UC DANR
Conservation Biology Workgroup
Report FY2004-2005

WG ratified 1999, Re-ratified 2004
Chair: C.O. Qualset, Genetic Resources Conservation Program (GRCP)

a) Activities: Listing of workgroup meetings, in-service training sessions, and other events and activities conducted for workgroup members with statements of the intended purposes, the number of ANR members attending, funding or in-kind support received from non-ANR source, and the benefits realized for each event.

Monterey Pine Forest Ecology Cooperative

The focus of the Cooperative is to improve the understanding of the underlying biology of native Pinus radiata forests (an ecologically restricted forest type that is endemic to only central coastal California and two Mexican islands and is threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation and other development pressures). Its activities have been supported since its inception in 2001 by a combination of funds that have included grants from the Packard Foundation, the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, and GRCP general funds. Participants since 2001 have included several WG members and other ANR and non-ANR UC research and extension personnel.

The primary Coop event since last year’s WG report was an event held June 8, 2004 at UC’s Elkus Ranch Conference Center, Half Moon Bay, CA. WG member Deborah Rogers (GRCP/DANR), assisted by GRCP staff and resources for website communication and financial administration, organized and chaired the full-day meeting There were two themes for the event, held at The first theme was the biological information, conservation recommendations, and descriptions of current research activities for some of the bird species that are native to coastal forests and adjacent open areas. The second theme of the program addressed the impact interface between plants and human activity. Walt Koenig (Adj. Prof., Hastings Natural History Reservation, UCB) provided insights into the behavior of acorn woodpeckers, as well as some information from his research on native oak species. Monterey pine forest merges into oak woodlands particularly in the Cambria area. Glenn Stewart (Predatory Bird Research Program, UCSC) provided information on some of the California predator bird species, noting conservation concerns and activities of the UCSC Predatory Bird Research Program. The second theme of the program addressed the impact interface between plants and human activity. Fraser Schilling (Department of Environmental Science and Policy, UCD) addressed the impacts of roads on native plant communities and explore means of remediating the effects of fragmentation from such developments. Larry Costello (UCCE Advisor, San Mateo-San Francisco Counties) provided information about the risks of living, traveling, or recreating close to Monterey pines through his work on structural properties of Monterey pine and associated risks.

The meeting drew approximately 30 participants including land owners, managers, planners, and educators, with representatives of private businesses, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, private consultants, and academics. WG membership was invited to the meeting, but no WG funds were necessary to support the event, beyond the salary support allocated to GRCP Research Geneticist Rogers.

Another Coop activity was the presentation by WG member Rogers on January 13, 2005 at the annual meeting of the UCCE Tree Failure Report Program in Woodside, CA. Her topic was “Genetics + environment = tree performance: A case study of Monterey pine and its potential for improvement”.

In addition, WG member Rogers made a presentation on February 4, 2005 to the Santa Lucia Gradient Study (a Central Coast biodiversity workshop) convened at UC Santa Cruz. The presentation was entitled “Genetic structure of coastal California conifers”.

Other conservation biology-related activity by WG members.

WG member Karl McArthur (UCCE Advisor, San Bernadino County) participated in the January 19-20, 2005 symposium (Nitrogen eutrophication in xeric wildland and agricultural systems) held at UC Riverside, organized by WG members Edith Allen and Michael Allen.

WG member Rogers organized and chaired a workshop on February 16, 2005 at UCD entitled “Genetic monitoring in California State Parks: Improving connections between species management and genetic resources”. Some 30 participants included representatives of the California State Park System, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the California Fish and Game Department, the US Geological Survey, the California Native Plant Society, the UC Wildlife and Ecology Unit of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, and UCD faculty. Funding for the event was provided by a grant to Rogers from the State Parks and Recreation Department.

WG member and chair Calvin Qualset coordinated a report completed in December 2004, but still in review, to be presented to the California Bay-Delta Program, entitled “Guidance for proposals: Incorporating adaptive management principles in non-native invasive species projects, California Bay-Delta Authority”. The information was derived from a workshop on invasive species, organized by Qualset and held in 2003, and will assist the Bay-Delta Program in evaluating funding proposals made to them.

