Field ecology is a branch of biology that focuses on the outdoor study of the relationships among animals, plants, and their environment. To sign up for Ecology Programs or for questions please contact Sandy at Sandy.DeSimone@audubon.org or 949-858-0309. Ecology Programs Our 1 – 2 hour Ecology Programs focus on a…
Bird Research and Education in Southern California About SRBO Southern Orange County, one of California’s Important Bird Areas (IBA), encompasses some of the last remaining expanses of California’s southern coast wildlands. Starr Ranch plays a significant role in this IBA, protecting nearly 4,000 acres of imperiled habitats such as coastal…
Starr Ranch in the News Starr Ranch is bordered on the west by a residential community of over 1,100 houses, extensive landscaping, and a golf course. All of the surface water run-off from this community is diverted and dumped into two Starr Ranch streams, Tick and Dove Creeks. Tick and…
About Starr Ranch Starr Ranch is a 4000 acre Audubon preserve in southeast Orange County, California. Our activities at the Ranch focus on four major areas: land management, monitoring and applied habitat and wildlife research, education, and conservation advocacy. We take an adaptive management approach, using experiments to test most…
Project Introduction At Audubon California’s 4000-acre Starr Ranch Sanctuary, we take an active adaptive (i.e. research-based) approach to land management. We are currently using mechanical and physical methods, tested in experiments during 1997-98, to control artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus) in approximately 700 acres of degraded and native grassland sites throughout…
Until 2001, researchers on the Ranch came from universities and agencies all over the country. Since the inception of our innovative educational offerings, Starr Ranch Field Ecology Programs, in 2001, research has shifted to staff studies that contribute to Starr Ranch conservation and land management issues. Staff biologists have not only worked on projects that contribute to protection and restoration of the unique habitat mosaics at the Ranch but also have integrated their research into our education programs to provide both simulated and actual involvement in hands-on wildlife biology.
At Starr Ranch, staff involvement in research applied to land management offers a multidisciplinary approach to meet the needs and solve the problems of Starr Ranch wildlands: exotic species invasions, restoration and enhancement of rare habitats, long term monitoring of populations of native wildlife, urban impacts, and climate change effects. We aim to serve as a model of efficient, rigorous (i.e. science-based), and sustainable management and conservation practices for southern California ecosystems in the face of climate change.
