These posts were written by students in my Restoration Ecology course at Sonoma State University.
By Paolo Solari: Frogs are both terrestrial and aquatic animals, which means they live both on the land and in the water, making all parts of the riparian corridor and creek potentially critical habitat. Pacific Tree Frogs are noisy critters, especially the males, which make relatively loud breeding calls. Additionally, Read more
By Danielle Wegner: Another viewpoint we wanted to incorporate when examining the Copeland Creek is how species with large ranges utilize the creek that cuts through the north end of Sonoma State. We grouped this category into the wide range apex species, which incorporates species such as mountain lion, bobcat, deer, Read more
By Paolo Solari: Coverboards have been used in amphibian and other terrestrial vertebrate studies for many years, and can be a great way to determine which animals are present in an area. Coverboards offer suitable nest sites for terrestrial vertebrates (mostly amphibians) and offer protection from predators. They also are Read more
By Niall Ogburn and Michael Lutz: This semester we were tasked with the responsibility of testing the water quality in Copeland Creek, as well as getting our hands dirty and finding out what kind or organisms live in the creek (and if they’re native or non-native). To test water quality, Read more
By Beverly Wong: One might notice the huge contrast between the atmosphere of the different parts of Sonoma State’s campus. While there are herds of students buzzing and rushing about to get to their next class in the main area by the infamous ‘Bacon and Eggs’ structure, the atmosphere quickly Read more
By Megan Gaitan and Brian McIsaac: The Copeland Creek Monitoring Plan has grown from an ecological model formed at the start of the semester into a full blown project that now includes a baseline level of data and clearly outlined methods for monitoring in years to come. This investigation stems Read more
By Jordan DeSilva and Jasmin Perdue: The Plan Channel Morphology of Copeland Creek–that was our task. What did that mean? What do we measure? Where do we start? Those were the thoughts racing through our minds upon our assignment. The semester long project clearly began with research research research, which is Read more
By Jana Johnston and Jessi Laughlin: We were tasked with collecting base line data for the under story vegetation of Copeland Creek. To do this, we measured whole plot species richness as well as absolute and relative cover of herbaceous species by using a point intercept method and percent cover of shrub Read more
By Niall Ogburn, Danielle Wegner, and Michael Lutz: Cruising through the meandering roads of west Marin County, the students of Restoration Ecology at Sonoma State were about to experience salmon restoration efforts performed in the real world. Pulling into the parking lot of the Leo T. Cronin Fish Viewing Area, Read more
By Gianpaolo Solari & Beverly Wong: It is widely accepted that California’s native fish (largely our salmon, steelhead, and trout) are experiencing a consistent, momentous decline. Many of these populations are diminishing at a dangerously rapid rate. Of course, there are many factors that drive our gilled friends towards extinction. Read more