WG members Santiago Carrizosa and Patrick McGuire, in collaboration with ANR faculty Stephen Brush (UCD) and Brian Wright (UCB), edited a book published in November 2004 entitled “Accessing biodiversity and sharing the benefits: Lessons from implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity”. This was a collaborative effort funded by the UC Pacific Rim Research Program, the World Conservation Union, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and GRCP. The book is available in hard copy and as a pdf file at the GRCP website (http://www.grcp.ucdavis.edu/publications/docABSPacRim/
ABSPacRimwww.pdf).

WG member Rogers, in collaboration with Arlee Montalvo (Dept. of Botany and Plant Sciences, UCR and the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District), produced a monograph entitled “Genetically appropriate choices for plant materials to maintain biological diversity”. The research and writing was supported by the US Forest Service through a grant to Rogers and Montalvo, layout was done by GRCP, and it is available as a pdf file on the Forest Service website (http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/publications/botany/plantgenetics.pdf).

WG member Carrizosa is currently working on a new conservation biology project concerning policy of biodiversity access and benefit sharing projects focusing on the biotechnology issues involved in biodiversity prospecting. Support for this effort comes from the World Conservation Union and GRCP.

b) Accomplishments: Narrative summary (1-2 pages) of the workgroup’s accomplishments in each of the following areas:

• Addressing specific high priority issues or concerns affecting Division clientele;
• Enhancing collaborate planning and coordination of research and extension activities across organizational units of the Division, including AES and CE such as cost studies, publication planning, grant writing, etc.;
• Building linkages with non-ANR cooperators to improve coordination and impact and/or leverage resources;
• Increasing knowledge or skills of workgroup members; and
• Involving workgroup members in collective planning and decision making to identify and prioritize issue, goals and activities to be pursued by the workgroup.

ANR priorities: The WG with GRCP leadership and support continues to address several Division priorities. Because the conservation of genetic resources critical to California was a high priority of the Division, GRCP was established by the Division in 1985. This remains a high priority for the Division because GRCP continues with state funding in spite of recent Division budget shortages. In addition, the field of conservation biology underlies activities that address the ANR core issues emphasized in 2004: invasive species, pest management, sustainability and viability of agriculture, water quality, soil quality, land use, sustainable use of natural resources, and wildland fire.

Conservation biology collaborations within WG and beyond: WG membership is called on by GRCP for advice and guidance primarily by email with the circulation of relevant proposals and publications. In this fiscal year GRCP Research Geneticist Rogers collaborated on research proposals with CE personnel and non-ANR academic personnel (CE Advisor Costello and UCSC postdoc Jason Hoeksema). In addition, Rogers has collaborated with state and federal agency personnel for workshops on genetic conservation issues for monitoring and restoration.

Increasing knowledge: The efforts by WG members Qualset, Rogers, Carrizosa, and McGuire listed in this report under Activities represent contributions to increasing knowledge relevant to conservation biology. An ongoing update of the status of conservation biology activities in the UC system should be complete and posted on the GRCP website by the end of the current fiscal year. The current systemwide assessment was made in 1997. This information will provide WG members and any other internet user a systemwide directory to programs and resources relevant to conservation biology.

Collective planning: WG membership will be among those invited to a pending June 2005 meeting to be convened by GRCP to address issues of access, maintenance, and security for collections representing the genetic diversity of native California wildlife. Many such collections have been assembled by a diversity of UC units, but no statewide assessment has yet been made of these efforts. The outcome of this meeting should be an action plan for a statewide meeting for presenting progress on identifying and monitoring genetic diversity in native California plants and wildlife, determining accessibility and security of existing collections, need for any clearinghouse activity, extent of duplication, and priorities for future collections.

c) Outcomes and impacts: Identify workgroup’s outcomes in terms of new knowledge, technologies or practices developed and/or disseminated and the ultimate impacts of the workgroup activity, in terms of environmental, social and/or economic consequences attributable to the workgroup’s operations activity; include data and summary of methods used to assess immediate outcomes and ultimate impacts and description of audience affected.

The audience for the WG’s activity includes the WG membership itself and academic conservation biology researchers throughout the UC system. In addition, state and federal agencies and NGOs with ecosystem management and research responsibilities are among the beneficiaries. The WG serves as one arm of GRCP’s mission to address conservation of native genetic resources. The WG enhances GRCP efforts in this area, especially with the budget cuts taken by GRCP in FY2003-2004 and continued in FY2004-2005 and projected for FY2005-2006.

This page last updated July 5, 2005.
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