JRBP('O'O) September 2024 Newsletter
September 2024
____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENTS
____________________________________
Discover our new Natural History Notes section below!
October 3, 2024 Last date of 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 the last dates of spraying, October 3rd, 7am to 5pm. For more information please visit: https://www.smcmvcd.org/calendar
October 15, 2024: Tuesday Evening Lectures return this fall quarter!
Join us on Tuesday October 15, 2024, 4-6 PM 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!
2024-2025 Jasper Ridge Public Tours are re-starting!
Thank you docents for such a successful suite of educational tours. We resume public tours on October 1, and already have a schedule of family visit requests, class groups, Stanford programs needing docent-led tours to kick off the fall. Please volunteer as you can!
Fall 2024: Trails update!
Brooke is reporting and inviting us to explore Trail 2. Given the limited time that this trail is open throughout the year because of weather and wildlife concerns, now is the time to walk it. "Enjoy while you can" emphasized Brooke!
Fall 2024-Spring 2025: Ongoing renovations at Sun Field Station
Construction crew continues working on insulation, building systems and hardware mounting for the siding.
____________________________________
RESEARCH
____________________________________
Motus tower station at Jasper Ridge!
After Jorge invited the Science Institute of CDFW for a hike in 2023, a new research initiative to monitor wildlife at JRBP took flight! This past summer Trevor Hebert, Academic Technology Specialist, and Dr. Jorge Ramos, Exec. Dir., with faculty support from Faculty Director Tad Fukami, added a new long-distance and long-term avian monitoring and research Motus tower station. This station will elevate our avian research at the preserve and around the world and complement many of our ongoing research and educational activities, such as the SOAR network. Click the links to see data from the Jasper Ridge Motus tower.
New research blog: Student interns at Jasper Ridge interns help unlock the secrets of migratory birds
New blog on Stanford Report on how the Motus tower is also supporting educational experiences, by students and summer interns, Marty Freeland and Noah Macias.
Publications
Zhou, G., Eisenhauer, N., Terrer, C. et al. Resistance of ecosystem services to global change weakened by increasing number of environmental stressors. Nat. Geosci. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01518-x
Congratulations to Stanford student interns that worked and used Jasper Ridge data this summer and presented in the 2024 Stanford Biology Summer Research poster symposium last August: Marty Freedman (Dirzo lab), Alex Mondragon (Dirzo lab), Noah Macias (Dirzo lab), Madeline Hodge (Daru lab), Izzy Riley (Mordecai lab), Devyn Sasai (Fukami lab), Aspen Signh (Mordecai lab), Nicholas Rodriguez (Jasper Ridge) and John Lowndes (Jasper Ridge)!
____________________________________
EDUCATION
____________________________________
2024 SOAR All-Wings Symposium
On Friday Sept 13, Jasper Ridge hosted the SOAR Year 2 Annual Symposium that includes many educational and research institutions in the Bay Area. our network partners and students. We heard about the activities and successes from the past year to expand student opportunities for field experiences and avian biology. Lunchtime lightning talks highlighted the experiential avian biology curriculum our partners are innovating, student research and outreach projects, and launch of the new Motus tower at Jasper Ridge and birds tagged this summer. All of our collaborative partners have now supported multiple interns, and heard their testimonials on how the support has allowed their creativity on projects and professional development. SOAR is funded by an NSF RCN-UBE five-year grant and includes financial support for interns.
Additional links of interest:
Safe Field Practices and Culture of Respect at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma)
Docents Alumni Network: Ecology and Natural History of Jasper Ridge Alumni Directory
____________________________________
STEWARDSHIP
____________________________________
2024 Jasper Ridge Stewardship Internship
Stewardship Interns, Nick Rodriguez and John Lowndes, finished the summer program by presenting at the campus undergraduate research symposium. Nick presented that plots in the fuel reduction treatment areas tended to have higher abundance of individuals compared to the control, but evenness and richness was similar in both. John shared the results of a re-survey of black oaks in Stand H which include a decrease in abundance but an increase in DBH since 2012 and suggested future management strategies. If you are a current Stanford student and interested in applying, please visit the website and contact Sheena Sidhu to be added to our announcement mailing list cssidhu@stanford.edu
Fuel reduction management continues at Jasper Ridge
Jasper Ridge staff continue to work with SLAC staff to mitigate wildfire risk under and around the SLAC lines that traverse through the preserve. Management under the lines occurs annually with planning being guided by aerial LiDAR of tree canopies and consulting arborists doing ground surveys. Ultimately, Jasper Ridge and SLAC staff decide what the best course of action is to mitigate risk by either trimming or removing trees to minimize long-term environmental and cultural disturbances, as well as impacts to researchers and visitors of Jasper Ridge. SLAC contractors began tree work in August and will continue through October.
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. To get involved in invasive management future actions and plans, contact Sheena Sidhu.
____________________________________
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES
____________________________________
Adriana Hernandez and Tad Fukami wrote two new accompanying blogs inspired by an exciting encounter in the fuel reduction treatment areas!
Please read the botanical perspective note: "Intentional burning awakens a fire follower: a botanical account" by Adriana Hernandez; and the note in the context of two-eyed seeing and the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe: "Intentional burning awakens a fire follower: Indigenous connections" by Tad Fukami.
The western bewildering bushmallow, Malacothamnus arcuatus var. arcuatus, form rings around the edges of piles. Picture by Adriana Hernandez
____________________________________
GRACIAS! THANK YOU!
____________________________________
Thanks to docents that helped lead tours in August of 2024: Tom Schnaubelt, Marty Freeland, Claire Elliot and Catherine Magill!
Thank to docents that assisted in research projects in August of 2024: Perry McCarty, Kiara Fufunan, Adelaide Nye, Claire Elliott, Meredith McClintock, Kit Gordon
____________________________________
PICTURE OF THE MONTH
____________________________________
Julian Tattoni, the founder of the Jasper Ridge bird-banding station, gives a Swainson’s Thrush its Motus backpack. Photos by Trevor Hebert and Marty Freeland. See new article in the Stanford Report
