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JRBP('O'O) August 2024 Newsletter

 

August 2024

Link to 2023-2024 JRBP ('O'O) Newsletters.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Tuesday Evening Lectures return this fall quarter!

Join us on Tuesday October 15, 2024, to meet and be in conversation with Professor and Faculty Director Tad Fukami. Tad will share his presentation titled: "Flowers as islands: a 16-year story of research–education synergy at Jasper Ridge". For more information visit the event webpage. Bring a new friend with you!

 

JRBP ('O'O) In Memoriam webpage updated 

As part of our commitment to honoring and remembering our JRBP ('O'O) community members, we would like to ensure that we acknowledge and celebrate the lives of those who have passed away. To assist us in keeping the webpage updated with these important tributes, we kindly request your support. If you are aware of the passing of a community member, please inform us so that we can post a respectful tribute on our website. You can send us a notification and the link to their obituary directly via our Contact Us form (please choose Other Request from the drop down menu). Your assistance in keeping us informed is greatly appreciated and helps us honor the memory of our JRBP ('O'O) community members in a meaningful way. If you want to help us maintain our In Memoriam updated, please contact Jorge Ramos directly via email. 

 

New online EV Reservation Calendar

If you are a researcher or a docent in need of an EV, we have moved from a wall calendar to a new online calendar (only available to certified JRBP ('O'O) members) . This will help us keep track of users for safety reasons and for maintenance purposes. If you have not operated a cart previously, you must review the instructions and receive initial operating and safety guidelines from a Jasper Ridge staff member.

 

Updates to Leslie Shao-ming Sun Field Station

Exterior siding demolition is finished, and the construction crew is now working on insulation and blocking for the new hardware that the new siding will be mounted on.

 

SMCMVCD 2024 Spraying

The San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District will be doing their annual spraying to control mosquito larvae on Searsville reservoir, wetlands, and marshes here at JRBP ('O'O) on the following dates weather permitting. Please avoid walking on the trails around Searsville reservoir on these dates: September 5th and 6th - 7am to 5pm, and October 3rd - 7am to 5pm. For more information please visit: https://www.smcmvcd.org/calendar

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RESEARCH

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New Research

The UC Berkeley Seismology Lab in a long-term collaboration with Prof. Greg Beroza is consolidating and upgrading seismic instruments at Jasper Ridge, which will continue to support earthquake safety for the state.

 

Hilary Bayer, undergraduate researcher from UC Santa Barbara, is working with Prof. Tad Fukami, JRBP('O'O) Faculty Director, to measure the abundance and diversity of flying insects around Searsville and Middle Lake. They will use malaise traps and subsequent barcode sequencing and ultimately compare results with a previous study completed in 2013.

 

Summer Undergraduate Research Presentations

Join us during the Stanford Biology Summer Research poster symposium on Thursday, August 29, 2024, 10:30 am-12 pm to see the presentations by these students! The poster symposium will be held at the Sapp Center for Science Teaching & Learning Center Gallery.

 

Marty Freeland, BSURP student working with Trevor Hébert and Assoc. Dean and Prof. Rodolfo Dirzo and staff at Jasper Ridge, is analyzing trends in avian community composition throughout the preserve by comparing his 2024 surveys with those conducted by other researchers in 2021 and 1992-1993.

 

Alex Mondragon, BSURP student working with Assoc. Dean and Prof. Rodolfo Dirzo and undergraduate researcher Chrysanthe Frangos, is using camera traps to investigate how the density of coyote brush impacts small mammal behavior such as by providing shelter from predators.

 

Noah Macias, BSURP student working with Adriana Hernandez, Trevor Hébert and Assoc. Dean and Prof. Rodolfo Dirzo and staff at Jasper Ridge, is leveraging long-term avian data to explore variation in avian communities as a factor of biotic and abiotic variables, and in the context of Searsville Lake.

 

Madeline Hodge, BSURP student working with Asst. Prof. Barnabas Daru, sampled herbarium specimens from the Oakmead Herbarium to explore the effect of climate on leaf microbiomes in California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) and pink honeysuckle (Lonicera hispidula).

 

Nicholas Rodriguez, Stewardship intern working with staff scientist Sheena Sidhu and other staff at Jasper Ridge, is measuring the effect of fuel reduction treatments on arthropod abundance and diversity in the coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) understory.

 

John Lowndes, Stewardship intern working with staff scientist Sheena Sidhu and other staff at Jasper Ridge, is assessing population health of California black oaks (Quercus kelloggii) by surveying their overall appearance, habitat, and regeneration success.

