Resources & Publications
Our work is rooted in science.
We do applied research to find the best restoration and management practices that benefit farmers and birds. We use predictive models to understand where to prioritize conservation given limited resources and an uncertain future, and we monitor our progress toward restoring populations of migratory birds. By sharing our findings with other conservation scientists, we make our science stronger and contribute to a growing body of knowledge that is improving conservation throughout the world.
2024
The Future of Water-Limited Agricultural Landscapes
Peterson CA, Davis KF, Dybala KE, Fernández FJ, Ghimire R, Nidumolo U, Roche R. (2024). Environmental Research Letters 19:020201.
Automated Reference Points Selection for InSAR Time Series Analysis on Segmented Wetlands
Zhang, B., Hestir, E., Yunjun, Z., Reiter, M., Viers, J. Schaffer-Smith, D., Sesser, K., Oliver-Cabrera, T. 2024. IEEE Xplore
2023
Changes in habitat suitability for wintering dabbling ducks during dry conditions in the Central Valley.
Conlisk, E. E., Byrd, K. B., Matchett, E., Lorenz, A. A., Casazza, M., Golet, G. H., Reynolds, M. D., Sesser, K. A., & Reiter, M. E. 2023. Ecosphere, 14(1)
Priority Bird Conservation Areas in California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta
Dybala KE, Sesser K, Reiter ME, Shuford WD, Golet GH, Hickey C, Gardali T (2023). San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 21(3).
Effectiveness of Public–Private Efforts to Conserve Tricolored Blackbird Colonies on Agricultural Lands in the San Joaquin Valley, California
Castañeda, X., Clipperton, N., Airola, D.A., Arthur, S., Sousa, P.
2022
Shorebird food energy shortfalls and the effectiveness of habitat incentive programs in record wet, dry and warm years
Golet GH, Dybala KE, Reiter ME, Sesser KA, Reynolds M, Kelsey R (2022) Ecological Monographs 92(4):e1541.
Storing Water for the Environment: Operating Reservoirs to Improve California’s Freshwater Ecosystems
Null S, Mount J, Gray B, Dybala K, Sencan G, Sturrock A, Thompson B, Zeff H (2022). Public Policy Institute of California.
Foothills to Summit: Conservation Objectives for Birds in California’s Sierra Meadows
Roberts LJ, Burnett R, Loffland H, Campos B, Gardali T, Dybala K (2022). Point Blue Conservation Science, Petaluma, CA
Both real‐time and long‐term environmental data perform well in predicting shorebird distributions in managed habitat.
Conlisk E., G.H. Golet, M.D. Reynolds, B. Barbaree, K. Sesser, K. Byrd, S. Veloz, M.E. Reiter. 2022. Ecological Applications.
2021
Multiple-Benefit Conservation defined
Gardali T, Dybala KE, Seavy NE (2021) Multiple-Benefit Conservation defined. Conservation Science and Practice 3(6):e420.
A Shorebird Management Manual
Strum KM, Sesser K, Golet, GH. In press. Enhancing Rice Agriculture in California’s Central Valley. In: Iglecia, MI and Winn B, editors. Manomet, MA: Manomet.
The Colorado River Delta and California’s Central Valley are critical regions for many migrating North American landbirds
DeLuca, W., Meehan, T., Seavy, N., Jones, A., Pitt, J., Deppe, JL., Wilsey, CB., Ornithological Applications, Volume 123, Issue 1, 1 February 2021, duaa064
2020
Quantifying drought’s influence on moist soil seed vegetation in California’s Central Valley through remote sensing.
Byrd KB, Lorenz AA, Anderson JA, Wallace CSA, Moore-O’Leary KA, Isola J, Ortega R, Reiter ME. 2020. Ecological Applications 00(00):e02153.
Sacramento River: balancing ecological and social restoration goals to restore riparian habitat along a lowland floodplain river, California, USA.
Online case study in: Holl KD, editor. Primer of Ecological Restoration. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
Getting our heads above water: Integrating bird conservation in planning, science, and restoration for a more resilient Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta
Dybala KE, Gardali T, Melcer RE 2020. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 18(4).
Multiple Benefits from Agricultural and Natural Land Covers in California’s Central Valley
Peterson CA, Marvinney E, Dybala KE. 2020. Technical Report, Migratory Bird Conservation Partnership, Sacramento, CA: pp 1-114.
Integrating citizen science data with expert surveys increases accuracy and spatial extent of species distribution models. Diversity and Distributions.
Robinson OJ, Ruiz-Gutierrez V, Reynolds MD, Golet GH, Strimas-Mackey M, Fink D. 2020. Diversity and Distributions.
Dynamic multi-benefit solutions for global water challenges.
Rohde, MM, Reynolds M, Howard J. 2020. Conservation Science and Practice 2:e144.
Slow and Steady: Gradual Drawdown of Private Wetlands Supports Shorebirds During Northbound Migration.
Souza-Cole I, Arthur S, Jensen L, Sesser KA, Strum KM. 2020. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management. DOI: 3996/102019-JFWM-089
A monitoring framework for assessing threats to non-breeding shorebirds on the Pacific coast of the Americas.
Reiter ME, Palacios E, Eusse D, Johnston R, Davidson P, Bradley D, Clay R, Strum KM, Chu J, Barbaree BA, Hickey CM, Lank DB, Drever, M., Ydenberg, R. and Butler R. In press. Avian Conservation and Ecology.
2019
The relative importance of agricultural and wetland habitats to waterbirds in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta of California.
Shuford WD, Reiter ME, Sesser KA, Hickey CM, and Golet GH. 2019. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 17 (1) 1–25.
