- (Focus Area) Environment
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Talk about flower power.
When you walk through the UC Davis Bee Haven, a half-acre garden on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus, you'll see bees and other pollinators foraging on a pink floribunda rose cultivar, “Nearly Wild." It's flamingo pink, quite fragrant and very buzzworthy, providing both pollen and nectar.
This cultivar is aptly named "Nearly Wild." It has five petals, just like wild roses.
The garden, installed in 2009 and a project of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nemalogy, is located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. Director of the haven is apiculturist/researcher Elina Lastro Niño, associate professor of Cooperative Extension, based in the department.
A six-foot long worker bee, the ceramic-mosaic work of Donna Billick of Davis, anchors the garden, as honey bees from the nearby Laidlaw apiary gather nectar and pollen.
But back to the “Nearly Wild” roses.
They remind us so much of the truly wild roses we've seen growing along river banks, roadsides and in fields. Roses (family Rosaceae and genus Rosa) originated some 25 million years ago. Many of today's roses are the result of centuries of breeding.
What's the story behind "Nearly Wild" and what are its characteristics?" The Missouri Botanical Garden website says this is "a floribunda rose ('Dr. W. Van Fleet' x 'Leuchstern') which typically grows 2-3' tall (less frequently to 4') and as wide. It is a dense, shrubby plant which features clusters of mildly fragrant, single, pink roses (to 3" diameter) with center clumps of prominent yellow stamens. Five-petalled flowers are reminiscent of some species roses hence the cultivar name. Flowers bloom continuously from May to frost. Glossy dark green foliage. Introduced by Brownwell in 1941."
The UC Davis Bee Haven is currently being renovated, but you can still visit from dawn to dusk. Admission is free.
- Author: Patty Guerra, UC MERCED
El agua se encuentra entre los recursos más preciados del planeta. Algunas áreas no obtienen suficiente, algunas obtienen mucha. Y el cambio climático está llevando a estas dos situaciones a extremos cada vez mayores.
Dos expertos en ingeniería civil y del medio ambiente de la Universidad de California en Merced participaron en un reciente reporte del Fondo para la Defensa del Medio Ambiente que examina ese problema y ofrece soluciones potenciales. Tapan Pathak, professor asociado de extensión y el professor Josué Medellín-Azuara, co autor del reporte, "Scarcity and Excess: Tackling Water-Related Risks to Agriculture in the United States," (Escases y exceso: abordando los riesgos relacionados con el agua para la agricultura en Estados Unidos). Medellín-Azuara, escribió la parte perteneciente a California.
Según lo revelado por los autores del reporte, además del cambio climático, las intervenciones humanas perjudiciales como la extracción excesiva de agua subterránea, la expansión de las redes de drenaje y una gobernanza desajustada aumentan los costos agrícolas relacionados con el agua, particularmente en los estados del medio oeste y oeste.
Pathak y Medellín-Azuara aseguran que el problema se magnifica en el estado de California, el cual alberga los campos agrícolas más grandes y diversos de todos los Estados Unidos, con ingresos brutos provenientes de las granjas y ranchos que exceden los 50 mil millones de dólares.
"Debido al favorable clima mediterráneo, las zonas micro climáticas regionales únicas, un sistema de abastecimiento de agua altamente diseñado y desarrollado y una cercana conexión entre los productores, investigadores y las instituciones de extensión cooperativa, la abundancia agrícola de California incluye más de 400 productos básicos, algunos de los cuales no se producen en ninguna otra parte de la nación", escribieron los investigadores de UC Merced.
Pero el clima variable y la necesidad de agua representan un desafío. No obstante que la mayor parte de las precipitaciones caen en la parte norte de California, las dos terceras partes del sur del estado representan un 85 por ciento de la demanda de agua. Y todos esos cultivos deben ser regados durante el verano, cuando hay muy poca o nada de lluvia.
Parte del agua proviene del manto de nieve producido por las tormentas invernales y almacenado en depósitos cuando se derrite. Mucha otra proviene del río Colorado.
"Substancialmente menos agua es capturada y almacenada durante los periodos de sequía, poniendo en peligro el suministro de agua en California y en riesgo las necesidades de agua para la agricultura", señalaron en el reporte Pathak y Medellín-Azuara.
El cambio climático, con periodos de sequía entre los veranos excesivamente húmedos, magnifican ese riesgo.
"Además, el ritmo del incremento de las temperaturas mínimas en la Sierra Nevada es tres veces más rápido que el de las temperaturas máximas, resultando en una reducción potencial en el manto de nieve, un derretimiento más temprano de la nieve y más agua en forma líquida en comparación con la nieve", según reportaron los investigadores. "De acuerdo con el Departamento de Recursos Hídricos de California, para el 2100, se proyecta que el manto de nieve de Sierra Nevada experimente una reducción de un 48 a 65 por ciento del promedio histórico".
