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Santa Cruz |
Lyndal Laughrin
Mailing address on mainland
UC Natural Reserve System
Marine Science Institute
Building 520, Room 2312
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6150
Campus Office Phone
805-893-4127
Island Phone
805-893-7247
laughrin@lifesci.ucsb.edu
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Location
Santa Barbara County, in the Santa Barbara
Channel; 19 mi southwest of
Ventura.
Map Quest |
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Facilities
Field station w/ dormitory for more than
30, private rooms that sleep 6 to 12,
kitchen, dining hall, laundry, electricity,
propane, library/conference room; westend
trailer offers modest overnight
accommodations; wet and dry lab; fourwheel-
drive vehicles; 17-foot Boston
whaler; 5-person inflatable boat. |
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Databases
Santa Cruz Island geographic information
system (GIS) (part of Channel Islands GIS)
on site and at UCSB; electronic Channel
Islands bibliography; herbarium/invertebrate
collections; Santa Barbara Botanic
Garden published flora 1995. |
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Personnel
On-site reserve manager and steward. |
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Size
18,624 ha (46,020 acres) |
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Elevation
0 to 742 m (0 to 2,434 ft); reserve field
station located at 61 m (201 ft) |
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Average Precipitation
50 cm (20 in)/year in island central valley |
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Average Temperatures
Mean monthly max: 71°F
Mean monthly min: 50°F |
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 Transect
Articles
specific to Santa Cruz |
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 Mathias
Grant Research
specific to Santa Cruz |
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Site Spec Sheet (PDF) |
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<••• •••> |
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Island Reserve |
Established in 1966;
joined NRS in 1973. |
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| Santa Cruz Website |
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The Santa Cruz Island Reserve is the largest NRS site and the biggest of the
Channel Islands located off the Southern California coast. The island has two
major mountain systems flanking a central valley that formed along an active fault
zone. The mountains are rugged and cut by steep-sided canyons, some with perennial
streams and freshwater springs. The coastline is mostly steep and rocky, with some
protected coves and sandy beaches. Diverse habitats include rocky intertidal zones,
coastal sage scrub, chaparral, grasslands, oak woodlands, and bishop pine forests. The
reserve contains breeding grounds for harbor seals, seabird nesting colonies, many
endemic plant and animal species, and well-preserved archaeological sites. Santa Cruz
Island Reserve is protected, owned, and managed by The Nature Conservancy
(TNC); the remainder of the island is managed by the National Park Service as part
of the Channel Islands National Park. |
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Selected Research
• Archaeology: Ongoing studies of the
island’s prehistoric Native American
cultures; the evolution of cultural complexity
in hunter-gatherer societies.
• Terrestrial botany: Defense mechanisms
of insular endemic plants; age structure
in island chaparral communities; population
genetics of endemic species.
• Terrestrial zoology: Reproduction and
kinship studies for two endemic species:
island jay and state-threatened island
fox (Urocyon littoralis).
• Geology and geomorphology: Structure,
diversity, and origin of the island’s geological
formations; fluvial system responses;
sediment transport in island
watersheds.
• Aquatic Biology: Population studies of
kelpbed fishes and selected intertidal
invertebrates.
Photo Gallery
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Rare and sensitive taxa
Inventory and
monitoring of selected plant species;
population genetic analysis; establishment
of new outlying populations of
selected taxa.
Habitat restoration
Management strategies
for invasive nonnative species (feral
pigs, feral honey bees, fennel); vegetation
monitoring following removal of
grazing impacts.
Fire research and prescribed burns
Impacts of fire on island plant species
and communities; fire as a management
tool for promoting native plants.
Long-term studies
Population studies
of island fox, island jay, quail, native and
non-native bees, and black abalone.
Field courses
On-site field schools in
archaeology and geology; multiple-day
field trips for mainland-based classes.
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Special Research of National Significance
• Land/Ocean Interactions & the Dynamics of Kelp Forest Ecosystems (detailed description...)
• Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) (detailed description...) |
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