CDFW Conservation Lecture Series Archive

California Department of Fish and Wildlife monitoring of the Salton Sea has revealed concurrent declines in the tilapia population in the Sea and piscivorous birds that feed on the tilapia. Other fish surviving in the Salton Sea include desert pupfish (Cyprinodon macularius) and sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna). The piscivorous birds that use the Salton Sea as feeding grounds and are impacted by the decline in the fish population include American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), and double crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auratus). 

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Like California, New Zealand’s biodiversity continues to decline. New Zealand’s unique flora and fauna has been severely impacted by introduced mammalian predators and modified landscapes. Utilizing behavioral science research, New Zealand’s Department of Conservation is focusing on the role people can play in mitigating the decline. Case studies will include human-animal conflict, domestic cats and dogs, forest visitors spreading pathogens, and activating urban residents.

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In 2015, CDFW began an effort to understand abundance, habitat use, genetics, and health of mountain lions across California. Though the effort is still well underway, great strides have already been made to increase understanding of multiple aspects of mountain lion ecology in California. This talk will detail the statewide efforts and findings to date as well as detail what is yet to come concerning CDFW’s role in conserving and managing mountain lions in California.

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The purpose of this lecture is to provide basic, critical information on bat biology and roosting ecology needed to understand appropriate and effective take avoidance and habitat mitigation measures. It will help participants better understand how to utilize the Lake and Streambed Alteration Program and CEQA processes for bat conservation, and to recognize and avoid potential problems. Participants will be given clear, effective, practical, field-proven strategies based on roosting ecology and bat behavior for take avoidance and impact minimization in buildings, bridges, culverts, and trees.

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A recently completed fine scale vegetation map for Sonoma County showcases many of the most recent advances in landscape and habitat assessment. Based on high-resolution imagery and LiDAR data, mapping methods combined automated image classification, machine learning, traditional photointerpretation, and field work. The project was funded by a consortium led by Sonoma County’s Agriculture and Open Space District, and the Sonoma County Water Agency. The mapping classification was adapted from a classification developed by CDFW VegCAMP and based a field campaign led by CDFW. Trimble eCognition was used to develop a mostly automated lifeform map with broad floristic classes. Lifeform mapping was followed by machine learning, which used field validated stand data and a stack of predictor variables to produce map class predictions (generally at the alliance level) for each map polygon. Map labels were reviewed and edited by photointerpreters and field workers. Accuracy assessment was conducted using a combination of Fish and Wildlife/CNPS rapid assessment plots and accuracy assessment plots. The mapping classification, map specifications, and methods were informed by the needs of the County and the guidance of two advisory committees. The recently completed accuracy assessment supports the validity of the process. The map has a myriad of users, including the conservation community, water managers, planners, and others. The county is now in the process of developing protocols for map updates and map improvements.

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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Areas of Conservation Emphasis (ACE) project is a non-regulatory tool that brings together the best available map-based data in California to depict biodiversity, significant habitats, connectivity, climate change resilience, and other datasets for use in conservation planning. ACE compiles and analyzes information from multiple CDFW data products, including the California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB), California Wildlife Habitat Relationships Program (CWHR), the Survey of California Vegetation, as well as other mapped information found in the Biogeographic Information and Observation System (BIOS) to create products that can help inform landscape-scale conservation decisions. The terrestrial data is summarized and displayed in a standardized hexagon (2.5 mi 2) grid, and the aquatic data is compiled by HUC12 watershed. All ACE datasets are available in an online map viewer or for download. CDFW has just completed ACE v3, a major revision and update. ACE Biodiversity metrics are based on 1) species location information from CNDDB and other species survey datasets for 354 rare and/or endemic vertebrate species and subspecies, and 1672 rare and/or endemic plant taxa; and 2) species range or habitat distribution models for 791 common and rare native species of amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles, and 183 families of aquatic macroinvertebrates. ACE combines information on species occurrence locations and species habitat distribution models in a standardized way to show the distribution of biodiversity, species richness, rarity, and endemism across the state and in each ecoregion. ACE Significant Habitats brings together information on important habitats such as rare vegetation types, oak woodlands, wetlands, and riparian areas based on vegetation maps and other landcover datasets, as well as information on focal species key habitat areas. ACE Connectivity brings together information on natural intact lands, habitat linkages, and wildlife corridors. ACE Climate Change Resilience brings together information on locations expected to be relatively buffered by climate change impacts. These datasets provide an overview of the conservation elements potentially present at a given location based on best available data, and can be viewed together with State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) conservation targets, stressors, and juxtaposition to existing conserved lands in the ACE viewer to provide a broad overview of information important to conservation planning and ecological research. We will describe the data now available in ACE v3, and will present example use-case scenarios.

