Projects

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On behalf of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, I coordinate multiple project partners (USFWS, San Diego Zoo's butterfly conservation lab, Recon environmental and others) to release of captive reared Quino checkerspot butterflies in the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge . I conduct larval and adult monitoring at release and reference sites, map and evaluate the suitability of hostplant patches, collect gravid females as donors for captive rearing, analyze data and develop reports for this project.

I provide project  management support for the USFWS by coordinating multiple project partners (USFWS, Cleveland National Forest, San Diego Zoo's butterfly conservation lab, and others).  Our aim is to reintroduce Laguna Mountains skipper in the Laguna Mountains. I also provide assistance with adult and host plant surveys and help monitor the condition of released pupae, manage the data, perform data analysis and develop reports. 

For this project I developed a sampling design aimed at identifying fine scale soil properties responsible for restricting the range and spatial pattern of five California edaphic endemic plants (3 clay and two gabbro specialists).  I helped collect soils and habitat information (including soil hand texture and Munsell soil color).  Once an agricultural lab provided additional soil chemistry data, I used repeated measures ANOVA, logistic regression, equality of variances testing and classification and regression trees to identify soil properties unique to each species.  I also developed conceptual models for all five species.

Using a combination of data sources I identified  potential habitat for the butterfly,  helped conduct surveys across San Diego County, assessed population size, stability and spatial extent. In addition I coordinated and trained a field crew.  The project included non-lethal tissue sampling for genetic analysis.  

This project was aimed at identifying  an efficient vegetation monitoring design focused on measuring variables relevant to conservation in San Diego and Orange Counties.   As part of this effort I developed field protocols, trained and coordinated field crews, scheduled sampling days, acquired access permits to open space reserves, conducted field sampling, managed a database which has grown to over 90 thousand records, and performed a multifaceted statistical analysis. Analyses included multiple regression, power calculations (estimates of necessary sampling size), variance decomposition (break down of natural sources of variation relevant to the data collection approach)  and trend analysis (change over time).  I also developed illustrative graphics.

  Assessing recruitment and death rates of oaks in Orange County NCCP lands. Included identifying and recording oak pathogens and understory habitat. Conceptual modeling, study design, supervision of field crew, database creation and archiving, exploratory data analysis, multiple regression, logistic regression, chi square analysis.