Effects of urbanization and habitat fragmentation in native reptiles
Awardee: Erin Toffelmier. Erin is researching the differences in how lizards use the human-altered habitat versus how they use natural habitat.
Projects
Energy Conservation Behavior
UCLA ENGAGE investigates how real-time energy consumption feedback can be used as an effective tool for energy conservation. It applies insights from behavioral science to design optimal interventions for changing…
Evaluation of Community Scale Solar Water Heating in Los Angeles County
Reliance on Natural Gas for Residential Water Heating Inexpensive natural gas and the historical subsidization of its use as a source of thermal energy has led Southern California to depend heavily on natural gas for residential heating. As of…
Exploring the role of plant maternal effects in response to drought in restoration
Awardee: Evelin Escobedo, Undergraduate in the Environmental Science Department. Evelin is studying how maternal effects in plants can help restore native plant communities that are resistant to impacts of drought.
Food Eco-labels
Our research seeks to understand how emotions play a role in the purchasing of green products. We considered four eco-labels that are found on meat products, and paired them with…
Global Climate Model Evaluation
Although our research is primarily focused on regional climate change concerns, we are active in global climate research as well. That's because regional climate research starts with a toolkit developed to operate the global scale. A better understanding of those global tools — their strengths and limitations — helps us do better regional work.
How should firms disclose their environmental performance?
Firms have various avenues through which to disclose environmental performance information. This project examines two information disclosure strategies (public information disclosure to stakeholders and private information to legislators through lobbying),…
Influence of Previous Exposure on Seed Preference in the endangered Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus)
Awardee: Brigit Harvey. Brigit is testing whether the critically endangered Pacific pocket mouse can be trained to consume the seeds of invasive species found across the San Diego County landscape to increase their foraging options in the wild.
Landscape genomic analyses of four endangered California reptile and amphibian species
The La Kretz Center is partnering with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to generate genomic data to inform species listing decisions under the US Endangered Species Act.
Research
Our fellows work in research teams to advance skills and solve environmental problems through hands-on experience.
Toward a conservation physiology of Californian flora: assessing drought vulnerability across species and ecosystems
Awardee: Camila Medeiros. Camila's project aims to quantify the vulnerability of woody plant species to drought in key ecosystem types of California and model species’ relative sensitivities to drought under future climate chance scenarios.
Using Plant Remains from the La Brea Tar Pits to Assess the Impact of Climate Change on Community Ecology and Extinction in the Los Angeles Basin
Awardee: Jessie George. Jeesie is using plant remains from the La Brea Tar Pits to assess the impact of climate change on community ecology and extinction in Ice Age Los Angeles.