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Projects

Learn how our expertise translates into real-world results by taking a look at some of our recent projects.

Finding Unusual Plants in a Well-known Reserve

Despite being one of the most accessible and well-visited state parks in San Diego County, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is biologically isolated, sitting between the Pacific Ocean and the urban development of La Jolla. More.

Surveying Western Yellow Bats in Coachella Valley

Over a period of three years, San Diego Natural History Museum biologists are surveying 32 native palm groves, or palm oases, and riparian areas within the Coachella Valley to study the bat species these habitats support. With funding from the Coachella Valley Conservation Commission, this study builds on previous surveys conducted in the lower Colorado Desert in 2012. More.

A Complex in Context: Bird Surveys at the Oak Grove Unit of the San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area Complex

As part of a five-year project assisting the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), our Museum biologists have been conducting bird surveys of the CDFW’s Oak Grove Unit of the San Felipe Valley Wildlife Area Complex in north-central San Diego County. More.

Simple Steps to Save the Stephens’ Kangaroo Rat

In 2020, SDG&E began replacing old power poles throughout Warner Valley—home to the largest remaining population of federally threatened Stephens’ kangaroo rats. They contracted our team to ensure the rats were minimally impacted by the construction. Our final exclusion device design is an excellent example of how simple tools and stakeholder teamwork can achieve a collective conservation goal. More.

San Diego County-wide Pallid Bat and Townsend’s Big-eared Bat Surveys

Led by Bat Biologist Drew Stokes, the BioServices team conducted county-wide surveys for two California Species of Special Concernpallid bat and Townsend’s big-eared bator which updated status and distribution information was needed to inform San Diego Management and Monitoring Program efforts, and region-wide planning and conservation efforts. More.

Vertebrate Inventory, MCAGCC Twentynine Palms

To expand on a baseline wildlife diversity study conducted in 1999 and complete the 2007-2011 Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan year specific projects, museum biologists surveyed for small mammals and reptiles across 20 undeveloped Range Training Areas (RTAs), representing nearly the entire 600,000-acre Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC). More.

LeConte’s Thrasher Status and Nest Site Requirements Study, Colorado Desert

In support of the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan’s (CVMSHCP’s) monitoring program, BioServices staff in 2019 investigated the status of the LeConte’s Thrasher in the Coachella Valley, where the species’ numbers had severely declined. More.

Riparian Bird Nest Monitoring and Cowbird Management, Coachella Valley

Guided by the results of baseline surveys conducted in 2002-2004 by the Center for Conservation Biology, and resurveys conducted in 2014 by the San Diego Natural History Museum, our team began implementation of management recommendations for five bird species identified as targets for conservation and one species identified as a management concern by the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP). More.

Bat Surveys for SR138 Road Widening

The Museum’s Bat Biologist Drew Stokes conducted focused bat surveys, identified appropriate mitigation measures, and oversaw implementation of these measures to reduce impacts to bat species on this Caltrans road-widening project between Interstate 15 and Phelan. More.

California Gnatcatcher Habitat Analysis and Population Surveys, MCAS Miramar

Museum biologists conducted station-wide surveys and an in-depth habitat and productivity study at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar for the federal and state threatened coastal California gnatcatcher. More.

Bat and Desert Tortoise Surveys, NAF El Centro

To assist Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest (NAVFAC SW) in meeting the requirements of the Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP), the San Diego Natural History Museum and Conservation Science Research and Consulting conducted focused surveys for bats and desert tortoise, respectively, on Naval Air Facility (NAF) El Centro and provided associated management recommendations. More.

Avian and Bat Mortality Monitoring and Burrowing Owl Surveys, Mount Signal

In accordance with the project-specific Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy and Burrowing Owl Avoidance, Minimization, Mitigation, and Monitoring Plans, the San Diego Natural History Museum is assisting with post-construction annual bird and bat monitoring, and burrowing owl surveys for the Mount Signal 3 project, a 252-megawatt solar project in southern Imperial County. More.

Arthropod Prey Availability in Cactus Wren Territories, San Diego County

The primary purpose of this study was to document the abundance and availability of arthropod species found in the territories of coastal cactus wren, a California Species of Special Concern and Multiple Species Conservation Program-covered species, in San Diego County. More.

Flat-tailed Horned Lizard Range-wide Habitat Model

The Flat-tailed Horned Lizard Interagency Coordinating Committee contracted with BioServices at the San Diego Natural History Museum, in partnership with WRA, Inc., to provide a species distributional model for Flat-tailed Horned Lizard, a California Species of Special Concern, and evaluate its potential for presence throughout its range based upon habitat and climate characteristics. More.

Endangered Plant and Invertebrate Species Survey, NAWS China Lake

To assist Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest (NAVFAC SW) in meeting the requirements of the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) for Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, the BioServices team at San Diego Natural History Museum conducted focused surveys for invertebrate species of regional conservation interest and/or management concern, and one federally endangered plant species, Lane Mountain milkvetch. More.

Herbarium Voucher Collection, MCB Camp Pendleton

Since 2007, the San Diego Natural History Museum has been building and maintaining a floristic inventory and herbarium for Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (Base). In the initial stages of this project, Curator Dr. Jon Rebman and Department Associate Margie Mulligan examined the existing Base herbarium, verified voucher specimen identifications, and determined collection needs. More.

Least Bell’s Vireo Population Monitoring, Otay Ranch Preserve

Since 2011, museum biologists have been surveying for and monitoring nests of the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo. We provide annual updates on the population size, distribution, and breeding status in order to track changes over time and inform management decisions at the Preserve. More.

Avian Surveys of Habitat Restoration Areas, Imperial Wildlife Area

What changes are there in bird abundance and diversity following habitat restoration? To find out, BioServices conducted the first of several avian point counts this year at the Finney-Ramer Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area along the Alamo River. More.