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Rob Fulton, the Desert Studies Center’s longtime site manager, passed away last week in an auto accident while driving to his mountain residence in Idyllwild, CA. Rob was Mr. Zzyzx to many, having contributed to the Desert Studies program for nearly four decades. He will be deeply missed. continue reading →
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On Friday May 4th, the CSU Desert Studies Consortium (CDSC) held the first Desert Sciences Session at the Southern California Academy of Sciences (SCAS) Annual Meeting. This year’s meeting was held Cal Poly Pomona, a member campus of the consortium. The morning session opened with an overview of the CSU Desert Studies Consortium presented by CDSC Faculty Director, Darren Sandquist. Thereafter, six talks spanning many fields of desert research were presented: continue reading →
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by Ashleigh Davis, CSUF Desert Docent
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The Mojave Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is one of the desert’s most recognizable faunal species, but due to human activities it is also one of the most vulnerable. Although highly adapted to the environmental extremes of the Mojave Desert, G. agassizii was listed as ‘threatened’ by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1990, largely due to impacts related to human activities. Today, populations of G. agassizii continue to decline owing to habitat loss, disease and predation. continue reading →
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Last week, the CSUF Southern California Ecosystems Research Program (SCERP) kicked off year 16 with its annual visit to the Desert Studies Center for the first week of the month-long Problems in the Environment course. A new cohort of five undergraduate biology scholars joined biology faculty members and former SCERP scholars (serving as peer mentors) to take on the first of three week-long challenge projects. continue reading →
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Artist-in-residence Shawn Demarest of the drew inspiration from the Mojave National Preserve for her exhibit titled "From Aiken to Zzyzx." Click on the link to learn where you can see her amazing works!
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Castle Mountain BioBlitz - CSU Desert Studies is looking to help the nonprofit group "Basin and Range Watch" catalog and raise awareness of the wildlife inhabiting the 38,000 acres of desert called "Castle Mountain." This will be done using the app, iNaturalist. We plan to help out this organization by identifing as much as we can over Labor day weekend. Please click here for more information!
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Consortium-Sponsored Courses for Winter 2019!
This winter we are excited to announce 1 study abroad and 2 study away courses sponsored by the California Desert Studies Consortium.
Conservation and Restoration Ecology in Baja California Sur, Mexico
Biology 482 will take CSU students to the dry tropical heat of Sierra de la Laguna and the astonishing coastal areas of Magdalena Bay in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Over this 8-day field trip students will learn practical field restoration experience and about conservation efforts within Baja California.
Geo-Bio Field Investigations in the Mojave Desert
A fundamental cross-disciplinary course in which participants will learn to describe and analyze geological and biological processes and apply this knowledge during an 8-day field trip to the Mojave Desert. There will be two courses offered: an early majors course from CSUF and a more advanced majors/graduate course from CSULA.
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DSC Guests
April
- CSU Fullerton Biology: Evolution and Organismal Biology (BIOL 152)
- CSU Los Angeles Physics and Astronomy
- SETI Institute: USA STEM tour from New Zealand
- 2018 Desert Symposium
- Cuesta College Environmental Studies
- CSU Los Angeles Biology: Environmental Education (ENST595T)
- CSU Dominguez Hills STEM scholars
May
- Victor Valley College Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Mt. San Antonio College Geology
- UCR Extended Education: Spring Birds
- CSU Los Angeles Biology: Ornithology (BIOL 2510)
- Cal Poly Pomona Geography: Field Geography (GEOG 309)
- UC Natural Reserve System Assistant Directors
- San Fransisco State University Biology: Herpetology (BIOL 475)
- UCR Extended Education: Insects and Other Arthropods
- UCR Extended Education: Snakes and Lizards
- CSU San Bernadino Art: Photography (ART 392 and ART 492)
- Sonoma State University Biology: Field Herpetology (BIOL 496)
- Sacramento City College Biology: Desert Natural History
June
- CSU Fullerton Biology: Southern California Ecosystems Research Program
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Research Guests
- Eric Routman and Janea McCarthy, San Francisco State University: Comparative Genetic Analysis of Mojave Desert Reptiles
- Shellie Puffer, USGS: Population survey and distribution of the western pond turtle in the Mojave Desert
- Katie Earp, NPS/USGS Water Quality Partnership: Mojave Tui Chub
- Ron Amundson, UC Berkeley: The Role of Climate on the Soil Carbon Cycle in the Mojave Desert: Projected Impacts from 21st Century Climate and Land Cover
- Britney Penouilh, MNP Artists Foundation, Artist-in-Residence
- Richard Ramirez, University of New Mexico: Effects of Pneumonia on Desert bighorn sheep
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