Three important components of the mission of UC Natural Reserve System are research, education, and public service. These programs overlap with the administrative and inter-agency aspects of the plan; however, they are addressed separately because they are essential to the Natural Reserve System mission.
6.0 RESEARCH PROGRAM
Carpinteria Salt Marsh is one of the most studied and, therefore, one of the better understood estuarine ecosystems in southern California (see a listing of studies and published results in Appendix A, Bibliography). This base of knowledge has been achieved through a concerted effort to attract and foster research, particularly during the past decade. This knowledge also is useful for new researchers and research projects. A research and educational facility to facilitate growth and development of this program is proposed in the Infrastructure, Facilities, and Equipment Program (see Part II-A, 4.0). The following goals, policies, and actions continue the important research efforts in the Carpinteria Salt Marsh.
Goal 6. Attract and foster research at Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve.
Policy 6-1. Encourage research in the field sciences at Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, particularly as it focuses on estuaries of southern California and their adjacent watersheds and coastlines.
Action 6-1.1. Actively promote the Reserve (e.g., through lectures, field trips, brochures, and publications) and encourage its use for research purposes.
Action 6-1.2. Actively pursue funds to develop lectures, brochures, and publications that promote research at the CSMR.
Policy 6-2. Promote focused research projects that also can provide important information for the management and restoration of the Reserve and its resources.
Action 6-2.1. Actively pursue funds for focused research projects relating to the management and restoration of the Reserve and its resources.
Action 6-2.2. Actively pursue the compilation of resource inventories and make them available to researchers and other users of the Reserve and marsh.
Action 6-2.3. To the extent feasible, design research materials to minimize impacts to the visual resources and natural setting of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh.
Policy 6-3. Provide state-of-the-art computer database and mapping systems to support research in the CSMR.
Action 6-3.1. Maintain and make available to researchers the various CSMR databases and mapping systems, e.g.:
a. Information on biological resources (e.g., checklists of organisms) and physical resources (e.g., tidal, salinity, meteorological and hydrological data); and
b. The Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve Geographic Information System (GIS), based on Geo-Navigator or its successor (Arc/INFO).
Status
A small and narrowly-focused research program began with the University’s acquisition of 120 acres of the estuary in 1977. Activities were concentrated largely in benthic ecology and inventories of organisms. An active and broad research program has developed largely during the past decade. Research includes activities initiated or funded by Reserve personnel (e.g., inventories, ecosystem monitoring, etc.), by UC and non-UC faculty, student, and staff users (e.g., trematode parasite, avifaunal, ichthyological, and nutrient cycling research), and by agency personnel (e.g., endangered species monitoring and recovery; environmental toxin analyses; and hydrological and sedimentation analyses). A summary of research activities is included in the UCSB NRS Annual Report series, which is issued yearly.
The Research Program is designed more to facilitate research projects at CSMR than to conduct research directly. The Faculty and Reserve Managers actively encourage and even attract research through various communications with scientists and academic institutions. Such actions contribute to the breadth of the research activities. Furthermore, some of the Natural Reserve System funding and Crocker Endowment funding are allocated to research projects that need matching funds, or seed money, or are otherwise unfunded. Total expenditures range from $500 to $2,500 per year. This approach has been a key part of the continuing research activities at CSMR, and the return in information and public review of publications far exceeds the small amount of funding invested in these efforts.
One important Reserve-related research activity is the publication of studies through the UCSB Museum of Systematics and Ecology or its predecessors, the UCSB Herbarium and Vertebrate Museum. A previous effort includes Ferren (1985), Carpinteria Salt Marsh: Environment, History, and Botanical Resources of a Southern California Estuary. Page et al. have prepared a draft manuscript on the zoological resources of the estuary, with various chapters (e.g., invertebrate, birds, fish, parasites) authored by different Reserve researchers. This information is proposed to be published as a part of the Environmental Report Series of the UCSB Museum of Systematics and Ecology.
In addition to the above activities, the purchase of Reserve computer equipment with Crocker Endowment Funds and the development of the CSMR Geo-Navigator GIS, has provided much information for use and manipulation by users. The CSMR GIS has been developed with assistance from staff of both the UCSB Natural Reserve System and system-wide UC Natural Reserve System.