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EDUCATION

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Thank you note from Katie Glover!

Last week, we wrapped up our summer educational visits. I want to thank you all for your contributions to a remarkably successful round of hosting summer programs here at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma). We had visits from cohorts for six summer science programs from Stanford and Ohlone College, 125 students and coordinators, with 18 docents who led 22 small groups. Students ranged from high school age to graduate students. I started this role in June 2023, and it has been amazing to begin seeing the programs and coordinators I have come to know make annual visits to Jasper Ridge. A big thanks to you all for what you bring to our community and students, and I look forward to seeing you “up at the Ridge” soon. - From Katie Glover, Associate Director for Environmental Education

 

New blog: SOARing Into Spring - the return of Stanford's Ornithology class by student Maya Xu

Read Maya's experience in the field of Ornithology at Stanford University, from being a student to years later being the instructor of the class! Link to blog click here.

 

Muwekma Ohlone youth campout at 'Ootchamin 'Ooyakma 

Blog coming soon! Last July, multiple families from the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, came to Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma) for a campout. Catch the upcoming blog that will summarize the origin of the event and its significance to the tribe and to the Stanford community.

 

New webpage: Safe Field Practices and Culture of Respect

As a reminder, we have a new page on our website for affiliates called Safe Field Practices and Culture of Respect at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (′Ootchamin ′Ooyakma). This has become an integral part of training new docents in BIO/ESYS 105 and it includes the latest safety and emergency information. Please review the guidelines and Title IX training requirements. We appreciate all of your efforts to keep visits to Jasper Ridge safe and enjoyable.

New BIO/ESYS 105 Cohort Projects in our Alumni Directory: Check out our Ecology and Natural History of Jasper Ridge Alumni Directory to see our latest Class of 2024 students featured! For those students who agreed to have their project shared with our community, their final slideshows are now linked. We welcome updates, changes, and past projects from our alumni at any time. Please reach out to Katie Glover kcglover@stanford.edu with projects. You can always share updates with your contact information, sharing permissions, and “where you are now” at our Alumni Update form.

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STEWARDSHIP

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Science-based stewardship starting at JRBP ('O'O)!

This summer we completed three additional management projects as continuation of the JRBP ('O'O) vegetation and risk-reduction plan.

  • Connected the 50-ft fuel break from the fence along Westridge through mastication of a poison oak patch.

  • Crushed and scattered the unburned piles. They were crushed in accordance with recommendations by CAL FIRE, similar to chipping cut material.

  • Created defensible space around the west end of the Sun Field Station which will complement the new siding being installed in the building.

 

Pulling Dittrichia!

Jasper Ridge staff has been working on pulling Dittrichia graveolens (stinkweed) from the new fuel break area along Westridge and from where it has previously been pulled. The Oakmead Herbarium protocol is to remove plants as thoroughly as possible before flowers form, limiting the next year’s stinkwort population to the number of seeds that disperse. We will continue to monitor and remove the plants before they flower. For more information visit the page Dittrichia graveolens (stinkwort) management by the Oakmead Herbarium.

 

2024 JRBP Stewardship Interns Program update

Stewardship Interns, John and Nick continue to work hard this summer on fuel reduction monitoring, invasive species management planning, and their own independent projects. Special thanks to Stu Koretz and Jerry Hearn who have helped John with finding black oaks they previously surveyed as part of John’s project focused on black oak stewardship. Interns will be presenting their work at the end of the month at a campus undergraduate research symposium. It has been great having them part of the team this summer!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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GRACIAS! THANK YOU!

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Thanks to our docents that helped lead tours in July of 2024: Stu Koretz, Cheryl Gold, Deanna Messinger, Sonoo Thadaney Israni, Trevor Hébert, Kim Beil, Mary Bernstein, Jackie Magno, Jonathan Segal, Tom Schnaubelt, Joyce Friedrichs, Dawn Neisser, Katie Glover, David Freyberg, Sue Schmitt, Derek Knowles, Emily Kim, and Sally Jackson

 

Thank you, docents, for helping researchers in July of 2024:

Jerry Hearn, Stu Koretz, Perry McCarty

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PICTURE OF THE MONTH

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Adriana Hernandez offered a botany lesson to Ohlone College Summer STEM Bridge program with a new teaching collection she developed in collaboration with Dawn Neisser and the Oakmead Herbarium.  Photo Credit: Katie Glover.