Rare as gold: Emery and Kottler kick off new study of endangered California goldfields
Our new study will help inform conservation and management strategies for vernal pool wetlands
In a new project funded by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Emery and Kottler are studying the population genetics and recruitment dynamics of two endangered plant species in California vernal pool wetlands – Burke’s goldfields (Lasthenia burkei) and Contra Costa goldfields (Lasthenia conjugens). The project will characterize the genetic diversity of the remaining populations and measure seed viability and seed bank dynamics in natural and artificially created vernal pool wetlands. The results of this project will directly inform the conservation and management of these species, which rely heavily on seed collections and (re)introduction to maintain populations in the face of ongoing habitat loss and degradation.