Implementation Priorities
Implementation priorities can be grouped into five categories:
Page, et al., the zoological resources of CSMR: complete and review draft; prepare final manuscript; secure funds for publication; work with UCSB MSE toward publication. In addition, locate funds toward the possible revision and re-printing of Ferren (1985). (estimate = $20,000)
CSMR Research Fund: Locate funds for a research endowment fund from which annual interest would be spent on Reserve-oriented research projects (see 2.0 Fiscal Program). Develop criteria to be used to evaluate research proposals for funding. (estimate = $100,000)
Reserve user database and GIS: Continue to update and expand the various Reserve-related databases, including literature and organism checklists and collections; update and expand Reserve GIS. (annual salary estimate = $15,000)
Research-oriented brochure: Continue to attract new research projects and users by producing a research-oriented CSMR brochure. (estimate = $2,000)
Web site: Make the Management Plan, GIS maps, and data bases available through a web site. (estimate = $1,500)
Other research opportunities
Facilitation of research opportunities through development of improved Reserve infrastructure, including a research facility, and Reserve-oriented research equipment. (see Part II-A, 4.0 Infrastructure, Facilities, and Equipment Program for funding estimates).
Constituents (Existing and Potential)
Research constituents are summarized in the UCSB NRS Annual Reports. The research users and user days are presented in Table 6 below. Al-though researchers constitute only 10% of all users of the Reserve, they comprise almost half (42%) of the user days, indicating the important role research plays among Reserve activities.
Within the research category of Reserve use, use by UCSB researchers outnumbers all other types combined as shown in Table 7. This research has been conducted largely by UCSB graduate students and their assistants. Major research topics include benthic ecology, plant ecology, plant reproductive biology, fish ecology, ornithology, nutrient cycling, parasitology, and water quality. Other universities and colleges represented in research use of CSMR include University of Montana, University of Georgia, UC Los Angeles and Westmont College. UCSB Natural Reserve System annual reports from 1990-91 to 1995-96 contain research reports and other details, a summary of which is provided on the following page.
Aquatic Biology
The California Mud Snail, Cerithidea californica – Todd Huspeni, UCSB
Consumer-Resource Interactions of Cerithidea californica – James Byers, UCSB
Distribution of Marine Communities – Andrew J. Brooks, UCSB
Effect of the Trematode parasite Euhaplorchis californiensis on the Behavior of the Estuarine Killifish, Fundulus parvipinnis – Kevin Lafferty, UCSB
General Applicability of Scaling Patterns between Density and Body Size to Natural Marine Communities – Jenifer Dugan, UCSB
General Patterns in the Structure of Coastal Wetlands Communities – Richard Ambrose, UC Los Angeles, and Kevin Lafferty, UCSB
The Importance of Spatial Heterogeneity and Recruitment in Organisms with Complex Life Cycles: Analysis of Digenetic Trematodes in a Salt Marsh Community – Theresa Stevens, UCSB
Larval Trematode Community Ecology – Armand Kuris, UCSB
Long-term Management of Bivalve Molluscs – Mark Page, UCSB
Parasite Communities as a Model for Community Structure – Kevin D. Lafferty, UCSB
Chemistry
Monitoring Toxicants in Carpinteria Salt Marsh – Mark Page, UCSB
Use of Larval Bioassays to Determine the Heritability of Toxicant Resistence Stress, with Emphasis on the Soft-Bottom Clams in the genus Macoma – R.A. Jensen and H.M. Page, UCSB
Use of the Stable Nitrogen Isotope Ration (15N) as a Tracer of Fertilizer-derived Nitrogen – Mark Page, UCSB
Water Quality Assessment of Carpinteria Salt Marsh – Mark Page, UCSB
Ichthyology
Fish Fauna of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh – Eric Schultz, UCSB and Santa Barbara City College
Incorporating the Effects of Differing Recruitment Strategies into Models of Interspecific Interactions – Andrew J. Brooks, UCSB
Distributions of Estuarine Fish – Andrew J. Brooks, UC Santa Barbara
Ornithology
Cultural Variation, Meme Flow, and Some Behavioral and Genetic Correlates in Belding’s Savannah Sparrows – Kris Burnell, UCSB
Genetic and Dialect Variation within and among Several Populations of Belding’s Savannah Sparrows – Kris L. Burnell, UCSB
Light-footed Clapper Rail Surveys – James Wiley and Richard Zembal, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Survey of Savannah Sparrows – Mark Holmgren, UCSB
Monthly bird surveys, 1990-1997 – Bob Hansen, Audubon Society
Terrestrial Botany
Comparative Salt Marsh Plan Community Ecology – Richard R. Vance and Richard F. Ambrose – UC Los Angeles
Effect of Assemblages of Pollinator Species on the Direction and Intensity of Natural Selection on Floral Traits – Daniel E. Meade, UCSB
Host Specificity Experiments of Cuscuta – Ragan Callaway, University of Montana, and Steve Pennings, University of Georgia