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Dr. Dave Johnston provides an overview of bat mitigation in California including assessing habitat for bats, determining the various types of potential impacts, and mitigating for impacts from mining, tree removal, bridge work, and roof replacement. Dr. Johnston discusses various steps for effective mitigation strategies and discusses how knowing the natural history of a species is often critical for success. Potential impacts to bats from noise and light pollution and the appropriate mitigation are also discussed.

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The foothill yellow-legged frog, Rana boylii, is a stream-breeding anuran endemic to California and Oregon that has declined precipitously in recent decades. These frogs evolved in creeks and rivers flowing through a diverse set of bio-climatic regions, from relatively cool Pacific Northwest coniferous forests to warm Mediterranean scrub and oak/grassland savannahs of interior foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Thus they have a wide range of temperature tolerance and behavioral adaptations to local conditions. As grazers when tadpoles and insectivores when adults, these frogs are an integral part of algal based food webs in the region's rivers. At present, R. boylii occupies less than half its historic range and absence is significantly correlated with the existence of large dams upstream. Absence is pronounced in the southern half of the range where chytridiomycosis has also been implicated as a historic cause of decline. Dam associated threats include loss of habitat when rivers are converted to lakes, mortality when extreme aseasonal variation in stream flow causes stranding and scouring of early life stages, and predation by non-native species when dam-modified flow conditions allow them to invade and proliferate. This presentation will discuss long-term monitoring and population projection modeling which indicate that recruitment bottlenecks occur when early life stages have high mortality rates due either to natural or anthropogenic causes. Techniques regarding head-starting of tadpoles, along with avoidance and mitigation measures to decrease loss of early life-stages are are under development and will be discussed as approaches to conserve this species. This lecture will also discuss a new tool for addressing ecological genomics questions: restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADSeq)

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White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emergent fungal disease of hibernating, insectivorous bats that has caused massive bat mortality in the eastern North America. To date, WNS has been confirmed in 29 states (including the 2016 detection in Washington) and 5 Canadian provinces and continues to spread across the continent. Given the widespread distribution of the causative agent P. destructans (Pd) and the unprecedented population declines in several affected North American bat species, national cooperation is critical for monitoring and managing this disease. In response to the recent emergence of this previously unknown disease, many agencies, institutions, and scientists have become involved in disease investigation, research, surveillance, and management efforts. Coordination of these efforts following standardize protocols and sharing of acquired information will facilitate greater understanding of this disease and its significance for bat populations and the ecosystem. This workshop will foster common understanding of WNS/Pd surveillance strategies, sampling techniques, diagnostic interpretation, and biosecurity recommendations to aid in the conservation of bats. The format of the workshop will be lectures followed by a laboratory session that will allow participants to practice various non-lethal sampling techniques, approved bat euthanasia methods, and decontamination procedures. The lab session mentioned in this course description was not recorded.

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Prior to 2012 the discussion surrounding marijuana cultivation was charged politically, emotionally and sensationally. One point that was missing from debates was the environmental costs stemming from marijuana cultivation. Unfortunately, research, data or any outside knowledge describing the environmental impacts from marijuana cultivation on public lands prior to 2012 was extremely limited. It wasn’t until that year, when a foundational paper on exposure to and mortality from pesticides found at marijuana cultivation sites in a rare forest mesocarnivore, the fisher, brought this issue front and center in the main-stream conversations. This paper generated national and international media coverage which initiated and, in many instances, forced candid discussions within governmental agencies and communities on the topic of marijuana cultivation and its environmental footprint. Additionally, data gathering on the topic was slow due to the lack of supportive mechanisms to continue this work. It was not until a Section 6 grant by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service administered by California Department of Fish and Wildlife allowed the continuation of data efforts. These efforts not only indicated that cultivation threats to fishers were not dissipating, but clearly demonstrated water, soil, vegetation, ESA-listed and game species contamination from pesticides used at these sites. The collection of this data also fortified a more cohesive stakeholder discussion on the matter. Though the topic initially appeared to be polarizing, once additional scientific data demonstrated numerous affected factions, a common thread of engagement was directed towards wildlife conservation efforts.

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