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Bernard Field Station Use Spring 2007

Research Projects

Request No.: 07801F90FB
Submitted on: 2/1/07 at 9:10 AM
User: Carl Norlen, Undergraduate student, Pomona
E-mail: carl.norlen@pomona.edu
College phone: x75719
Instructor/Advisor: Jonathan Wright, x18603, jcwright@pomona.edu

Number in research group: 2
Dates: 02/01/2007 to 05/11/2007
Frequency: Several-days/week
Time of day: Dawn, Afternoon
Areas to be used: lower neck, central neck
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? Yes - Arthropoda generally
Will plants or animals be collected? Yes
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? No
Will markings or flags be used? Yes - Flags will be used to mark pitfall trap locations

Description of research project: The goal of this project is to begin a long-term monitoring of arthropod biodiversity in BFS under the supervision of professor Wright. Initially, we will be using 6 pitfall traps placed in varying habitat locations (buckwheat scrub, oak litter and coastal sagebrush). Sampling sites will be recorded by GPS and animals will be collected over a 48-hour period. Samples will be collected between Tuesdays and Thursdays, then counted and keyed out in the lab on Fridays. Depending on speed and ease of sampling as the main species become familiar, the sampling grid may increase to incorporate additional habitat types. But the goal is to use a small number of traps weekly and monitor the arthropod faunal composition over the year. I, and/or other students, will continue this work in the summer/fall.

Request No.: 077BEBFA96
Submitted on: 1/25/07 at 2:00 PM
User: Heather Martelle, Undergraduate student, HMC
E-mail: hmartelle@hmc.edu
College phone: x74777
Instructor/Advisor: Qimin Yang, x71558, Qimin_Yang@hmc.edu

Number in research group: 4
Dates: 02/12/2007 to 04/30/2007
Frequency: Several-days/week
Time of day: Morning
Areas to be used: north field, south field
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? no
Will plants or animals be collected? no
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? no

Description of research project: Our clinic projects consists of placing arrays of spherical mirrors on the field so that satellite images can be taken. We need a large field in order to place the arrays far enough away so there is no overlap in the image. We then then use the information from those images to calibrate the satellite imaging system.

Request No.: 0669CB1AA0
Submitted on: 11/11/06 at 10:37 AM
User: Dwight K Beltz, Graduate student, California State University Los Angeles
E-mail: dbeltz@calstatela.edu
College phone: (323) 343-2755, Other phone: (323) 273-1855
Instructor/Advisor: Dr John Gamon, (323) 343-2066, jgamon@gmail.com

Number in research group: 2
Dates: 11/17/2006 to 08/31/2007
Frequency: Several-days/week
Time of day: Dawn, Morning, Afternoon, Evening
Areas to be used: south field
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - Artemisia californica (coastal sage brush)
Ceanothus crassifolius (hoaryleaf ceanothus)
Mimulus longiflorus (Southern brush monkeyflower)
Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine)
Prunus ilicifolia (hollyleaf cherry)
Populus fremontii (cottonwood)
Quercus agrifolia (coast live oak)
Quercus berberidifolia (scrub oak)
Salvia mellifera (black sage)
Vitis girdiana (desert wild grape)
Will plants or animals be collected? no
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? no

Description of research project: Continuation of previous research conducted by Dr John Gamon, relating plant optical properties (spectral reflectance) to physiological properties. Besides measuring spectral reflectance, other non-destructive tests will include plant gas exchange (measuring CO₂ absorbed vs water transpired). The overall purpose of the research is to determine the relationship (if any) between the optical reflectance and the amount of water transpired by the plant.

Existing plots will be resurrected with removal of dead plant species and repair (if needed) of existing irrigation system. Potential future planting of additional non-invasive, native California plant species in empty plots may occur. Permission will be obtained before introducing additional species.

