JRBP ('O'O) November 2024 Newsletter
November 2024
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Congratulations to docents Dawn, Julien and all Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma) Docents!
After 50 years of excellent service, docents and volunteers were granted the Stanford Alumni Associates Award of Merit in honor of outstanding contributions to digitizing, researching, and other efforts that helped to promote the goals of the preserve! The Stanford Alumni Association Awards of Merit are given each year to outstanding alumni volunteers for exceptional service in the last 18 months. The docents of Jasper Ridge are a dedicated, knowledgeable, innovative, and enthusiastic community celebrating 50 years of commitment to research, education, and stewardship of the preserve. Many of our docents are Stanford alumni who consistently provide support of our mission. As two leaders who completed significant accomplishments in the last 18 months, Dawn Neisser and Julien Wright-Ueda will accept the award at the awards ceremony on behalf of the docent community of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. Their work led to the publication of long-term avian research (Wright-Ueda et al. 2023) and digitization of our 5,000+ plant collections which are now accessible to everyone online (see Stanford Report article here). To read the full award post, please visit the following link: "Docent Community of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve recognized with the Stanford Alumni Associates Award of Merit"
Save the Dates!
Tuesday November 19, 2024, 4 PM: Evening Lectures with Lauren Esposito, Ph.D.
Join us on Tuesday November 19, 2024, 4-6 PM to meet and be in conversation with Lauren Esposito, Ph.D., Curator and Schlinger Chair of Arachnology at California Academy of Sciences. Lauren will share their presentation titled: "Amazing Arachnids". Bring a friend with you! For more information, visit our educational event page.
Thursday November 21, 2024, 4 PM: Book Launch: Before They Vanish Saving Nature's Populations — and Ourselves; authors: Paul R. Ehrlich, Gerardo Ceballos, and Rodolfo Dirzo. Professors Rodolfo Dirzo, Paul Ehrlich, Barnabas Daru and Tad Fukami will discuss the new book and discuss their call to action to save biodiversity. Bring a friend with you! For more information, visit our educational event page.
Wednesday Dec 11, 4 PM. Jasper Ridge Holiday Celebration!
What to bring? Beverages, favorite hors d'oeuvres, cookies, pan dulce, yourself. Remember to bring a new book or toy for the Native American Cultural Center annual Toy Drive for local Native youth! (unwrapped gift for children 0- 18 years old).
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NATURAL HISTORY NOTE
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Natural History Note: Camera trapping reveals the impact of fuel reduction on woodrat nesting behavior
Docent Bill Gomez and Adriana Hernandez wrote a blog summarizing recent findings from a camera-trap field project to study the impacts of fuel reduction on woodrats in the fuel reduction and vegetarian management areas at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. Click here to read the blog.
Woodrats have small ears in proportion to their body size (see image left). A female woodrat and a juvenile woodrat (image right). Images taken by a camera trap; credit Bill Gomez.
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RESEARCH
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New Research
Autumn Parrott, a co-term student working with Professors David Relman and KC Huang, will investigate the effects of seasonal rainfall on leaf microbial communities in valley oaks, Quercus lobata.
Dr. Amaury Payelleville, postdoctoral researcher in Prof. and Faculty Dir. Tad Fukami’s lab, is resampling acorns to validate ongoing results on how nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms regulate insects in the oak woodland soil.
New Publications
Congratulations to Stanford alumni Callie and Vrinda for publishing their dissertation and thesis!
Chappell CR, Goddard PC, Golden LA, Hernandez J, Ortiz Chavez D, Hossine M, Herrera Paredes S, VanValkenburg E, Nell LA, Fukami T, Dhami MK. Transcriptional Responses to Priority Effects in Nectar Yeast. Mol Ecol. 2024 Oct 25:e17553. doi: 10.1111/mec.17553. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17553
Suresh, VM, Hébert, T, Verster, KI, & Hadly, EA (2024). Temporal Study of Environmental DNA and Acoustic Data Reveals Coexistence of Sympatric Bat Species in a North American Ecosystem. Environmental DNA, 6(6), e70035. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/edn3.70035
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EDUCATION
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Muwekma Ohlone youth campout at 'Ootchamin 'Ooyakma
Last July, multiple families from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, came to Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma) for an experience that included many research, educational and Indigenous activities . Read the following blogs that summarize the origin of the event and its significance to the Tribe, Jasper RIdge and to the Stanford community.
