Caroline E. Christian

Associate Professor and Adjunct Faculty in Biology
Ph.D. (2002) Population Biology, University of California - Davis
Email: caroline.christian@sonoma.edu
Voicemail: 707.664.3144
Fax: 707.664.4202
Office: Rachel Carson 6

Postdoctoral Training:

University of California (Santa Cruz) and the David H. Smith Post-doctoral Research

Research Interests:

My research focuses on key issues in conservation and restoration, and the use of applied systems to test fundamental ideas in ecology. Much of my current research evaluates the effectiveness of prescribed fire and livestock grazing as tools for managing and restoring grassland communities that have been invaded heavily by exotic plant species. I have recently completed a large-scale experiment on this topic in northern California and am currently evaluating the impacts of livestock grazing on the endangered giant kangaroo rat and its grassland habitat in central California at Carrizo Plains National Monument. Another focus of my research has been to understand the ways in which exotic species influence the interactions among native species. I also work with non-profit organizations to implement science-based conservation planning and land management.

Course Offerings:

Selected Publications:

Fox, H.E., C.E. Christian, J.C. Nordby, O.R.W. Pergams, G.D. Peterson, C.R. Pyke. 2006. Perceptions of integrating social science and conservation. Conservation Biology 20: 1817-1820.

McKay, J., C.E. Christian, S.H. Harrison, K.J. Rice, J. Thompson. 2005. How local is local? Practical and conceptual issues in the genetics of restoration . Restoration Ecology 13:432-440.

Christian, C.E. and M.L. Stanton. 2004. Cryptic consequences of a seed dispersal mutualism: seed burial, elaiosome removal, and seed bank dynamics. Ecology 85:1101-1110.

Young, T.P., M.L. Stanton, and C.E. Christian. 2002. Effects of natural and simulated herbivory on spine lengths o f Acacia drepanolobium in Kenya . Oikos 101:171-179.
Christian, C.E. 2001. Consequences of biological invasion reveal importance of mutualism for plant communities. Nature 413:635-639.

Roy , B.A, J.W. Kirchner, C.E. Christian, and L.E. Rose. 2001. High disease incidence and apparent disease tolerance in a Great Basin plant community. Evolutionary Ecology 14:421-438.