Request No.: 065F665C67
Submitted on: 10/25/06 at 3:50 PM
User: Nina Karnovsky, Faculty member, Pomona
E-mail: nina.karnovsky@pomona.edu
College phone: 909-607-9794

Number in research group: 10
Dates: 10/24/2006 to 06/01/2007
Frequency: Several-days/week
Time of day: Dawn, Morning, Evening
Areas to be used: central CSS, eastern CSS, oak forest, south field, lower neck
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - Zonatrichia leucophrys (White-crowned sparrow)
Melospiza melodia (Song Sparrow)
Aphelocoma californica (Scrub jay)
Pipilo fuscis (Brown Towhee)
as well as other residents and migratory passerines
Will plants or animals be collected? no
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? yes
Will markings or flags be used? yes - 4-6 mist nets will be rolled up and tied to poles to be opened when we are banding.

Description of research project:
The purpose of this project is to:
1) determine if the wintering flocks of white-crowned sparrows return to the study area on an annual basis,
2) ascertain their length of residency time,
3) determine the habitat that they utilize while they are here,
3) assess winter survival rates,
4) monitor their condition throughout the winter, in particular, to see how fat reserves increase/decrease with time of year and weather patterns,
5) examine wintering flock behavior looking at group size, membership and activity patterns.

Methods:
We will band white-crowned sparrows with a metal numbered band and individual color band combinations as they arrive. We will take all the standard morphometric measurements when we first capture them. We will resight them throughout the winter noting the habitat they are found in, their behavior and who they are associated with. When we recapture birds, we will weigh them and note the amount of fat in their furculum. We will look for them in the following years. This will be a multi-year study. The re-sighting will be done with the help of 10 undergraduate students from the Claremont Colleges, which border the field station.

Secondary purposes of the study:

1) to assess the timing and extent of migration of passerines during fall and winter. It is likely that we will catch migrants in our mist nets. These birds will be banded and measured and released. These data will be used by senior thesis student Julia Goldstein (Pomona College '07).

2) to band and measure other resident birds at BFS. We will likely capture scrub jays, brown towhees and song sparrows in our mist nets. With the accumulation of a marked population at BFS, we will be able to assess population changes of residents. Data on body condition will be taken at every recapture to assess changes in health seasonally and over different years.

Request No.: 064A499236
Submitted on: 9/21/06 at 11:35 AM
User: Michael A. Erlinger, Faculty member, HMC
E-mail: mike@cs.hmc.edu
College phone: 909 621 8912, Other phone: 909 621 8225

Number in research group: 5
Dates: 09/01/2006 to 05/15/2007
Frequency: Several-days/week
Time of day: Dawn, Morning, Afternoon, Evening
Areas to be used: classroom/infirmary, south field
Facilities or equipment needed: Basically, we are going to continue with Lizardnet, our remote sensing project. During the fall we will be working with a Pomona class (BIOL112 PO - Advanced Animal Ecology) to monitor a set of lizard pens. To do this we will create a number of mote trees (PVC platforms). We would like to use power that exists at the metal shed in the south field.
Will any plant or animal species be studied? no
Will plants or animals be collected? no
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? yes - Markings will be the ‘white’ mote trees

Description of research project: Our purpose is to build up the remote sensing capability within the BFS. We have done some preliminary work in the past and hope to continue developing a network.

Request No.: 06491CA6DF
Submitted on: 9/19/06 at 1:56 PM
User: Derek Whorton, Undergraduate student, CMC
E-mail: dwhorton07@cmc.edu
College phone: (928) 380 8771
Instructor/Advisor: Thomas Poon, x75281, tpoon@jsd.claremont.edu

Number in research group: 1
Dates: 09/20/2006 to 04/01/2007
Frequency: Other - A few visits to collect ant specimens
Time of day: Morning, Afternoon, Evening
Areas to be used: western CSS, central CSS, eastern CSS
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? Yes - Pogonomyrmex californicus (harvester ant), possibly other harvester ants of genus Pogonomyrmex (if present at BFS)
Will plants or animals be collected? Yes
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? No
Will markings or flags be used? No

Description of research project: The harvester ant is a common insect west of the Mississippi river, and over 26 different species populate the Western United States. Study of the pheromones produced by the ants can give insight into the life of an ant in terms of how it forages, lays a trail for fellow workers, etc; it also provides utility in developing pest control methods. The purpose of this study is to characterize the pheromone structure of the harvester ant species Pogonomyrmex californicus, compare the major pheromone structure/components to other species of genus Pogonomyrmex, and possibly test isolated compounds(s) for biological activity.

