In most temperate coniferous forests, the vast majority of vascular plant species richness can be found in the understory layer. While the large-scale conversion of forests to plantations has made it increasingly important to understand how understory . . .

Russian Peak, at an elevation of 8200 feet, is situ­ated in the Salmon Mountains, a north-south trending range centrally located within the Klamath Region of northwest­ern California. The Salmon Mountains are drained by the Scott River on the east and . . .

Harbor seals have been listed as a species likely to benefit from new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in California as part of the Marine Life Protection Act. Whereas seals may experience direct and indirect effects from these MPAs as a whole, the impac . . .

Five species of western gooseberries (Ribes: Grossulariaceae) hybridize to varying degrees in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. Pollinator surveys and hand-pollination experiments were conducted to identify reproductive barriers between . . .

Disturbances such as wildfire play a major role in the diversity, structure, and composition of plant communities, however, little is known about the differential impacts of fire across landscapes that vary in characteristics such as soil nutrients an . . .

Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae have been shown to cause many human and animal diseases. SRG rickettsial phylotypes G021 and G022 were recently detected in Ixodes pacificus ticks from Napa and California using quantitative real time polymerase c . . .

The dominant plant in Humboldt Bay salt marshes is Spartina densiflora, a species of cordgrass apparently introduced from South America. At several salt marshes and restoration sites around Humboldt Bay, distribution of this plant has increased signif . . .

Numerous studies have analyzed the effect of habitat fragmentation on plant pollinators and herbivores. These studies describe the decrease in pollinator services and seed set in small and isolated patches due to pollinator preference for large, conti . . .

The genus Ribes displays extensive floral diversity. The pollinator shift model suggests that such diversity is an outcome of species shifting to specialize on new pollinators. To test this model, I surveyed the flower visitors of 14 Ribes species at . . .

For over a century, increases in the abundance of woody plant species in savannas have been occurring worldwide, and this woody plant encroachment directly threatens the existence of savanna ecosystems. Savannas are known for their striking compositio . . .

The disease chytridiomycosis has caused population declines in hundreds of amphibian species worldwide, and is caused by the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). One promising method to combat the disease is to augment the amphibian’ . . .

Studying the impacts on a community following the introduction of an exotic species is of increasing importance in the field of marine science. Recent investigations of marine biological invasion have primarily focused on studying the negative interac . . .

Humboldt Bay, in far northern California receives a large amount of sediment, predominantly silts and clays from the surrounding watersheds at an estimated 62,532 metric tons/yr. (Barrett 2004). Fine grained sediments such as silts and clays have a hi . . .

Populations of flying squirrels occupying oak and oak-pine forests of the Mesoamerican highlands represent the least studied and most poorly known members of the genus Glaucomys. Traditionally, these Mesoamerican populations have been considered to be . . .

Increased suspended sediment inputs to streams as a result of human activities and disturbance have been identified as a principle source of stream impairment. Allochthonous energy inputs to riverine food webs, in the form of terrestrial leaf litter, . . .

The Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) is listed as a State of California endangered species due to their low population of approximately 100 individuals. Annual surveys and long-term monitoring efforts are frequently conducted to determine the status of . . .

Genetic structure and diversity of populations can impact the productivity and resilience of ecosystems. In Humboldt Bay, California (USA) eelgrass (Zostera marina) is the dominant marine plant at low intertidal and shallow subtidal elevations where i . . .

Napa County is located within a global biodiversity hotspot, and is one of ten localized areas in California that contain the highest numbers of native and endemic plant species. Conservation of rare taxa is an important issue and the research present . . .