Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration

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Pictured above is CCBER's main office where collections are kept. Located in Goleta, CA. CCBER building.jpg
Pictured above is CCBER's main office where collections are kept. Located in Goleta, CA.

The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) is a research center under the Office of Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) whose mission is to preserve regional biodiversity and restore ecosystems on campus lands. [1] CCBER has three main functions: curation and preservation of natural history collections, native coastal ecosystem and habitat restoration on campus lands, and education and outreach for both UCSB students and local community schools.

Contents

Vernon Cheadle, the Chancellor of UCSB 1963-1977, was a botanist focused on the examination of the anatomical and phylogenetic specialization of vessels in monocotyledons. Cheadle-and-palm-leaf copy.jpg
Vernon Cheadle, the Chancellor of UCSB 1963–1977, was a botanist focused on the examination of the anatomical and phylogenetic specialization of vessels in monocotyledons.
The Ventura marsh milk-vetch, a plant thought to be extinct for 30 years, is being reintroduced by CCBER. Ventura marsh milk-vetch (14717834291).jpg
The Ventura marsh milk-vetch, a plant thought to be extinct for 30 years, is being reintroduced by CCBER.

History

In 1954, a UCSB faculty member, Dr. Cornelius H. Muller, founded a herbarium to be used for research and teaching. Another faculty member, Mary Erickson, founded a vertebrate collection with similar goals. In 1995, the two facilities merged to become the Museum of Systematics and Ecology (MSE). In 2005, MSE teamed up with the UCSB ecological restoration program, whose director was Wayne Ferren, to become CCBER. [3] CCBER's first director was Jennifer Thorsch, a botanical researcher at UCSB. [4]

CCBER was named after Vernon and Mary Cheadle. Vernon Cheadle was the chancellor at UCSB between 1962 and 1977, but also a botanist who, along with Katherine Esau, contributed thousands of specimens to CCBER's natural history collections. [5] Vernon Cheadle and Katherine Esau formed a research partnership at UC Davis in 1950, and when Cheadle became the chancellor of UCSB in 1962, Esau followed so they could continue their collaboration. Katherine Esau, a pioneering plant anatomist, focused much of her work on phloem, the food conducting cells in higher plants. Esau published numerous award-winning botany textbooks, including "Plant Anatomy," published in 1953. [6] The Cheadle and Esau families have made generous donations that have ensured the long-term operation of CCBER. [5] [6]

The current senior staff at CCBER are: Katja Seltmann (Kathrine Esau Director), Lisa Stratton (Director of Ecosystem Management), and Gregory Wahlert (Shirley Tucker Curator of Biodiversity Collections and Botanical Research). [7]

Projects and Programs

Ecological Restoration

CCBER conducts varying amounts of native ecosystem and habitat restoration and management on over 300 acres of open-space on the UCSB campus, between the Goleta Slough and Elwood Mesa in Goleta, California. [8] The open space areas are used for multiple purposes, such as ecosystem and native habitat restoration and conservation, education, research, outreach, and community involvement.

According to Section 30607.1 of the California Coastal Act, when UCSB plans to develop and potentially damage land, specifically wetlands, they must undertake restoration projects on separate pieces of land of equal or greater area and biological productivity in order to mitigate the ecological impacts of construction. [9] Many of these restoration efforts are handed over to CCBER, including San Clemente wetland, the lot 38 bioswale, North Bluff and the Campus Lagoon. [9]

Some of the open space areas managed by CCBER already contained portions of intact native vegetation and/or wetlands that are protected by the Clean Water Act and Coastal Act, as well as areas that are being restored after significant human impacts, such as North Bluff, Campus Lagoon, Manzanita Village, Storke Wetlands, San Clemente wetlands, and the 136-acre (55 ha) North Campus Open Space. [10] While many of CCBER's restoration projects are products of this agreement, many are also volunteer based restoration projects. Examples of CCBER's volunteer based restoration projects include parts of Campus Lagoon, and most of North Campus Open Space.