Specimens of Pogonomyrmex californicus will be keyed to verify local species. Once this is complete, samples of P. californicus will be taken and the pheromone structure determined by extraction of the natural products from the specimen and subsequent characterization via common organic laboratory analytical techniques (including but not limited to high pressure liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, etc.).

Request No.: 064504F09B
Submitted on: 9/6/06 at 7:14 PM
User: Julia Goldstein, Undergraduate student, Pomona
E-mail: julia.goldstein@pomona.edu
College phone: (650)575-9733
Instructor/Advisor: Nina Karnovsky, 909-607-9794, nina.karnovsky@pomona.edu

Number in research group: 1
Dates: 09/11/2006 to 04/15/2007
Frequency: Several-days/week
Time of day: Dawn
Areas to be used: pHake Lake
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - Not sure yet-- I will be solely studying migratory bird species.
Will plants or animals be collected? no
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? no

Description of research project: I propose to study the utilization of pHake Lake as a stop-over point for migratory birds during their Fall and Spring migrations. Numerous species of migratory birds fly over Claremont on their south-bound migrations in the Fall and north-bound migrations in the Spring. I will identify species and abundance of migratory birds that rest at pHake Lake. This study will evaluate the use of pHake lake during migrations and will highlight the importance of the conservation of wetlands along their migratory routes.

In order to do this I plant to visually survey birds in and around the lake five mornings per week. I will conduct research between 6:30 and 8:30 am. All observations will be made via binoculars or a scope, and I will use a field guide to make identifications.

Request No.: 06526210B5
Submitted on: 9/4/06 at 10:45 PM
User: Katelyn Walker, Undergraduate student, HMC
E-mail: kwalker@hmc.edu
College phone: (415)672-4604
Instructor/Advisor: Steve Adolph, x71872, adolph@hmc.edu

Number in research group: 1
Dates: 09/05/2006 to 05/05/2007
Frequency: Several-days/week
Time of day: Dawn, Morning, Afternoon
Areas to be used: western CSS, central CSS, vernal pools, eastern CSS, oak forest, corner, classroom/infirmary, north field, south field, lower neck, central neck, upper neck
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - I will be studying a variety of plant species, although the exact list has not yet been determined.
Will plants or animals be collected? yes
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? yes - Surveyors flags to mark plants

Description of research project: This project will study inter- and intra-specific variation in leaf-mass-per-area (LMA) in the coastal sage scrub community of BFS. LMA has proven to be a useful indicator of leaf traits in other habitats. Leaves will be collected from BFS plants for analysis in the lab.

Request No.: 06521A325F
Submitted on: 9/4/06 at 11:51 AM
User: Marius van der Merwe, Faculty member, JSD
E-mail: mvandermerwe@jsd.claremont.edu
College phone: 909 607 0715

Number in research group: 2
Dates: 09/01/2006 to 05/01/2007
Frequency: Several-days/week
Time of day: Dawn, Afternoon, Evening
Areas to be used: eastern CSS, classroom/infirmary, north field, south field
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi)
Will plants or animals be collected? no
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? no

Description of research project: Foraging behavior is often used to gain insights into ecologically important variables such as food value, habitat use, and predation risk. Charnov’s Marginal-Value Theorem predicts that a forager will quit foraging from a patch that yields diminishing returns when the energy gain from foraging equals the fitness costs of foraging. We want to use this idea to compare food types for California ground squirrels.

Goal: Measure and compare food value of different foods, e.g. sunflower seeds vs. wheat vs. chick peas, food treated with tannic acid vs. food without tannic acid treatment, food treated with oxalic acid vs. food without oxalic acid, and food that is more cacheable vs. food that is less cacheable (e.g. sunflower seed in their shell vs. out of their shell).

