email: ray_sauvajot@nps.gov
office:
lab:
research interests: Ecological effects of urban encroachment and habitat fragmentation; conservation biology, reserve design and management; interface between ecology and environmental policy.
Research Interests
My research interests include a broad array of topics in conservation biology which align with management concerns facing my primary place of employment, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park System. My particular research interests focus on the effects of urban encroachment and habitat fragmentation on vertebrates, including mammalian carnivores, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and birds. A recent high priority has been understanding potential habitat connectivity needs for bobcats and mountain lions. Other studies have included research on the ecological requirements of rare plants, identification and evaluation of invasive plant species, including modes of establishment, rate of spread, and ecological impact, and assessments of urban impacts on stream hydrology, exotic species spread, and native amphibian populations. At the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, I serve as Chief of Planning, Science and Resource Management, and I am also a Senior Science Advisor for the National Park Service, serving other units of the National Park System. I hold adjunct faculty positions at UCLA and California State University, Northridge. Through my university positions, I can advise graduate and undergraduate students on research projects, including serving on graduate student thesis and dissertation committees. I also lead graduate seminars, provide guest lectures, collaborate with university faculty on research projects, submit grant proposals in cooperation with university researchers, and manage cooperative projects between the National Park Service and research institutions. I encourage you to learn more about the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area by visiting our website at http://www.nps.gov/samo. Specific information about research opportunities is available at http://www.nps.gov/samo/researchlearningcenter/research/smnra.html.
Selected Publications
Riley, S.P.D., J.P. Pollinger, R.M. Sauvajot, E.C. York, C. Bromley, T.K. Fuller, and R.K. Wayne. 2006. A southern California freeway is a physical and social barrier to gene flow in carnivores Molecular Ecology 15: 1733-1741 .
Farias, V., T.K. Fuller, R.K. Wayne, and R.M. Sauvajot. 2005. Survival and cause-specific mortality of gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in southern California Journal of Zoology 266: 249-254 .
Riley, S.P.D., G.T. Busteed, L.B. Kats, T.L. Vandergon, L.F.S. Lee, R.G. Dagit, J.L. Kerby, R.N. Fisher, and R.M. Sauvajot. 2005. Effects of urbanization on the distribution and abundance of amphibians and invasive species in southern California Conservation Biology 19: 1894-1907 .
Ng, S.J., J. Dole, R.M. Sauvajot, S.P.D. Riley, and T. Valone. 2004. Use of highway undercrossings by wildlife in southern California Biological Conservation 114: 499-507 .
Riley, S.P.D., R.M. Sauvajot, T.K. Fuller, E.C. York, D.A. Kamradt, and R.K. Wayne. 2003. Effects of urbanization and habitat fragmentation on bobcats and coyotes in southern California Conservation Biology 17: 566-576 .
Sauvajot, R.M., E.C. York, T.K. Fuller, H.S. Kim, D.A. Kamradt, and R.K. Wayne. 2000. Distribution and status of carnivores in the Santa Monica Mountains, California: preliminary results from radio telemetry and remote camera surveys 2nd Interface Between Ecology and Land Development in California U.S. Geological SurveySacramento, CA 113-124 .
Fedriani, J.M., T.K. Fuller, R.M. Sauvajot, E.C. York. 2000. Diets of three sympatric carnivores in the Santa Monica Mountains of California: the importance of habitat, human presence and interspecific competition Occologia 125: 258-270 .
Kohn, M.H., E.C. York, D.A. Kamradt, G. Haught, R.M. Sauvajot, and R.K. Wayne. 1999. Estimating population size by genotyping faeces Proceedings of the Royal Society London (Biology) 266: 1-7 .
Concannon, J.A., C. Shafer, R. DeVelice, R.M. Sauvajot, S. Boudreau, T.E. DeMeo, J. Dryden. 1999. Describing landscape diversity: a fundamental tool for ecosystem management Ecological Stewardship: A Common Reference for Ecosystem Management Elsevier SciencesOxford, UK .
Sauvajot, R.M., M. Buechner, D. Kamradt, and C. Schonewald. 1998. Patterns of human disturbance and response by small mammals and birds in chaparral near urban development Urban Ecosystems 2: 279-297 .