Research

Starr Ranch has operated as a preserve of southern California wildlands since 1973. Our 4000 acres encompass the unique mosaics of mediterranean climate habitats that were once, before the spread of urbanization, typical of southern Californian landscapes: coastal sage scrub, grasslands (native perennial bunchgrass and exotic annual), oak woodland, chaparral, and riparian woodland. Until 1989, access to the Ranch was so restricted by the previous owners of the adjacent Dove Canyon property, that research was limited to a handful of dedicated biologists willing to make the long hike in to the Ranch from the south. Over the last decade, with easier access via the Dove Canyon development, has come the prospect of providing a fully operational field station for study of native flora and fauna. Presently there are twelve active research projects at Starr Ranch representing ten different universities and public agencies. Five studies focus on plants and animals of the endangered coastal sage scrub. During fall 1997, Dr. Sandy DeSimone and several interns, began research on methods of non-chemical control of an invasive plant species of grasslands in southern California, artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus). After control, we restore sites to native perennial bunchgrass grassland or coastal sage scrub. For more information see Invasive Species Control and Habitat Restoration at Starr Ranch Sanctuary.

We welcome research projects at Starr Ranch. Contact Dr. Sandy DeSimone (sdesimone@audubon.org) at 949-858-0309 for more information.

For research guidelines, please click here.

Some Past and Current Research Projects at Starr Ranch

Researcher(s), (Research Affiliation)

Initiation date and Research

Bloom, Pete (Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology)

1973 - Raptor behavior and dynamics

Chiang, Sophie (Cal State Fullerton)

2001 - Cooper's hawk home range and habitat use during the breeding season in urban versus natural environments

Chu, Miyoko (UC Berkeley)

1996 - Ecology and social behavior of Phainopepla nitens

Clarke, Laurie (Cal State Fullerton)

2001 - Pollination ecology of artichoke thistle: density effect and impacts to native species

DeSimone, Dr. S.A. (Starr Ranch)

1993 - Shrub population dynamics in unburned California coastal sage scrub and adjacent grassland

1997 - Biology and control of Cynara cardunculus/grassland and coastal sage scrub restoration

Elpers, Mary Jo (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Reno)

1980 - Scrub-Jay population dynamics

Fisher, Dr. Robert (San Diego State University)

1995 - Reptiles and amphibians of coastal sage scrub

Gill, Dr. Dave

1992 - Physiological studies of Salvia mellifera and S. apiana

Goerrissen, Jan (UC Davis)

2002 - Habitat associations of grassland birds in native and exotic California grasslands

Keeley, Dr. Jon (USGS, Sequoia-Kings Canyon)

1994 - Post-fire recovery in coastal sage scrub and chaparral

Kendall, Curtis

1995 - Behavioral response of small mammals to Sherman XLKR and Stoddard live-capture traps

Remington, Stephanie (Cal Poly, Pomona)

1996 - Foraging, habitat, and diet of forest bat species

Schueller, Sheila (University of Michigan)

1998 - California Channel Island vs. mainland pollination of two hummingbird-visited plants; native Epilobium canum and non-native invasive Nicotiana glauca

Semple, Katy (UCLA)

1999 - The relationship between the variance in reproductive success and plumage color in Scrub-Jays: a comparative approach

Vogelsang, Keith M (UC, Irvine)

1998 - Community diversity and composition: mechanisms of resistance to invasion by weedy exotic species

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sdesimone@audubon.org