También se espera que el cambio climático afecte la disponibilidad de agua en el río Colorado.
La sequía del estado entre el 2012 y el 2016 produjo alrededor de 540 mil acres de barbecho agrícola en el 2015, costando a la economía del estado un ingreso bruto de 2,700 millones y 21 mil trabajos. Ante la falta de Lluvia, los granjeros incrementaron el bombeo de agua subterránea para regar sus cultivos, agotando ese recurso.
El reporte incluye recomendaciones sobre políticas, programas y herramientas para apoyar la resiliencia agrícola, como:
- Cambiar las prácticas de gestión del uso y cultivo de la tierra para apoyar la transición a una huella agrícola que pueda sustentarse con el suministro de agua disponible.
- Incrementar el acceso de los granjeros y administradores del agua a información importante y herramientas tecnológicas innovadoras para apoyar sus esfuerzos.
- Re imaginar la infraestructura construida y utilizar mejor la infraestructura natural para que las regiones estén mejor equipadas para hacer frente a los fenómenos meteorológicos extremos.
- Desarrollar mecanismos de políticas y financiamiento en apoyo a la mitigación y adaptación a los riesgos relacionados al agua, evitar la inadaptación y garantizar la seguridad alimentaria e hídrica.
"La agricultura innovadora de California necesita adaptarse rápidamente a una disponibilidad de agua más volátil, una mayor demanda de agua debido al clima y los reglamentos que protegen las reservas de agua subterránea, comunidades y ecosistemas", mencionó Medellín-Azuara. "La oportuna adopción de prácticas más sustentables en la agricultura probablemente producirá dividendos tanto a corto como a largo plazo".
Pathak agregó que "California se enfrenta a retos significativos relacionados con el cambio climático, pero tambien presenta oportunidades para innovaciones, colaboraciones y crecimiento sustentable. Para hacer a la agricultura resiliente ante los riesgos climáticos, necesitamos involucrarnos en soluciones holísticas que integren consideraciones de tipo ambiental, social, económico y de políticas".
Adaptado al español por Leticia Irigoyen del artículo en inglés. Editado para su publicación por Diana Cervantes
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
During his 37-year UC Davis career, Leigh was based at the Kern County Shafter Research and Extension Center, also known as the U.S. Cotton Research Station. At Shafter, Leigh focused his research on the biology, ecology, host plant resistance, control and management of insects and spider mites on cotton.
He stood at the forefront of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) of cotton pests, according to an article in the summer 1994 edition of American Entomologist. He taught courses on cotton IPM and host plant resistance. He researched pest and beneficial arthropod management in cotton fields, and host plant resistance in cotton to insects, mites, nematodes and diseases.
Leigh joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology in 1958, retiring in 1991 as an emeritus professor. However, like many emeriti, he continued to remain active in his research and collaboration until his death on Oct. 26, 1993.
His work as an agricultural inspector with the Riverside County Agricultural Commissioner's Office from 1944-1945 sparked his interest in entomology. He received his bachelor of science degree in entomology from UC Berkeley in 1949, and his doctorate in entomology there in 1956. His thesis was on the influence of light, temperature and humidity on flight activity of the butterfly, Colias and involved both field and laboratory investigations.
Leigh served as an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas from 1954 to 1958, where he worked on the biology, ecology and control of pink bollworm and boll weevil, using chemicals and cultural means. He joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology, advancing from assistant entomologist to associate entomologist in 1963. In 1968, he was promoted to adjunct lecturer and entomologist.
During his career, he advised many graduate students who went on to become renowned entomologists in cotton IPM around the world,” wrote Charles E. Jackson of Uniroyal Chemical, Clovis, Calif., and J. Hodge Black, UC Cooperative Extension, Bakersfield in the American Entomologist. For his achievements in teaching and research, Leigh received the James H. Meyer Recognition Award for Distinguished Achievement Service Award in 1988.
Leigh served as president of the Pacific Branch of ESA in 1981. He also served on the ESA Governing Board and was a founding member and past president of the American Registry of Professional Entomologists (ARPE). In 1981 he received the ARPE Outstanding Entomologist Award. Leigh was elected as a director to the Board Certified Entomologists' certification board in 1993.
In addition, Leigh was active in the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was the founding president of the San Joaquin Entomology Association. He held membership in several other associations, including the Association of Applied Insect Ecologists, the Ecological Society of America, and the American Archeological Society. The UC Davis entomologist was a past president of the Shafter Rotary Club and also active in the Boy Scouts of America.
