May 2025 JRBP ('O'O) Newsletter
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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June 5, 2025, 4 PM. Graduation Ceremony and Community Picnic.
Join us to celebrate and meet the new graduates and docents from the BIO/ESYS 105 Ecology and Natural History of Jasper Ridge class of 2025. Join us and pick up your new name tag! Contact Katie Glover for more information and visit this link.
Nominate a student for the 2025 Jasper Ridge Environmental Scholar Award.
This award recognizes students who have engaged in meaningful environmental education activities at Jasper Ridge or related locations. Deadline: May 29, 2025. Contact Katie Glover for more information and to learn more visit this link.
June 2-3, 2025
Conference: Environmental Justice through the Lens of Indigenous Peoples. Professor Rodolfo Dirzo is hosting this environmental justice conference that seeks to amplify the voices of Indigenous Peoples in relation to environmental justice. Many Jasper Ridge affiliates will be presenting. To learn more and attend, visit this link.
IN THE NEWS
Fire research at JRBP ('O'O) plays an important role in helping develop cutting edge technology at the interface of human health and fuels management. Research led by Dr. Jessica Yu began by testing instrumentation and data collection at the preserve to ultimately customize smoke sensors that overcame obstacles in data collection and energy usage. To read the Stanford Report article visit this link.
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RESEARCH
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Remember to visit our Research Projects page to continue learning about the research projects at Jasper Ridge. Visit this link to explore all projects.
Research project highlight of the month
Stanford student researchers, Maya Xu (docent class of ‘22) and Marty Freeland (docent class of ‘24) in the Dirzo lab, are conducting a comparative study at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve ('Ootchamin 'Ooyakma) and TomKat Ranch to examine the relative efficacy of three methods to assemble accurate information about the avian functional community at Jasper Ridge throughout the year. Click here to learn more.
New Research Projects
Chaeyoung Lee, Ph.D. candidate in the Dept. of Computer Science working with Prof. Zerina Kapetanovic in Electrical Engineering and Prof. Sara Achour in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, is developing a low-cost self-sustaining wireless camera trap system for wildlife monitoring. This project aims to solve some of the issues around energy consumption, wireless network access, and cost for camera trap research. These cameras will be deployed near existing Jasper Ridge camera traps, which will serve as a direct comparison for the new system.
Chloe Golde is a first year PhD student advised by Prof. and Faculty Director, Tad Fukami and working with Dr. Amaury Payelleville. Members of the Fukami lab have ongoing investigations on the priority effects and host-microbe interactions between nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms involved in the regulation of insects in the oak woodland soil. To further explore interactions in their system of insect pathogens, Chloe will sample, culture, and develop their own experiments with nematodes of the genus Steinernema, which has been detected in small quantities in previous soil analysis at the preserve.
Publications
Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve Postdoctoral Fellow, Merav Vonshak, and colleagues compare native and invasive ant population dynamics in human-impacted and natural habitats
Madrzyk M, Yang M, Vonshak M, Das B, Fiocca K, Gordon DM. Mutual avoidance at resources by the native winter ant and the invasive Argentine ant. Insect. Soc. (2025).
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EDUCATION
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Docents needed for Jasper Ridge Practice Tours!
Please help the current BIO/ESYS 105 docent cohort with their practice tours on Thursday, May 22, from 1:30 - 4:00 PM here at Sun Field Station! Come be a participant in a tour with two new docents-to-be. Contact Katie Glover kcglover@stanford.edu if you are available. There is always a cold refreshing surprise at the end!
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STEWARDSHIP
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Fuel reduction has begun at Jasper Ridge, which includes annual mowing along all fire roads within the preserve, and maintenance for our perimeter fuel breaks. Sheena is building and following the fuel reduction and vegetation management plan to continue monitoring and maintaining the 2024 fuel break along our preserve perimeters along Sand Hill Rd and Westridge.
Sheena continues to build the comprehensive invasive plant species management plan for the preserve. If interested, please contact Sheena Sidhu for more information.
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THANK YOU! GRACIAS!
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Your support is essential for connecting visitors with Jasper Ridge educational activities and assisting researchers with their projects!
Many thanks to the docents who led tours in April: Adelaide Nye, Bob Siegel, Carl Cheney, Catherine Magill, Cheryl Gold Shaffer, Eva Shen, Jonathan Segal, Jorge Ramos, Katie Glover, Kelly Benitez, Klaus Porzig, Mary Bernstein, Nancy Bavor, Pearl Shing Roth, Sue Schmitt, Trevor Hebert.
Many thanks to the docents who assisted in research projects in April: Mary Bernstein, Claire Elliott, Bill Gomez, Kit Gordon, Tom Malloy, Meredith McClintock, Klaus Porzig, John Rawlings, Dan Quinn, Helen Quinn
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SUPPORT JASPER RIDGE
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To support JRBP ('O'O) in its new challenges, please visit our Donate page (link here), thank you!
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PICTURE OF THE MONTH
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Learning outdoors about the carbon cycle using the eddy flux station! Katie Glover and Trevor Hébert hosted the course, Taking the Pulse of the Planet. This course introduces a new research and teaching initiative at Stanford. Jasper Ridge was a great location to showcase the variety of technology, satellite, airborne, land/water-based sensors to support the real-time adaptive management of planetary health and human activities. The lead TA was Cassandra Huff assisted in the field by JRBP student Rishudh Thakur. Instructors of GEOPHYS 115 are Knight, R. and Thakur, R. Picture credit JRBP staff member.
