to reduce fire risk while still maintaining the ecological integrity for which... more

This year our Annual Report (available to view or download ) has a sneak preview of something special: the cover features a portion of the newly commissioned Jasper Ridge Tree of Life, which places representatives of our thousands of species on their respective branches in a beautifully rendered evolutionary tree—one of Jasper Ridge’s oaks, of course. Inside, you’ll find a... more

Early detection, annual monitoring, and strenuous efforts by many volunteers have helped Jasper Ridge control a particularly challenging invasive plant called stinkwort (Dittrichia graveolens) . more

Elizabeth Hadly has been honored with a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professorship to explore new approaches to science education. The award recognizes excellence in research and education, and comes with $1,000,000 to innovate in STEM education. Her goal is to reshape how undergraduates learn at Stanford, through pushing them to think broadly and across disciplines and to learn from each... more

Elizabeth Hadly, professor of biology and faculty director of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, chairs the Faculty Senate, which is celebrating its 50th year at Stanford as it tackles such issues as student well-being, diversity, sustainability, free speech and long-range planning. Read full article at Stanford News more

Faculty Director Liz Hadly and Executive Director Tony Barnosky met with California's Governor Jerry Brown, First Lady Anne Gust Brown, Norway’s Climate and Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen, and heads of the National Academy of Sciences from ten countries in a historic meeting designed to promote dialogue between scientists and policy makers. The day-long event, which included Academy presidents or Academy... more

At an evening celebration in San Francisco on October 10, JRBP Staff Scientist Nona Chiariello was honored by induction into the California Academy of Sciences (CAS). She was one of 15 leading scientists elected as a Fellow this year. CAS Fellows are nominated by their peers and elected by the CAS Board of Trustees, in recognition of being “distinguished scientists... more

California’s oak savannas are iconic landscapes defined by venerable, majestic oaks that govern a wide array of interacting biotic and abiotic processes and ecosystem services. Many of these foundational oaks are declining, such as the magnificent Valley Oak at JRBP pictured above, before and after it dropped more than half of its aboveground biomass in April 2017. The striking absence... more

Stanford professor Tad Fukami has been honored with a 2017 Dimensions of Biodiversity award from the National Science Foundation to support his lab’s research on nectar microbial communities, related to three dimensions of biodiversity: functional, genetic and phylogenetic. The NSF award continues a decade of study that has involved hundreds of biology students at Jasper Ridge. Congratulations, Tad! The research... more

It has long been thought that as organisms dispersed, the difference between local communities decreased. Not so, according to work at Jasper Ridge in a recent publication by former Stanford postdoctoral researcher Rachel Vannette, now an assistant professor at UC Davis, and Stanford professor Tad Fukami. Their work used the nectar in the bright orange flowers of sticky monkey flower,... more