STEPS-Funded Collaborations:

The Institute facilitates development of interdisciplinary research on the STEPS research priorities by helping with the early stages of interdisciplinary collaborations. These efforts include funds for graduate and undergraduate students working with faculty among environmental disciplines and workshops that link UCSC faculty with other researchers and policy makers outside the university.

The Institute is always searching for new and innovative approaches that link science, technology, engineering, policy, and society. UCSC faculty attempting to develop collaborations on the major STEPS research priorities should contact the STEPS Director to discuss funding possibilities.

Current Collaborations:

Conservation and Biodiversity

UCSC Faculty:
John Thompson, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Mark Carr, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Laurel Fox, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Gage Dayton, Director, UCSC Natural Reserves
Karen Holl, Department of Environmental Studies
Marc Mangel, Department Applied Mathematics and Statistics
Grant Pogson, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Don Potts, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Peter Raimondi, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Agencies, Organizations, and Universities:
Big Sur Land Trust, Big Sur Ornithology, California State Parks, Elkhorn Slough Reserve, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, National Marine Fisheries Service, The Nature Conservancy, Santa Lucia Conservancy, Stanford University, Ventana Wilderness Society, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Wildlife Conservation Society, UC Berkeley

Abstract:
The Central Coast of California is a region rich both in biological diversity and jurisdictional complexity. The STEPS Institute is helping to coordinate a network or researchers, managers, and policy makers to evaluate rapidly changing biological diversity along the steep environmental gradients that characterize this part of California. Those gradients include the land-sea interface and the coastal-inland gradient of ecosystems. The network include participants from UC universities, federal and state agencies, private organizations and foundations, and major landowners.

Movement of Top Predators:
Combining Sensor Technology and Biology

UCSC Faculty:
Katia Obraczka (PI), Department of Computer Engineering
Roberto Manduchi, Department of Computer Engineering
Patrick Mantey, Department of Computer Engineering
Terrie Williams, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Abstract:
The goal of this collaboration between biologists and engineers is to develop instruments that will help evaluate the movement and impact of large predators within ecosystems. Large mammalian carnivores are important in the organization of biodiversity in many ecosystems. Recent work on free-ranging marine mammals has demonstrated the power of using instrumentation to integrate energetic and behavioral data to study the impacts of predators within ecosystems. Key to this approach has been the use of animal-borne sensors that provide information on physiology, behavior, and movement.This research will help inform public policy on conservation by providing better data on the movement patterns of large terrestrial carnivores.

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Regional Climate Change and Precipitation:
Linking Models to Management

UCSC Faculty:
Bruno Sanso, Department of Applied Math and Statistics
Lisa Sloan, Department of Earth Sciences
Michael Loik, Department of Environmental Studies

Agency: Metropolitan Water District

Abstract:
The Institute is supporting a cluster of collaborations on the ways in which regional climate change is affecting precipitation patterns and water flow within and among ecosystems. Lisa Sloan’s Climate Change and Impacts (CCIL) Laboratory is developing high resolution computer models on how changes in atmospheric gas levels are altering precipitation patterns within California. Bruno Sanso is working in collaboration with the CCIL to provide statistical underpinnings to different climate model projections. Michael Loik’s group is heading PrecipNet, a consortium of researchers attempting to link biologically-relevant estimates of changes in precipitation with potential changes in vegetation and land use among ecosystems. A subset of these groups is partnering with Metropolitan Water District on novel approaches to the links between climate change, precipitation, and water flow. With a better understanding the uncertainties in the climate model simulations, the information produced from these models will be of greater use in planning for future climate change

Nutrient Flow in Coastal Rivers:
Managing the Pajaro River

UCSC Faculty:
Andy Fisher (PI), Department of Earth Sciences and Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics
Paul Koch, Department of Earth Sciences & Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics
Marc Los Huertos, Department of Environmental Studies & Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Daniel Press, Department of Environmental Studies & Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems
Carol Shennan, Department of Environmental Studies & Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems

Agency:
U.S. Geological Survey, Environmental Isotope Laboratory and Water Resources Division

Abstract:
The Influence of Surface Water Ground Water Interactions on Water Quantity and Quality
This collaborative effort is analyzing the input and movement of nutrients through the Pajaro River in central coastal California and the tools and opportunities that may improve resource regulation and management. The work emphasizes nitrate (NO3), one of the most common aquatic contaminants in the state. The research team is using the Pajaro River as a test case of how to prevent, control, or mitigate excess nutrient loading associated with common and innovative agricultural practices.

Sacramento River Restoration:
Linking Science and Society

UCSC Faculty:
Brent Haddad (PI), Department of Environmental Studies
Daniel Doak, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Gregory Gilbert, Department of Environmental Studies
Karen Holl, Department of Environmental Studies
Nirvikar Singh, Department of Economics

Abstract:
UCSC conservation biologists, policy analysts, and social scientists are collaborating on ways to help ecological restoration proceed in regions where there is substantial economic activity. This UCSC team of researchers is using decision-making modeling to evaluate how organizations and individuals make decisions in light of (1) the choices that others are making, and (2) knowledge of how everyone's choices collectively affect the rivers and surrounding landscapes. The research is helping restorationists, regulators, and resource users make better decisions about how to achieve multiple, competing goals. It is also developing methods that will be useful in other efforts that link social decision-making and scientific results.

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