Request No.: 0650339291
Submitted on: 9/1/06 at 10:02 AM
User: Catherine McFadden, Faculty member, HMC
E-mail: mcfadden@hmc.edu
College phone: 74107

Number in research group: 2
Dates: 09/01/2006 to 09/01/2007
Frequency: Other - approximately once a month
Time of day: Dawn, Morning
Areas to be used: western CSS, central CSS, pHake Lake, vernal pools, eastern CSS, oak forest, corner, classroom/infirmary, north field, south field, lower neck, central neck, upper neck
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - all birds
Will plants or animals be collected? no
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? no

Description of research project: Ongoing monthly survey of birds to maintain BFS checklist and monitor populations of resident and migrant birds using the BFS.

Request No.: 0626DFB6B0
Submitted on: 4/5/06 at 12:51 PM
User: Susan Schenk, Staff member, JSD
E-mail: sschenk@jsd.claremont.edu
College phone: 74018

Number in research group: 1
Dates: 01/01/2006 to 12/01/2009
Frequency: Other - varies with type of data collection
Time of day: Varies - may be any time depending on current study
Areas to be used: central CSS, eastern CSS, south field, lower neck, central neck
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - Ribes aureum, Golden Currant
Will plants or animals be collected? yes
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? yes - Parts of plants will be tagged with flagging tape. All plants will have an aluminum identification tag placed inconspicuously

Description of research project: This is a long-term study on different aspects of the biology of Ribes aureum (Golden Currant). Data will be collected on distribution, morphology, pollination biology, fruit production, asexual reproduction, and interactions with other plants and with animals. The importance of Ribes aureum to the functioning of the coastal sage scrub ecosystem will be investigated.

Request No.: 0626DD886C
Submitted on: 4/5/06 at 12:31 PM
User: Susan Schenk, Staff member, JSD
E-mail: sschenk@jsd.claremont.edu
College phone: 74018

Number in research group: 2
Dates: 04/01/2006 to 12/01/2009
Frequency: Other - Monthly
Time of day: Morning, Afternoon
Areas to be used: central CSS, eastern CSS
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - insects
Will plants or animals be collected? yes
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? yes - flagging tape to mark sites

Description of research project: This is the beginning of a long-term project designed to begin identifying the insect fauna present at the field station, and to investigate how taxa and numbers vary from site to site, over the year, and between years. Initially, four square sites in coastal sage scrub, 5m on a side, will be identified with flagging tape and located with GPS. Data will be collected the first weekend of each month using pitfall traps, sweep nets, and inspection of the foliage. The insects will be identified as far as possible and preserved to provide a reference collection. Pictures of the insects will be posted on the web. This project may be expanded if more students become interested in it.

Request No.: 0626DCE0E7
Submitted on: 4/5/06 at 12:25 PM
User: Marguerite Kissel, Undergraduate student, Scripps
E-mail: mkissel@scrippscol.edu
College phone: 805 441 3070
Instructor/Advisor: Susan Schenk, 74018, sschenk@jsd.claremont.edu

Number in research group: 1
Dates: 04/01/2006 to 03/01/2009
Frequency: Other - Monthly data collection is planned
Time of day: Morning, Afternoon
Areas to be used: central CSS, eastern CSS
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - insects
Will plants or animals be collected? yes
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? yes - The limits of the data collection sites will be marked with tape.

Description of research project: This is the beginning of a long-term project designed to begin identifying the insect fauna present in coastal sage scrub at the field station, and to investigate how taxa and numbers vary from site to site, over the year, and between years. Four square sites, 5 m on a side, will be identified with flagging tape and located with GPS. Data will be collected the first weekend of each month using pitfall traps, sweep nets, and inspection of the foliage. The insects will be identified as far as possible and preserved to provide a reference collection. Pictures of the insects will be posted on the web.