JRBP Participation in Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) 2024
Katie Glover represented, participated and presented during the 2024 OBFS annual meeting held on November 11-15 in the Baruch Institutes of Hobcaw Barony. The theme of this year’s meeting was “Rising Tides and Winds of Change: A New Generation for Field Stations”. Katie presented the progress the SOAR Network has been accomplishing since these past two years with a poster titled: “Building the San Francisco Bay Research Coordination Network for Student Opportunities in Avian Research (SOAR) to enhance STEM Education”. Stop by her office to see the poster in-person!
JRBP Participation in SACNAS 2024
Adriana Hernandez connected with other research institutions and scientists at the annual National Diversity in STEM Conference for the Society of Chicanos/Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). A central theme this year was “honoring the past while embracing the future, weaving together tradition, modernity, and science”. Adriana engaged with early career scientists at the “Natural History Careers” and discussed the importance of safeguarding natural history collections, such as the Oakmead Herbarium, for biodiversity research with other scientific networks. Adriana’s participation presented to many SACNAS students her career path as an option that is often not presented to them. Jasper Ridge’s annual participation in SACNAS is part of our pledge and our mission to understand Earth’s ecosystems, advance science and be a safe and welcoming place for everyone.
Docent-Led Tours and Class Visits
The fall season and mid-term is an ideal time to visit Jasper Ridge. Thanks to our docents who have helped cover our schedule of tours during this busy season, including class visits from San Jose State University, West Valley College, and Stanford’s Earth Systems. We hosted a series of wellness hikes at Jasper Ridge on Sunday, Nov 3 as part of Stanford’s Contemplation by Design Summit, the first re-start of this tradition since 2017. We are grateful to the 10 docents who supported these tours and the transformative experiences they offered to visitors.
Additional links of interest:
Safe Field Practices and Culture of Respect at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma)
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STEWARDSHIP
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JRBP Participation in the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network
Jorge Ramos, Sheena Sidhu and Tad Fukami attended the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network convening in October. Jasper Ridge is one of the 25 organizations of the SCMSN that share a goal to cultivate a resilient, vibrant region where human and natural systems thrive for generations to come. This specific meeting focused on expanding prescribed and cultural burn opportunities in the region. Additionally, Sheena shared an update of the JRBP and Stanford research project to study the effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments in oak woodland forests. As the research institution of the network, Jasper Ridge is part of the team spearheading this effort in the SWCMSN with the goal for the entire network to adopt standard monitoring practices to guide stewardship practices.
JRBP Participating and learning from the Klamath River dam removal project.
Sheena Sidhu, attended a Klamath River dam research meeting and workshop to participate and learn how Tribal members, scientists, stewardship practitioners, worked together during a dam removal and modification project. Sheena brought back with her lessons learned from the workshop and from the field trips regarding fish habitat, restoration practices, data management, that will help us guide the implementation of SWRP. Stop by her office and ask her to show you the pictures of the salmon swimming upstream the Klamath!
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GRACIAS! THANK YOU!
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Thank you, docents, for leading educational tours in October: Jackie Magno, Kathleen Bennett, Matt Benjamin, Bob Siegel, Jeff Shwegman, Scott Loarie, Teal Derrer, Alan Cuevas, Laney Cogner, Aiyana Washington, Kom Beil, Maya Xu, Diane Renshaw, Bob Siegel.
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PICTURES OF THE MONTH
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Collection of pictures of the Jasper Ridge docent classes from 1975, 2024, and Julien and Dawn among many of the birders and members of the Oakmead Herbarium! For more information about each picture, please read the full post in our news "Docent Community of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve recognized with the Stanford Associates Award of Merit"
