Science Informing Management

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an increasingly effective tool for detecting species of interest to national parks, such as threatened, endangered, invasive, and subsistence species. CALeDNA, a program run by the University of California Conservation Genomics Consortium based at UC Santa Cruz, facilitates eDNA work. This project seeks to detect and monitor species of interest using eDNA and genomics, through the CALeDNA program. Initially, it will focus on fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate species found in Alaska’s national parks. The project aims to create species-specific and universal primers, sequence DNA for un-sequenced species, and generate species gene maps from eDNA samples. 

The project will also engage and train citizen/community scientists on how to properly collect, store, and transfer environmental samples to the CALeDNA laboratory at UCSC for processing. In addition, this project will train and employ young scientists and students in eDNA and genomics, and attune them to the needs of park managers working to protect biodiversity and restore habitat. This work will enable staff of parks and programs to use the expert services of CALeDNA without having to be experts in genomics themselves. Additionally, it will support the discovery, protection, recovery, and monitoring of native species, the identification, management, control, and eradication of invasive species, and the associated follow-up restoration activities. Looking forward, future funding may allow this work to expand, extending to other parks, regions, and species.

The Mojave National Preserve has been afflicted with three major wildland fires over the past 15 years, affecting over 206,000 acres. As a result, vegetation structure and composition have shifted dramatically, particularly for the Joshua tree and pinyon/juniper woodlands. Birds are expected to be particularly affected by these shifts. Birds comprise the greatest percentage of federally and California State listed species, species of concern, and sensitive species for the Mojave National Preserve. However, there is no fire management plan objective to protect or conserve these birds or their habitats. This is largely due to a lack of knowledge on the distribution and abundance of birds. The data exists, but it is disjointed and scattered across multiple files, sources of literature, agency records, university records, and other NGO records.

To help develop fire management plan revisions, this project seeks to compile bird information from these sources and synthesize it into a geospatial product that highlights important bird areas. This could be followed by opportunities for field observations to address gaps in information or verify existing data using point counts, breeding bird surveys, or other transect counts.

Bark beetles in the genus Phloeosinus are increasingly reported in association with the decline of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) across the range of the species. The beetle infests weakened or challenged trees and likely hastens tree decline by damaging or killing tertiary and secondary branches, ultimately disrupting gas exchange and tree water balance. These beetles are an emerging native pest that may threaten the persistence of giant sequoia on the landscape. Despite this threat, there is currently little information on the basic ecology of Phloeosinus in giant sequoia, which prevents the development of integrated pest management approaches. This project seeks to learn more about the factors related to beetle behaviors, survival, and movement. This research will consider flight timing, how and when beetles move from the forest floor to the canopy, key thresholds for beetle survival, and potential beetle attractant or repellant tools. The project will also focus on generating new methods for beetle population control and tree protection tactics.

The invasive white pine blister rust (WPBR) has contributed to dramatic declines in white pine species throughout North America. In Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, the combined effects of WPBR, fire, drought, and mountain pine beetle have led to extremely high rates of mortality (54-80%) in sugar pines. Preliminary studies also indicate similar WPBR infection rates for sugar pines in Yosemite National Park. This project seeks to address these concerns by identifying and mapping potentially rust-resistant sugar pine trees in Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks. This will involve extending a previous rust-resistant tree survey in Yosemite National Park to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Additionally, the project will estimate variation in sugar pine growth rates and water-use efficiency, two traits that can be used to quantify variation in drought tolerance. Project findings will help inform future cone collection and planting of potentially rust-resistant sugar pines.

University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, will conduct a research project evaluating natural regeneration, planted seedlings, and fuel conditions in Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) groves within the park. UCB will carry out this project through revisiting previously established plots post-treatment, and establishing new plots, measuring surface fuels, overstory trees, ladder fuels, ground cover, and canopy cover. Another aspect of this project is seedling monitoring, which will be approached in two ways. The first will be monitoring the effectiveness of the treatment by revisiting past plots and installing new plots. Data on seedling height, diameter, percent competing vegetation, live/dead status and mortality agents will be collected. The second will be conducting a seedling competition study through collecting data on 1,917 seedlings planted across a gradient of competition and from varying genetic sources. Soil moisture and temperature will also be recorded. UCB and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park will work together to further our understanding of Giant Sequoia regeneration, reaction, and regrowth during rapidly changing conditions of our planet. 

NPS lands, which encompass 85 million acres, serve as critical refuges in a changing climate, support threatened species, and sequester millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. A key climate change-driven challenge for the NPS is fire, and there is an urgent need to understand and address all challenges related to fire. While significant resources have been allocated to fire prevention and preparedness, there is very little ongoing effort to address recovery and how to effectively manage a landscape in the time-sensitive periods after it has burned.

To address these challenges, this project will develop data-enabled tools that empower park managers to decide the best ways to track and manage an area after it has burned, something that will be increasingly common in the near future. While many tools have been developed to help detect and stop wildfires, the niche of using data science tools to help restore lands after a fire remains an underserved area. UC Berkeley’s Schmidt Center for Data Science and Environment (DSE) will collaborate with the NPS to make this work possible.

To learn more, visit the Schmidt DSE website. 

The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) has been listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act since 1990. Native to the southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico, the desert tortoise population remains on a decline across its range despite conservation efforts. 772,463 acres (48%) of Mojave National Preserve have been designated as critical habitat for the species. As part of ongoing conservation efforts Chevron Environmental Management, Inc. established The Ivanpah Desert Tortoise Research Facility in 2010 as a component of its compensation for a wastewater pipeline clean and removal project. In 2014 it was transferred to the National Parks Service. Since 2011, however, there has been ongoing research in collaboration with the Savannah River Ecology Lab of University of Georgia and University of California, Davis, on management tactics and population augmentation of the desert tortoise. 

This project is currently in Phase III, identifying which combination of “head-starting” treatments (a conservation strategy where juvenile tortoises are raised in protected areas and later released into the wild), release habitats, and environmental conditions will result in the most successful establishment of tortoises in the wild. This research is crucial for desert tortoise conservation as a whole. The project will also monitor several other factors, such as environmental variables (temperature, precipitation), predation by ravens and coyotes, and drought versus non-drought years, to understand how these elements can also influence survivorship. Tortoise barrier fencing will also be installed along 5 miles of Cima road to evaluate the concept of reclaiming “lost” habitat and how it pertains to the conservation of the desert tortoise. Overall, this project aims to determine the best population augmentation tactics for Gopherus agassizii to establish sustainable populations.