Request No.: 0625A167B2
Submitted on: 4/3/06 at 12:34 PM
User: John A. Gamon, Faculty member, - California State University, Los Angeles
E-mail: jgamon@calstatela.edu
College phone: 323-343-2066, Other phone: 626-862-8200

Number in research group: 6
Dates: 04/10/2006 to 09/30/2009
Frequency: Several-days/week - Frequency varies with need
Time of day: Varies - varies with project phase
Areas to be used: western CSS, central CSS, eastern CSS, lower neck
Facilities or equipment needed: Outdoor classroom, Line power, if available; otherwise we can set up solar panels
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - Entire ecosystem
Will plants or animals be collected? no
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? yes - The project entails installation of an eddy covariance tower (for surface-atmosphere CO2 and water vapor flux measurements) and a 100-m tram (track on raised rail) for remote sensing measurements with a robotic cart (like the Mars Rover, but on a track here on Earth).

Description of research project: The purpose of the project is to develop and validate optical and thermal sampling methods for estimating surface-atmosphere fluxes of biologically and radiatively active gases (CO₂ and water vapor, in this case) - the “breathing of the planet.” To do this, we would install an eddy covariance tower (large tripod with meteorological instruments to measure surface-atmosphere gas fluxes) and a tram system (robotic cart on a 100-m track) to measure ecosystem optical and thermal properties. The project is part of SpecNet (http://specnet.info/) and FLUXNET (http://www-eosdis.ornl.gov/FLUXNET/) networks, and is funded by National Science Foundation (Ecosystems and CREST) grants to John Gamon. Our initial goal would be to setup and test the instruments at this site for possible deployment elsewhere. Depending upon the quality of the site and measurements, we may choose to ask for indefinite access (a more-or-less permanent site).

Request No.: 05B826C0CB
Submitted on: 5/19/05 at 7:10 PM
User: Daniel Martinez, Faculty member, Pomona
E-mail: dmartinez@pomona.edu
College phone: 9096077926

Number in research group: 4
Dates: 05/01/2005 to 12/31/2009
Frequency: Other - Sporadically
Time of day: Dawn, Morning, Afternoon
Areas to be used: pHake Lake
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? yes - Hydra spp.
Will plants or animals be collected? yes
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? no
Will markings or flags be used? no

Description of research project: Two hydra species inhabit pHake lake: the brown hydra Hydra oligactis and the green hydra Hydra viridissima. Both species have been included in a molecular phylogeny currently being built in the Martinez Lab at Pomona College. Hydra from pHake lake are collected sporadically for training purposes.

Request No.: 059634FD86
Submitted on: 2/3/05 at 12:02 PM
User: Nina Karnovsky, Pomona
E-mail: nina.karnovsky@pomona.edu
College phone: 607-9794

Number in research group: 4
Dates: 02/14/2005 to ongoing
Frequency: Several-days/week
Time of day: Varies - Some activities are at night others in day
Areas to be used: western CSS, central CSS, eastern CSS, oak forest, corner, infirmary area, north field, south field, lower neck, central neck, upper neck
Facilities or equipment needed: None
Will any plant or animal species be studied? Yes - Neotoma fuscipes and Neotoma lepida
Will plants or animals be collected? No
Will vertebrate animals be collected or manipulated? Yes
Will markings or flags be used? No

Project description: Students will be comparing the habitat preferences of the two species of woodrats that are at BFS. I will be attaching small, removable radio collars to woodrats. The students will relocate the rats several times a week. They will map their locations and will measure vegetation characteristics where rats are found. Traps for woodrats will be placed in the evening and checked several times during the night to ensure that no rats are sitting there too long. After capture they will be weighed and sexed, fitted with the radio collar and given a PIT tag. This is a small injected tag that reads like a bar code. This method is preferable to ear tags because ear tags often get pulled out and rip the ears of the rat. All the protocols have been approved by the Fish and Game for both species. Students will be responsible for relocating the rats while they are out foraging. They will need access to BFS at dusk and at night (this is one reason why I want to use BFS; it is safer than sending them elsewhere). These are all advanced biology students who are familiar with BFS and its rules. Students will also make maps of all the woodrat houses that they can find. It is my hope that this project will continue throughout the summer and next fall. Woodrats will be recaptured to remove the radio collars when the batteries start to run out.