During his 37-year career, he authored more than 127 peer-reviewed publications.
“His many colleagues considered his research and teaching to be outstanding,” wrote authors Jackson and Black in the American Entomologist. “Leigh's caring, enthusiasm, intellect, expertise and professionalism were regarded highly by all who knew him.”
In his memory, his family and associates set up the Leigh Distinguished Alumni Seminar Entomology Fund. When his wife, Nina Eremin Leigh (1929-2002) died, the alumni seminar became known as the Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Seminar.
He will speak on "Our Changing Menu: Using the Power of Food to Confront Climate Change" on Monday, Oct. 14 in the Putah Creek Lodge, 685 Putah Creek Lodge Drive. The event begins at 4 p.m. and will include a social, lecture and dinner. The event is open to department faculty, staff and students. (See news story.) The lecture will be recorded.
Hoffmann was selected the 2020 recipient of the Leigh Seminar Award, but the COVID pandemic intervened and other dates conflicted. This is the first Leigh Seminar since 2020.
A native of Wisconsin, Hoffmann holds a bachelor of science degree (1975) from the University of Wisconsin, and his master's degree from the University of Arizona (1978). He received his doctorate in entomology from UC Davis in 1990, studying with Professor Ted Wilson and later Professor Frank Zalom, an integrated pest management specialist and a past president of the Entomological Society of America. Hoffmann served with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam from 1967 to 1971, attaining the rank of sergeant.
He remembers well his experiences at UC Davis. “I was privileged to work with many dedicated faculty in entomology and several other departments.”
1996: Michael Irwin
1990: Lowell "Skip" Nault
2004: Kenneth Yeargan
2008: Mary Purcell-Miramontes
2010: Murray Isman
2011: Gary Felton
2011: Brian Fisher
2012: Marc Tatar
2013: Kenneth Haynes
2015: Tim Paine
2017: Jennifer Thaler
2018: Robert Page Jr.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
And it's double delightful with twins!
Such was the case at the Vacaville Museum Guild's recent Children's Party when two-year-old twins Ford and Wyatt Devine were thumbing through "The Story of the Dogface Butterfly," a children's book written by UC Davis doctoral alumna Fran Keller, a Folsom Lake College professor and a Bohart Museum of Entomology research scientist.
The twins, along with big brother, Buck, 7, were among the youngsters fascinated by the book, which features macro images by Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas and illustrations by Laine Bauer, then a UC Davis student.
It was just one of the many attractions at the annual Children's Party, held Aug. 8 in the museum courtyard.
Not many know that the butterfly's most prevalent habitat is the 40-acre Shutamul Bear River Preserve near Auburn, on a Placer Land Trust conservation site; Kareofelas serves as a docent on the Placer Land Trust tours. (See virtual tour on YouTube). The butterfly is there because its larval host plant, false indigo (Amorpha californica), is there.
Are there dogface butterflies in Vacaville? Yes. The butterfly's breeding grounds include Gates Canyon. (See UC Davis emeritus professor Art Shapiro's website.)
Director of the insect museum is Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate dean, Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Meanwhile, Bohart scientists are gearing up for their next open house, set for 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28. The theme is "Museum ABC's: Arthropods, Bohart and Collecting." All open houses are free and family friendly. Parking is also free. For more information, contact bmuseum@ucdavis.edu or access the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Learn the how, where and why fire is used to manage the natural landscape at the Central Coast Good Fire Fair on Saturday, Oct. 5. The fair is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton in Santa Cruz County. The event is sponsored by the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network and California State Parks.
“You can witness a live prescribed fire in the redwood grove and learn about using fire in our coastal ecosystems,” said Barb Satink Wolfson, UC Cooperative Extension fire advisor for San Benito, Santa Clara, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
Representatives of California State Parks, CALFIRE, indigenous groups and the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association are scheduled to talk about how they work with fire.
The Good Fire Fair will offer educational activities for children and adults:
- Learn how to safely build, tend and extinguish a campfire
- Watch live burns of piles and redwood understory growth (likely between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., depending on the weather)
- Savor sandwiches, burgers and Venezuelan food from local food trucks
- Observe demonstrations and visit informative booths
- Learn how to make your home more resilient to wildfire
- Test your fire knowledge and win prizes
“Kids will get to see a wildland fire engine up close, try fire science experiments and play educational games. Bring a camera,” said Satink Wolfson. “Knowledge feeds the soul, but two of Santa Cruz's best food trucks will feed your hunger!”
The event is free, but parking at the park is $10. No registration required.