Genotyping-by-sequencing reveals genomic homogeneity among overwintering Pacific Dunlin (Calidris alpina pacifica) aggregations along the Pacific coast of North America.
Popovic I, Toews DPL, Keever CC, St. Clair CT, Barbaree BA, Fernández G, Rourke J. 2019. The Condor 121:duz036.
Policy Note: “Economic Tools to Achieve Groundwater Sustainability for Nature: Two Experimental Case Studies from California.”
Matsumoto S, Rohde MM, Heard S. 2019. Water Economics and Policy 5:1971002.
Water and the future of the San Joaquin Valley.
Hanak, E, Escriva-Bou A, Gray B, Green S, Harter T, Jezdimirovic J, Lund JR, Medellín-Azuara J, Moyle P, Seavy N. 2019. Public Policy Institute of California report.
Optimizing carbon storage and biodiversity co-benefits in reforested riparian zones.
Dybala, KE, Steger K, Walsh RG, Smart DR, Gardali T, Seavy NE. 2019. Journal of Applied Ecology. 56:343-353.
Carbon sequestration in riparian forests: a global meta-analysis.
Dybala KE, Matzek V, Gardali T, Seavy NE. 2019. Global Change Biology 25:57-67.
2018
Using ricelands to provide temporary shorebird habitat during migration
Golet GH, Low C, Avery S, Andrews K, McColl CJ, Laney R, Reynolds MD. Using ricelands to provide temporary shorebird habitat during migration. Ecological Applications.
Waterbird response to variable-timing of drawdown in rice fields after winter-flooding.
Sesser KA, Iglecia M, Reiter ME, Strum KM, Hickey CM, Kelsey R, and Skalos DA. 2018. PLoS ONE
Evidence of climate change impacts on landbirds in western North America: A review and recommendations for future research. in Trends and traditions: Avifaunal change in western North America (W. D. Shuford, R. E. Gill Jr., and C. M. Handel, eds.)
Seavy, NE, Humple DL, Cormier RL, Porzig EL, Gardali T. 2018., pp. 331–343. Studies of Western Birds 3. Western Field Ornithologists, Camarillo, California.
Quantifying shorebird habitat in managed wetlands by modeling shallow water depth dynamics.
Schaffer‐Smith D, Swenson JJ, Reiter ME, Isola JE. 2018. Ecological Applications.
Impact of extreme drought and incentive programs on flooded agriculture and wetlands in California’s Central Valley
Reiter ME, Elliott NK, Jongsomjit D, Golet GH, Reynolds MD. 2018. Impact of extreme drought and incentive programs on flooded agriculture and wetlands in California’s Central Valley. PeerJ.
Private landowner conservation behavior following participation in voluntary incentive programs: Recommendations to facilitate behavioral persistence
Dayer A, Lutter S, Sesser K, Hickey CM, Gardali T. 2018. Conservation Letters.
Dynamic surface water distributions influence wetland connectivity in a highly modified interior landscape.
Barbaree BA, Reiter ME, Hickey CM, Elliot NK, Schaffer-Smith D, Reynolds MD, Page GW. 2018. Dynamic surface water distributions influence wetland connectivity in a highly modified interior landscape. Landscape Ecology.
2017
Population and Habitat Objectives for Avian Conservation in California’s Central Valley Grassland-Oak Savannah Ecosystems
DiGaudio RT, Dybala KE, Seavy NE, Gardali T (2017). San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 15.
A general framework for setting long-term population objectives
Dybala KE, Clipperton N, Gardali T, Golet GH, Kelsey R, Lorenzato S, Melcer R, Seavy NE, Silveira JG, Yarris GS (2017). San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 15.
Population and habitat objectives for avian conservation in California’s Central Valley riparian ecosystems
Dybala KE, Clipperton N, Gardali T, Golet GH, Kelsey R, Lorenzato S, Melcer R, Seavy NE, Silveira JG, Yarris GS (2017). San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 15.
A bioenergetics approach to setting conservation objectives for non-breeding shorebirds in California’s Central Valley
Dybala KE, Reiter ME, Hickey C, Shuford WD, Strum KM, Yarris GS (2017). San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 15.
Water Stress and a Changing San Joaquin Valley
Escriva-Bou A, Gray B, Green S, Harter T, Howitt R, MacEwan D, Medellín-Azuara J, Moyle P, Seavy N. 2017. Public Policy Institute of California report.
The Science of Setting Conservation Objectives for Birds in California’s Central Valley: An Introduction
Gardali T, Marty J, Yarris G. 2017. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science. 15(1).
Managing California freshwater ecosystems: Lessons from the 2012-2016 drought.
Mount J, Gray B, Chappelle C, Gartrell G, Grantham T, Moyle P, Seavy N, Szeptycki L, Thompson B. 2017. Public Policy Institute of California report.
Dynamic conservation for migratory species.
Reynolds MD, Sullivan BL, Hallstein E, Matsumoto S, Kelling S, Merrifield M, Fink D, Johnston A, Hochachka WM, Bruns NE, Reiter ME, Veloz S, Hickey CM, Elliott N, Martin L, Fitzpatrick JW, Spraycar P, Golet GH, McColl C, Morrison SA. 2017. Science Advances.
Conservation objectives for wintering and breeding waterbirds in California’s Central Valley.
Shuford WD, Dybala KE (2017) San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 15.
Bird Species at Risk in California’s Central Valley: A Framework for Setting Conservation Objectives.
Shuford WD, Hertel M. 2017. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science. 15(1).
Population and habitat objectives for breeding shorebirds in California’s Central Valley.
Strum KM, Dybala KE, Iglecia MN, Shuford WD (2017). San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science 15.