Biology Department

On a field trip to Santa Rosa Island in October students in Environmental Ethics and General Ecology classes conducted research, and worked to support the Cloud Forest Restoration Project.

Staying at the CSU Channel Islands Research Station, the students (and faculty Amanda Sparkman and Stephen Zylstra) researched dwarf alligator lizards, and assisted the Cloud Forest project by gathering toyon seeds, and by making “fog hats” that help plants capture moisture when the island's cloud cover rolls in.

Students also explored the island, and enjoyed a dark night sky, far from city lights and complete with Milky Way!

Ever wonder where your studies might take you?  For Senior Biology major Alex Rurik and his fellow researchers, their studies took them wherever snakes and lizards might be hanging out. And one exciting result of their fieldwork is an article now published in the journal Diversity, on which Alex is named first author! Kendra Dayton ’21 and Seth Wilmoth ’21 are co-authors, as is Dr. Amanda Sparkman.

The article focuses on the impact of urbanization on reptiles such as the Western Fence Lizard. It’s a timely subject, given the challenges to ecosystems posed by rising human populations and climate change. One of the study’s findings is that urban-dwelling lizard populations do well in parks, low-density residential areas, and areas with rock cover. So, the next time a lizard darts across your path, check out what cover they’re making use of. Start your own research!

Meanwhile, congratulations to all these published researchers, and especially to first author Alex Rurik!

Almost every Autumn since 2012, Dr. Amanda Sparkman and her General Ecology students have been investigating Westmont's bird populations, by conducting bird surveys at five different locations across campus. At dawn.

And unlike so much that we hear about the environment these days, this news is good: Westmont's birds seem to be doing pretty well, with no evidence of declines in species richness (number of species).

The students have benefited as well: they've encountered 38 of Westmont's 110 documented bird species, and learned fundamental methods for analyzing changes in species richness and diversity over time.

Restoration Ecologist Joanna Tang shared research on California's critically important vernal pool wetlands.

With only 5% of vernal pool habitat remaining, restoration will play the primary role in preventing the extinction of these wetlands. Despite this need, fundamental studies of their restoration ecology are limited, especially in SoCal. Do we understand ecosystem composition, mechanics, and dynamics well enough to conserve and reconstruct this vital part of our local ecosystem? Tang's research uses Southern California vernal pools as a case study for testing and expanding our knowledge of ecological theory, addressing the urgent need that confronts us. 

The human population of Westmont comes and goes with the academic calendar, but the campus is a year-round home to countless other occupants, and many of them go unnoticed. Once you know where to look, however, the fascinating array of Westmont's wildlife is there to be discovered.

In celebration of these wild neighbors of ours, the Biology department has launched the Westmont Biodiversity website, housing a growing collection of photos, videos and audio recordings. Watch a bobcat creep along the edge of campus...learn what a Phoebe sounds like and where you might see one...see how small a Small Pointed Snail actually is!

See Westmont through new eyes at www.westmontbiodiversity.com!  If you have material to contribute to the website, contact Dr. Amanda Sparkman.

Beth Horvath has seen the publication of her large monograph on Gorgonian corals. It was published by ZooKeys as a Special Issue, #860, comprised of three separate articles in the one issue, and went public and on-line on July 4th—a unique form of Independence Day! As a result of this work, Beth is also listed as a co-author on the 2019 revised NOAA West Coast Deep-Sea species list.