We are ecologists based at the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory who study lakes in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. We conduct rigorous science to solve management challenges in this iconic mountain range. Our research includes studies at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. To provide the information necessary for sound management decisions, we employ long-term capture-mark-recapture studies, whole-lake experiments, and large-scale lake surveys. Working closely with agency scientists, we use results from these studies to guide the development and implementation of lake restoration and amphibian conservation actions.
Our Partners
We are fortunate to partner with scientists from state and federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and universities. Our agency partners include California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, and multiple forests within the U.S. Forest Service. We collaborate with both the San Francisco Zoo and Oakland Zoo for amphibian rearing, reintroductions, and research on amphibian immune function.
Beginning in 2022, we are active members of the Resilience Institute Bridging Biological Training and Research (RIBBiTR). RIBBiTR, a Biology Integration Institute funded by the National Science Foundation, was created to “conduct research and training that integrates across sub-disciplines in the biological sciences to better understand how living systems achieve resilience to emerging infectious diseases and other global change stressors.”
News
2023 MLRG Annual Newsletter
Science and conservation together: why frog reintroductions work
After an 18 year study on reestablishing mountain yellow-legged frogs in the Sierra Nevada, we are proud to share a success story in amphibian conservation (covered by New Scientist [PDF]). The key to our success? Frog evolution and two decades of collaboration among academic, non-profit, and agency scientists. Mountain yellow-legged (MYL) frogs are endangered due …
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Apply to work as a 2024 Summer Field Technician
Over the past quarter century, we have documented dramatic, disease-driven declines of mountain yellow-legged frogs across California’s Sierra Nevada. But we have also documented the beginning of their recovery in recent years. In 2024, we will hire up to four field technicians to conduct capture-mark-recapture surveys, collect diagnostic disease samples, and assist with translocations and …
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