Impact of a Parasitic Plant on the Structure and Dynamics of Salt Marsh Vegetation – Steven C. Pennings, University of Georgia Marine Institute, and Ragan M. Callaway, University of Montana
Zonation Patterns of Salt Marsh Plants – Steven C. Pennings, Ragan Callaway, Wayne Ferren, UCSB
Inventory of Vascular Plants – Wayne Ferren, UCSB
Limitations, Needs, and Justification
Even though most of the research at CSMR is conducted by UCSB investigators, the extent of the Research Program is limited by the few UCSB faculty who work in coastal wetlands. The Research Program also is limited by the general lack of projects external to the UC system. Although some investigations by consulting companies and agencies are listed under 8.0 Public Service Program and in Appendix A, the amount of this work is limited in comparison to the UCSB contribution, which includes faculty, staff, and student research funded in part by contracts and grants. Refer above to the Implementation Priorities for a list of needs.
The CSMR Research Program has provided a wealth of information that is a major contribution to the understanding of southern California estuaries in general, and to Carpinteria Salt Marsh in particular. Faculty research, graduate student dissertations and theses, and undergraduate research reports all have contributed to the body of knowledge now referenced in the literature database (see Appendix A, CSMR Bibliography). CSMR is an important component of the UCSB and UC Natural Reserve Systems, and is a field-oriented study site that clearly fulfills its role in the University’s research mission. The information obtained from the Research Program has been invaluable in developing management strategies for the Reserve.
Discussion. To insure the integrity of research sites, researchers and other Reserve users should not remove stakes, pipes, flags, traps, and other miscellaneous items that may belong to other active research projects. To inform the Reserve Manager and other users which stakes or other research-related items belong to specific users, it is helpful for researchers to put identification tags and dates of use on the items. At the end of research projects, each user should review the sites and remove all materials, unless specific items are to be left for long-term monitoring or other activities. The Reserve Manager should be informed when a project is completed so he/she can discuss any points of interest or make decisions regarding the removal of materials that could be of use once they are no longer needed for the finished project. Research materials should be designed to minimize impacts to the visual resources and natural setting of the marsh.
All researchers are requested to acknowledge CSMR in any publication resulting from research done on the Reserve or with resources associated with the Reserve. Two copies of all published materials (one bound copy of each paper and dissertation) resulting from research done on the Reserve must be given to the UCSB Natural Reserve System office. In addition, a brief summary of the research and a list of current publications based on research done at CSMR should be provided to the Reserve Manager so that the information can be included in the subsequent annual report and added to the literature database.
7.0 EDUCATION PROGRAM
The CSMR Education Program contains many levels of educational opportunities and experiences. Various courses associated with UCSB and other universities and colleges use the Reserve. Local K-12 classes (e.g., Aliso School in the Carpinteria Unified School District and Washington School in the Santa Barbara School District) either take field trips to the Reserve and/or receive talks and slide shows by Reserve personnel. Local recreation and youth groups (e.g., Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and Junior Life Guards) include CSMR in their educational program. Many organizations (e.g., Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History) lead trips to CSMR as part of their educational programs. Thus CSMR provides a broad spectrum of educational opportunities relating to biological, cultural and other resources.
Although by definition the UC NRS includes only University and College level education in its educational mission, we have included various K-12 and community educational activities in this Education Program rather than as part of the Public Services Program. However, the two programs are linked closely and are inter-related in many aspects.
Goal 7. Expand the public’s and educational community’s knowledge and understanding of the Carpinteria Salt Marsh.
Policy 7-1. Encourage university and college instructors to include field trips to CSMR and to conduct experiments at CSMR.
Action 7-1.1. The Reserve Manager and Faculty Manager shall actively identify and initiate potential university and college teaching opportunities at CSMR that encourage Reserve-oriented instruction.
Policy 7-2. Encourage and participate in the K-12 curricula relating to UCSB’s reserves such as CSMR.
