Floodplain Sampling in the San Joaquin Valley
Alejandro spent the spring and summer exploring deer habitat use and forage dynamics across grasslands in the San Joaquin Valley that vary in their flooding regime and livestock grazing pressure. We’re relieved he’s not doing this in Gorongosa where crocodiles and hippos would be more of problem for sampling amidst floodwaters!
In Search of Yosemite’s moutain otters
Luca, Maya, and Colle went in search of the, difficult to detect, river otters of Yosemite National Park’s high-elevation lakes. Hiking 30-40 miles per backpacking trip, the team took eDNA samples from lake water, assessed water chemistry, and observed other species in the lakes. One benefit of 10-day trips: pack llamas!
Initiation of the ABRUPT Project!
In June 2026, the first fieldwork for a new lab project took place in Mozambique. In collaboration with colleagues at the University of British Columbia and Montana State Univeristy, we began the Antelope Behavior and Resource Use near Population Thresholds (ABRUPT) project, which aims to understand the behavioral ecology of the two most abundant antelope populations in Gorongosa National Park. One of our first goals is to understand how these floodplain-associated species navigate the park’s seasonal inundation.
Radio Telemetry Training for UC Merced Field Ecologists in Training
This semester, we added training in radio telemetry assisted homing and triangulation of animal positions to Matt’s field ecology class BIO 148F. Students learned the conceptual aspects of radio telemetry in the classroom and were then tasked with refinding a plush capybara and dodo, which were donated by Matt’s four year old.
Poster Presentations by Graduating HERD Members
During UC Merced’s Research Week in April, Dolores and Florentino presented the results of their independent research projects in the lab. Dolores shared her work as part of the Vernal Pools Symposium at UCM’s new Field Education and Research Center; Florentino presented his as part of the Student Success Initiative symposium. We’re proud of their success!
Tracking Rangeland Condition and Cattle Foraging Patterns
This growing season, the HERD Lab has been tracking forage biomass and nutritional quality as well as cattle foraging decisions on the Merced Vernal Pools and Grasslands Reserve. Every other week, we are collecting total biomass, species-specific samples for forage quality analysis, and cattle fecal samples for diet analysis. Most of the HERD are contributing to the project, which started as Dolores’ UC Natural Reserve System Swarth-Fogel Fellowship project.
Workshop on DNA Metabarcoding at the Universidade de São Paulo
Over Spring Break, Matt led a workshop on DNA metabarcoding, as a tool for diet and community analysis, for graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. The workshop was hosted by the Genetics Department at the Universidade de São Paulo and participants were from several Brazilian universities.
HERD Lab-ers Become Botanists
In preparation for the first round of fieldwork for Alejandro’s thesis chapter assessing how flooding and cattle grazing influence habitat quality for Central Valley deer, we spent two days in February working with Emily Allen on our botany skills, focusing specifically on grasses in the Los Banos Wildlife Area. A big success was building familiarity with grass parts, navigating dichotomous keys, and identifying specimens in the field. Thanks, Emily!
Cyclone Idai Nature Article Covered by Nautilus Magazine
Nautilus magazine reported on our recent article, published in Nature , on the ecological impact of Cyclone Idai on the Gorongosa ecosystem. That paper found that smaller, floodplain-associated species were most vulnerable to cyclone-induced flooding.
Nautilus article ; Nature article ; Nature Research Briefing
Nature’s Fear Factor (PBS)
In 2019, HHMI and PBS filmed a PBS NOVA documentary in Gorongosa National Park that charted the reintroduction of African wild dogs to Gorongosa and their impact on the ecosystem. Our work on the reassembly of herbivore communities was central theme in the story. We were thrilled to hear the documentary was nominated for an Emmy award in 2021; congratulations to all!
Sean’s MSc Research Featuring in the L.A. Times!
As part of the Los Angeles Landscape History Project, Sean’s master’s work contributed to the first-ever historical recreation of the Los Angeles landscape. Sean used occupancy models to recreate the breeding bird community pre-urbanization and compared this to the observed presence of species in the late 1990s to quantify how a century of urbanization has redistributed biodiversity and disproportionately impacted species associated with lowland grassland and wetland habitat.
L.A. Times story ; technical report for Haynes Foundation
