The coyotes, skunks, birds, and bats of CSUDH are getting their moment in the spotlight, as the university is part of a major expansion to a project studying climate change and habitats across California.

Alongside 16 other CSU campuses, CSUDH has joined up with the Sentinel Sites for Nature program, the state’s coordinated system of long-term biodiversity monitoring sites. Before this recent expansion, which was funded with $2.5million from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, there were just 39 monitoring spots. Now it’s 110.

“Previous sites have been in rural areas,” says Assistant Professor of Biology Karina Sanchez, who is leading the CSUDH portion of the study. “With the addition of CSUDH and other more urban sites, we’re getting a much wider range of the landscape. We’re providing a new perspective on biodiversity monitoring that just wasn’t there before.

”Each site is equipped with non-invasive monitoring technologies including camera traps, acoustic recorders, and time-lapse cameras that will record data on animals that make the area their home. “All of the data is being compiled in a central location, so researchers will have access to data from all the way up and down the state,” says Sanchez.

The study also provides an opportunity for students to participate in field work and develop skills they might not learn in the classroom. “We’re so excited that we’re able to use this as a living lab for our students,” says Sanchez.

Veronica Barrera, one of the students contributing to the project, got the chance to look at her surroundings in a new way. “Research opportunities like this help students develop scientific skills, learn how to ask and answer ecological questions, and contribute to conservation efforts that can benefit both the campus and the surrounding community.”

Students have set up acoustic monitoring equipment to find and identify bird species in two areas on campus: the Dominguez Hills Ecological Research Reserve, in the southwest corner of Dignity Health Sports Park, and the Heritage Creek area. They have also partnered with Gardena Willows Wetland to establish a Sentinel Site in their urban wetland. 

---