Action 7-2.1. Work with regional and local school systems, private schools, and local organizations such as the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History to develop a K-12 education program that focuses on the UCSB reserves, including CSMR.
Policy 7-3. Encourage the use of the CSMR for public education activities (e.g., field trips, lectures, classes) by public organizations.
Action 7-3.1. Foster and facilitate the use of CSMR for educational opportunities by other institutions, such as youth and adult classes offered by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara City College, Adult Education Programs or public interest organizations such as the Audubon Society and California Native Plant Society.
Action 7-3.2. The Reserve and Faculty Managers shall prepare and make available a slide show lecture on CSMR that provides an overview of the Reserve’s resources, functions, and values, and emphasizes the potential for educational and research opportunities.
Action 7-3.3. Make the Management Plan, GIS maps, and data bases available through a web site.
Status
CSMR has an active Education Program that is associated with formal course work at UCSB and various regional colleges such as Santa Barbara City College, Ventura Community College, and Antioch College. Several local non-profit institutions (e.g., Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History) also regularly use the Reserve in their education programs. Each year, various local, public and private, primary and secondary schools come to CSMR for tours led by the Reserve Manager. Class sizes range from 10 to 30 or more. The UCSB Natural Reserve System has discussed the possibility of coordinating a K-12 program with Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and local school districts. Such a program could have a potential to bring all Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito, and Carpinteria School children to each reserve managed by the UCSB Natural Reserve System at least once during their 13 years of training. Additional details on educational use of CSMR are contained in the UCSB Natural Reserve System Annual Reports.
Implementation Priorities
Educational implementation priorities include:
An expansion of regular class use by UCSB graduate and undergraduate students;
An increase in special studies and internship opportunities such as Biology 199 special studies and NRS Norris Grants;
An increase in non-UC college and university use;
Development of a series of K-12 reserve-related workbooks and field studies;
Coordination of a K-12 program with various organizations and school districts;
Preparation of educational activities using the CSMR GIS and databases; and
Continuation of K-12 teacher-training exercises.
Constituents (Existing and Potential)
The following information is summarized from the last six years of UCSB Natural Reserve System Annual Reports (see Tables 8 and 9). In comparison with the Research Program where a few researchers spend many days conducting field work at CSMR, the Education Program provides field trips for more users who tend to visit the Reserve much less frequently. For example, during the past six years, a total of 1,789 educational users visited CSMR for 1,915 user-days, which is approximately one use-day per visitor. Most K-12 class trips include one-time Reserve visitors. During this six-year period, approximately one-half of the Reserve user days were for educational purposes (see Table 8).
Within the education category of Reserve use at CSMR, non-UC/UCSB education use is 2-3 times greater than UCSB use (see Table 9). Much of the non-UC/UCSB use comes from the K-12 program that we have fostered at CSMR. This use also can be considered public service, but for record keeping purposes we prefer to include the use by primary and secondary schools as an education activity. Participating schools have included:
Antioch University
UC Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara City College
Westmont College
Ventura Community College
Carpinteria High School
Aliso School
Laguna Blanca School
Brooks Institute of Photography
Mt. Carmel School
Canaliño School
Santa Barbara Adult Education
Cate School
Washington School
Crane School
Limitations, Needs, and Justification. Educational use of CSMR is limited by: (1) the small size of the Reserve (in March 1997, 120 acres is within the Reserve) and the estuary (total of 230 acres); (2) by the relatively few, but important, UCSB and other college courses that take advantage of the Reserve; and (3) by the relatively informal arrangements for K-12 use. Although the wetlands are sensitive to many impacts that could be associated with regular and intensive access associated with educational activities, it would be possible to expand use for focused educational purposes as long as the timing, location, and intensity of use were managed and monitored for possible negative effects.
Program needs include funds to develop K-12 workbooks and potentially for university-level GIS and database-related exercises. To develop the coordinated K-12 program, an inter-organization committee could be formed to work with the school districts to pioneer a regional effort to use the UCSB Natural Reserve System reserves. The existing informal program at CSMR could serve as a model for system-wide activities.
The Education Program is justified through the inclusion of education within the mission of the UC Natural Reserve System. As interpreted here, education includes a broad spectrum, from university and college levels, to primary and secondary public and private school levels, to community adult and youth education. With one-half of the Reserve use coming from educational activities, the education function of CSMR clearly is being met.