CCBER's management areas include: East Bluff, Campus Lagoon, Lot 38 Bioswale, Manzanita Village, North Bluff, North Campus Open Space (NCOS), North Parcel, San Clemente, San Joaquin, Sierra Madre, South Parcel, and Storke Wetland. The open spaces managed by CCBER are characterized by coastal dune, oak woodland, coastal sage scrub, grassland, and wetland ecosystems. [11]

Restoration methods include non-native species removal, reintroduction of native species, and often the creation of wetland features such as bioswales and vernal pools. In some cases, the restoration involves the removal or conversion of structures built during previous uses or ownership of the land. For example, nearly half of the area that comprises NCOS was the site of a former golf course before CCBER began restoring the wetland and upland habitats that previously existed there. [12]

Natural History Collections

CCBER runs the UCSB Natural History Collection, which houses around half a million individual plant, insect, and vertebrate specimens including: invertebrates, mammals, birds, reptiles, vascular plants, algae, and lichen. [13] This collection is maintained by CCBER for educational, research, and outreach purposes. [3]

The UCSB Natural History Collections at CCBER provide data for research and support mentoring and training for collection curators and student-driven research projects.  

"Capturing California's Flowers," one of CCBER's current projects made possible through a National Science Foundation grant, will allow CCBER to digitize more than 900,000 plant specimens. Digitalization of these specimens will make them available online for anyone to use for research and education. [14]

Another National Science Foundation grant of $4.3 million will allow Katja Seltmann, the center's Collections Director, to investigate terrestrial parasite species. Investigation of these species is conducted because arthropods are major carriers of diseases to humans worldwide, and scientists like Seltmann are investigating how they will respond to the shifting climate. Seltmann uses an online data server called Ontobee to share data with the 27 other research institutions working on the Terrestrial Parasite Tracker project. [15]

CCBER also conducts research by monitoring wildlife, partnered with iNaturalist and the Audubon Society.

Access to Collections and Research

CCBER is currently working on digitizing specimens of their natural history collection, making the collection accessible on a large database for research and education. Specimen .png
CCBER is currently working on digitizing specimens of their natural history collection, making the collection accessible on a large database for research and education.

For over 60 years CCBER's collections have contributed to the research and educational missions of UCSB. Natural history collections and collection-based research are vital to discovering, understanding, and documenting biodiversity and to inform public policy on such issues as invasive species, climate change, evolution, and emerging public health threats. Natural history collections represent the irreplaceable documentation of life on Earth.

CCBER's collections are available for use by university faculty, researchers, staff, and students as well as community members, including biological consultants, governmental agencies, K-12 educators and their students. The digitalization of CCBER's collection will make their specimens available to a global audience. [4]

CCBER is conducting research to help understand how ecosystems will shift as a result of climate change, with a goal of developing adaptation and mitigation strategies. CCBER's primary research areas include the Coastal Ecosystem Restoration Research Program, Arthropods of Coastal California, Plant Speciation via Hybridization and Allopolyploidy, Natural History Collection Information Science, and Endangered Endemic Plants. [16]

Education

CCBER involves itself in community education through UCSB courses, field guides, placement of interpretive placards, workshops, seminars, a K-12 environmental education program, and tours. [17] It also provides field and lab-based resources for faculty, staff, and students at UCSB. [18]

Affiliates and Funding

Kids in Nature (KIN) is a K-12 education program run by CCBER . KIN2-1.png
Kids in Nature (KIN) is a K-12 education program run by CCBER .

CCBER is funded through grants for scientific research and restoration from institutions like the National Science Foundation and Museum and Library Services, and agencies such as CalTrans and U.S. Fish and Wildlife. CCBER is a non-profit and relies largely on donations and grants to do program work. A grant awarded in 2013 by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), will allow CCBER to digitize around 70,000 of the specimens in their Natural History collection. [3]

Another way CCBER receives funding is through UCSB construction and UCSB's relationship with the California Coastal Commission. According to Section 30607.1 of the California Coastal Act, when UCSB plans to develop and potentially damage land, specifically land containing wetlands, they must hand over an equal area of land, with equal or greater biological productivity for restoration efforts. [9] CCBER serves as a campus agency that helps with locating and restoring these mitigation areas.

