There are several vernal ("relating to the springtime") pools located around the UC Hopland Research & Extension Center.   Past research has shown that each harbors a unique community of plants and invertebrates and amphibians, with no two having the exact same mix of species.  "Hog Lake", as you see pictured, is the largest vernal pool on the property.  This pond hosts a high percentage of malformed Pacific tree frogs with severe limb deformities, caused by trematode (Ribeiroia ondatrae) parasite infections upon early-stage developing frog embryos (developing tadpoles).  Ribeiroia has a complex life cycle involving pulmonate snails, amphibians, and amphibian-eating birds.

Wool piled high on a skirting table adjacent to the Wool baler and shearing floor at HREC. Whole fleeces are placed on the table. The belly portion (valued at roughly $1.20/lb.) as well as the tags (wool saturated in feces, mud, etc. and valued at roughly $0.88/lb.) fall to the floor and are packed separate from the premium fleeces.

Each spring HREC shears the fleece (wool) off the sheep flock ...about 1000 head in all.  The wool is removed for several reasons, 1) to market the wool... and this year's wool price is high, 2) to reduce problems of "fly-strike" (myiasis - a disease caused by a parasitic dipterous fly larvae that feeds on living tissue), and 3) and to remove the "wool sweater" from the sheep for the hot summertime period.  HREC has slowed the shearing process down this year, having only one contract shearer instead of a "crew" of shearers.  Here you see the shearer just releasing a ewe that was shorn and the resulting fleece.

The Hopland Research & Extension Center has a large array of vascular plants that grow (or have grown) on the premises.  The HREC herbarium comprises one of the best local plant collections in the county with almost 700 plant species found on the Center represented within the collection.  Here you see a visiting researcher from UC Santa Cruz checking out Bolander's Woodland-Star (Lithophragma bolanderi) to add to the collection at UCSC.