Related Research Articles

Wetland Land area that is permanently or seasonally saturated with water

A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded by water, either permanently or seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from terrestrial land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique anoxic hydric soils. Wetlands are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal species. Methods for assessing wetland functions, wetland ecological health, and general wetland condition have been developed for many regions of the world. These methods have contributed to wetland conservation partly by raising public awareness of the functions some wetlands provide.

University of California, Santa Barbara Public university in Santa Barbara, California

The University of California, Santa Barbara is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara-Isla Vista, California, with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021-2022. It is part of the University of California 10-university system. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers' college, UCSB joined the University of California system in 1944, and is the third-oldest undergraduate campus in the system, after UC Berkeley and UCLA.

Restoration ecology Scientific study of renewing and restoring ecosystems

Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interruption and action. Effective restoration requires an explicit goal or policy, preferably an unambiguous one that is articulated, accepted, and codified. Restoration goals reflect societal choices from among competing policy priorities, but extracting such goals is typically contentious and politically challenging.

Katherine Esau German-American botanist (1898–1997)

Katherine Esau was a German-American botanist who received the National Medal of Science for her work on plant anatomy.

Goleta Slough

The Goleta Slough is an area of estuary, tidal creeks, tidal marsh, and wetlands near Goleta, California, United States. It primarily consists of the filled and unfilled remnants of the historic inner Goleta Bay about 8 miles (13 km) west of Santa Barbara. The slough empties into the Pacific Ocean through an intermittently closed mouth at Goleta Beach County Park just east of the UCSB campus and Isla Vista. The slough drains the Goleta Valley and watershed, and receives the water of all of the major creeks in the Goleta area including the southern face of the Santa Ynez Mountains.

Ballona Wetlands

Ballona Wetlands State Ecological Reserve is located in Los Angeles County, California, just south of Marina del Rey and east of Playa del Rey. The natural wetlands once included the areas now taken up by Marina del Rey, New Amsterdam Canals of Venice, Playa Vista, northern Playa del Rey, and formerly extended northerly beyond Venice Boulevard to the historical Venice Canals that are now covered in asphalt with 6 streets.

Golden Gate Biosphere Network

The Golden Gate Biosphere Network is an internationally recognized voluntary coalition of federal, state, and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, universities, and private partners within the Golden Gate Biosphere (GGB) region. The Network works towards protecting the biosphere region’s biodiversity and conserving its natural resources to maintain the quality of life for people within the region. The Network has been part of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme since 1988 and is part of the US Biosphere Network and EuroMAB. It is recognized by UNESCO due to the significant biodiversity of the region, as well as the Network's efforts to demonstrate and promote a balanced relationship between humans and the biosphere.

Riparian zone Interface between land and a river or stream

A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by hydrophilic plants. Riparian zones are important in ecology, environmental resource management, and civil engineering because of their role in soil conservation, their habitat biodiversity, and the influence they have on fauna and aquatic ecosystems, including grasslands, woodlands, wetlands, or even non-vegetative areas. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone,riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word riparian is derived from Latin ripa, meaning "river bank".

Goleta Beach

Goleta Beach is a region of coastline located near Goleta, California, just east of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) campus. A portion of the shore of Goleta Bay is managed by the County of Santa Barbara, as the Goleta Beach County Park (GBCP). The beach itself is partly man-made as sand was spread onto an existing sandspit in 1945. The beach is a seasonal habitat for migrating shorebirds, including the snowy plover, an endangered species, and is occasionally closed due to nourishment efforts.

Guanacaste Conservation Area

Guanacaste Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by the Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservacion (SINAC) of Costa Rica for conservation in the northwestern part of Costa Rica. It contains three national parks, as well as wildlife refuges and other nature reserves. The area contains the Area de Conservación Guanacaste World Heritage Site, which comprises four areas.

Cornelius Herman ("Neil") Muller, born Müller, was an American botanist and ecologist who pioneered the study of allelopathy and oak classification.

UC Santa Cruz Coastal Science Campus

The University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Coastal Science Campus consists of five main institutions: UCSC's Long Marine Laboratory, UCSC's Coastal Biology Building, the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, and the Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center. The physical location of the campus is at the western end of Santa Cruz, California, roughly 10 minutes away from UCSC's main campus, and is located adjacent to the Younger Lagoon Reserve. Walking trails exist throughout the campus and are used by area residents for walking, biking, and bird watching.

Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act

The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) was passed by Congress in 1990 to fund wetland enhancement. In cooperation with multiple government agencies, CWPPRA is moving forward to restore the lost wetlands of the Gulf Coast as well as protecting the wetlands from future deterioration. The scope of the mission is not simply for the restoration of Louisiana's Wetlands, but also the research and implementation of preventative measures for wetlands preservation.

Irene Moon is an American entomologist, performance artist, musician, playwright, actor, and filmmaker. She has published in the field of entomology as Katja Seltmann, and is the current director of the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

San Elijo Lagoon

San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve is one of the largest remaining coastal wetlands in San Diego County, California, United States.

Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC) is a non-profit organization that is based on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southwestern Los Angeles County, California.

The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) traces its roots back to the 19th century, when it emerged from the Santa Barbara School District, which was formed in 1866 and celebrated its 145th anniversary in 2011. UCSB's earliest predecessor was the Anna S. C. Blake Manual Training School, named after Anna S. C. Blake, a sloyd-school which was established in 1891. From there, the school underwent several transformations, most notably its takeover by the University of California system in 1944.

Joy Buswell Zedler is an American ecologist and professor of botany at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW), holding the title of Aldo Leopold Chair of Restoration Ecology. In addition to restoration ecology, she specializes in the ecology of wetlands, rare species, interactions between native and introduced species, and adaptive management.

Bradley Cardinale

Bradley Cardinale is an American ecologist, conservation biologist, academic and researcher. He is Head of the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management and Penn State University.

North Campus Open Space

North Campus Open Space (NCOS) is a 136-acre wetland and upland restoration project located on a former golf course in Goleta, California. NCOS is managed by the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER), a research center under the Office of Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). The primary objectives of this project are: the restoration of the historic upper half of Devereux Slough and adjacent upland and wetland habitats that support important local native plant and animal species, reducing flood risk, providing a buffer against predicted sea level rise, and contributing to carbon sequestration while also supporting public access and outreach, and facilitating research and educational opportunities for all members of the community.

References

  1. ↑ "Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2013. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27.
  2. 1 2 3 "Growing a Legacy". The UCSB Current. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  3. 1 2 3 Oct 07, UC Santa Barbara Mon; 2013 | 10:13am (2013-10-07). "UCSB's Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration Receives Grant to Digitize Specimens". The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  4. 1 2 "Preserving History". The UCSB Current. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  5. 1 2 Noozhawk. "Family Pledges $1.6 Million to UCSB Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration". www.noozhawk.com. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  6. 1 2 "Growing a Legacy". giving.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  7. ↑ "People | CCBER". www.ccber.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  8. ↑ "CCBER Adapts To Continue Restoration Efforts Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic | The Daily Nexus". The Daily Nexus | The University of California, Santa Barbara's independent, student-run newspaper. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  9. 1 2 3 "UCSB Takes on 40 Acres of Restoration | The Daily Nexus". The Daily Nexus | The University of California, Santa Barbara's independent, student-run newspaper. 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  10. ↑ "Opinion: Birds are vanishing from North America. There's a way to bring them back". Los Angeles Times. 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  11. ↑ "Management Areas | CCBER". www.ccber.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  12. ↑ "'A Multi-Benefit Project'". The UCSB Current. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  13. ↑ "The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration - University of California Santa Barbara, Global Plants on JSTOR". plants.jstor.org. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  14. ↑ "Golden State Splendor". The UCSB Current. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  15. ↑ "Creative Curation". The UCSB Current. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  16. ↑ "UC Santa Barbara researchers part of statewide project to digitize flowering plant species, facilitating climate change research". iDigBio. Retrieved 2021-02-28.
  17. ↑ Lanes, A. (2019, April 12). Teaching Ecological Restoration to Future Generations. Speech presented at Beyond Recovery: Restoration for the Future in University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/558d9dd9e4b097e27b791a1f/t/5d3e01b89b519f00016007e1/1564344766037/2019pro+webfinal.pdf
  18. ↑ "Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration". The Algae Society. 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  19. ↑ "Getting Kids into Nature at NCOS | CCBER". www.ccber.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
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